Chapter 315: Emergence of the Demon Warder

Besides, was that even the main issue here?

Leaving aside the fact that it had inexplicably healed, what was with that purple light? None of them found it appealing in the slightest.

If anything, it felt downright eerie.

They had felt an intense, lethal sense of crisis radiating from Zoro's frame. Fortunately, it vanished before long as the purple gleam lingering in his eye gradually dispersed.

"Zoro, your eye was glowing! That was so cool!" Chopper marveled, his own eyes sparkling with wonder.

"It disappeared..."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro muttered, utterly bewildered.

"Ah, nothing, nothing at all..." Nami immediately lunged forward and clamped her hands over Chopper's mouth, nearly suffocating the little reindeer on the spot.

"By the way, Zoro, do you feel anything... strange with your body?" she asked, casually shifting Chopper behind her back while keeping his mouth and nose sealed shut.

No matter how hard Chopper flailed and struggled, he couldn't break free.

"Anything strange?" Zoro's cheek twitched. "What the hell are you babbling about? What could possibly be wrong with me?"

"Nothing, nothing..." Nami waved her free hand frantically.

Zoro cast a suspicious glance over the Straw Hats' bizarre expressions, feeling that something was definitely off. "Huh?"

Yet after staring for a good while, he couldn't spot a single clue.

Just then, Sanji sauntered over with his hands shoved in his pockets, his posture reeking of swagger. Looking at Zoro with pure disdain, he sneered, "Did you get possessed by some kind of death god, you moss-head?"

"HAH?!" Zoro's temper flared instantly. Glaring at the cook who stood inches from his face, he growled, "What nonsense are you spewing? Keep talking and I'll slice you in half!"

Sanji leaned in even closer, scrutinizing Zoro from top to bottom before tapping a finger against the swordsman's head. Turning toward the navigator, he said, "Nami-san, this idiot is definitely Zoro, no doubt about it."

"Is that so? Thank goodness." Nami let out a long sigh of relief.

"WHAT?!" Zoro's eyes bulged in fury. Were they actually doubting his identity?!

"Guard Point!"

On the verge of suffocating, Chopper instantly expanded into a giant sphere of fluffy fur, popping right out of Nami's grip.

Tasting the sweet outdoor air once more, Chopper gasped wildly for breath. "I thought I was a goner..."

"Ah, sorry about that, Chopper!"

Nami pressed her palms together, hastily apologizing.

"Well, look at that—it really is just Zoro." The Straw Hats let out a collective sigh of relief.

Zoro's earlier appearance had genuinely frightened them. But what was that phenomenon just now?

Right—it must have been some new technique Zoro had unleashed during the fight.

It had to be.

"Is that... Roronoa Zoro?!" On the other side of the plaza, Crocodile stared in utter disbelief. The aura radiating from Zoro just moments ago had sent a lethal chill down his spine.

Since when had the crew members under Straw Hat's command become so terrifyingly strong?

When Crocodile looked back over, Zoro and Sanji were already brawling like street thugs, exchanging slashes and kicks in a chaotic brawl.

"Fine by me! My body went through some changes during the fight too—let's see if I can snap your swords in half!"

Crocodile: "..."

"He's gotten stronger again." Beside Crocodile, Daz Bonez—former Officer Agent Mr. 1—offered a self-deprecating smirk amid his shock.

He had thought his own progress would close the gap between them.

Now, he could barely even see the man's back. Looking back, ever since his defeat in Alabasta, he had been chasing that silhouette endlessly.

Yet not only had he failed to catch up, but even the man's shadow was now fading beyond the horizon.

"Give it up. He's no longer someone you can hope to surpass," Crocodile said, exhaling a long plume of smoke as fragrant cigar rings drifted into the sky.

To defeat that golden-masked operative required combat strength easily comparable to that of a Navy Admiral!

If Daz continued to treat him as a benchmark, he would spend the rest of his life chasing an impossible dream.

"I know," Daz said, shaking his head. He had known that truth all along.

Ever since that decisive duel, he knew he would never surpass that man.

He merely wanted to see how far the man who broke through his own limits mid-battle could truly go!

Suddenly, a dead silence fell over the tens of thousands gathered below. The black fog churning in the sky grew increasingly dense, quickly reaching an apocalyptic concentration.

The underside of the dark mist descended until it hung directly above the heads of Drake and his brothers. Looking up from such close range, the fighters below felt as insignificant as grains of sand before a roaring ocean.

"The Legendary Four Brothers... will they be alright?" someone gulped nervously.

The black fog resembled a colossal dome sealing the entire Holy Land beneath its shadow.

They couldn't even see the outer edge; the fog's perimeter clearly extended far beyond the confines of Mary Geoise!

Indeed, down below the Red Line, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and the newly arrived Navy reinforcements were similarly greeted by a sky plunged into pitch-black darkness.

"What's happening?! Why did the sky suddenly turn pitch black?!" Bartolomeo gaped at the heavens, his eyes wide in shock. The others wore equally grave expressions.

Such a sudden, unnatural anomaly boded nothing good.

"Hey! You with the rooster crest! Is Luffy truly up there?" a cold, commanding voice called out.

Former Warlord of the Sea, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, stepped atop a massive boulder, revealing her long, porcelain-white legs.

Not long ago, a fresh wave of Marine reinforcements had arrived at the base of the plateau, swelling their combined ranks to nearly one hundred thousand.

Hancock had emerged from one of those very warships.

She wasn't the only former Warlord present—Buggy the Clown was here as well!

Up in the Holy Land, behind a shattered wall near the Celestial Dragons' quarters, Buggy poked his head out to survey the area.

Suddenly spinning around, he flashed a peace sign toward a camera and grinned broadly, displaying a row of pristine white teeth.

"Yeah, Luffy-senpai is right above us on the Red Line, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise!" Bartolomeo crossed his fingers defensively, wary of letting them pass.

After all, she had arrived alongside the Navy.

"You idiot! Why did you tell her?!" Cavendish shouted, looking utterly defeated.

With pig-headed allies like this...

"Koby, let's move!"

Without another word, Hancock took a long stride and blurred into high-speed motion, materializing directly above Bartolomeo's head in an instant.

"Barrier!" Bartolomeo hastily tightened his defense. The strength of a former Warlord was not to be underestimated.

Even if she was an absolute goddess!

Planting her heel lightly atop the invisible barrier, Hancock vaulted upward, leaping directly toward the upper heights of the Red Line.

"Wait, don't go so fast!" Koby yelled, rushing to keep pace behind her.

Before long, both figures vanished from view.

Cavendish erupted in fury. "Look at what you've done! If they turn out to be enemies, Straw Hat and the others will be—"

"No, no, no..." Bartolomeo rested a hand on his hip and wagged an index finger smugly. "Pirate Empress Boa Hancock... she happens to be Luffy-senpai's... hehehe..."

"HUH?!"

High above, countless black filaments abruptly transformed into radiant beams of energy, raining down like a localized laser bombardment. The spectacle was a terrifying sight that no one present would ever forget.

While the army below stood frozen in place, Drake and his three brothers stepped forward in unison, each preparing their signature techniques.

[Quick! Deploy the Demon Warder right now and shift it into combat mode!]

What?

Drake was momentarily caught off guard.

[Stop wasting time! You want to save everyone down there, don't you? Don't hold anything back! The Demon Warder's defensive energy barrier can expand across a massive radius—there's no better countermeasure than this!]

Hearing this, Drake's eyes lit up instantly. He had been worried about stray beams slipping past their line.

With such a reliable method at his disposal, what was there left to fear?

"Demon Warder! Combat Mode!"

With a sudden warp of space, the Demon Warder materialized high above the Holy Land. Drake phased inside the vessel in a flash.

"Full-Spectrum Energy Barrier: Engage!"

In an instant, resonant energy pulses radiated outward from the Demon Warder, expanding across the entire sky. A gargantuan energy dome materialized in open airspace, enveloping every single allied soldier across the entire battlefield.

Just at that moment, Hancock and Koby happened to cross into the perimeter of the barrier.

"What is this... barrier-like structure?"

Koby murmured in bewilderment, staring up at the luminous dome shielding the heavens.