One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

"Since that war, it has been like a ghost, wandering in the cracks of world history."

"And we...we have never truly been able to control it."

Satan Saint narrowed his eyes slightly, a complex light flashing in his cloudy yet deep eyes:

"It's almost as if it possesses some kind of will."

After those words, the meeting room fell into a brief silence once again.

The five elders exchanged a glance—the kind of glance that only those who had guarded a secret for centuries could understand.

Hundreds of years of hunting.

Hundreds of missed opportunities.

Piet Saint suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with hesitation:

"But... didn't Lord Im say a while ago... that he sensed Nika's power was weakening in this world?"

The five elders frowned, their gazes shifting back and forth between each other.

indeed.

During their audience not long ago, the being who sat upon the Void Throne—Im—personally informed them of this perception.

Nika's power is weakening, or even disappearing.

Nasujiro Sei's fingers tightened around the walking stick, his knuckles turning white:

"Could it be... that Lord Im's perception... is wrong?"

"Unlikely..."

Satan Saint retorted almost reflexively, his voice unconsciously losing some of its authority:

"Lord Im's perception could never be wrong!"

The meeting room fell silent once again.

a long time--

Piet Saint took a deep breath and broke the silence:

"Should we report this to Lord Im?"

As soon as the words were spoken, five pairs of eyes met in the air, each carrying different thoughts and considerations.

Report to Im...

This implies an admission of their dereliction of duty as the Five Elders.

Right under their noses, Nika's power was reawakened, and in such a high-profile and flamboyant way, in front of live cameras around the world.

"Don't disturb that person yet!"

Satan's voice was resolute, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness:

"To disturb Lord Im's slumber without certainty would only make us appear incompetent!"

He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping over each of his companions present, his voice deep and powerful:

"Isn't the Knights of God located in Marineford?"

The eyes of the other four Elders lit up almost simultaneously.

"Tell them to stop waiting for the dragon to appear, and to take action immediately and finish off Straw Hat Boy on the spot!"

"When necessary..."

Saint Satan slowly stood up, his aged yet still sharp eyes gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room at the sky tinged with the ash of gunpowder in the direction of Marineford:

"...We can also make our appearance."

……

……

On the battlefield of Marineford, smoke and gunfire intertwined to form an impenetrable web of death.

The battle between the revolutionary army and the navy has entered its most intense phase. The sounds of fighting echoed throughout the harbor, and blood soaked every stone slab in the square.

On the ruins of the collapsed platform, Moria's enormous earthen giant figure still stands, like an unshakeable black mountain.

He swung his massive hand, sweeping away dozens of naval soldiers who were trying to charge, his deafening roar echoing through the smoke.

"Hehehehe—who else!?"

Moriah's laughter was sinister and deafening.

His massive body, woven from mud and shadow, cast a shadow that covered half the square amidst the smoke of battle, and every time he raised his hand, he stirred up a storm of gravel and dust.

however--

Just then, a golden light pierced through the smoke-filled battlefield!

The light was not dazzling at first, but it carried a solemn and majestic power, like the light of Buddha rising from an ancient temple, piercing through the chaos and clamor of war.

"Moria—"

A deep and majestic voice resounded like a great bell throughout the square.

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.

Behind the ruins of the high platform, a huge golden figure was slowly rising.

The Warring States Period of Buddha -

Fleet Admiral, Human-Human Fruit - Buddha Form, activated!

Golden light erupted from Sengoku's body, and his body rapidly expanded and grew within the light, transforming in an instant into a giant golden Buddha tens of meters tall.

The Buddha statue was solemn and dignified, its compassionate face carrying an inviolable majesty. Golden light emanated from its body, bathing the surrounding smoke in a sacred glow.

Sengoku slowly opened his eyes, and Moria's enormous earth giant figure was reflected in his golden pupils.

"—Do you think that having new abilities means you can do whatever you want in Marineford?"

His voice was as deep and resonant as a Buddhist bell, each word carrying a powerful, resounding force that silenced the entire battlefield.

The next second—

Warring States slowly raised its enormous golden Buddha palm, a dazzling light gathering in its center.

Shockwave - Charge Up!

"Buddha's—"

Sengoku's voice echoed in the square. His golden Buddha palm suddenly shot forward, carrying a power strong enough to shake mountains, and crashed straight towards Moria's enormous earth giant!

"—Impact!"

Rumble—!!!

A massive golden shockwave erupted from Sengoku's palm, tearing through the air like divine punishment, and slammed into Moria's Earth Giant with unparalleled power!

Wherever the shockwave passed, it carved a deep trench in the ground, and rubble and dust were thrown tens of meters high by the blast wave. The air itself emitted a sharp wail under that terrifying power.

Moria's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Varied--!"

He instinctively raised his arms, and the earth giant's arms formed layers of thick rock walls in front of him, attempting to block the direct impact of the golden shockwave.

however--

The shockwave of the Warring States period was a terrifying force capable of shattering an entire island in a single blow!

boom!!!

The golden shockwave crashed into the earthen wall!

The stalemate lasted less than a breath before the layers of earthen walls cracked and collapsed under the crushing force of the shockwave!

Debris flew everywhere like a torrential rain. Moria's enormous earth giant was hit head-on by the shockwave. His huge body slid backward dozens of meters under the terrifying force, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.

"Ugh—!"

Moria let out a muffled groan, and large cracks appeared on the chest of the Earth Giant, with dirt and gravel falling down in a flurry.

Chapter 222 The King of Match Fixing

"The Warring States Period of Buddha... Damn old man, he's actually quite skilled!"

Moria steadied himself, looked up at the golden Buddha, and a rare solemnity flashed in his scarlet eyes.

but……

"I've finally made it back to this stage, how could I possibly be easily defeated again!"

He suddenly spread his arms wide, and the shadowy monsters beside him surged and rose like living things, intertwining and merging with the earth giant's body, brewing an even more powerful force.

Before he finished speaking, Moria transformed into a giant of earth and let out a deafening roar that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, causing the entire square to tremble slightly.

Shadows and dirt surged wildly around him, and his size swelled up again, his enormous body seemingly obscuring half the sky.

"Come on, Warring States period!"

Moriah's voice boomed like thunder, echoing endlessly across the smoke-filled battlefield:

"Let me see—whether your Buddha's palm is harder, or mine is harder!"

Amidst the smoke of battle, the light of Buddha and shadows intertwined and collided on the ruins of the high platform.

……

……

"What dazzling special effects!"

Gazing at the battle in the sky between Moria and Sengoku, which seemed like an epic war, V sighed.

"Right now, people in the Sabaody Archipelago are probably watching this like a movie, aren't they?"

The Buddha's light and shadows collided fiercely in the high sky, each impact bursting forth with dazzling light, turning that half of the sky into a tapestry of interwoven gold and black.

Meanwhile, the battle between Luffy and Garp was equally captivating.