One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 586: An Unexpected Guy!

Sensing this immense pressure, Im's Stand's arm froze in mid-air. She remained in a throwing posture, but her pale arm could no longer be lowered. An invisible pressure descended from above, brutally severing her control over the body.

She activated her power.

useless.

The finger couldn't be pushed forward even half an inch.

The darkness in his palm instantly spiraled out of control. The once steadily rotating crown mark emitted a sharp hiss, like a branding iron being pressed into ice. High-density energy boiled in his palm, its internal structure torn apart by a higher-level force, crumbling piece by piece.

Black energy burst forth from his fingertips, like startled venomous snakes, thrashing and tearing at each other in the void, creating bursts of black sparks.

The next instant, a dense explosion of annihilation sounds erupted.

That absolute darkness, powerful enough to kill even a top-tier expert, rapidly dissipated in the aftershocks of the eagle's cry. It transformed into wisps of foul-smelling black smoke, struggling for less than a breath before being swallowed up by the air.

There was no explosion.

There were no aftershocks.

Not even a trace of oppressive aura remained.

The platform fell silent again.

Im's Stand, however, froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. For the first time, a crack appeared on that expressionless face.

For eight hundred years, she sat in the shadows of Mary Geoise, proclaiming herself a god. She sat on a void throne, overlooking the sea, placing nations, races, the strong, and wars all on her chessboard. Life and death were at her mercy, history was rewritten by her, and even the truth could only rot at her feet.

She was used to being at a high place.

Accustomed to the command being given, all beings bow their heads.

But this doll-like substitute is now exhibiting reactions that shouldn't exist.

Horrified.

Her eyelid twitched slightly. The subtle change was enough to shatter her long-held indifference. Her empty pupils contracted sharply, shrinking to pinpoints, revealing their unconcealed fear.

Cold sweat seeped from his pale cheeks and slid down his chin.

Snapped.

Water droplets hit the black frost with a crisp, piercing sound.

She suddenly looked up. A sharp, cracking sound came from her neck joints.

Below, Loki, the black dragon, was almost within reach. His massive body pressed down on the sky, his dark red vertical pupils blazing with murderous intent. Deep within his throat, a scorching dragon breath was brewing, the intense heat distorting the air. With a single breath, the high platform would be reduced to ashes.

Im's double didn't look at it.

I didn't even spare it a glance.

Her gaze swept across the battlefield, past the figures of those fighting, the floating rubble, the blood droplets frozen in mid-air, and even over the thick, dark purple thunderclouds in the sky.

It pierced straight up tens of thousands of meters into the sky.

The very top of the World Tree.

The air on the high platform grew cold.

Im's double's lips began to tremble. She clenched her teeth, which continued to chatter uncontrollably. A faint, grinding sound echoed in the deathly silence, like bones being slowly ground to dust.

Memories sealed for eight hundred years exploded deep within her consciousness.

No gentleness emerged from the scene. It was like a flood bursting its banks, tearing open the seal, and pouring into the mind of the substitute with the smells of blood, scorched earth, and the roar of ancient war.

That was before the Void Throne was established.

The World Government does not exist. Mary Geoise does not exist. The Celestial Dragons' supposed holy bloodline is merely a fabricated claim.

At that time, the sea had not yet been tamed by order. Ancient forces devoured each other, islands sank in calamity, and kingdoms perished overnight. Heaven and earth were in chaos, and all living beings looked up, seeing only the World Tree that pierced the sky.

The tree canopy holds up the stars.

Its roots pierce into the underworld.

At the deepest root of the World Tree, a black dragon, dark and blotting out the sky, dwells.

Nighold.

It represents death and destruction. Day and night, it gnaws at the roots of the World Tree, pouring black venom into the earth's veins. Rocks rot beneath its venom, rivers become stagnant, and mountains are torn apart by the tremors of its movements. Where its breath sweeps, forests turn to ash, and cities to bones.

And atop the highest canopy of the World Tree, at the very edge of the clouds, perches a colossal eagle.

Its wingspan blocked out the sun. Golden light flowed along the edges of its deep ink-black feathers, while its eyes burned like amber. It neither bowed its head to beg for mercy nor spoke to any living being; it simply spread its wings in the clouds and looked down upon the earth.

That is the will of the sky.

A black dragon gnaws at the world at its roots, while an eagle surveys the sky from its summit. They are natural enemies, like a fateful chain pinned to opposite ends of the World Tree.

She had witnessed that ancient war.

Black dragon wings covered half the sky. Nighogd burst forth from the abyss, black mud that corroded everything flowing from the gaps in his scales, his roar shattering the clouds, and even the stars fell in the sound waves.

A golden eagle swooped down from the top of the World Tree.

The gale was cleaved by its wings, and lightning bent at its sides. Sharp talons pierced the black dragon's wing membranes, tearing off large chunks of scales and flesh. Golden blood and black poison splashed across the sky, and the resulting shockwaves swept across the continent, causing seawater to overflow and mountains to collapse.

The black dragon roared in the abyss.

The eagle cries out in the sky.

Gale-force winds and thunder swirled into a vortex, while black mist and golden light clashed wildly around the World Tree. Each collision sent a deathly groan echoing across the land.

Ordinary people could not intervene in that war.

Even the so-called gods can only tremble in the corner.

At that time, she was not yet the Queen of the World. She was just an insignificant bystander in the shadows, huddled behind the shattered altar, covering her mouth, not daring to breathe even a little louder.

Later, the Black Dragon was sealed off.

The eagle has gone missing.

The ancient poles vanished from the world. Only then did she dare to emerge from the shadows, establish the Void Throne, and cast her shadow across the entire ocean.

She thought that history had been buried eight hundred years ago.

She thought all the witnesses were dead, all the names had been erased, and all the fears had been buried by her own hands in the blank hundred years.

She thought she had finally become the sole ruler.

But now, that aura has returned.

The moment he returned to reality, Im's Stand's pupils trembled violently.

The fear didn't fade with the memory; instead, it grew stronger. It crawled out from the depths of her soul, clung to her bones, tightened its grip on her throat, and tore apart all her feigned divinity.

She caught it.

The aura of the Lord of the Heavens has been awakened.

Right at the very top of the World Tree.

Those amber eyes, tens of thousands of meters above the ground, pierced through thunderclouds, snowstorms, and battlefields, coldly watched her.

A dry, grinding sound escaped Im's body. Like rusted blades pressed together, slowly being pulled apart. She stared intently at the sky, her hands hanging limply at her sides, trembling uncontrollably.

His chest heaved violently.

She tried to suppress the fear.

He wants to regain the composure befitting a world champion.

But those eyes are still there.

High above.

It is higher than the Void Throne.

Her lips opened and closed. The name sank in her throat, heavy as a mountain. Her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth, but she couldn't push it out.

Once this name is uttered, the lies woven by the world government over the past eight hundred years will be exposed.

The Celestial Dragons' sacred and inviolable faith will crumble before the eyes of all the strong.

They will see it clearly.

Even the so-called king of the world once hid in the shadows, trembling before an even more ancient being.

Im's Stand clenched its fingers. Its nails pierced its palms, and black blood seeped out between its fingers.

She couldn't control herself.