One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 694: Im's Evaluation!

Deep within the Leviathan's maw, the dark vortex completed its final compression.

The fist-sized black sphere continued to collapse inward. It contracted. And contracted again. Until it was reduced to a tiny, black speck of light the size of a fingertip. The speck of light had no mass, yet it was heavier than the entire red earth continent. Spiderweb-like black cracks stretched outward from the edge of the speck of light, tearing the surrounding air into fragments.

Gravity surged.

Rocks shattered and flew through the air from the icy plains. Broken weapons fell from the corpses' hands, slowly rising into the sky. The remains of the blackwater monster, weightless, twisted and plummeted towards its gaping maw. Even the ice itself cracked, large chunks of solid ice being uprooted and swirling into the darkness.

Luffy knelt down.

His fingers gripped the hilt of the original divine weapon tightly. His knuckles turned white. The bones cracked. The blade was embedded diagonally in the ice, becoming his only anchor. Gravity tore at his body. Fragments of his trench coat and bloodstains tore from the hem, flying towards the gaping maw. He gritted his teeth, pressing all his weight onto the sword to avoid being swallowed by this irresistible force.

He tried it.

Luffy closed his eyes, desperately trying to activate the almost extinguished embers deep within his chest. Nika White Flame. Even just a wisp would do. As long as it could light up, it could sustain his protective aura. Even for just a second.

The only response coming from my chest was a tearing sound.

A sharp pain exploded in his heart. It wasn't ordinary pain; it was the screaming sensation of every vein in his body as his life force was forcibly drained. Nika's form was completely exhausted. There was nothing left in his body to burn.

Gravity tore open the wound on his arm. The blood droplet, barely leaving his skin, arced through the air in a crimson arc, hurtling towards Leviathan's gaping maw. Luffy watched his blood trace a bizarre path through the air, his pupils contracting slightly.

The first-generation divine weapon emitted a buzzing sound.

A white light shone from the sword. The light was faint, far less dazzling than before. The white light condensed into a thin protective shield around Luffy, barely shielding him from the most deadly gravitational pull. But Luffy could clearly see that the edges of the shield were being gnawed away inch by inch by the dark gravity. Black spots appeared on the white light, like cloth being eaten away by termites.

This protective layer won't last long.

10,000 meters above the ground.

Chen Ye hovered beneath the distorted, dark sky. His eyes were closed. His Observation Haki, like an invisible net, covered the entire battlefield. He locked onto the dark point of light at the center of Leviathan's maw.

That wasn't an ordinary swallowing ray.

Chen Ye made a judgment in his mind. He had seen devouring. He had seen annihilation. He had seen destructive power capable of leveling an island. But this point of light before him was different. It had been compressed to its limit. All darkness, laws, and gravity had been compressed into a point that was almost mathematically significant. Once released, it would not be an explosion, not an impact, but pure elimination. The target hit would be completely wiped out on a physical level.

If this attack hits Luffy, the protective white light of the first-generation divine weapon won't be enough to stop it. The sword will shatter. He will perish. Not even ashes will remain.

Chen Ye raised his right arm slightly.

Dark golden, domineering patterns emerged from beneath the skin. They spread along blood vessels and muscle fibers, flowing slowly like living things. Chen Ye didn't release his power; instead, he compressed it. He channeled strands of dark golden domineering energy into every inch of the muscles of his right arm, waiting for that window of opportunity.

He waited a long time.

He'd been waiting since Luffy was still suppressing Im. He'd been waiting since Nika's power began to wane. He'd been waiting even after Im revealed his demonic trump card. Chen Ye needed an opening. The instant his defenses breached when Im unleashed his full power in a devastating attack.

Now, this flaw is about to appear.

But he didn't make a move.

Because it's not enough.

Leviathan's massive body crouched forward. Its four claws dug deep into the ice, and the row of ferocious bony fins on its back emitted a piercing metallic clang as they gathered energy. Dark golden patterns began to flow in the opposite direction along its scales. The patterns surged forward from the beast's tail, tracing eerie paths across the scales against the normal flow.

Three breaths.

The patterns flowed in the opposite direction for a full three breaths before returning to their original positions.

Chen Ye opened his eyes slightly.

He saw it.

This detail did not escape his perception. The instant the patterns reversed their flow, a change occurred on Leviathan's surface. It wasn't a simple energy-gathering stance, but a functional switch. Chen Ye etched this detail into his mind, remaining still for the moment, and continued to compress the dark gold aura into his right arm.

It's not the right time yet.

The dark light should erupt immediately. Leviathan's energy reserves have reached a critical point. The arc of its gaping maw, the frequency of its bony fin vibrations, the flow rate of the dark gold patterns on its scales—all the data points to the same conclusion—it should fire.

But it stopped.

Leviathan's blood-red giant eye slowly turned. It did not look at Chen Ye in the sky. It did not look at the retreating allied forces. It did not look at the powerful figures in the distance trying to charge forward.

It was looking at Luffy.

Something changed in those vertical pupils. It wasn't a stronger killing intent, nor a deeper bloodlust. It was a scrutiny. A scrutiny that bordered on rational.

The behemoth's instincts were suppressed.

The demonized Im's will suppressed Leviathan's primal urge to immediately destroy its prey. At the last moment, it regained control.

The sound came from deep within the Leviathan's maw.

It wasn't a roar. It wasn't a howl. It was human language. Every word seemed to have been dragged up from the bottom of an abyss, carrying eight hundred years of lingering illness and coldness.

"Straw Hat Boy."

The sound wasn't loud, yet it pierced through all the noise on the battlefield. It pierced through the whistling of gravity, the rumbling of bone fins, and the deafening roar of shattering ice.

The retreating coalition soldiers stopped in their tracks.

Shanks' sword was pressing against Shamrock's blade when he suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. He looked away from his opponent's face and turned to the center of the battlefield.

"I have to admit it."

Im's voice was squeezed out of the behemoth's throat. Each word carried a heavy, extremely reluctant tone.

"You're no worse than Joy Boy."

The ice field was silent for half a second.

Everyone heard those words. The giant warriors who were carrying the wounded to safety froze in place. Marco's blue flames paused for a moment in mid-air. Beckman's finger on the trigger didn't loosen, but his pupils contracted.

Joy Boy.

That name from eight hundred years ago. That man who once challenged the World Government and pushed the power of Nika to its peak. That being whom even Im had to take seriously.

Im put Luffy and that name in the same sentence.

"You surprise me even more than he did," Im continued, his voice now tinged with coldness. "Joyboy possesses the blood of the ancient giants. His body was born to bear the power of the sun god. His bones, his meridians, his vitality—all far surpass those of ordinary people."

Luffy knelt on the ice, the hilt of his sword creaking under his grip.

"And you didn't."

Im's tone was like stating a fact. There was no sarcasm, no contempt. Just a pure, cold assessment.

"You don't have ancient blood. Your body is human-sized. Your bones can break, your meridians can crack, and your lifespan has its limits. Yet you still forced me to this point."

Leviathan's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly.

"You used Nika's awakening to bridge the gap in bloodlines. You used that sword to overcome the limits of your physical body. Your will..."

Imton slapped his hand.

"It does indeed make me wary."

These three words were like three nails, driven into the hearts of every strong person present.

Rocks stopped wielding his black flame sword. Whitebeard's fingers tightened on the hilt of Murakumogiri. Sabo's fists clenched white. They were all thinking the same thing—the god who had ruled the world for eight hundred years had just said "fear." Not contempt, not mockery. It was fear.

This means Luffy did it.

A human without the blessing of ancient bloodlines, through his own awakening and a sword, instilled genuine fear in the King of the World.

But the next step after fear is not to run away.

It was slaughter.

Im's voice suddenly turned cold. The temperature had plummeted from minus forty degrees to absolute zero.

"But you will eventually die by my hand."

With each word uttered, the dark light spot in the giant mouth expanded by one circle.

The spot of light expanded from the size of a knuckle to the size of a fist. Spiderweb-like cracks spread from the air to the ice surface. Black cracks spread wildly across the ice, like some incurable plague.

Several naval survivors who couldn't evacuate in time lay sprawled on the ice. They had been dragged dozens of meters by gravity, their fingernails digging into the ice cracks as they struggled desperately. A black fissure swept past beneath their feet.

There were no screams.

There was no blood.

There was nothing there.

The instant the rift swept across, the bodies of several marines instantly disintegrated into black ash. The ash didn't even have time to disperse before being sucked into the giant maw by the point of light. Their very existence was erased.

Luffy saw this scene.

He raised his head.

The golden light on its body had completely vanished. Not a single trace remained. Nika's power was utterly gone. Standing before Leviathan now was only Monkey D. Luffy. A human being. A body of flesh and blood.

He wanted to elevate the status of the original divine weapon.

My arms are weak.

Muscle fibers snapped under the force of gravity, and bones groaned under the strain. Luffy gritted his teeth, forcing his already broken body forward with sheer willpower. The sword tip left the ice. It trembled violently, like a leaf in a storm.

The sword tip was pointed at Leviathan's eyes.

Luffy knew he couldn't stop them.

He knew perfectly well. Without Nika's blessing, without Conqueror's Haki, without golden light protecting him, this sword strike wouldn't even cut through a single scale of Leviathan's armor. If that dark point of light were to be unleashed, he and the original divine weapon would both be obliterated.

But he did not back down.

Luffy positioned himself between the Allied Forces' retreat route and Leviathan. Behind him were his comrades who were also evacuating. It was Sabo. It was Marco. It was Whitebeard and Rocks. It was those who were still alive.

Before him lay the darkness of destruction.

Luffy chose to stand in front.

"Guralalalalala!"

The white-bearded man's laughter exploded.

The old man wielded the Murakumogiri, pouring all his power into a single strike. The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit transformed into a visible shockwave, blasting towards the gravitational field surrounding Luffy. The ice shattered before the shockwave, the earth's energy attempting to shake off the all-consuming gravity.

Lockes did not speak.

His black flame longsword drew an arc. The pitch-black slash, carrying an all-consuming light, struck towards Leviathan's side of the neck. This strike was enough to cleave an island in two.

Blue flames flashed past the flank.

Marco transformed into a phoenix, leaving a long trail of blue flames as he charged towards Luffy. His target wasn't Leviathan, but Luffy. He was going to pull that idiot back from the brink of death.

The fiery fist blazed.

Sabo's right arm burst into flames. Instead of charging at Luffy, he positioned himself between Luffy and the remnants of the God Knights. Anyone trying to sneak up on Luffy from behind would have to step over his fiery fist first.

Four forces are activated simultaneously.

But none of them reached their destination.

When the white-bearded man's vibrational waves entered the gravitational field, they were like a stone thrown into a swamp. The ripples were slowed down, stretched, and peeled away layer by layer. The vibrational power was swallowed up by the dark gravity, leaving not even a ripple.

Locus's black flame slash struck Leviathan's neck. The dark gold patterns on the scales glowed for a moment. The patterns absorbed most of the slash, leaving only a faint scorch mark on the scales.

Marco's blue flame wings were held back by gravity. He flapped his wings desperately, blue feathers falling off one by one, turning into specks of light and dissipating. He was still dozens of meters away from Luffy. Every meter he moved forward required ten times his usual strength.

Sabo's fire fist was affected by the edge of gravity, the flames were pulled off course, and the fist deviated from its direction.

Everyone is working desperately.

It was too late for anyone.

The first-generation divine weapon emitted a piercing sword cry.

That wasn't ordinary metallic vibration. Something was roaring inside the sword. A sudden burst of white light erupted, and the sword trembled violently, trying to break free from Luffy's grasp.

Eight hundred years.

The hatred between this sword and Leviathan spanned eight hundred years. It waited eight hundred years to face this nemesis. Now, Leviathan was right before it, and every inch of the original divine weapon's metal roared, ready to charge forward.

The white light detached from Luffy's body.

The sword charged toward Leviathan on its own. It wanted no master. It wanted no control. It only wanted revenge.

Luffy's fingers tightened.

His knuckles cracked. His fingernails dug into the leather of the sword hilt. Blood seeped from his palms and trickled down the hilt.

He did not let go.

"Don't be impulsive." Luffy's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular. He was talking to his sword.

he knows.

If he loosens his grip, the original divine weapon will charge towards that point of light alone. Then it will be swallowed up. Eight hundred years of waiting, eight hundred years of hatred, will vanish before that dark point of light. A divine weapon without a controller is merely powerful scrap metal. It cannot harm Leviathan.

Luffy used his last bit of strength to press the sword hilt down.

"Let's do it together."

The trembling of the original divine weapon subsided. The white light returned to the sword. It was still ringing, but no longer trying to break free.

Luffy stared at the ever-expanding dark dot of light, a slight smile playing on his lips. It wasn't a smile. It was the final expression of a dying man.

Im saw the rescue efforts.

I saw Whitebeard's futile shockwave. I saw Rocks' black flame slash being swallowed up. I saw Marco's blue flame figure trapped halfway. I saw Sabo's deflected fire fist.

And Luffy.

Kneeling on the ice, his flesh and blood mangled, he held tightly to the sword that was about to kill him, pointing the tip of the sword at the eyes of the King of the World.

Im smiled.

A low, cold laugh emerged from the depths of the gaping maw. The laugh wasn't loud, but it was more suffocating than any roar.

Leviathan's massive maw slowly opened to its maximum size.

The jawbone joint made a metallic grinding sound. Dark gold patterns surged wildly on the inner wall of the mouth. The dark spot of light expanded from the size of a fist to the size of a human figure. It stopped expanding.

It begins to stretch.

The point of light extended forward, coalescing into a straight line. A pure, jet-black straight line, devoid of any impurities. That was the final form before the devastating attack erupted.

The sounds on the ice field disappeared.

It wasn't silence. It was being torn apart by gravity. Sound waves couldn't travel within the range of the dark, glowing points. Everyone's mouths were moving, but no sound could be uttered.

Cracks appeared in the white light shield surrounding Luffy.

It's not a gap at the edge. It's the first crack that originates from within, running the entire length of the shield. The crack extends from the top to the bottom of the shield, like the mark of a lightning bolt.

The white cracks are widening.

The shield is about to shatter.

The dark spots of light have solidified into a straight line.

next moment.

That is the end.