One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 237 War drums resound in the heavenly palace, Shenhou wields his golden cudgel!
"What's this!?"

Looking at the surrounding heavenly gates standing tall, with banners waving in the wind.

The three knights of the gods stood amidst the clouds, all feeling somewhat bewildered.

They were born in the holy land and dwell in the heavens.

But I never imagined that such a heavenly palace could exist in this world.

“It turned out to be like this”

At this moment, Fabian Saint finally vaguely understood why his ability had failed.

"Those four flags...did this guy already use his ability beforehand?"

Yes.

His awakened fruit ability, 'Eternal Stage', can only be used on a stage he has already created.

However, based on the current situation, it is not difficult to make a judgment.

Even before the battle began, that guy from the lower realm, one of the twelve constellations, had already used his abilities.

This 'stage' never belonged to him, Jaigollucia Fabian Saint, but...
The stage belongs to the Monkey!
"A coincidence? What a lucky guy!"

Fabian Saint thought to himself, and subconsciously raised his eyes.

He naturally believed it was a coincidence—after all, he had never used his Devil Fruit awakening ability, and only he himself knew about it all along.

But
"."

When he looked up...

A sudden chill ran through him.

At this moment, all that could be seen was within his field of vision.

The Monkey King, holding a golden cudgel, stands atop a sea of ​​clouds.

His golden armor shone brightly in the sun, and his eyes blazed like torches.

That appearance and aura caused Fabian Saint to almost subconsciously change his mind at that moment.

No, just in case.

Just in case, just in case.

What if the other party didn't just 'seal off' his fruit awakening by chance?
What if the other party knew his abilities from the beginning and made this choice?
If that's the case, then doesn't that mean that the other party knew he was preparing to use the fruit's awakening, but was still just playing along with them?
So what could their purpose be?

The answer is self-evident.

"I'm going to kill you all, how dare you escape!"

Not long ago, Shen Hou's low voice echoed in Fabian Sheng's mind at this moment, making him feel a kind of deafening dizziness!

He wanted to

Thus, an unprecedented fear arose in Fabian Saint's heart.

"Chiringom, Peel—use all your strength to escape!"

"Something's not right with this guy!"

Thus, Pierre Saint and Qilingoum Saint, who were also watching Shenhou warily and assessing the situation, were both taken aback.

They could all see the anxiety in Fabian Saint's heart at that moment.

That was an emotion rarely seen in a knight of the gods.

But it is clear that they all believe that Saint Fabian—the great-grandson of Saint Satan—is an outstanding individual known for his 'strategy' even within the Knights of God.

That is why he was able to serve as the 'commander' of their three-person team on this mission.

The Knights of God all agree that if it weren't for the exceptional talent of this generation's Shamlock, Fabian Saint would have had a very good chance of inheriting the position of the next 'Knights of God'.

so.
"Fruit Awakening, Vector of All Things, Limit!"

"Fruit Awakening - Dream Weaver - Swift Bird!"

Without hesitation, both of them activated their abilities in accordance with Fabian Saint's orders.

At this moment, a giant bird composed of flowing light and storms flew out of the dream.

Wherever it flew, the surrounding environment seemed to be distorted as if in a dream—it was the fastest dream creature that the Holy Spirit of Chiringom could create.

The vector was pushed to its limit at this moment; it was the strongest vector that Pierre Saint could unleash to its fullest extent.

With the boost from the vector, the giant bird's flight speed seemed to exceed the concept of 'speed'.

"call out--"

Wherever it passed, the surrounding clouds and celestial light seemed to be completely emptied, leaving only a vacuum trail.

In the vision of the three divine knights, the magnificent and mysterious celestial palace around them seemed to stretch out and blur into flowing bands of light at this moment.

Even they themselves could not see the surrounding scenery clearly, and could only vaguely glimpse a few key objects from the ever-changing bands of light.

For example, the four enormous 'heavenly gates' not far away, adorned with banners, and the golden figure standing atop the white clouds.

But they finally felt relieved.

"He didn't chase after us."

Chiringom breathed a sigh of relief.

"At this speed, they could leave Dressrosa in just a few breaths—even that monster couldn't catch up, right?"

Pierre Saint, meanwhile, was panting heavily as he maintained the operation of the vector.

The two are usually fearless and daring, and call themselves the knights of God.

At this moment, it was like a wild beast being chased by a monster, even its breathing was cautious.

But
"No"

At this moment, Fabian Saint reacted the fastest: "Look around."

He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse.

"?"*2
So, Chiringom and Pierre Saint also subconsciously looked around.

Then, their bodies froze instantly.

Because at this moment, they had already discovered that strange fact.

Let alone leaving Dressrosa.

No matter how the swift bird flaps its wings, no matter how loud the vector thrust roars.

No matter how far they traveled in an instant.

Those four enormous, towering gates still stand not far away.

The golden figure standing atop the clouds never disappeared from their sight from beginning to end.

"impossible"

Then, Chiringom instinctively let out an incredulous exclamation.

The swift bird stopped in an instant, and the three knights of the gods were eager to confirm the facts.

Then they saw it.

Before me, the sea of ​​clouds churned, and the celestial glow remained unchanged.

Shenhou stood there, motionless.

It was as if they had never escaped.

He simply carried the iron bar with interest, tilting his head to look at the three of them.

It's as if humans are observing struggling ants—well, even though these ants consider themselves 'gods'.

"Destroy those four doors!"

At that instant, Fabian Saint let out a low growl.

"They are the key!"

All I can say is that this knight of gods does have some brains.

In a split second, he realized that they seemed unable to escape this 'heavenly wonderland'.

But he was able to recognize the key.

The real key lies in the four banners that appeared before this realm, and the four 'Heavenly Gates' that those banners transformed into.

They are clearly the origin of this celestial palace.

"understand!"

Upon hearing this, Pierre Saint did not hesitate and immediately opened his arms.

The blood mist around him condensed and compressed wildly, and a stark white bone spear instantly took shape.

As before, the vector force was pushed to its limit.

"God-Slaying Spear - Ten Thousand Bones!"

next moment.
"Whoosh whoosh!"

Hundreds of terrifying bone spears, capable of easily piercing through islands, tore through the sea of ​​clouds like a torrential downpour.

They shot towards the four majestic heavenly gates on the four sides of the Heavenly Palace with piercing shrieks.

then
"boom!"

The clouds and mist surged, and a deafening roar resounded.

But
"!!!"*3
After the clouds and mist cleared, all three Divine Knights saw it.

The four heavenly gates were completely undamaged.

Or to be more precise—at this moment, layers of pale golden, almost transparent barriers are unfolding on the surface of the Heavenly Gate!

All the bone spears were blocked by that barrier.

"Hey!"

And it is precisely at this moment.

They finally heard it—the voice of Shenhou.

"With your paltry skills, you three blockheads think you can break through my Heavenly Palace?"

The three of them trembled almost instantly and instinctively made defensive movements—an instinctive reaction resulting from their past experiences of having their bodies shattered dozens of times.

But at this moment, when they actually turned around and looked at Shenhou, they clearly saw it.

At this moment, the Monkey once again displayed the appearance of having three heads and six arms.

And one of his arms was in a strange position at that moment.

He crossed his middle and index fingers at his sides, like a mudra.

Yes.

Shenhou naturally knew that the 'Heavenly Palace Wonderland' opened by his Fighting God Fruit was practically invincible most of the time.

Within the wondrous realm of the Heavenly Palace, he was like the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace—unharmed, inexhaustible, and his golden cudgel could injure anyone who touched him or kill him with a mere graze.

The enemy couldn't even escape from here.

The only weakness, however, lies in the celestial palace itself.

The four fighting seals can be destroyed, thus breaking down this heavenly palace.

But
[Barrier-Barrier Fruit LV5: Fruit Awakening - Infinite Barrier, the area of ​​the barrier can no longer be limited, and it can remain in existence as long as the user does not fall.]

Just as he is demonstrating right now.

The existence of the Barrier Fruit's awakening effect perfectly compensates for this deficiency.

[Barrier Fruit - Four Directions Heavenly Gate]

"You want to escape? You may." At this moment, Shenhou stood up straight from the cloud.

"I won't let you become innocent ghosts—there's only one way to leave this place."

He grinned and pointed to himself: "As long as you defeat me here, this Heavenly Palace will dissipate, and you can come and go as you please."

As soon as these words came out.

The three knights of the gods found it all absurd.

Defeating you—what kind of bullshit is that?
If we can defeat them, why would they need to run?
But there is no doubt about it.

At this moment, they realized that they seemed to have no way to escape.

"Let's just fight this guy to the death."

At that moment, Pierre Saint almost trembled all over.

The current situation involuntarily reminded him of the experience not long ago when he was bombarded by a bug named Roy, leaving him with only a head.

That was a humiliation he never wanted to experience again.

"No!"

At this moment, Saint Qilingom stopped him: "There's no point in fighting this guy—our 'Deep Sea Protection' is already very weak. If we are killed a few more times, the power of the contract may be temporarily scattered!"

"We should hold our ground. No matter how monstrous this guy is, his strength and abilities must be limited!"

He was clearly the calm one, or perhaps the battle just now had made them realize the reality.

Shenhou was so strong that he was like a monster, completely beyond their comprehension.

A direct confrontation is completely pointless.

So all they can do is 'procrastinate'.

“Split up and escape—that way he can’t kill us all at once,”

“We have the ‘Deep Sea Covenant’ on us, which is our greatest advantage.”

He clearly knows their only advantage right now.

That is the 'Deep Sea Contract' on them.

That was the power bestowed upon us by Lord Im.

Although the 'power enhancement' effect brought by this contract has now lost its meaning in front of Shen Hou—under the 'God of War Stance' boosted by more than 2000 victories, Shen Hou has almost no chance of being defeated head-on.

But
"Our immortality remains!"

"As long as we ensure that no one is subjected to continuous attacks from Conqueror's Haki, the power of the contract will soon recover, and then we can deal with this guy. We won't lose in a war of attrition. As long as we hold on, we'll find a way!"

"Right? Fabian?"

At this point, Chiringom also looked at Fabian Saint.

But at this moment, all he saw was Fabian Saint's gloomy, even fearful expression.

"No"

At this moment, Fabian Saint did not reply to his partner's words.

"Chiringom, haven't you realized it yet?"

“This guy was just ‘playing’ with us before. He wanted to weaken the ‘Deep Sea Contract’ on us without arousing our suspicion.”

"This guy, this guy..."

His teeth were grinding together, making a clicking sound.

In his heart, he had already vaguely sensed that incredible possibility that made him feel unprecedented fear.

"Varied"

Upon hearing this, both Chiringom and Pierre Saint were instantly stunned.

However, they didn't have time to say much more.

"really."

Then, the voice of Shenhou rang in my ears once again.

They turned around and saw that Shenhou had already leaped down from the clouds.

“You lot have no real skills, but you’re good at finding ways to survive.”

He said this.

"So I simply asked the boss for help."

Boss?

Upon hearing this, the three knights of the gods were taken aback once again.

then
"Boom!"

Then they heard a sound.

"Boom!"

That's the sound of drums.

"Knock knock!" "Knock knock!"

The desolate, majestic sound of war drums resounded throughout the entire Heavenly Palace.

It seemed to pierce through the barriers of space, streaking across the sky like a muffled thunderclap.

Amidst the clouds and mist, it seemed as if deities and Buddhas were chanting sermons.

It seemed as if some enormous eye was watching over the entire celestial palace.

The deafening war drums sent a shiver down Fabian Saint's spine.

Because in this very instant.

The deep-sea contract in their left hands began to send piercing, soul-deep pain through them.

They felt that their souls, which had long been cast into the 'deep sea' through the contract and fallen into the embrace of that great man, seemed to be beginning to resurface at this moment.

"Could this be...?"

Their gazes were fixed on the Deep Sea Contract in disbelief, before they subconsciously turned to the Heavenly Palace behind Shenhou.

At this moment, above the Heavenly Palace...

"Buzz!"

Countless stars shine brightly.

The boundless stars seemed to merge with this celestial palace.

And at the center of the stars, at the end of the celestial palace.

Surrounded by stars, a figure whose shape is indistinct and whose reality is hard to discern seems to be standing there.

And the magnificent drumbeats resounded from the center of those stars.

Thus, the three knights of the gods instinctively recalled that name, which was legendary even among the knights of the gods.

"The Drum of Liberation?"

【Nika Fruit LV5 - Wish for Freedom - Drum of Liberation】

[The drum of liberation can be sounded through the heart]

When the drums of liberation sound, all allies, including oneself, will gain 'freedom' and their bodies will no longer be 'bound' by anything.

Yes, thanks to Katakuri's recent gift of a massive fortune belonging to almost the entire Big Mom Pirates crew.

Roy was able to gather the staggering 800 billion Berries needed to unlock the Nika Fruit's awakening.

That's why we have this moment.
【Cloud Palace Melody: The Drum of Liberation】

At this moment, the brilliance of the stars intertwined with the golden armor on Shenhou's body.

On that mask, the monkey face revealed fangs and madness.

He raised the iron rod.

"Come here, let me take a look."

"After taking this blow, will you so-called 'gods' die?"

The words fell.

He had already swung the iron rod in his hand.

"hide!"

At that moment, Fabian Saint only had time to utter this one word.

The light in his hand shimmered, and the images within it kept changing.

His figure began to flicker around him, like a film constantly switching reels, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

In fact, he didn't need to remind him at all.

At this moment, both Chiringom Saint and Pier Saint had instinctively made evasive maneuvers.

The Swift Bird flew by, and the Holy Knight of Qilingom transformed directly into a Qilin.

He pushed his regenerative abilities as a mythical beast to their limit.

The blood mist surrounding Pierre Saint surged to its extreme, and the constantly flowing vectors even caused his armor to begin to crumble.

He pushed his vector manipulation to its limits.

But
"!!!"

Suddenly.

A feeling arose in their hearts the next moment.

It's hard to describe that feeling.

It's like an ant seeing a mountain peak break.

It's like a bird witnessing its fall from the sky.

"No! No! No!" *3
At that moment, the three knights of the gods wept uncontrollably.

That was a feeling they had never experienced, and should never have experienced.

"We are the Knights of God, Lord Buim!"

That's the kind of fate they often bring upon others, but never thought it would befall them.

That is
【die】!
But obviously.

Crying and wailing are meaningless.

As the golden-glowing monkey wielded his iron cudgel, it began to expand.

"boom!"

Like a tall building.

"boom!"

Like mountains.

"boom!"

Like heaven and earth.

Ultimately, that staff stretched across almost the entire Heavenly Palace.

【The Law of Heaven and Earth - Havoc in the Heavenly Palace】

A monstrous bolt of lightning and a golden cloud of flame swirled around it as it crashed down!
"Catch the baton!"

(End of this chapter)