Chapter 328: The True Name of the Fruit

"How can you be completely unharmed?!" Bell stared in utter disbelief. Locke instantly stepped in front of him, positioning himself as a shield.

"Heaven and Earth Staff Strike!" Locke struck first, refusing to grant the enemy a single opening.

Extending to a massive ten meters in length, the staff cleaved downward from the sky, smashing heavily into the dark fog.

The black mist dispersed once again.

"Hm?" Cold sweat broke out on both of their foreheads simultaneously—the dark fog had already materialized behind them!

"Not good!"

"Drake!"

"Drake-aniki!"

Locke and Bell whipped around frantically, only to be blasted backward by a sudden, violent expansion of the dark mist.

"It's over!" Im's silhouette blurred, materializing directly in front of Drake with her dark blade slashing outward.

From the beginning, her ultimate target had been Drake alone. As long as she eliminated him, their enemies would have zero hope of victory.

"DRAKE!!" The System's fur bristled in sheer panic. What kind of sick joke was this?! Was Drake really going to die like this?!

[Hey, hey, hey! Can you still move?! Warp out of there! If this keeps up, you're a dead man!]

[Think, think, think! I need to find a solution fast...] Helpless and at an utter loss, the System clutched its head in despair. [It's over! This time it's truly over!]

The System was fundamentally bound within Drake's consciousness and possessed no direct combat capabilities of its own. Even if it could manifest externally, it would change nothing.

[We're dead meat...]

BOOM!

A violent tremor shook the surroundings. The System curled into a tight ball, clamping both tiny paws over its ears.

A long silence followed.

[Huh? Why am I not dead yet?]

[Logically speaking, when the hundredth host perishes, the System should disintegrate alongside him.]

This mystery left the System utterly baffled. Scanning Drake's physical state within the mindscape, it was met with an unbelievable realization.

Drake was breathing smoothly, snoring away in deep, peaceful slumber!

This guy was... truly... one of a kind!

[That's...] The System finally tuned into the external situation. Standing directly in front of Drake, a bizarrely transformed figure had caught Im's descending blade with a single hand.

Streams of radiant, golden-tinted fluid seemed to drift around the figure's body, while his hair billowed wildly like untamed, floating clouds.

"Heh..." The figure grinned broadly, slowly lifting his head. "Drake is resting right now. You're not allowed to disturb him."

"If you want to fight, I'll be your opponent!" With that, the warrior drove a punch forward, fracturing the atmospheric fabric before him.

It was not spatial manipulation—it was pure, unadulterated physical might shaking the very dimension!

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who will become the King of the Pirates!"

"New technique... Gear 5!"

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Not only the onlookers across the battlefield, but even Im herself stood rooted in shock.

That fruit had actually awakened!

And at a pivotal juncture like this...

"That is..." The Five Elders' eyes widened in sheer horror. The fruit classified as an absolute taboo by the World Government had achieved awakening right before their eyes.

For eight centuries, the World Government had sought to secure that specific Devil Fruit. Due to its anomalous nature, they had mobilized every resource at their disposal, yet had failed to capture it across eight hundred years.

Because no one had managed to awaken its true power throughout those eight centuries, they had gradually let their guard down.

They had even erased its true name, rechristening it the "Gum-Gum Fruit."

The purpose of that deception was to mislead the world regarding its developmental trajectory, subtly hindering any user from unlocking its genuine capabilities.

Its awakened power was the very force they dreaded most—a power capable of slaying gods.

Its true designation: Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type, Model: Nika!

Revered as Sun God Nika, a title synonymous with the Legendary Savior, its awakening heralded unfathomable strength.

Even the Five Elders had only read of it in ancient records without ever witnessing it firsthand, as no one had achieved true awakening in eight hundred years.

Today, that historic milestone had come to pass, filling the Five Elders with an unprecedented, suffocating dread.

What did the awakening of Nika truly signify? Was it truly the natural predator of gods? What was the true meaning behind the legend of the Savior...?

They were thoroughly lost.

"Right now, I feel like I've got an endless fountain of energy in my body! The fight is just getting started!" Luffy kicked off the ground, vaulting directly above Im's head before hammering down with a colossal punch.

BOOM!

Im was sent hurtling through the air by the direct impact.

"Come on! Your strength can't just be this much!" Luffy gave chase instantly, his feet bouncing in bizarre, fluid rhythms with speed rivaling instantaneous spatial movement.

His fists rained down like a relentless tempest. Im frantically manipulated her dark fog to parry the blows, swinging her dark blade in rapid succession.

BOOM!

Landing another heavy blow square on Im's frame, Luffy grinned, flashing a brilliant row of gleaming white teeth.

With every second of high-intensity combat, his presence swelled exponentially. Unconsciously, a raw, sovereign Conqueror's Haki radiated outward, cowing the entire battlefield.

"That's... Luffy!" Shanks stared in awe at the aura enveloping the young pirate. That naturally emerging Conqueror's Haki had already eclipsed his own.

So that fruit's true power... truly belonged with you all along... Let us witness it then, Luffy—whether the power to topple gods is reality or myth!

Supreme King Domain!

Luffy pushed his output to its absolute zenith, imparting his rubber properties into the surrounding terrain. The stone floor softened into a liquid-like state, pulsing with absurd, limitless elasticity.

He only just awakened, yet his combat effectiveness has surged this drastically! Im was steadily forced onto the defensive, bitter frustration gnawing at her core.

If she still had possession of that physical vessel, she would never have been reduced to such a passive state.

Fighting in this spectral form forced her to tread with extreme caution at every step—it was utterly suffocating.

What should I do...? Things will only deteriorate if this continues. Im scanned her surroundings during a brief opening.

With Luffy entering the fray in this state, turning the tide in one stroke was pure delusion. Retiring from the field was the only pragmatic choice.

Only by retreating could she preserve her core strength. Once she located another compatible vessel, she could hunt them down one by one, reclaiming absolute dominion over the world.

Without hesitation, Im made her decision: full tactical withdrawal!

BOOM!

Following a violent clash of forces, both Im and Luffy were thrown backward. Seizing the momentum, Im transformed into a dark streak and bolted straight toward the horizon.

Planting his feet to halt his momentum, Luffy was just about to shout and launch a full-throttle pursuit when he realized Im had vanished completely from sight.

Luffy: "???"

The crowd: "!!!"

That peerless, supreme overlord had actually... fled?!

The Five Elders: "..."

Im's flight thoroughly shattered the final ember of hope lingering in the Five Elders' hearts.

They were truly... finished!

For Lord Im to flee like a common coward was something they could never have conceived in their wildest nightmares.

The most desolate figure on the field remained Fleet Admiral Akainu. He had no idea where his Absolute Justice was supposed to lead anymore.

He had known nothing of the dark reality lurking behind the World Government. What was true justice in the end?!

He lifted his gaze to survey the ruinous battlefield, before finally lowering his head in helpless resignation.

It didn't matter anymore. Everything was over.

Suddenly, a towering pillar of fire erupted into the heavens, forming a blazing wall that cleaved straight across the Red Line, barring Im's path of escape.

"Thinking of leaving?"

A resonant voice echoed from within the inferno as two silhouettes stepped steadily through the flames.

"Ace! Sabo!"

Luffy's face lit up with pure joy.