Just as Naruto was fighting Imu's Blackbeard clone, the great battle in the Underworld was also nearing its end.
—This was only natural.
Although the forces here consisted of the God's Knights and the demon giant corps enhanced by demonic power, their opponents were the top-tier strong ones that Naruto had gathered from both sides of the law.
With three Emperors present alone, the pressure they exerted was no less than that of the last super Summit War.
As for those demon giants...
Their physiques were indeed formidable. Even Hajrudin, who stood over twenty meters tall, could barely reach their shoulders. Their size advantage, combined with demonic enhancement, should have resulted in even more devastating destruction.
But unfortunately, when it came to size, there were also experts on their side.
Even though Fu and Yugito had not yet reached the level of [Perfect Jinchuriki] and thus their Tailed Beast transformations did not fully manifest their strength, their sizes still exceeded thirty meters. Roshi, meanwhile, had surpassed forty meters.
As for the Perfect Jinchuriki B and Gaara, whose power had undergone a transformation due to being strengthened by the Nature Will, they were on an entirely different level again.
Each of Gyuki's powerful, massive tentacles could bind a demon giant in mid-air and swing it like a sledgehammer into other surrounding enemies.
The attacks from those enemies could at most injure a single tentacle.
Such injuries meant nothing to the Eight-Tails… its regeneration speed even surpassed the immortality of the demon giants.
Compared to the giant octopus that charged wildly into the crowd, Gaara was more like a 'caster'.
Perhaps because the Natural Energy in the One Piece World was significantly stronger than that of the Ninja World, Gaara, who had also mastered [Sage Mode], received a certain enhancement in power.
Sand, originating from somewhere unknown, formed a floating tray beneath the feet of the colossal Shukaku, granting it the ability to move at high speed.
The indestructible Spear of Shukaku rained down from the sky like a machine gun, and even shields coated with Armament Haki struggled to withstand this natural might.
There were demon giants clever enough to think of counterattacking with ranged methods, but whether it were cannonball-sized projectiles, arrows, or thrown spears, they either missed or were intercepted by the instantly appearing Shield of Shukaku.
Not far away, Kaido, who had been watching these colossal creatures display their formidable power, stood frozen, not even paying attention to Maffey's laser breath.
Bang!
Yamato swiftly approached using Divine Step White Snake Dash and smashed the laser away with her kanabo.
"Hey! Old man, are you senile? Why are you spacing out on the battlefield?"
Just as she shouted this, Gunko's attack arrived, forcing Yamato to use several rapid displacements to evade the treacherous arrows.
As for Kaido, he casually swung his hand without haste, smacking Maffey, who had attempted to seize the opportunity to strike him, far away with his kanabo. Yet his gaze remained fixed on the rampage of the Jinchuriki Squad.
'Excellent!'
'Absolutely excellent!'
'These were the ideal mythical beast combatants I had always dreamed of! Compared to them, the current Tobi Roppo were worlds apart.'
'...No, even the All-Stars fell somewhat short.'
'I had to find a way to invite them to join.'
Kaido was completely oblivious to how fanciful his thoughts were.
These otherworldly visitors, who already had their own loyalties, still had people they needed to protect. Not only was joining the Beasts Pirates unrealistic, but even staying in the One Piece World was not feasible.
Over on Big Mom's side, Artemis's mirror barrier finally dissipated.
What appeared on the scorched earth was not only Big Mom, whose fury had yet to subside, but also a mangled lump of flesh, its original species barely discernible.
Big Mom was certainly aware of the immortality possessed by the God's Knights and had learned from others that Conqueror's Haki could negate it.
Yet she deliberately refrained from doing so.
The reason was not hard to guess. She wanted Sommers, that pervert who delighted in the suffering of others, to experience the same pain.
At least in this instance, one had to admit that Big Mom acted with true integrity.
Swoosh—
Shanks's blade bit into Shamrock's shoulder. Gryphon effortlessly carved a massive gash into his flesh, and the slash imbued with Conqueror's Haki prevented the wound from healing.
However, the cost of this move was that Shanks's own right eye was gouged by Shamrock's Cerberus, leaving three deep scars that mirrored the ones Blackbeard had given him on the other side.
Had Cerberus's blade extended even a fraction further, what would have been added to Shanks would not have been three scars, but his brains scrambled.
Such a mutually assured destruction style of combat sent a chill through Shanks.
Shamrock could not possibly be unaware that he could not maintain his immortality while fighting Shanks. So, the cold expression on his currently fierce face was a genuine disregard for death.
He no longer cared about his own life.
The only thing Shamrock wanted now was to kill Shanks, the traitor.
"Next time, you won't be so lucky."
His hoarse, grating voice sounded like a broken bellows, but the pure killing intent within it did not diminish in the slightest.
Hearing this, Shanks's expression also grew grave.
Blood had sealed one of his eyes, but he had no time to wipe it away. He had to focus entirely on the battle with his brother.
"Roar!"
"Screech—"
The two blades clashed again. The cries of the three-headed hound and the griffin lingered like auditory illusions around the brothers' ears.
Just at this critical moment, the arm wielding Cerberus suddenly stiffened, the blade stopping mid-swing.
The three-headed hound let out an unwilling roar.
Gryphon's blade, however, faced no such hindrance this time, severing Shamrock's neck, leaving only a thin strip of skin connecting it.
"?"
Even Shanks could not help but show a look of shock.
Shamrock, after a moment of stunned realization, seemed to understand something, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.
This face, identical to Shanks's except for the scars, did not show an expression of relief, but one of pure, surging malice.
"..."
Shamrock seemed to want to curse something, but his severed throat ultimately did not support the action.
Thus, in the end, he could only give his younger brother one last deep look before straining to lift his head, his gaze fixed on the sky.
It was the direction where Imu was.
Thud, his head hit the ground, and Shanks felt nothing but a sense of unreality.
"Gyaah!"
"Why..."
Almost simultaneously, the other God's Knights let out cries of either unwillingness or agony.
Their opponents seized this opening almost instinctively, delivering the final blow.
Garp withdrew his fist, looking at the God's Knight he had killed, but frowned deeply.
No.
They had not died by their hands.
It was that man, that man named Imu, who had reclaimed the power he had granted them at the critical moment.
Rayleigh harbored a similar suspicion.
Before him lay the horned-mask knight, also decapitated by a single stroke.
Rumble, rumble...
Continuous booming sounds echoed… the demon giants collapsing.
Their forms were rapidly shrinking, the horns on their heads and wings on their backs swiftly dissipating.
'What exactly was happening?'
Many held similar doubts.
...
Meanwhile, in the Heaven World on the other side, Naruto simply watched as the pitch-black figure, now half-human, half-dragon, lightly clenched his fist.
Black demonic fire rapidly coalesced in his palm before being absorbed into his body, further enhancing his already daunting pressure.
"So, this is your reward for those loyal to you? Death?"
Naruto had learned of the situation in the Underworld almost instantaneously through the [Tailed Beast Network].
A trace of mockery appeared on his face.
Frankly, he rarely despised anyone this much.
Across from him, the black giant, with four curved horns atop his head and three pairs of bat-like wings sprouting from his back, bared his teeth. There was not a shred of reluctance in his ringed eyes.
"Everything they had was granted by Mu. It is only natural for Mu to reclaim it."
"Mu can create as many servants of this kind as he wants now."
As he spoke, a pitch-black flame, like the abyss itself, emanated from Imu's body.
"Uzumaki Naruto, your appearance has indeed caused Mu some trouble."
"Hah? Just 'some trouble'?"
Imu showed no reaction to Naruto's mockery, continuing his rambling as if every qualified villain should.
"But you are ultimately not Joy Boy. Mu's reign will not end by your hand."
He spoke these words with absolute certainty, as if he had never doubted their validity.
After reclaiming all his power, Imu's usurped Loki body expanded by another third.
The black flames trailed behind him like a king's mantle, and a crown composed of thorns, demonic fire, and dragon horns appeared atop his head.
"Next, Mu will extinguish the candlelight of this era and then recreate everything."
"Like a god. Like in the past."