Chapter 290

The two streams of energy finally exploded like a nuclear bomb.

Under the stunned, frozen gazes of countless people.

Mary Geoise was utterly destroyed and collapsed under this blow.

After the endless dust dispersed.

At the top of the Red Continent, a massive, deep trench stretched from front to back.

The Blood Blade Moon in Luo En's hand was also completely shattered.

After exchanging several blows with Im with the Black Blade Shusui, the Black Blade Shusui also shattered.

At this moment.

The two stood upon the sky ten thousand meters above the Red Continent.

"Space-Time Storm."

Facing Im's ultimate technique, she gathered all her twisted power.

Luo En, already at his limit, gathered a dozen Daoist Jade Balls and transformed them into a golden chakra sword, slashing down from above.

"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

On this day.

Countless people witnessed it firsthand.

A golden giant sword slashed down from the sky, splitting the Red Continent and a thousand li of ocean in two.

The once-mighty Red Continent now bore a vast canyon like a heavenly chasm.

The sea current that once passed through Mary Geoise on the first half of the Grand Line now flowed through this massive canyon toward the New World.

This canyon later became known as Demon's Valley.

Some also called it the Traveler's Valley, the Valley of Beginning and End.

……

【PS: The main body of the Pirate arc is roughly finished here for now. Continuing the Pirate arc further would likely feel padded. I'll return later with a side story to fill in details of the Pirate world—like Fish-Man Island, the female characters, the Four Emperors, and what happens to Luffy afterward.】

The next world will likely be Demon Slayer, since the opening used Sun Breathing anyway (laughs).

Hmm… that's about all I have to say. This is my first time writing a Pirate story, and I'm sure there are many flaws. Thank you for supporting me this far (bowing in gratitude). I'll write the next Demon Slayer arc with equal care.

Updates will probably be faster… I think… (yeah yeah).

1, The Entity That Frightens and Despairs the Demons! (Combined)

Heavy snow sealed the mountains, turning heaven and earth white.

In an uninhabited forest.

A wild rabbit was foraging for food.

Suddenly.

In midair above the forest clearing.

A five-meter-wide space twisted into a spiral distortion.

A blood-soaked figure fell from it, crashing into the deep snow.

The rabbit, startled by the noise, immediately fled and darted into a nearby burrow.

After a long while.

Seeing no further movement, the rabbit emerged again from its burrow and began foraging in the snow.

On the snow-covered clearing.

A young man, drenched in blood, lay still, gripping a broken sword. No one knew the immense vitality contained within his crimson-stained body, or how rapidly his horrific wounds were healing.

By nightfall.

Moonlight fell upon the snow-laden forest, making it even quieter and colder.

"Blood… I smell the scent of blood."

"Over there…"

In the darkness, a swift, ghostly figure flashed past.

When that figure landed on the blood-stained clearing, the bright moonlight fell upon the creature, revealing it from the shadows.

It was a humanoid being with a human head and limbs, but its face was grotesque, especially its vertical pupils—glowing with inhuman cruelty and bloodlust, proving it was no human, but a bloodthirsty monster.

It was a "Demon"—walking the dark corners of the world.

"Found it…"

"The scent of blood… such a delicious aroma…"

The demon approached the young man lying in the snow, its eyes filled with greed and longing.

It had devoured many humans—old and young alike—but never before had it smelled flesh so fragrant.

"If I eat him, I'll surely grow even stronger…"

Thinking this, it couldn't resist—its long tongue licked its lips, and with a heavy stomp, its powerful leg muscles exploded, launching it high into the air as it opened its jaws and lunged toward the young man in the snow.

Its rows of sharp fangs gleamed with chilling light under the moon.

At that moment.

The young man opened his eyes.

Before the demon could react, a sudden surge of overwhelming power sent it flying backward, smashing straight through a tree three arms wide ten meters away—snow cascaded from the broken branches, burying it.

When it rose from the snow and looked up.

The young man, clad in a long black coat, bare-chested and drenched in blood, had already stood.

He stood about two meters tall, his long black hair flowing behind him, his face handsome, his body slender and perfectly proportioned; the exposed muscles on his torso formed an astonishingly perfect curve, radiating explosive power beyond human comprehension.

The demon, whose strength neared Lower Rank Six, stared at the man before it—and an inexplicable, overwhelming dread stirred within its heart.

It seemed to be... a fear born from instinct!

The young man first lowered his head to glance at the broken blade in his hand, then looked around, and finally cast a glance at that ghost.

The instant that ghost was touched by his gaze!

An incomparable pressure surged toward him!

"!"

Under that terrifying pressure, as solid as substance, the air around the ghost instantly grew thick and congealed.

This advanced ghost — which possessed physical abilities far beyond ordinary humans and could slaughter humans at will — was now pressed by that pressure until it could not move so much as a single finger!

"This place... doesn't seem to be the world of One Piece anymore. This is troublesome."

The young man tilted his head back to look at the moon, muttering to himself.

Completely ignoring that ghost, which ordinary people regarded as a monster.

That ghost, gradually pressed flat to the ground by the immense pressure, stared with its ghostly eyes at the young man before it, terrified to the point of death.

"What terrifying aura!"

"Is this guy a Pillar? No! Even a Pillar couldn't possibly have such an aura!"

"What the hell... is this guy?!"

The young man seemed to have heard its inner voice, turned his head to look at it, and said with an indifferent expression: "You... eat people, don't you?"

The ghost stared at the young man ahead. The moment it caught sight of the coldness and disgust in the depths of his eyes, its heart was instantly shrouded by a tremendous fear; a chill enveloped its whole body, as if it had fallen into an icy abyss!

The next second.

The young man raised the broken blade in his hand, and under its terrified, despairing gaze, gave it a casual slash.

The earth thundered.

After the dust and flying snow dispersed.

A massive trench, roughly a hundred meters long and ten meters deep, appeared on the spot.

That ghost vanished completely from the world — not a single cell remained.

As if he had done something as simple as eating or drinking, with not the slightest ripple in his heart, the young man tossed away the shattered broken blade in his hand, raised his head to look at the bright moon in the sky, his expression somewhat troubled.

"I didn't expect that being swept into a spacetime storm would drag me to another world. Next... how am I supposed to get back?"

The young man was naturally Luo En.

As for why he had appeared here, one had to start from that battle at Mariejois.

……

In that battle of two sovereigns against Im.

In the very second before Im was about to be killed by the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion — which condensed his strongest strike — she used the last of her distorting power to distort time. Seeing that she was about to return to a few seconds earlier, Luo En, already at his limit, could only unleash one final killing move: the Level 3 Ascension Nuclear Explosion Kick, and utterly annihilated her.