That dark-red Conqueror's Haki was no mere mental shock.
It was like countless mountains crashing down at once, suppressing every bone and every nerve in Kuzan's body.
Even the Devil Fruit power within him was sealed completely, cut off as if it no longer existed.
"Is this… the difference…?"
Kuzan struggled to lift his head.
His gaze fell on the emotionless black combat boots before him, and a deep, suffocating sense of helplessness surged from the bottom of his heart.
"Admiral Kuzan, I don't like that look in your eyes."
Tobirama kept his hands in his pockets and leaned forward slightly.
"Thinking about begging for mercy?"
"Do you think Marine Headquarters can turn things around just because I don't kill you?"
"Innocent."
Boom!
A thought flashed through Tobirama's mind.
The already terrifying Conqueror's Haki doubled in intensity once again!
If it had been a mountain pressing down before, now it was the entire sky collapsing.
"Pfft—!"
Kuzan spat out another mouthful of blood.
His body was smashed flat against the ground, unable to move even a finger.
The Devil Fruit power inside him felt as if it were being seized by an invisible hand, its connection completely severed.
A full blockade.
An absolute suppression.
This was Haki that stood above the rules.
…
At the same time, that transcendent Haki was no longer confined to the East Blue.
It swept across the entire world in an instant.
—
New World, Moby Dick.
Whitebeard was receiving an IV when the flask in his hand suddenly shattered.
The world's strongest man clutched his chest, his pupils shrinking violently.
"Dad! What's wrong?!" Marco shouted in alarm.
"A monster…"
Cold sweat drenched Whitebeard's body as instinctive fear—prey sensing a superior predator—gripped him.
"This Haki… it's not Kaido, and it's not Shanks. Just the aura alone makes even this old man feel fear!"
—
Onigashima, atop the skull dome.
Kaido, in the middle of gulping down liquor, dropped his gourd, sobering instantly.
He transformed into his Azure Dragon form and tried to take flight—only to be smashed back down by a pressure that spanned thousands of miles.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Garp? No—
Even that man couldn't possibly possess Haki like this!
—
The Red-Haired Pirates.
As the strongest Haki user of this era, Shanks felt it most clearly.
"Compared to this power, my Haki is like a firefly before the sun."
His face was pale as he stared toward the East Blue, an unprecedented gravity in his eyes.
"What kind of monster has appeared in that sea…?"
—
Red Line, Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Deep within Pangaea Castle, amid the sea of flowers.
The ruler who had controlled the world for eight hundred years knelt in the garden, clutching his head and screaming.
"Aaaaaah—!"
Crimson blood seeped from Imu's eyes, rippling like disturbed water.
"Impossible… How could such a being exist in this dimension?!"
"Even Joy Boy back then—his Haki wasn't even one ten-thousandth of this!"
"How could the world give birth to someone this strong?!"
Imu collapsed, wracked with agony.
…
Back in the East Blue, Orange Town.
Tobirama paid no attention to the global upheaval.
To him, it was nothing worth noting.
His gaze returned to Kuzan at his feet.
Kill him?
Too easy.
And far too boring.
Instead, a more interesting idea surfaced.
Let him live.
Let the Navy and the World Government deal with an admiral stripped of his power.
If they discarded him, Tobirama could always reclaim Kuzan later—turning him into a tool of vengeance would surely make for a delightful sight.
"Admiral Kuzan."
Tobirama slightly withdrew his pressure, allowing Kuzan to breathe again.
"You were meant to die."
"But I heard that back in Ohara, you once let a little girl go."
Kuzan panted heavily, his eyes unfocused.
Ohara… Robin?
How could this demon know about something so deeply buried?
"W-what… are you trying to say…?"
Tobirama replied calmly, "Since you didn't lay a hand on me back then, I'll spare your life."
Relief did not appear on Kuzan's face.
Instead, an even deeper chill rose within him.
Because he saw the mockery in Tobirama's eyes.
Death might be avoided—but punishment was inevitable.
"But—"
Tobirama's tone shifted abruptly, turning ice-cold.
"You still attacked me."
"As punishment, you are no longer worthy of that power."
"The Ice-Ice Fruit is wasted on you."
"Why don't you… let me play with it?"
Kuzan's pupils dilated in disbelief.
"What did you say?!"
"Take the fruit away? Don't be ridiculous! Unless I die, there's no way a Devil Fruit can—"
That was the ironclad rule of this world.
Only death allowed a Devil Fruit to be reborn.
Forced extraction was unheard of.
"Your understanding is too shallow."
Tobirama sneered.
He stopped talking and slowly extended his right hand, palm facing Kuzan's chest.
A strange, eerie purple light burst forth.
Hungry Ghost Path — ability extraction!
"Give it to me."
Boom!
A terrifying suction force engulfed Kuzan's entire body.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
He let out the most agonizing scream of his life.
This pain far exceeded any physical torment.
It was as if his very soul were being torn apart, something embedded deep in his existence forcibly ripped away.
"S-stop… stop it!!"
His struggles were meaningless before Tobirama's power.
A sphere of dark-blue energy, radiating extreme cold, was slowly dragged from Kuzan's chest.
Within it, an ice-like presence thrashed violently, unable to escape the Rinnegan's pull.
"So this is the true nature of a Devil Fruit…"
Tobirama's eyes flashed as he clenched his fingers.
Pop.
With a soft sound, the pale-blue sphere fully detached and hovered in his palm.
The moment the power left him, Kuzan's body withered visibly.
His strength vanished, his posture collapsed, his hair rapidly graying as he fell unconscious to the ground.
In Tobirama's hand, the energy condensed.
In the blink of an eye, a spiral-patterned, ice-blue Devil Fruit materialized—radiating a chilling aura.
The Logia Ice-Ice Fruit.
"Interesting."
Tobirama weighed it lightly, sensing the rules contained within.
"It can be extracted without the host dying."
"Truly a divine technique."
From afar, Hancock stood frozen in disbelief.
If the earlier battle was the pinnacle of raw power—
Then what she was witnessing now was nothing short of a miracle.
An admiral reduced to a cripple, his Devil Fruit stripped away.
"Lord Tobirama…"
Her legs pressed tightly together, her face flushed, eyes unfocused.
"Just who… are you…?"
Tobirama casually tossed the Ice-Ice Fruit into his system space.
A Logia like this would make a fine reward for a loyal subordinate one day.
As for eating it himself?
Unnecessary.
With chakra transformations and the Divine Tree's power, this was merely a bonus.
He didn't spare a glance for the powerless Kuzan lying on the ground.
Turning around, he walked toward the breathtaking woman who looked at him with pure worship.
"I'm leaving, Hancock."
"The trash here has been cleaned up."
"Next—let's go pick up our next partner."