Chapter 169: Ian vs Im, The World Tree!

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Mary Geoise

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"What other tricks do you have up your sleeve, Im?" Ian asked, his voice calm and steady. Im had many cards to play, but Ian had neutralized most of them.

The World Government's million-strong army, the Gorōsei, the Army Admirals, and even Steel Bones Kong had been neutralized.

Even Uranus, one of the three Ancient Weapons, had been tamed and turned into Ian's mount. The once-mighty World Government was reduced to Im alone.

Im's expression was dark, his aura menacing. He slowly rose to his feet, his golden armor clanking.

His hair flowed behind him like a lion's mane. "Very well, then. I shall personally deliver your death sentence. In eight hundred years, aside from that fool, Joy Boy, who foolishly wanted to share power with the masses, you are the first to have come this far. I'm actually starting to get excited."

His voice was cold, laced with fury, but also a hint of exhilaration.

He was the supreme ruler, the one who sat upon the Empty Throne, looking down upon all creation.

To him, an immortal, all life in the sea was insignificant.

But now, this insignificant being wants to fight him. Im's pride demanded retribution. He would personally obliterate Ian, extinguishing his existence.

He would restore the world to the rule of the World Government and reclaim his place upon the Empty Throne. But even as he channeled the power of time, Ian remained unmoved, unaffected by the accelerated aging.

"Joy Boy?" A flicker of interest crossed Ian's emerald eyes. Im vanished from his spot.

Their battle erupted, shattering the air around them.

They were on a level far beyond anything this world had ever seen.

'BOOM!' Ian's power had surpassed Im's expectations. He could even resist his time manipulation!

Yes, Im's power was the Real Time Fruit, a fruit almost unheard of in the annals of history. It was speculated that at the very top of the mythical Devil Fruit Tree, there existed fruits representing the fundamental laws of the universe.

Im, with his mastery over time, was a strong opponent. In eight hundred years, he had honed his physique to its absolute peak, manipulating the flow of time to accelerate his own healing. He had even managed to wound Ian.

But to Ian, with his High-Speed Regeneration, a severed limb was a minor inconvenience.

It had healed in an instant. What surprised him was that Im had managed to pierce his Hierro.

"Time and space are supreme. These are the ultimate powers. You have no chance of victory. Though you seem to possess some time-related ability, I can still use mine on myself."

Im sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. He had seen this before. Time manipulation was more effective on oneself than on others.

After all, he wasn't going to simply stand there and let himself be manipulated.

"The strongest? How laughable. Who dares to claim to be the strongest before me? Let me show you true power." Ian's expression remained calm.

Im had shown his hand. Now, it was time for Ian to reveal his own. He drew his Zanpakuto, a surge of spiritual pressure coursing through it.

"Murciélago"

As Ian spoke, his spiritual pressure exploded. When the dust settled, his appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation. Massive black wings, large enough to blot out the sky, unfurled behind him.

His black fingernails had sharpened into claws. His hair had grown longer, and his tear marks had deepened and widened. This was his First Etapa.

"Is this your Devil Fruit's Awakening? Do you think you can defeat me in this form?" Im's tone was dismissive, But He had never underestimated Ian.

In fact, he considered Ian his greatest adversary. He had studied Ian's abilities, his powers.

So, when Ian entered his First Etapa, Im recognized it instantly.

But he wasn't worried. He had analyzed Ian's previous battles. He was confident he could defeat Ian's First Etapa.

"Who says this was my final trump card?" Ian's voice was serene. An even greater surge of spiritual pressure erupted from his body.

As he spoke, Ian's form shifted again. A verdant spiritual pressure, so dense it seemed almost tangible, enveloped him.

The sheer intensity of his power was overwhelming, like the weight of the world itself, leaving onlookers awestruck.

When the transformation was complete, Ian's appearance had changed once more. His upper clothes had vanished.

Black liquid trickled from his eyes, the lower half of his tear marks now doubled. His eyes had turned a deep green, his pupils resembling those of his Hollow form.

His abdomen, legs, arms, and back were covered in black fur. His lower robe was split in two. His wings had fully unfurled, revealing bat-like claws.

His horns had grown longer and sharper. A tail had sprouted, tipped with a blade-like bone. His feet had become sharp talons.

This was his Segunda Etapa.

"A Zoan Awakening, and yet another transformation? What is this power?"

A flicker of shock crossed Im's eyes.

He had assumed Ian's First Etapa was his Zoan Awakening. But now, it was clear that Ian's powers were far more complex and mysterious than he had imagined.

He was genuinely curious.

But Ian wouldn't enlighten him. His priority was to defeat Im.

With that thought, Ian attacked.

Whoosh!

He vanished, moving so fast that he left behind a tangible afterimage. His speed in his Segunda Etapa was astonishing. Im instinctively sensed danger.

But his body couldn't react in time. Ian's hand clamped around Im's head, slamming him into the rock face. The impact shattered the rock, creating a massive crater. Im, dazed and disoriented, struggled to rise.

BOOM!

Ian struck again, a powerful blow that sent Im reeling. Im was strong, his mastery of time manipulation making him a formidable opponent. But he was facing Ian, someone from another world.

"Do you want to eat that fruit? Then go ahead. If I'm not mistaken, that should be the Space-Space Fruit, equal to the Time-Time Fruit. Its previous user was Joy Boy," Ian said, seeing Im get up from the ground and guessing his thoughts.

As the two most fundamental fruits, only they could check and balance each other. Although time could not break space, it was enough to give him a long life.

He guessed that Joy Boy probably hadn't even been killed by Im, but rather had been worn down to death.

"Very well, I admire your courage. I hope you don't come to regret it." Im patted the dirt off his body and walked straight to the center of the Room of Flowers, in front of the Devil Fruit Tree, and picked the Space-Space Fruit from the top.

Boom!

As he ate it, Ian clearly felt that in addition to the power of time, the fluctuations of space around the world gradually became stronger.

Im's golden armor shattered inch by inch, and his whole person turned pitch black, with countless stars twinkling, as if containing the power of the entire world.

This was the power of time and space, two fruits? Judging from his spiritual pressure, Im now possessed Planetary-level of Power. This made Ian break out in a cold sweat. He had played it big.

(5-B on vsbw)

He hadn't expected that the two abilities would not conflict with each other, but rather complement each other.

It seemed that in eight hundred years, not only had his body reached the peak of this world, but even his soul was not weak at all.

Or was it that the power of the two fruits in his body was checking and balancing each other, controlling each other's power?

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"Black Hole." A force, as if possessing an intense attraction, instantly seized Ian, trying to pull him back to the ground. Ian frowned, struggling against its pull.

"Spatial… Collapse."

Hum!

With Im's command, the space within a thousand meters of Ian suddenly collapsed inward, crushing towards him.

It was like a wall of space, pressing down relentlessly. A vortex of space threatened to tear him to pieces. He crossed his arms before him, using Armament Haki to defend himself.

But he couldn't withstand the collapsing space… or rather, the force that was causing it to collapse. He was forced back to the ground, his Hierro groaning under the strain.

His High-Speed Regeneration worked overtime to repair the damage. Even though he could regenerate from a single cell, he wasn't keen on testing that theory.

Finally, with a burst of power, he escaped the collapsing space.

"Black Prison."

Im continued his assault, unleashing another strange power. A swirling black vortex formed before Ian, distorting even the space around it.

When the spatial barrier finally dissipated, he clenched his fist, and the black vortex compressed into a small black ball, which flew towards the sky.

"What is that?"

Ian frowned, about to dodge when the black ball suddenly emitted a terrifying gravitational pull, yanking him towards it.

At the same time, the ground began to crumble. The Red Line itself fractured, and massive boulders, as large as mountains, were pulled towards the black ball, as if it possessed a monstrous gravitational force.

"I see… so gravity is also a function of space?" Ian murmured, a smile playing on his lips.

Without gravity, there would be no weight. These two were the true superior and subordinate powers. He hadn't expected Im's Space-Space Fruit to be able to wield gravity as well.

"Lanza del Relámpago."

Ian extended his arms to his sides. Two spears, formed from condensed spiritual energy and crackling with green flames, materialized in his hands.

He raised his right hand, hurling the Lanza del Relámpago towards Im. It pierced the air, leaving a trail of green energy in its wake.

The spear struck the black ball, engulfing it in a blinding green light. A shockwave of energy rippled outwards.

The two powers, both intangible and invisible, clashed in the air.

The black ball, under the onslaught of Ian's Lanza del Relámpago, exploded.

The levitating boulders and mountains crashed back to the earth. It was like a miniature version of Chibaku Tensei, far more powerful than anything Fujitora or Shiki could produce.

He knew that the true danger lay in its full eruption. The events in the Naruto world were proof enough.

Kaguya Otsutsuki had been sealed by her own two sons using that very technique. The current Im was far stronger than Ian. If he were to be trapped, with his seemingly endless lifespan…

He would be condemned to an eternity of solitude.

Or worse, Im might find a way to devour his lifespan. That was the most terrifying prospect. But even so, Ian remained calm.

Hum!

Ian extended his hands again. Two more Lanza del Relámpago materialized, one in each hand.

Hum!

On the left spear, a surge of golden flames erupted, engulfing the left side of the sky in a sea of fire.

Then, a wave of intense cold swept across the right side, freezing the very air.

On the left, a raging inferno. On the right, a frozen wasteland. Ian stood at the center of this duality, like a god controlling the elements.

With the help of the Heat-Heat Fruit and Snow-Snow Fruit, he could have created replicas of Ryujin Jakka and Hyorinmaru, two powerful Zanpakuto. But he had chosen to push the fruits' powers to their limits, creating two unique Lanza del Relámpago.

Hum!

A spear wreathed in all-consuming flames, and another radiating an all-freezing aura, one in each hand, one horizontal, one vertical, hurtled towards Im.

Fire, at extreme temperatures, could incinerate space itself. Similarly, extreme cold could freeze time. It wasn't just the Heat-Heat and Snow-Snow fruits.

The power of Slow-Slow and Explosion were also infused within them.

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