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

Before this condensed, solidified black color, powerful enough to unleash a level 10 gale, only the white figure stood alone in the eye of the storm.

The others, whether it was the Five Elders who were struggling to hold on or the three of them who nearly fell to their deaths, could no longer look directly at Im, the source of the storm, let alone fight against him.

Against the backdrop of drifting fiery clouds and raging black lightning, Luffy solemnly put the straw hat he was holding back on his head.

His arms hung naturally at his sides, his fists slowly clenched, without shouting or making any announcement.

He responded to Im's question with his body, with his strength, and with his very existence.

boom--! ! !

A powerful, unyielding Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his body, a power far beyond what any pirate of his age or era could possess.

With its fiery red as the main color, it seems to have condensed the dawn and passion of countless eras, and the moment it appeared, it transformed into a red storm that soared into the sky.

Visibly, the crimson storm and the pitch-black storm collided fiercely and relentlessly atop the towering, white-boned spine.

It is not a clash of metal, but a direct collision of will and authority, freedom and domination, future and past.

The pitch-black thunder and crimson lightning intertwined wildly, and the terrifying energy turbulence evaporated the surrounding air, making it crackle and pop, as if the night sky had been torn open with countless cracks.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Im's Conqueror's Haki is significantly superior in both quantity and quality.

In the field of vision, the pitch-black storm occupied nearly 70% of the space, like an abyss that devoured everything, constantly squeezing and eroding that crimson area.

Although the crimson storm only accounted for 30%, it was exceptionally tenacious, resisting the onslaught of the black tide. Teetering on the brink of collapse, it never extinguished, steadfastly guarding its territory.

Im couldn't overpower Luffy for a moment!

The four elders standing on either side of the ribs were now deathly pale, staring intently at the terrifying scene of red and black intertwined with unprecedented shock.

They were all shrewd individuals, and naturally they could clearly sense that the crimson Haki emanating from Luffy, capable of rivaling Im's Conqueror's Haki, was definitely not from Monkey D. Luffy, this young man.

It doesn't even belong to this era; it's an echo of will from the other side of time, from the source of legend.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe just a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

After the two devastating storms of color collided and tore each other apart, they seemed to reach some kind of tacit understanding, gradually restraining their sharpness and returning to calm.

The black and crimson lightning slowly dissipated, leaving only the howling wind in the sky and the oppressive, suffocating silence.

The clash of Conqueror's Haki is not about deciding life or death, but rather a most primal and direct dialogue and confirmation.

Luffy has already proven with his actions that he has the right to talk to Im. Im's chaotic gaze is fixed on Luffy, allowing him to continue his unfinished "nonsense".

Luffy, dressed in white, still wore that mature and complex smile.

He slowly opened his arms, like a bird about to take flight, embracing the night sky before him.

“I am indeed not the complete Joy Boy; I am now only a part of Nika’s god…”

“Even my memories are somewhat missing,” he said, a hint of regret in his voice.

His gaze once again pierced through space, landing on the violently fluctuating shadow, the emotion in his eyes becoming even more profound and unfathomable.

"And I, so incomplete, remain forever at the Gate of Truth, yet I have never forgotten you."

"I really do look forward to the day you fall from your pedestal..."

As soon as he finished speaking, or perhaps because the time limit for his power had expired, the mature yet world-weary aura on Luffy's face began to dissipate rapidly at a visible speed.

The depth in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by the clear, carefree spirit of Monkey D. Luffy, brimming with youthful vitality.

Although his body still retains the white form of the awakened Nika Fruit, and the fiery cloud behind him is still floating, anyone can feel that Luffy is almost a completely different person from the one a second ago.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, looked around in confusion, then looked down at his pure white arms and body, and then reached out to pinch his forehead.

He muttered to himself, "What just happened? Why do I always end up here?"

His memory was completely blank regarding his world-shaking conversation with Im.

Just then, he subconsciously raised his head and his gaze met that of the bull demon, still shrouded in a distorted shadow, a hundred meters ahead.

Although he couldn't see the other person's exact appearance, the malice emanating from that figure instantly triggered Luffy's survival instincts to sound the highest level of alarm.

Almost reflexively, he leaped backward several times. The elasticity of the rubber made his backward jump incredibly fast, instantly creating a large distance between them. He hurriedly retreated back to Kidd, who had just struggled to get up.

"Could it be that you've taken control of my body?" Luffy stared warily at the Gyu-oni in the distance. Faced with an opponent whose aura was so sinister and unfathomable, his first thought was that he might be under some kind of mental control.

"Are you alright?!" Kidd gasped for breath, looking at Luffy who had returned to normal, and couldn't help but shout, his face showing a look of utter disbelief.

"It's okay!" Luffy turned his head and gave Kid a signature innocent, even a little silly, smile.

"I feel there's absolutely no problem!"

The familiar Luffy is back.

The eerie feeling of different personalities occupying the same body still stirred up a storm in Kidd's heart. So what happened just now was indeed Joy Boy possessing him.

"Why did they both pass out? Are they alright?" Luffy's attention was drawn to Hawkins and Capone Bege, who were sprawled on the ground with their eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth. He asked with a worried expression.

"..." Kidd's lips twitched, too lazy to explain, and directly manipulated the magnetic force.

The metal fragments that had been covering the two to hold them in place began to violently shake their bodies up, down, left, and right in the air under the influence of the magnetism.

"Ugh! Ugh—!"

"Stop...stop!"

And so, with a violent and inhumane shaking, the two were jolted awake, almost vomiting up what little food was left in their stomachs.

“Stop shaking! I’m going to die if you keep shaking me…” Capone Becky groaned weakly, his huge head looking extremely dizzy.

Kidd then stopped using his powers, while Hawkins lay there looking utterly hopeless, drooling and his eyes half-open, as if his soul had not yet fully returned to its place.

All of this, from Luffy returning to normal to his panicked retreat, to Kid waking up his crewmate, was quietly observed by the Gyu-oni, who was shrouded in shadow in the distance.

Time? They don't care about the time.

In Im's mind, only one unwavering thought remained: to kill him.

Right here, tonight.

They carried his body back to the flower garden.