Unrivaled Power
Facing Red Hair's attack, Ryōsuke calmly reached out his hand.
"Almighty Push."
A terrifying repulsive force deflected Divine Departure, just as it had before.
Shanks's expression grew heavy.
*Here it comes again.*
He had no choice but to swing Gryphon once more to deflect his own attack.
This time, he was pushed back even further.
After all, it was his own full-force strike.
Fortunately, he was intimately familiar with his own attack and could use finesse to counter it.
He stared grimly at the Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets in the distance.
*This guy's abilities are truly bizarre. There's really nothing I can do against such a strange technique that reflects attacks.*
*But he dared to insult my daughter. I have to defeat him.*
The sniper Yasopp also gripped his rifle tightly, aimed at Ryōsuke, and fired a bullet with a loud bang.
He had watched Uta grow up.
To not even have peace in death.
This was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
Naturally, he didn't believe in Uta being resurrected or anything of the sort.
*Isn't that just like some crazy cult?*
Ryōsuke simply caught the bullet with a single hand.
It caused him a tiny sting of pain.
But such pain was completely negligible.
For someone like him, who was long accustomed to fatal agony, it wasn't even worth mentioning.
*It seems the Red Hair Pirates still won't tell me easily.*
He activated his Rinnegan genjutsu.
A terrifying wave instantly washed over the members of the Red Hair Pirates.
One by one, they lost consciousness, their faces going blank as they collapsed to the ground with heavy thuds.
Even the senior officers fell straight down.
And Benn Beckman was no exception.
In an illusory world, he opened his eyes to find himself completely alone.
His face was filled with confusion. *Impossible. What did that Emperor just do to me?*
*How did I suddenly end up in this place?*
*Where exactly is this?*
Whether it was real or an illusion, no matter what he did, he was completely powerless.
In the real world, Kaido and Big Mom were absolutely stunned by this sight.
*To take down an entire pirate crew in an instant... this man is far too terrifying.*
*Is he even human?*
*This is no longer human strength; this is the power of a god.*
They felt a surge of excitement. *His Majesty the Emperor is truly invincible.*
*It seems that if the Emperor takes action, the world is his for the taking.*
Seeing this, Red Hair completely lost his composure and felt genuine fear.
He quickly rushed to his crewmates' sides, checking their condition.
They were still breathing, which brought him a wave of relief.
However, his expression didn't completely relax, because no matter how hard he shook them, they wouldn't wake up. It was obvious they had lost consciousness.
He stood up and glared at Ryōsuke.
"What the hell did you do to them?"
He couldn't understand it at all.
Ryōsuke smiled and said, "Tell me Uta's whereabouts, and I will naturally let you leave safely."
Shanks seethed with anger. *How dare he threaten me.*
"You bastard."
Instantly, his Conqueror's Haki surged once more, even manifesting as red lightning that struck directly toward Ryōsuke.
Kaido and Big Mom were shocked. *His Conqueror's Haki has actually materialized into lightning!*
They couldn't compare to this, there was no doubt about that.
Red Hair's mastery over Conqueror's Haki had already surpassed theirs; at the very least, their Conqueror's Haki couldn't reach such a tangible state.
In the past, they would have found this highly troublesome, but this attack wasn't aimed at them.
Ryōsuke watched the tangible lightning strike of Conqueror's Haki.
He directly activated his Rinnegan genjutsu against Red Hair.
*Since he refuses to tell me nicely, I'll just lock them up. They'll recognize reality eventually.*
But to his surprise, his genjutsu attack seemed to have no effect.
The red lightning continued to strike toward him.
He was slightly surprised. *Can Conqueror's Haki actually resist my Rinnegan genjutsu?*
He instantly reached out his hand.
"Almighty Push."
An incredibly terrifying and overbearing repulsive force directly shattered the red lightning before him.
Shanks was shocked. *This invisible shockwave actually dispersed the Conqueror's Haki I condensed with all my strength. How did he do that?*
Ryōsuke, however, spoke with admiration at this moment.
"As expected of one of the Four Emperors of the sea. To think you could resist my genjutsu... you really are quite strong."
Truthfully, he considered genjutsu to be something that disrupted the mind, while Haki was a manifestation of powerful willpower. Perhaps resisting his Rinnegan genjutsu wasn't entirely impossible.
Of course, he felt that if the other party hadn't reacted in time, they still would have fallen victim to his Rinnegan genjutsu.
Kaido and Big Mom were also deep in thought. *So His Majesty's technique is called genjutsu?*
*It traps people in an illusion and makes them lose consciousness, which is why they collapsed.*
*But to think Conqueror's Haki can actually counter it.*
*If Red Hair can counter it, we could probably resist it too.*
However, they didn't think that just being able to resist it meant they could defeat this lord.
Shanks was alarmed.
*Is this his technique?*
*Genjutsu?*
*How am I supposed to deal with an enemy like this?*
*I can counter it with Conqueror's Haki, but I can't keep releasing it forever.*
*He really is tough to deal with.*
At this moment, his posture hunched slightly.
This was now a life-or-death moment for his pirate crew.
*Should I hand over Uta's ashes like this man said, or should I fight to the bitter end?*
After a moment of thought, his back straightened once more.
He would never abandon his comrades, nor would he betray Uta, especially after her death.
Such a humiliating thing could absolutely never happen.
Seeing him like this, Ryōsuke knew immediately. *He actually has the resolve to fight to the death.*
*It seems he still can't see the reality of the situation.*
*Luffy probably learned half of his stubbornness from this guy.*
*So fiercely protective of his comrades, and so incredibly stubborn.*
*Forget it. I might as well show him a power that cannot be matched.*
He activated his Authority of Time Stop.
The entire world came to a standstill; even the wind ceased to blow.
He slowly walked toward the standing Red Hair Shanks.
Then, he clenched his fist and delivered a heavy blow to his body.
The punch caused Shanks's stomach to cave in.
Then, time resumed its flow.
Shanks let out an agonized howl as his body was sent flying backward into the distance.
He crashed heavily onto the ground.
Unable to maintain his grip, Gryphon slipped from his hand and fell to the dirt.
The pain was so intense that he couldn't help but clutch his stomach.
*What in the world just happened?*
He only felt that the man before him had instantly appeared right in front of his face.
Big Mom was equally horrified.
Even with her Observation Haki activated, she couldn't perceive any trajectory of movement at all.
*This is impossible. No matter how godly his speed, I should have been able to see at least a blur.*
*If that wasn't teleportation, then it was time stopping.*
"Kaido, is this His Majesty's time-stopping ability?"
Kaido looked genuinely afraid.
"That's right, that's the move. He suddenly appears right in front of you, and even time itself is stopped."
"With an ability like that, His Majesty is inherently invincible."
"You called me a coward, but faced with a power like this, what could I possibly do?"