One Piece: Creating Avatars Start With Ryomen Sukuna

Chapter 368: King Crossing the Void

"Did it work?"

Near a building in Marineford.

Numerous officers watched the silent, empty white world in the distance.

Beneath the thick ice lay massive, fearsome Sea Kings. Even frozen, their size suggested they could break free, causing devastating damage with a few thrashing leaps.

They couldn't afford to let their guard down.

Time passed slowly. After a while, with no further movement on the sea, the officers' faces lit up with joy.

"As expected of an Admiral! Esdeath is so reliable!"

"Even with so many Sea Kings, they can't run rampant here. That's the power of White Phoenix Esdeath!"

They showered her with praise.

Esdeath, uninterested, ignored them.

"Borsalino, you head to Marijoa for support first."

Seeing the Sea Kings handled, Kong assigned Kizaru to assist.

"What a hassle! There are tons of demons over there, plus dangerous Apostles. That battlefield's too much, I can't handle it alone, Fleet Admiral Kong."

"And I'm still on suspension, you know!"

Kizaru complained casually at Kong's order.

Kong shook his head at Kizaru's grumbling, then said, "Go now, and I'll arrange your reinstatement later."

With Kizaru aiding Marijoa during this demon invasion, reinstating him would be straightforward given the crisis's impact.

"Alright then, thanks for the trouble, Fleet Admiral Kong."

Kizaru put his hands in pockets and sauntered off, then turned into light and zipped away.

As Kizaru left, Kong turned to Esdeath.

"Esdeath, can your vehicle give King a ride?"

"No way. My darling doesn't carry other men."

Esdeath shot down the idea as Kong eyed on her beloved ride.

Her vehicle was for one man only.

Even King, theoretically an ally, didn't get a pass.

After refusing, she turned to leave.

Next, she'd head to Marijoa herself, she was curious about the situation there.

The demons reminded her of that silver-haired girl always clinging to Kai, a demon herself.

She'd spotted that demon earlier, along with the Apostles from the papers, all oddly shaped.

Yet Kai had created such a pretty girl, how unfair.

Now, that third wheel tagged along everywhere, even on dates.

Esdeath thought with a twinge of jealousy.

"Uh…"

Kong felt the awkward stares of the surrounding officers as Esdeath briskly rejected him and left.

"Ahem…"

Clearing his throat to ease the tension, Kong shifted his gaze to Issho.

"Issho, can you take King over?"

Among those present, Issho's Gravity Fruit could levitate stones to fly people.

With his stamina, reaching Marijoa would be effortless.

Plus, Issho needed to support Marijoa, his fate post-incident was uncertain otherwise.

Though the demon invasion was a game-changer, it didn't erase Issho's prior actions.

Kong could only try to mediate.

This time, with the demons hitting Marijoa, Kong also wanted to probe the Holy Land's trump cards.

But he couldn't be too overt.

Before that demon left, they'd said they wouldn't slaughter the human kings randomly, likely to appease King.

King's indifference to the Celestial Dragons was well-known. If the kings weren't at risk of death, the situation wouldn't be too dire.

Whether King would still go all-out to help was another matter.

This was the demons' attempt to drive a wedge between King and the World Government's Celestial Dragons.

Kong judged as much.

"No need, I'll go myself."

Hearing the usually taciturn King speak up, all eyes turned to him.

"Admiral King's taking action himself?"

"Is it because the demons' Demon God is moving?"

His words sparked speculation.

Issho also looked at King, his eyes widening slightly, revealing the whites.

Was this man acting for that decision?

Issho wondered.

Before the Reverie, King hadn't been assigned to guard Marijoa.

Esdeath had refused, and King simply wasn't included.

Clearly, the World Government feared King's presence there might sway that decision.

Now, was King stepping in to flex his strength and force the Five Elders to yield?

Their musings didn't affect King.

His reason for stepping up wasn't that complex.

It was mainly the Reverie's Heavenly Gold reduction, something that had impacted him slightly.

He wanted to help out and say a few words while he was at it.

If a few words could aid those struggling to eat, King wouldn't hesitate.

He knew his influence, though he wasn't sure how far it stretched, just that he'd help where he could.

Thump, thump, thump!

The King Engine roared in the void, sending a tremor through everyone's hearts.

Yet they noticed nothing unusual.

Only Issho, constantly using Observation Haki as his eyes and focused on King, sensed something off.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his hairs standing on end.

This power…?!

Impossible!!!

Issho felt as if he stood at a volcano's edge, or something even more terrifying.

Boundless power lay calm like the sea, ready to shatter him at any moment.

The sensation vanished in a flash, but he trusted his senses.

Indescribable, horrifying power!!!

He'd never encountered anything so immense, like a god of strength!!

While Issho reeled in shock, King marveled at his own power.

Since the King Engine hit SS-rank, its activation sound was nearly inaudible in reality.

This was his first time wielding it since the upgrade.

Infinite power pierced through the void.

This experience made him feel as if he was a god, or rather, in the eyes of others, he was already no different from one.

"That location, huh?"

King glanced in a certain direction, not overthinking it.

In an instant, silently, his figure vanished before the watching Marines' eyes.

In the void, King's body transformed into particles bearing immense power, his entire form radiating a shimmering glow.

At that moment, in a sense, he achieved the ability to traverse the void.

Terrifying power seemed to carve a passage through the emptiness, connecting two points.

Boom!

Red Line, Holy Land Marijoa.

Above Pangea Castle.

A barbaric, unreasonable force tore through the void, shattering open a massive cavity in that spot.

It was an unprecedented disaster.

The white mist around Pangea Castle, the buildings, and the castle itself were swept upward by the terrifying pull.

The catastrophe erupted without warning.

In the meeting room inside Pangea Castle, where the ceiling had already been pierced by a stone pillar.

At this moment, a fearsome suction spread from that gaping hole.

The kings, leaders, and Five Elders stared dumbfounded at the sky, as the entire ceiling had been ripped away.

If Celestial Dragon hadn't swiftly used his dominating power to counter the violent attraction, the leaders here might've been sucked straight into the heavens.

"What is that?!!"

( End of this chapter )