One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 277 The Essence of the Five Elders, the Manifestation of the Star Mark!

As mentioned before, as scientists...

Although Satan was arrogant, he possessed the caution that scientists always have.

So after leaving Egghead Island, ensuring that Emmett's presence would not be noticed by his colleagues.

He decisively chose to contact the other four of the Five Elders—from the very beginning, they had planned to surround the Snake.

After all, since Dressrosa, Lord Im no longer places 100% trust in them.

This was a rare and excellent opportunity for them to seize the Twelve Constellations Plan and prove their worth, so they naturally wouldn't hold back at all.

"There's one weakened insect on the island, but apart from that, there's no trace of other people or abilities!"

After appearing, Itsumade ascended to heaven.

Its body was surrounded by fiery clouds and flames, and its eyes scanned its surroundings, immediately arriving at this conclusion.

Itsumade is a legendary 'phantom beast' formed from the malice of the unburied corpses of the dead, capable of sensing and attacking any living person nearby.

Therefore, Maz-sei, who transformed into 'Itsumade,' also possessed the ability to sense nearby 'life.'

Upon hearing this, the Five Elders nodded in agreement.

"That bug must be 'Hawkeye' Mihawk."

Sandworm said coldly, "We can deal with him later. He's not important."

"In other words, are there no other people in the twelve constellations around here?"

"pity."

Nasujiro, disguised as a 'horse bone', squinted his eyes: "But it's also a good thing—let's make sure we catch one first."

Almost as soon as the words were spoken.

"boom!"

The horse's four hooves pounded the ground.

"Zi!"

The Conqueror's Haki Lightning suddenly exploded on his body, and his speed exploded to an almost unbelievable extreme speed in an instant.

Wherever his massive figure passed, frost instantly formed on the ground.

And from his hand, the sharp blade was already drawn.

"laugh!"

Without even striking – merely drawing the blade – its sharpness had already cleaved the ground beside him.

The sword is a demon sword, and it is also one of the "Twelve Supreme Grade Swords", the first generation Kitetsu!
In the blink of an eye, the figure, shrouded in domineering lightning and chilling aura, appeared behind the snake!

The long sword slashed horizontally at the snake.

But the next moment...
"clang!"

The Autumn Water Dance was already a barrier before the 'First Generation Kitetsu'.

Black and red lightning clashed, their blades meeting, and a huge cloud of dust and the sound of slicing echoed once again through the ruins of Einstein Island.

"He has some strength."

At that moment, Nasujiro Sho sneered, "Unfortunately, he's at the end of his rope."

As he spoke, his gaze also noticed the injuries on the snake's body.

His already weakened body gushed blood after this exchange, turning the surrounding ground crimson in an instant.

Although he barely managed to withstand the attack with his Autumn Water, his whole body was now trembling.

It seems, as Nassuro Sei said, that he was at his last gasp.

"Buzz!"

At this moment, all that could be seen was the body of Saint Nassshulang's 'horse bone'.

A chilling aura surged from his body, spreading along the First Generation Onikiri towards the Snake.

The Snake felt as if even its soul had been frozen.

"The Yellow Springs. Cold Qi?"

At that moment, the Snake clearly felt the touch of the cold air.

That power is extremely similar to the chilling aura of the Underworld Fruit—no, the two are the same power. The difference is that the 'horse bone' that Nasujuro Saint transformed into not only possesses the chilling aura of the Underworld, but also has the physique and speed of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.

"Just as I expected, these guys..."

And so at this moment, beneath the mask of the Snake.

Roy, who already had some suspicions, was even more certain of his guess based on the hints in the Fruit Encyclopedia and his current feelings.

"The Five Elders are not 'Devil Fruit users'."

He confirmed this fact.

"They were merely granted the Abyss Contract by Im, which allowed their souls to carry a portion of His essence, thus enabling them to use a portion of Im's bloodline factor energy."

"Just like the hint in the Fruit Encyclopedia, their essence is the vessel of 'evil' represented by Im!"

"They are not 'powerful beings,' but rather they embody that 'desire' itself."

The deeper Roy's understanding of the source energy of bloodline factors became, the more he could vaguely comprehend the essence of Im's abilities.

Im is the abyss, the shadow of the world, the embodiment of all evil desires.

Through the mistakes made by Davy Jones, He made the great vow to "make everything free," thus becoming an independent "individual."

But its true nature remains the same as the 'Pillar of the World': a combination of desires and bloodline factors.

Simply put, aside from those few special Devil Fruits that can break free from their restraints.

Im should possess the abilities of all the Devil Fruits in this world simultaneously. As the holders of the Abyss Contract, the Five Elders each carry a portion of Im's 'essence'.

Outwardly, this manifests as the abilities they are demonstrating at this moment.

“The ‘horse bone’ that Nasu Shouro’s incarnation is probably a mythical beast born from the ‘wish for immortality’ symbolized by the Yomi Fruit, combined with the ‘wish for horse’ and other wishes, and further supplemented by ‘bloodline factor energy’.”

"It may not have given birth to a corresponding Devil Fruit, but is just a 'wish' created by Nasujuro Sei himself—just like how I can merge wishes with the help of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia."

Upon thinking of this, another idea instantly came to Roy.

That is.
"The awakening of a Devil Fruit is essentially when the user grasps the essence of the 'wish' corresponding to that fruit—when the user's physique, combat skills, and mentality are sufficient to bear and fulfill that wish, the fruit will awaken!"

"That's why the original work mentions the concept of 'Devil Fruits possessing consciousness'."

After gaining a better understanding of the origins of Devil Fruits, Roy quickly noticed another problem.

That is.
"They all possess the aura of Conqueror's Haki."

The God Knights are required to submit to Im, so almost none of them possess 'Conqueror's Haki'.

At this moment, each of the Five Elders possessed a strong Conqueror's Haki, according to Roy's perception.

And
"The intensity of their domineering aura is almost identical."

Roy could tell that.

Based on these two points, he was quite confident—although the Five Elders still held the title of Celestial Dragons, their essence was no longer human, nor were they Devil Fruit users.

They have already become part of Im in fact, becoming 'evil phantoms'.

"Therefore, the Five Elders possess an even stronger 'immortality' than the Knights of God, and may even be immortal."

"The reason is that their essence is part of Im, so like Im, nothing that has ever existed in this world and is recognized by the world can kill them."

"And their 'Conqueror's Haki' probably comes from this. The source of this Haki is not the Five Elders, but Im himself!"

At the same time that thought came to mind, the spreading chill of the Yellow Springs had already frozen the entire body of the Snake.

His body began to freeze, and even the dripping of blood from his wounds seemed to slow down and stagnate.

at the same time
"Itsumade - Evil Fire!"

Itsumade flapped its wings and descended from the sky, spewing huge flames from its mouth toward the snake.

"Sandworm - Impalement Punishment!"

The sand worm's enormous body continued to coil around the snake, its sharp fangs piercing it instantly!

"The poison of the demon!"

The ox-demon's appendages, radiating a faint purple light, pierced through the snake's body, and purple venom began to flow into it.

"Bazuga·Geiga Sword!"

The enormous Fengxi swung its huge, blade-like fangs, also slashing towards the Sishe.

They clearly had no concept of 'the dignity of the strong'—at this moment, without hesitation, they launched a group attack.

And then the next moment.
"boom!"

Under the combined attack of the Five Elders.

The body of the snake was almost torn to pieces in an instant.

“Be careful not to kill him completely—leave him alive, or at least bring his soul back.”

"Don't worry, this guy is from the Lunaria race, he won't die so easily. But I didn't expect that there would be other people from that race besides Jhin."

"Leave the interrogation to me; my abilities are best suited for it."

Seeing the serpent's body torn to pieces, the Five Elders naturally felt that victory was in their grasp, and even began to think about how to interrogate this precious 'prey' in front of them.

But just a moment later, they were stunned.

because
"!!!"

By this time, they had clearly noticed it.

The snake, whose body had been instantly torn apart by their combined attack, was now laughing.

"Great, finally I can see the 'health bar'."

The five elders could not understand the words spoken by the Snake in a low voice.

But the Snake itself knows very well what's going on.

At this time and in this place, he became certain that the Five Elders were essentially a 'part' of Im.

In other words...
If only a way to kill the Five Elders could be found.

That would be equivalent to finding the possibility of actually harming or even killing 'Im'.

It's like reaching the final few levels in a game and finally seeing the boss's health bar appear—even if that health bar is still located far away in the sky.
He had already seen the possibility.

Next, all he needs to do is verify the 'method' he has found.

"Buzz!"

It was at this moment that the Five Elders noticed.

It is on the chest of the snake, at the location of its heart.

A mark is slowly emerging.

"The Abyss Contract?" *5
The Five Elders made their judgment almost subconsciously.

But the next moment, they realized something was wrong.

Although the mark that appeared at this moment was very similar to the Abyss Contract on their bodies, its appearance was completely different.

It was a mark like a star.

(End of this chapter)