Retreat
Big Mom finally understood.
It was exactly as Kaido had said.
This ability to pause time left even her in shock.
She, too, had absolutely no way to counter it.
She had never heard of such an ability before.
An ability like this was simply invincible.
Yes, exactly—the invincible Emperor.
Ryōsuke did not activate his ability again; instead, he looked at Red Hair and spoke.
"Now that you understand the gap between us, you should know that putting up a stubborn resistance is utterly pointless."
"So, do you still want to fight to the death?"
If Red Hair continued to resist, he wouldn't hold back anymore. The next strike would completely strip him of his will to fight.
Just now, he had only given him a heavy punch.
It might hurt, but his body could still move.
Hearing the Emperor's words, Red Hair felt a sense of dread in his heart.
It couldn't be helped; this man could unleash terrifying attacks with a mere wave of his hand.
Before, he could reflect damage, and now he could even deliver heavy blows without anyone noticing.
If he truly wanted to kill him, he probably wouldn't be able to dodge it at all.
Thinking of this, his heart grew incredibly heavy.
But abandoning his comrades was absolutely not his style. There had to be a way out.
*'There's absolutely no way someone can be this invincible,'* he thought, activating his Observation Haki to its absolute limit.
*'I should be able to see how this man moves.'*
But the result made his expression darken completely.
*'I can't see it. I can't see anything at all.'*
*'There is nothing in the future.'*
Ryōsuke smiled.
*'Observation Haki?'*
*'It might work against others, but when I've paused time itself, what exactly can you see?'*
*'It seems this guy, Red Hair, still won't listen to reason.'*
The authority of time-stop was activated once again.
Everything in the surroundings came to a halt.
Ryōsuke slowly walked up to Red Hair.
He swiftly and fiercely delivered three punches.
Leaving three distinct indentations directly on his body.
Then, he let time flow again.
Once time resumed, Red Hair let out an even more agonizing howl before being sent flying, this time covering an even greater distance.
He tumbled across the ground several times, carving a long trench before finally coming to a stop.
Seeing this scene, both Kaido and Big Mom were stunned.
Once again, they hadn't seen how the Lord launched his attack.
This was definitely time-stopping.
This Lord was truly too terrifying.
Red Hair, who was on the same level as them, was completely powerless before this Emperor.
Naturally, they had no intention of underestimating Red Hair.
If it were them, they would be just as helpless.
Or rather, anyone else would be completely helpless too.
At this moment, Red Hair felt pain all over his body; his internal organs had suffered severe trauma.
He could no longer stand up.
This time, even with his Observation Haki activated, he still failed to block this incredibly bizarre attack.
He had run out of ways to deal with this Lord.
Ryōsuke slowly walked over to Red Hair.
"Do you still want to put up a pointless struggle?"
"Just obediently hand over Uta's ashes."
"I will resurrect her."
Red Hair felt somewhat conflicted at this moment.
He hadn't expected to be so powerless against this man. It was even more overwhelming than when he had faced great pirates back when he was weak.
However, despite his powerlessness, there was also a trace of pleasant surprise in his heart.
Perhaps this Lord really could resurrect Uta.
After all, someone with such miraculous abilities wouldn't need to lie to him about this.
Uta was a lingering pain in his heart. Just like Luffy, she held a very high place in his heart.
"Alright, I will give her ashes to you."
A smile finally appeared on Ryōsuke's face. This stubborn Red Hair was finally willing to hand them over.
"Wouldn't it have been better to do this sooner? Why suffer a severe beating for nothing?"
Red Hair felt helpless in his heart. When the man first mentioned resurrecting Uta, he hadn't believed it.
Anyone else would have felt it was an insult to their intelligence. How could anyone bring the dead back to life?
But things were different now. Having witnessed this Emperor's terrifying abilities, if he spoke of resurrection now, it might not be impossible.
Red Hair was also a bit worried about Luffy's crew now. No wonder Luffy, whom he had placed such high hopes on, had suffered a crushing defeat and been imprisoned.
Against such terrifying abilities, even if he truly awakened that Devil Fruit, there was basically no chance of winning.
This Emperor's power was simply too terrifying.
He asked with concern, "I wonder how the Emperor plans to deal with Luffy and his crew?"
Ryōsuke replied nonchalantly, "Naturally, I won't do anything to them. Once my wedding is over, I'll let them go. As long as they don't keep bothering me, I can't be bothered to deal with them."
He didn't use this to blackmail Red Hair into submitting.
After all, it was unlikely to succeed, and even if it did, Red Hair wouldn't be submitting to him sincerely.
Because the Red Hair Pirates had no delusions of conquering the world; they only wanted to sail freely on the seas.
As for the Straw Hat crew, it was naturally impossible to deal with them harshly. After all, he had already married Robin and Nami.
In the future, he would even marry Uta.
If he wiped out the Straw Hat crew, wouldn't that create a rift between him and his wives? He would never do that.
He wouldn't go out of his way to cause trouble for himself.
Hearing this, Red Hair's face relaxed somewhat.
With this, he was completely relieved. He had no intention of making an enemy of this Lord anymore—and of course, he had absolutely no ability to do so either.
"Understood, my Lord. I will have someone deliver Uta's ashes to you shortly."
Ryōsuke was very pleased to hear Red Hair's words.
"Good."
He directly dispelled the Rinnegan genjutsu.
The fallen members of the Red Hair Pirates woke up one by one, feeling a bit dizzy.
But remembering what had happened earlier, they immediately snapped awake, scrambled to their feet, and looked around.
However, they saw their boss, Red Hair, struck down on the ground, with even Gryphon tossed aside.
And standing beside him was the Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets. It went without saying what had happened.
Their boss had been defeated.
The Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets might even be about to harm Red Hair further.
They instantly became furious.
"What did you do to our boss? Step away!"
Several of the top officers surrounded them.
Ryōsuke didn't make a single move.
Meanwhile, Red Hair, lying on the ground, hurriedly spoke up.
"Don't attack."
This Lord's attacks were truly too terrifying. If they angered him...
...then severe injuries would be getting off lightly. They might even end up crippled.
He didn't want to see that happen.
Hearing Shanks's words, the top officers were all stunned.
Since Shanks had given the order, they naturally wouldn't attack.
In truth, they were also feeling a bit of lingering dread in their hearts.
What happened earlier was too terrifying. They had actually passed out without a sound, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Benn Beckman came to Red Hair's side and checked his condition. Such heavy injuries! His internal organs were definitely damaged, and there was even a possibility of internal bleeding. He needed emergency treatment, or there would be a risk of death.
Red Hair also knew his current state.
"Our operation ends here. Let's retreat."
For him, the two issues he had been worried about were no longer a problem. Luffy's life was not in danger.
And this time, there was an unexpected gain: Uta might be resurrected.