Chapter 419: Elbaf Falls, the Seraphim Appear!

City Hall.

Gao Wen sat in his office, watching Aokiji ride away from the port on a bicycle, his brows tightly furrowed.

Robin's assessment of those notes had been confirmed by Vegapunk.

The situation was far worse than he had anticipated.

Even for the Red Line, the time until it completely sank beneath the sea had increased by merely two years.

Losing all land would be nothing short of catastrophic for the world; apart from the Sky Islanders and the Fish-Men, the vast majority of humanity would go extinct!

Britannias, and the people living on this land, would all be affected.

Gao Wen reached out and opened the drawer.

That Float-Float Fruit still lay quietly within.

If this world was destined to sink beneath the sea in the future, then the value of this Float-Float Fruit would be immense.

It could preserve land for humanity to survive on.

"Not only that; Fujitora's Gravity-Gravity Fruit and Nami's Cloud-Cloud Fruit can, to a certain extent, achieve similar effects."

"But..."

"It is still too insignificant!"

"Relative to the massive population scale of the entire world, the power of individuals is ultimately too tiny!"

"Unless..."

Gao Wen lowered his head, looking at this Float-Float Fruit, his heart stirring with temptation.

If he broke through to the Mythical realm and then consumed this fruit, he might possibly be able to float hundreds of nations into the mid-air.

Pity that he already possessed a Red Dragon Fruit; wanting to consume a second fruit was nothing short of a pipe dream.

After some deliberation, Gao Wen helplessly abandoned this idea and returned his gaze to the Martial Arts Tournament:

"We cannot wait any longer!"

"Only by integrating the resources of the entire world at the fastest possible speed is there hope to confront the impending disaster!"

"Only by gathering the strength of everyone is it possible to ensure our own survival amidst the coming catastrophe."

"Immediately after the Martial Arts Tournament concludes, we begin!"

"Whoever blocks my path, I will personally send them to hell!"

At the same time.

The New World.

Elbaf.

Upon a giant tree of unimaginable vastness stood the kingdom of the giants.

Even Zunesha, who bore a city on his back and stood ten thousand meters tall, would seem as insignificant as an ant in comparison to it.

And at this very moment.

This ancient tree, which nearly pierced through heaven and earth, was bathed in a sea of fire!

Gasps, wails, screams, bitter cries...

Countless sounds of despair came from the various tree trunks, yet they quickly vanished without a trace.

The world itself seemed to fall silent at this moment.

Only the sound of flames devouring the giant tree remained, unbearably grating to the ear.

Im stood upon the tree trunk, lowering his eyes to gaze at the hellish scene below, his expression as calm as if he had done something utterly insignificant.

Countless giants rose from the flames; although their bodies still endured the burning fire, not a trace of pain appeared on their faces.

There was only ferocity and evil!

Pure, extreme evil!

Bat-like wings unfolded from their shoulders, goat-like curved horns extended from their foreheads piercing straight into the sky, fanged canine teeth protruded, and their bodies were shrouded in black smoke!

They stood shoulder to shoulder behind Im, like loyal servants attending to their god!

Seeing this scene.

Even Blackbeard was shocked to the extreme!

"Truly astonishing!"

"With the power of one person, dominating everyone in the Giant Kingdom, erasing their selves, strengthening their physical bodies, and elevating their fighting spirit to the utmost limit."

"What results is an indestructible monster!"

"This is..."

"The King of the World?!"

Having followed Im for over two months, Blackbeard had gradually figured out the identity of the person before him.

Above the Five Elders, the apex of the World Government, the king who should not exist upon the Empty Throne, and furthermore, the existence who single-handedly founded the World Government eight hundred years ago!

Even Blackbeard, who was unwilling to submit to anyone, at this moment felt an impulse to prostrate himself in worship.

For no other reason.

It was simply that the scene before his eyes had exceeded all logic!

Among those countless giants bathed in flames, there were several auras that even he felt wary of.

The combat power of these giants already surpassed that of other races; the outstanding among them possessed strength comparable to, or even exceeding, that of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral or a Warlord of the Sea!

And standing in the center of the crowd, the giant named Loki, whose height was far greater than that of ordinary giants, radiated a terrifying aura from head to toe!

Their combat strength is no weaker than that of a Navy Admiral!

Now, after Im's enhancement, Blackbeard could not even imagine what kind of monster that was.

At least...

Even Blackbeard, bolstered by two Devil Fruits, would be unwilling to engage him.

Shiryu, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat:

"No matter how many times I see it, I still feel a tremor rising from my very soul!"

"This is Im..."

"This is the King of the World?!"

"I fear that even that knight, Gao Wen, might not be his match."

"Ah."

Blackbeard nodded, muttering:

"If..."

"I mean, if I could steal this guy's ability, this world would be mine."

"You..."

Shiryu's breath hitched; when he turned to look at Blackbeard, he saw only an innocent, harmless face.

"Zehahahaha~!"

"Such a thing is naturally impossible; after all, I don't have that kind of ambition, do I?!"

Watching Blackbeard's bold laughter, Shiryu felt nothing but a chill rising from his soul, as if looking at a venomous snake hiding its fangs!

"You..."

"Didn't you say the exact same thing to Whitebeard back then?!"

"Who knows?!"

Blackbeard reached up and scratched his head:

"If Lord Im remains this powerful forever, then serving as his subordinate isn't a bad thing."

Shiryu understood and was about to press further, but Im cut him off.

"The giants of Elbaf have been secured."

Im's tone was indifferent, as if he hadn't heard Blackbeard's words at all.

Or rather, even if he had heard them, he simply didn't care.

How could a god concern himself with the delusions of ants?!

When the gap in strength reaches a certain level, the bold words of the weak appear exceptionally ridiculous.

To him, Blackbeard was merely a usable combat asset, nothing more.

Im gazed into the distance.

On the great sea, waves surged; a rainbow bridge encircled the burning Giant Kingdom, like a new sun rising from the ocean surface!

Im raised his hand and made a grasping motion in the air, his eyes filled with nothing but disdain, as if the entire world was already in his grasp!

No!

The world was already in his hands; now, he was merely crushing a few crawling insects.

Except for Britannias, that monster who had revealed only the tip of the Bingshan during the Summit War, no one else was even worthy of his notice!

"Now..."