Mary Geoise was already in complete chaos. The towering structures that once symbolized the supreme authority of the World Government were now mostly destroyed by the ravages of war.
The once magnificent castles were reduced to ruins, and the streets were littered with rubble and scorched marks. The light from the explosions reflected the figures of those fleeing.
"Run away!"
Some World Government officials fled in a disheveled state. They, who once sat high above, looking down upon the seas, were now like frightened birds, scurrying among the ruins.
Without the protection of the military, they were defenseless against this disaster.
"What's going on?! Why have the enemies reached this place?!"
A richly dressed noble screamed, but before he could run a few steps, a loud crash came from behind. A burning meteorite fell from the sky, instantly turning him and the surrounding buildings into ashes.
In the distant sky, enemies released from the depths of Pangaea Castle poured into the battlefield, seemingly without end.
On the ground, Jin, Whitebeard, and Loki supported the core of this battle, becoming the focus of the entire battlefield.
"These guys are really troublesome."
Jin said in a low voice, his gaze coldly sweeping across the battlefield before him. He gripped the hilt of his sword, lightly stepped forward, and his whole person shot towards the front like a gust of wind.
"Boom!"
His blade struck down, directly splitting a clone in half. Fresh blood sprayed out, splashing onto his sword.
But Jin did not stop. His figure flickered like a ghost, his blade cutting through the enemy ranks, killing all enemies in his path one by one.
Whitebeard, on the other side, created a vacuum zone.
With each swing of his long blade, the shockwaves tore through the enemy formation, scattering the clones and creatures in all directions.
Although the strength of these clones was comparable to his, Whitebeard's combat experience and Haki allowed him to maintain the upper hand.
"Hahahaha! This is more like it!"
Whitebeard laughed, his long blade piercing fiercely into the chest of a clone, pinning it to the ground.
"Your strength is great, but my Tremor-Tremor Fruit is not to be trifled with!"
Loki was completely immersed in the slaughter. His black flames swept across the entire battlefield, and each flap of his dragon wings stirred up a violent storm, tearing the enemies that pounced on him into pieces.
"Is this all you've got? You think you can stop me?"
Loki roared, his dragon tail sweeping out fiercely, smashing several creatures that tried to sneak attack him into pieces.
His body appeared incomparably huge in the firelight, like a legendary doomsday dragon, turning the entire battlefield into hell.
Despite Jin and the others' best efforts, the number and strength of the enemies still caused the battlefield to fall into a stalemate.
Whether it was the clones or the genetic weapons, their power made each attack difficult, and Jin's reinforcements had already been forced back to the outskirts of the battlefield by the power of this battle, unable to intervene at all.
The sky above Mary Geoise was shrouded in thick smoke and fire, and the ground was covered with blood and corpses. Even the air was filled with a nauseating stench.
At the center of the battlefield, sword light, meteorites, and black flames intertwined, forming an apocalyptic scene.
However, there was not the slightest retreat in the eyes of Jin and the others.
They knew that this battle was not only about their life and death, but also the ultimate battle for the fate of the entire world.
"Not enough!"
Jin said in a low voice, his eyes coldly staring in the direction of Pangaea Castle, the blade of his sword slightly raised, flashing with a sharp cold light.
"That guy Imu is still not making a move!"
The air on the battlefield was already filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood, with smoke and flames spreading everywhere.
However, even though the situation was already so chaotic, a deeper sense of foreboding emerged in Jin's heart.
His sword light cut through the enemy ranks, his figure darting like a ghost, but his heart did not relax in the slightest due to the victories before him.
He stood in the center of the battlefield, his blade dripping with blood, the enemies around him torn into wreckage.
However, those fallen enemies were quickly replaced by new ones, like shadows. This endless confrontation had made him realize that these were merely surface battles, and the real danger was still lurking in the dark.
"There's no point in fighting like this."
Jin's gaze was cold, and he breathed slightly. His eyes unconsciously swept towards the depths of Pangaea Castle, where the enemy—Imu—had still not appeared.
He frowned, trying to use his Observation Haki to sense the situation outside the battlefield, to probe the hidden aura in the depths of Pangaea Castle.
However, no matter how much he concentrated, that area remained as silent as an abyss, without any traces of life.
"Something's not right."
Jin's heart sank. Not being able to sense the existence of the enemy was, for him, tantamount to a great warning.
His Observation Haki had reached its peak, allowing him to sense any subtle fluctuations on the battlefield, and even predict the enemy's attack trajectory.
But now, facing the place where Imu was, he was as if blocked by an invisible wall, unable to sense anything.
"This feeling..."
Jin's fingers gripping the sword tightened slightly, and a complex emotion surged in his heart—it was doubt, also vigilance, and even a faint unease.
Jin's mind raced, his eyes becoming increasingly calm and deep.
"Imu hasn't shown up, there are only two possibilities..."
He speculated silently in his heart,
"Either she has given up hope for the battle and prepared a stronger backup plan; or—she has absolute confidence in herself, even believing that everything is under her control."
His thoughts were as sharp as a knife, dissecting the possibilities of the battle one by one.
If it was the former, it meant that Imu still had some hidden power, perhaps even the trump card in her hand.
Those genetic weapons were perhaps just a means of delaying time, and her real backup plan might have already been deployed elsewhere.
And if it was the latter, then it was even more dangerous.
Because it meant that she was incredibly confident in herself, so confident that she disdained to personally intervene in the battle—this was an even more deadly threat.
Such opponents often rely not only on strength, but also deeply know when to strike and when to be lethal.
"Neither of these two situations is what I want."
Jin said in a low voice, his tone revealing a hint of coldness. He was not afraid of fighting, nor was he afraid of powerful enemies, but the most dangerous opponents were always those who hid in the dark, whose cards could not be seen.
However, what made him feel an even greater crisis was that his Observation Haki could not detect the other party's existence.
This situation had almost never occurred in his memory.
"Actually... can't sense her aura?"
Jin frowned slightly, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp.
"Is Haki being blocked? Or... has that guy simply surpassed my range of perception?"
This unprecedented sense of frustration made Jin somewhat uneasy.
It wasn't that he hadn't encountered strong enemies, but no matter how strong the enemy was, they would always leave some clues.
His Observation Haki could always capture the enemy's movements and even emotions, but at this moment, Imu's existence seemed to be wrapped in a thick fog, and nothing could be sensed.
This feeling gave Jin a sense of inexplicable coldness.
"What exactly is she?"
Jin muttered to himself, the hand holding the knife exerting a slight force, his knuckles making a slight cracking sound.
Standing in the center of the battlefield, he felt as if a huge stone was pressing on his heart.
Although there were countless enemies around him, his attention was completely focused on that distant and quiet area.
