"Truly magnificent."
Kong Tai nodded.
The greatest unexplained mystery of life was, in fact, the mystery of the soul.
Where we came from, everyone had an answer.
But was that answer the true answer?
No one could say.
No matter how advanced science became, or how fantastical the fantasy, life's essence, the soul's essence, could not be explained.
"Alright, I'm heading back. You continue."
Bi An yawned, his form dissolving into specks of silver light and vanishing from Kong Tai's shoulder.
Though the Demon King was a demigod, Kong Tai was also a demigod at this moment, and one with spatial abilities at that. Bi An didn't think Kong Tai couldn't handle the Demon King.
He had only come out for some fresh air and a moment of reflection.
Smiling and shaking his head, Kong Tai's form also turned into specks of silver light and disappeared.
At the same time.
The battle raging in the outside world had already entered its climax.
The Demon King of two worlds was the same. If the Demon King inside was anxious, the Demon King outside was naturally just as anxious.
And those engaged in combat, once they had something to care about, were no longer so reckless.
On one side, he wanted to return to resist Kong Tai. On the other, he was fully committed to the fight. This led to the Demon King, who was already far more powerful, appearing to have lost his senses and freezing mid-battle.
"A great opportunity!"
Whether it was Ah Hua and the others, or the members of the Red-Haired Pirates, they all saw the Demon King's abnormality at this moment. Thus, everyone seized the chance simultaneously, unleashing their full-power attacks upon the Demon King.
Crack—!
The Demon King did not resist, allowing everyone's attacks to land upon him.
The power displayed in the outside world was not like that in Uta's world. In the outside world, even it could only maintain its initial appearance and not act as it pleased, as it could in Uta's world.
Cracks appeared from all directions across the Demon King's body, then gradually spread throughout its form, before, to everyone's astonishment, shattering into pieces.
Revealed within was Uta, already completely unconscious.
Just then, Shanks moved.
With extreme speed, he instantly crossed the distance between himself and Uta, appearing below her in a flash and gently catching the falling girl.
"What?"
On the giant rock, whether it was Kuina or Issho, their pupils contracted sharply as they stared at Shanks' back.
"That speed?"
"Truly like thunder in motion."
Staring at Shanks' back, Kuina's right hand instinctively went to the hilt of the Wado Ichimon. A glint of fighting spirit flickered in her clear eyes.
She had never seen Shanks in action before, only knew he was strong. After all, as one of the Four Emperors who commanded the New World, how could he not be strong?
But she had never expected him to be this strong.
The speed Shanks displayed at that moment, and his control over his power, were absolutely beyond her, surpassing even the Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru, whom she had heard fought against him.
Looking at the Western sword hanging at Shanks' waist, Kuina's fighting spirit intensified.
Originally, Kuina had thought Shanks was merely powerful, and the sword at his waist was just an ordinary weapon. However, the sharp edge inadvertently revealed by Shanks' instantaneous speed made Kuina realize that Shanks was not as simple as he appeared.
This man was a swordsman, an exceptionally powerful swordsman.
Even in Kuina's perception, this sharpness was no weaker than the feeling she had when she first encountered the World's Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
Back then, she was still weak and could only observe.
But now...
Even knowing it was inappropriate, a hint of sharpness involuntarily emanated from Kuina.
She had no worry that Kong Tai would be able to deal with the Demon King, for no one here understood Kong Tai's strength better than she did.
This sharpness, like a signal transmitter, instantly drew everyone's gaze.
However, Kuina paid no heed to the puzzled looks cast her way. She merely stared at Shanks' back, awaiting his reply.
Holding Uta, Shanks turned and looked at the girl on the giant rock, her hand gripping her sword. No emotion flickered across his brow.
After a moment's thought, he shook his head and calmly said, "Kuina, after this is over, I will spar with you."
He saw a reflection of Mihawk in Kuina.
Mihawk back then was a battle fanatic, a madman devoted to the way of the sword, challenging swordsmen all over the world. He would come to spar with Shanks every so often.
If he hadn't lost an arm in the East Blue, with his intuition, Shanks felt Mihawk would have pestered him his entire life until he was completely defeated.
Touching his empty left arm, a hint of nostalgia crossed Shanks' face.
Although being pestered by Mihawk wasn't easy for him, those were years he truly cherished and longed for.
It was also during that time that his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
When two strong individuals, young and strong, validate each other, spar with each other, and learn from each other, that is when they step onto the path to their peak.
"Good!"
Kuina was very satisfied with Shanks' answer. She nodded, releasing her grip on her sword and relaxing her body.
Then, she stopped looking at Shanks and raised her head to observe the scene in the sky, which resembled time flowing backward as the Demon King shattered.
The black energy released after the Demon King's destruction did not vanish with its fragmentation. Instead, it condensed into a ball, then collapsed inward, finally pouring into the distorted space Kong Tai had entered.
Eventually, the space smoothed out, and the entire world returned to its original state.
However, though the world had returned, everyone present knew that in the depths of that space, in another world, someone was still fighting.
They could not help, so they could only stand there, waiting for the young man's return.
"Shanks."
Ben Beckman, smoothing his slightly disheveled hair, strode forward and approached Shanks, looking down at Uta lying in Shanks' arms.
Seeing Uta's pained expression even in her unconscious state, he asked, "Will there be any trouble?"
He had received too much information from Kong Tai, so much that Shanks hadn't fully processed it yet, and thus hadn't had the chance to share it with his crew.
This led to Ben Beckman's concern about Kong Tai's strength.
He knew how powerful the Demon King was. So many people had surrounded and attacked the Demon King for so long, yet they couldn't leave a single noticeable wound on it. And this was merely the Demon King's outer manifestation. How powerful would the Demon King in the depths of space, in another world, be?
He couldn't imagine.
Even though he was already quite aware of Kong Tai's strength, facing a completely illusory Demon King, could Kong Tai truly succeed in killing it?
This question was not his alone. Seeing the pained expression on Uta's face, all the Red-Haired Pirates showed worry in their eyes.