The pirates sat and forgot, and they really believed the nine truths and one lie.

The brief detachment from consciousness was like experiencing an absurd yet real dream. When everyone's minds were forcibly pulled back from the pure white world of Nika to reality, and they felt the hardness of the ruins beneath their feet and the bloody and burnt smell in the air, they were momentarily dazed.

The experience of conversing with the legendary demon Nika and witnessing the projection of the Gate of Truth was so incredible that even these elites, who were used to seeing all kinds of storms, could not help but feel their hearts swell and find it difficult to calm down.

The cruel reality of killing intent immediately pulled them back to the cold battlefield. Nasujiro Sei was the first to completely break free from the influence of that brief dream.

His gaze, peering through his glasses, had become cold and sharp again, even more profound than before, as if he had made a firm decision.

His direct encounter with Nika did not shake him in the slightest; on the contrary, it strengthened his belief that the threat must be completely eradicated here.

Negotiation? Compromise? After confirming Nika's existence and his connection to Luffy as a vessel, all of that became meaningless.

"sulfuric acid--!"

A clear yet eerie sword cry rang out as Nasujuro Sei slowly drew the demon sword, Daiichi Kitetsu, inherited from Wano Country, completely from its ancient scabbard.

Under the remaining sunlight, the blade did not reflect a bright light, but rather a dark, purplish-black, cold gleam that seemed to devour light.

He raised the demon sword high above his head, its tip pointing straight to the sky, his voice deep and majestic, like a final judgment: "Nika, you have failed countless times, and your fate will not change even if you come to this era!"

"Lord Im is the only eternal god, the supreme ruler of this world."

To the pirates, this declaration was nothing more than the triumphant rhetoric of a victor, but the resolute killing intent it contained almost froze the air.

Luffy's intuition was the first to sound the alarm. He stared intently at Nasujuro's feet, a deeply ominous premonition washing over him. "Something... is about to come out..."

His premonition came true, but unfortunately he won't receive any prizes.

A massive, complex pentagram formation composed of the purest black energy suddenly burst forth from the ground, centered on Nasujiro's feet.

The lines of the magic circle, like burning black flames, slowly rotated, emanating a cold, deathly, and terrifying aura, as if from the deepest hell.

The aura was so powerful and malevolent that it instantly enveloped the entire block and even spread towards the distant edge of the island. Anyone on the island who was slow enough to escape was doomed.

"It seems like it appeared in the sky before!"

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Hawkins and Capone Becky, who were slightly weaker, were the first to be affected. They felt an indescribable mental erosion, accompanied by a sense of physical oppression.

It was as if countless ghosts were howling in their ears, forcing them to subconsciously close their eyes, muster all their strength to resist, veins bulging on their foreheads, and cold sweat instantly soaking their backs.

Even Luffy and Kid felt their breath catch in their throats, as if an invisible giant hand had gripped their throats. They stared intently at the changing figure at the center of the magic circle.

The most chilling change occurred within Nasujiro Sei himself. Under the cover of the black pentagram magic circle, the flesh and blood of his human legs, starting from the ankles, melted and peeled away like a phantom, revealing the pale white bones that shimmered with a metallic luster.

The skeleton rapidly deformed and extended, transforming in the blink of an eye into a huge, ferocious skeletal horse. Its upper body, however, retained a human form, though its skin had turned pale and its eyes were even colder and more ruthless.

In the blink of an eye, Nasujuro, one of the highest authorities in the World Government and the God of Finance, transformed from a tall, thin old man into a centaur demon with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a skeletal warhorse.

Nasujuro Sei let out a silent roar, which caused the surrounding space to tremble violently. A visible Conqueror's Haki, centered on Nasujuro Sei, spread wildly outwards like a storm.

Rumble——! ! !

Wherever the powerful impact of Conqueror's Haki passed, the already dilapidated ruins of houses were completely blown away and annihilated like sandcastles, and the ground was scraped up layer by layer, exposing the deep rock and soil!

"Oh no, catch him!"

Lucky and Kaku on the roof changed their expressions drastically. The intense wind pressure made it difficult for them to even stand. They had to use all four limbs to cling to the constantly cracking roof like geckos to avoid being blown away by the terrifying demonic aura.

Kidd roared and manipulated the surrounding metal debris to condense into a thick shield wall in front of him, but the shield wall trembled violently under the shock wave, emitting a teeth-grinding twisting sound.

Luffy's feet were firmly planted on the ground, his rubber body swaying violently in the gale, and his straw hat was almost blown away!

Nasujuro Sei, in his centaur form, stood in the center of the black magic circle, his demon sword, Daiichi Kitetsu, seemingly coming to life, shrouded in an even stronger evil aura.

He looked down at the people struggling in the storm, his cold eyes filled with nothing but pure indifference to life and a desire for destruction.

"Feel the judgment of God, you ants... Despair!"

The black pentagram magic circle beneath Nasujuro's feet opened a gate to the abyss. Violent black smoke mixed with hellfire that burned like a tangible flame soared into the sky, instantly engulfing Nasujuro in his centaur form and shrouding a large area around him in churning darkness.

This darkness was not merely a blinding illusion; it contained a terrifying power that eroded the soul and shattered the will. Kid and Luffy endured their intense mental discomfort, attempting to use their respective abilities to penetrate this ominous black mist and lock onto Nasujuro's aura.

Their senses had barely penetrated the black mist when they were jerked back as if electrocuted, their faces showing disbelief and horror.

“There’s more than one… there are other things inside.” Kidd’s metal arm trembled slightly, his eyes filled with seriousness.

In his biomagnetic field perception, besides Nassuro's terrifying aura, which was like the core of an abyss, several other equally enormous, equally evil, and equally soul-chilling monstrous auras suddenly appeared in that swirling black mist.

Luffy's intuition was on high alert, making the hairs on his body stand on end. He stared intently at the black mist, and in the depths of the impenetrable darkness, he could vaguely see several larger, twisted, and inhuman silhouettes slowly coalescing and emerging.

"Back off, back off again, close your eyes, don't look!"

In the distance, the CP0 members responsible for sealing off the battlefield were terrified. As the world government's highest intelligence agency, they knew better than anyone what the simultaneous appearance of these five auras meant.

Without any hesitation, all CP0 members closed their eyes tightly, some even covering their eyes with their hands covered in Armament Haki, and frantically retreated, trying to get as far away as possible from the central battlefield that had become an absolute forbidden zone.

Luffy and Kaku, the CP9 duo, weren't having an easy time either; they immediately teleported away and disappeared on the rooftop.