Genos's eyes went wide, pure terror shining in his reptilian gaze.
"Impossible! What kind of chains are these? My bite force is strong enough to crush steel war chariots!"
He strained with all his might, but could not sink his teeth in even a single inch.
The chains bound his entire body as if they were laws of nature themselves. Far from breaking free, he could barely even twitch a muscle.
"Save your struggles. Do you really think you can escape the Chains of Heaven?"
Vladimir chuckled softly. "These are divine treasures governed by the laws of reality. Even as projections, ten of you combined could not break free — especially since you rely on a Devil Fruit power."
Against raw physical strength alone, perhaps even Kaido might have managed to make a slight effort to resist. But this giant crocodile was nothing more than a beast of great size.
Of course, once he reached Four-Star or even Five-Star rank, the Chains of Heaven — even as projections — would become strong enough to restrain even Kaido himself.
As his rank rose, the power of his projected treasures would strengthen as well. At Five-Star, while they might still not equal the true originals, the difference would be almost negligible.
"Since you have no intention of handing them over willingly, I shall simply take them by force."
Vladimir flipped his right hand over, and golden light flared forth. A long crimson sword materialized in his grip.
It was unlike any ordinary blade — it had no sharpened edge at all. Its shape was cylindrical, covered in intricate red patterns that slowly began to rotate the moment it appeared.
"This blade is called Ea — The Sword That Cleaves and Separates! Perfect timing, for I too wish to test its true power."
Vladimir grinned, looking down upon all of them. "Enuma Elish — The Star That Divides Heaven and Earth! Behold the very form the world took at the dawn of chaos!"
The words had barely left his lips when he brought the sword sweeping downward toward the ground.
In an instant, a wave of overwhelming magical energy rippled outward, covering nearly the entire Sabaody Archipelago in its range.
"W-What... what is this?!"
Yiba's face went pale, his heart pounding with dread. His worst premonition had just become reality.
The island itself began to crack open, and a vast, bottomless chasm tore into existence out of nothingness.
It was as if an unstoppable force — as if a pair of colossal hands — had seized the island and ripped it cleanly in two.
The pirates stood frozen in disbelief, staring up into the sky.
Above, dark clouds swirled and space itself began to crumble.
Fragments of reality shattered like glass, revealing a terrifying, endless void of darkness behind the veil of the world.
"W-What on earth is happening?!" someone screamed in panic.
But the cry had barely left his throat when the ground beneath his feet dissolved away, sending him tumbling down into the infinite abyss below.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Far out across the sea, a massive ring-shaped trench formed around the archipelago, as if the very space where the island stood had been severed from the rest of the world.
Heaven and earth were falling apart. Under the power of Ea, everything was being returned to the primal state of existence — pure chaos.
There was no order, no defined space, no fixed time, and all the natural laws of creation had ceased to function.
If a Logia-type user had been present, they would have been horrified to find they could no longer control or merge with their elemental forms.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The sound of the island tearing itself apart shook everyone on Sabaody.
In that moment, every single person, regardless of faction or strength, raised their eyes toward the skies above District 2.
There, the very concept of "sky" no longer existed. In its place was the sight of a collapsing world, with shattered space revealing swirling, unpredictable currents of time and dimension.
"Who... who could possibly do this?!"
"Is it Whitebeard? No! Not even he possesses such terrifying might!!"
"Is this truly the end of the world...?"
Countless voices whispered in stunned disbelief.
Only then did the aftershock of Ea's power begin to spread outward in full.
The earth split asunder and the island crumbled. The shockwave of Ea's strike continued to surge outward.
Even Vladimir, who had expected great power, found himself astonished by the scale of destruction he had unleashed.
Yet that surprise was quickly followed by a wave of sudden exhaustion washing over him.
It felt as though he had jumped up too fast while suffering from anemia, leaving his head spinning and lightheaded.
"Incredible power..."
Vladimir swiftly cut off the flow of energy and sensed his reserves. "Just one single blow consumed nearly two-thirds of my magical power."
True to its overwhelming might, the cost of wielding Ea was terrifyingly high.
Thankfully, his Three-Star Gilgamesh form held immense energy. Otherwise, a single strike would have drained him completely dry.
From that moment onward, Vladimir made up his mind — such devastating techniques were best saved only for the most critical situations. Their destructive range was simply too great.
Taking a steadying breath, he dismissed Ea and looked ahead.
Before him stretched an endless, fathomless gorge. The island had been split into two halves.
The surrounding sea should have rushed in to fill the void, yet some invisible force repelled the water, not allowing a single drop to enter.
Gasp... huff... gasp...
Yiba clung trembling to a jagged ledge along the abyss, his face drained of all color as he struggled to catch his breath.
It was the only thing that had kept him from falling. Everyone else — his crewmates, his officers, and even his trusted giant beast Genos — had been swallowed by the chasm, their fates unknown.
"Y-You... just who are you?!" He twisted his head upward, staring at Vladimir standing above, his voice thick with despair.
What kind of misfortune had he stumbled into?
Out of nowhere appeared a being far more fearsome than Whitebeard, who had wiped out his entire crew with a single strike.
"Mortal... you are still a hundred years too early to deserve knowing my true name."
Vladimir stepped forward to stand at the very edge of the abyss, gazing down into the depths.
"I shall grant you one final chance to save your life — hand over your Devil Fruits."
"Devil Fruits?!"
With death staring him in the face, Yiba's mind suddenly cleared. Hearing those words again, his expression shifted into one of sudden realization.
"You... you are from Phantom!"
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