Chapter 296: The Four Brothers Assemble

Drifting gently through the open air, Im landed smoothly upon a heap of rubble, preserving her signature demeanor of complete, aloof detachment.

To her estimation, reaching a tier like Dragon's represented the absolute pinnacle achievable within this sea—a mortal holding the title of the world's strongest.

Yet that peak still lagged infinitely behind her own realm—a logical reality, considering her authority derived from forces far transcending basic Devil Fruit mastery.

"The hour has arrived. Today, you and your Revolutionary Army shall be buried together beneath the Holy Land of Mary Geoise," Im stated coolly, extending a solitary palm as a dense mass of black fog erupted.

The dark projectile shot toward Dragon at mind-boggling speed.

Just as the black fog was on the verge of consuming his position, Dragon vanished into thin air, re-emerging directly at Im's flank.

"We... are NOT dying here today!" Dragon bellowed, channeling every drop of his remaining strength into a devastating, energy-infused whip-kick aimed straight for her frame.

Im's eyes flickered, raising a single arm to absorb the strike.

KABOOM!

The catastrophic kinetic shockwave pulverized everything in the immediate radius, yet Im stood completely unruffled—the offensive had clearly inflicted zero physical trauma.

Reaching out with lightning reflexes, Im clamped her fingers around Dragon's ankle, flexing her grip until his leg bones shattered with a sickening crunch.

Yanking him inward, she delivered a brutal kick. Im's body was as impenetrable as indestructible steel, every blow packing terrifying, lethal force.

Within a few exchanges, crimson blood was weeping continuously from Dragon's lips. For the first time since he founded the Revolutionary Army, he had sustained physical trauma of this catastrophic magnitude.

"It's over!" Im's eyes narrowed into a cold, lethal gaze. Pressing her four fingers tightly together like an unsheathed blade, she thrust her hand straight through Dragon's chest.

Purtch!

Fresh blood sprayed across the stone.

The leader of the Revolutionary Army—had fallen!

Glancing down at Dragon's closed eyes, Im casually flicked her arm to toss his corpse aside.

"Hm?" Yet to her surprise, no matter how much force she exerted, Dragon's frame remained firmly anchored—an anomaly that caused her eyes to widen slightly.

ROAR... KABOOM!

At that exact microsecond, a blinding bolt of divine thunder crashed straight down from the heavens, striking the precise coordinate where Im stood.

"WHAT?!"

Im was genuinely shaken. Before she could execute an evasion maneuver, the supposedly deceased Dragon suddenly snapped his eyes open, forcing the surrounding atmospheric currents to compress at absolute density.

He locked her mobility in place.

"The legendary Im..." Dragon rasped out.

Im's eyes snapped wide in shock.

"Let me see what manner of entity you truly are!" Dragon roared at the top of his lungs, summoning a sudden, raging hurricane that blasted the face-obscuring hood clear off her head.

Revealed beneath the dark fabric was an exquisitely sculpted, elf-like face. Dragon's pupils contracted subtly—he had never anticipated that the supreme ruler, Im, was actually a woman!

Yet Im maintained absolute zero facial expression. In the very next microsecond, the roaring celestial thunder engulfed both of their frames completely.

KABOOM!

The surrounding bedrock disintegrated, the radius of destruction expanding rapidly until a colossal crater—stretching hundreds of meters wide—was carved into the earth.

A detonation of this scale naturally sent shockwaves across the entire primary plaza. Sabo's brows knit tightly together in deep anxiety; he was completely blind to Dragon's situation, a heavy knot of dread tightening in his chest.

Yet the two masked figures before him maintained a relentless, suffocating assault, refusing to grant him a microsecond of breathing room.

Dragon... I'm begging you, you have to survive this! The Revolutionary Army cannot lose you, and Luffy cannot lose his father! Sabo prayed fiercely in his heart.

He had to settle his line with absolute speed!

As the blinding light receded, the landscape cleared, laying bare a bottomless, abyssal crater that struck primitive dread into the heart of any observer.

Suddenly, a silhouette leaped smoothly out from the depths of the pit. Im dusted off her garments, a subtle flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.

She hadn't calculated that Dragon would display such suicidal resolve to secure a opening, inviting that divine lightning strike to swallow both of them whole.

Given his prior life-threatening injuries, absorbing the full brunt of that celestial thunder meant his vital signatures had to be hovering at absolute rock-bottom.

"Seeing you suffer like this, I shall grant you a merciful release," Im murmured softly, raising a single hand as pitch-black energy condensed into a high-density laser beam.

The concentrated laser shot straight toward the floor of the crater, locked directly on Dragon's skull.

Suddenly, a shadow materialized beside Dragon, scooping up his broken frame and vanishing from the impact zone.

"WHO IS THAT?!" Im was caught completely off guard—she hadn't registered a single trace of an intruder nearby!

In the next microsecond, two figures materialized along the flat stone above.

"It's you?! Former Seven Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma!" Im noted in genuine astonishment. Intelligence reports delivered to her had verified that "Tyrant" Kuma had been completely stripped of his human consciousness, converted into a cold, unfeeling weapon of war.

"Kuma... it's really you..." Dragon strained to open his eyes, staring at his rescuer in profound disbelief.

He knew Kuma's secret contract intimately; when Kuma had first proposed submitting to Vegapunk's ultimate modification, Dragon had fought fiercely against it.

Yet Kuma's resolve had been absolute, forcing Dragon to yield.

To see Kuma standing before him today with his mind fully restored—saving his life in his hour of absolute crisis—left Dragon utterly stunned.

"Did... did you avoid losing your humanity completely...?"

"Dragon, I'll explain the details later. Do not speak right now," Kuma urged gently. Kuma had indeed reclaimed his complete consciousness, but Dragon's physical condition was terrifyingly critical—Kuma couldn't even guarantee whether Dragon could survive the next few minutes.

A massive hole was gaping through his chest, and his once-pristine cloak had been reduced to blood-soaked tatters. Kuma had never seen Dragon in a state this pathetic.

From the day they met, Dragon had always been the most unflappable, formidable titan on any field. Neither Marine Admirals nor top-tier pirates had ever managed to push him to his limits, yet here he was, clinging to his last thread of life.

Wait!

That miracle pill!

If we have that pill, Dragon can still be saved!

Kuma suddenly recalled the Senzu Beans Drake had mentioned earlier—if they had one right now, it could instantly reverse Dragon's fatal trauma!

I have to get Dragon out of here first!

Kuma's mind raced as he calculated escape vectors. The obliterated landscape around them spoke volumes—the enemy before them was overwhelmingly, impossibly strong!

Even Dragon had been crushed; he stood absolute zero chance in direct combat. To preserve Dragon's life, he had to warp him off this field immediately.

Yet while Kuma was formulating a plan, Im grew impatient and initiated a high-speed blitz. Fast! Way too fast!

Before Kuma could execute a defensive posture, Im materialized directly before his chest, thrusting two fingers forward as a beam of pure laser energy punched clean through Kuma's right shoulder.

A violent spray of electrical sparks showered the air.

Given his cyborg frame, the localized trauma triggered a massive electrical short-circuit throughout his body.

NOT GOOD!

Abandoning all hesitation, Kuma reached out with his left hand, aiming a palm-strike directly at Dragon—using his Paw-Paw Fruit powers to instantly propel Dragon off the battlefield!

Even if he didn't know Drake's exact coordinates, getting Dragon away from this monster took absolute priority!

He was placing everything on a desperate gamble.

Yet right before his paw could make physical contact with Dragon, a slender, alabaster hand clamped firmly around his wrist, halting his momentum dead.

"WHAT?!" Kuma's heart dropped into an abyss of total dread. He couldn't comprehend how Im's movement speed could be this absolute!

It's over...!

Dragon...!

"You intended to use your displacement ability to send him away, didn't you? Unfortunately, your window has officially closed. Both of you die right here today!" Im declared coldly.

Kuma's warping capability posed a distinct strategic threat to her overarching campaign.

Just as total despair threatened to overwhelm Kuma's mind, a calm, familiar voice suddenly echoed across the plateau:

"Oh? Is that so? But I have a feeling neither of them is dying today. You, on the other hand... are looking at a very dangerous situation!"

"IT'S YOU!" Kuma turned his head frantically, his face instantly lighting up with immense shock and relief.

The individual stepping onto the field was none other than Drake!

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

In the very next microsecond, three fiery silhouettes rocketed into the sky, landing heavily alongside him—Ace, Sabo, and Luffy!

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Drake, the Legendary Four Brothers were fully assembled on the same battlefield for the absolute first time in two long years!