The battlefield fell silent once more.
This silence was more terrifying than the clamor of battle.
Over a dozen figures stood there, all future giants of the sea.
Moments ago, they had been full of vigor, believing they had completely seized control of the battle.
Now, their faces were grim, each staring intently at the opposite side.
The Five Elders and God's Knights, who had just been utterly crushed by everyone with overwhelming force, now stood perfectly intact in their original positions.
Their wounds had completely vanished, and their torn clothes were restored to their original state.
There was no trace left of the damage caused by that world-shattering assault.
No.
This was worse than if it had never happened.
That brief suppression seemed to have become a joke.
"What the hell..." Golden Lion Shiki irritably ran a hand through his golden hair, his voice dry. "What *are* these bastards?!"
Garp's fists clenched, cracking audibly. He said nothing, but the Armament Haki, almost solid, that once again wrapped around his iron fists, revealed the raging storm within him.
This had already surpassed all their understanding of Devil Fruits and regenerative abilities.
This wasn't recovery, nor regeneration.
This was immortality.
In the dead silence.
A hoarse, cynical voice echoed from behind them.
"It's useless."
The voice wasn't loud.
Yet, word by word, it made everyone turn to look in its direction.
Whitebeard.
Roger.
Garp.
Everyone, in the same second, sharply turned their heads.
At the edge of their vision, two figures approached.
One in front, one behind.
Behind was the mysterious white mask, Lucian, hiding his identity.
Half a step in front of him, a man stumbled, his breath just recovered: Rocks D. Xebec.
He had regained consciousness.
Rocks' face was devoid of color; the purification had clearly tormented him greatly.
But in his eyes, there was no trace of weakness, only a chilling gaze that saw through everything.
His gaze swept over everyone, finally fixing intently on Jaygarcia Saturn in the distance.
His eyes were fixed on the body possessed by Imu.
"Rocks..." Whitebeard looked at his now clear eyes, his voice low. "You're awake."
Rocks didn't look at him.
In Rocks' eyes, there was only one, true enemy now.
He raised a slightly trembling finger, pointing distantly at Imu, a sarcastic and bitter curve twisting his lips.
"Before, we could suppress those guys with Conqueror's Haki because *that thing* hadn't descended upon this place."
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Now,"
Rocks paused, each word squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"He has personally descended upon this battlefield."
"In the face of his power, your Conqueror's Haki is worthless."
BOOM!!!
These words exploded in everyone's ears.
A clap of thunder.
A bucket of ice water.
From head to toe, it extinguished the last shred of hope in their hearts.
Worthless!
These four words were a mockery to them.
They were men who had trained their Conqueror's Haki to the world's apex.
This was their strongest proof.
So that's how it was.
That strange power, which constantly weakened and even dissolved their Conqueror's Haki will when the opponents regenerated, was not an ability of the Five Elders themselves, but a power suppression from a higher dimension...
They weren't fighting the Five Elders at all.
But rather, the 'God' who had set the 'rules' of this world!
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"
Golden Lion Shiki irritably clutched his golden hair, letting out a low growl.
"Ultimately, we just need to take out that guy, right?!"
Rocks answered him with a bitter laugh.
The laugh was full of powerlessness.
Gone was his former arrogance and wildness, replaced only by a deep-seated despair.
A despair even he was unfamiliar with.
He shook his head.
"How do we take him out?"
Rocks' voice was hoarse, stating an undeniable truth.
"Just a few minutes ago, a combined attack from me, Roger, and Garp was enough to completely wipe an island off the map..."
His gaze swept over Roger and Garp, who were also silent, his voice growing even more bitter.
"...But what was the result? It didn't even take a second for 'His' body to fully recover."
An undeniable fact.
The cruelest, most despair-inducing fact.
Even a man of Rocks D. Xebec's caliber, a man hailed as a madman, had personally admitted his powerlessness.
Despair was a contagious plague.
It spread wildly in the hearts of these powerhouses.
They weren't afraid of death.
But they feared an 'undying God.'
They feared the kind of powerlessness where no matter how much they struggled, how desperately they fought, it would ultimately be futile.
This could destroy will more effectively than any sword.
Did they... truly still have a chance to win?
Just then, a voice, calm to the point of indifference, rang out.
"I'll do it."
The voice wasn't loud.
Yet it was like a sharp blade, instantly cutting through the gloom that hung over everyone.
Whitebeard, Shiki, Roger, Garp...
Everyone sharply turned their heads, their gazes all falling on the source of the voice.
It was Lucian.
"You?"
Whitebeard blurted out, his voice filled with doubt.
He admitted that this man was mysterious and powerful, and his recovery methods were nothing short of miraculous.
But even power had its limits.
Even if he was strong, how much stronger could he be than Rocks?
Even Rocks, who had just been pulled back from the brink of hell by Lucian Thorn, now turned his head sharply, filled with strong doubt.
"Brother..."
His voice held bitterness and admonition.
"I know you're strong, and your recovery methods are miraculous, unheard of."
"But..."
Rocks' gaze once again fell on Imu in the distance, and that feeling of powerlessness surged in his heart again.
"That guy over there... is a true monster! Even I, in my current state, have no temporary solution!"
These words spoke the true feelings of all the legends.
They admitted that Lucian Thorn had broken the balance.
Admitted he possessed incomprehensible power.
But that didn't mean he could deal with this 'God' whom even their combined efforts couldn't shake.
That thing transcended their understanding.
There was doubt, scrutiny, confusion, and admonition.
Gaze after gaze converged from all directions, all falling upon Lucian.
The owners of these gazes, any one of them, could make the sea tremble.
At this moment, these gazes pressed down heavily.
However, facing all of this.
Facing what could be called the collective doubt of all the sea's powerhouses of this era.
Lucian, wearing his pure white mask, let out a soft chuckle from his throat.
The laugh was full of disdain.
"Heh..."