"It's definitely not the one from Mitsuki-time," Kōta nodded, confirming Shanks's words. He glanced around and continued, "With this Time-Time Fruit I obtained, I can..."
As he spoke, Kōta gripped his sword hilt and swung it downwards.
"Time Stop!"
In an instant, everything around them froze, as if trapped in a painting, eerily still.
He shifted his blade, and Kōta released his ability.
"This..."
The moment time resumed, Shanks, Benn Beckman, and Yasopp erupted with powerful auras.
It was a primal reaction, but even that brief moment showed their shock.
Kōta hadn't combined it with space, so he didn't truly freeze everything around them. Therefore, while they were frozen in time, their minds were not, and their powerful Observation Haki allowed them to sense the anomaly.
"This is just one of Zankō's abilities."
Kōta raised Zankō, reached into the distorted space with his right hand, and gently stroked its blade. He smiled, "Zankō can not only stop time, but also accelerate it locally."
"Of course, just like the rules of the world, the past is past. Even the power of the Time-Time Fruit cannot turn back time."
However, he didn't mention whether Zankō, after merging with his domain, could achieve time reversal.
There was no need.
For the Red Hair Pirates, that was another level they couldn't touch.
"Alright, let's finish this quickly. I need to rest."
He withdrew his left hand from the distorted space, brought it before him, and yawned. Then, turning, he looked towards the empty space to Uta's right, his expression becoming serious.
Knowing Kōta had important business, the Red Hair Pirates members silently retreated, leaving a vast space for only the silver-haired youth and Uta.
"Are you ready?"
Looking at Uta beside him, Kōta expanded his domain, enveloping her.
"Mhm!"
Uta nodded heavily, gazing at the void before Zankō's tip. Her bright eyes were filled with hope and yearning for the future.
The misunderstanding resolved, she had reconciled with Shanks. The demon that had weighed on her heart was removed by Kōta. Though she still felt deep remorse for Elegia, her despair upon learning the truth had subsided.
This was the strength she drew from Shanks's timely appearance and the care of the entire Red Hair Pirates.
It was also the ideals she carried and her own resilience that supported her.
Kōta retracted his gaze, turned sideways, reached into the distorted space with his left hand, his fingers touching Zankō's cold blade. He aimed the tip towards the void ahead, his eyes narrowed, and then thrust forward with his right hand.
*Crack—!*
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout Elegia.
Moreover, the instant Zankō's blade pierced the void, a strange power descended from the sky above Egyptia.
No one present could sense this power, only Kōta could.
He looked up at the sky. From his perspective, the sky had been replaced by a colossal, emotionless pupil.
But Kōta paid no heed to the coldness in the pupil. The hand gripping the hilt still pushed forward with force.
*Crackling—!*
A louder, more piercing sound rang out.
*Boom—!*
At that moment, the sky seemed to rage. A beam of blinding white lightning connected heaven and earth, descending directly from the sky towards Kōta, striking the area where Kōta and Uta stood.
The dazzling white light instantly replaced the sun, blinding everyone present.
This was followed by a deafening explosion and a powerful shockwave.
"Mr. Kōta."
"Uta."
Even knowing Kōta's strength, the sudden turn of events made the entire Red Hair Pirates crew tense.
The lightning was fast and gone just as quickly. When they lowered their hands and opened their eyes, they saw a deep pit emitting molten lava, as if left by a meteor impact.
And in that pit, a transparent bubble emitting faint silver light floated in the void.
Seeing Kōta and Uta standing unharmed, the Red Hair Pirates breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Whether it was because one lightning strike hadn't worked, or because it was truly enraged, the sky above filled with more lightning bolts, like crawling centipedes, covering the entire expanse, a terrifying sight.
Looking at the lightning in the sky, a hint of madness, undetectable to others, flashed in Shanks's eyes, along with excitement.
"This, is this the world of gods?"
Even though he couldn't see it, he knew there was something in the void preventing Kōta from piercing the veil between reality and illusion.
This unseen entity might be the god Kōta spoke of, or perhaps the rules of this world.
And he would encounter such things if he broke his own shackles and reached the divine realm.
So, at this moment, Shanks was extremely excited.
After all, experiencing it firsthand was far more real than hearing about it from others, wasn't it?
"Enough."
Just as everyone was on guard against the sudden appearance of lightning.
Kōta's roar replaced the thunderous rumble, instantly nullifying the world-ending power of that moment, and the oppressive weight on their hearts ceased.
Staring coldly at the illusory eye only he could see, the red, patterned flower on Kōta's brow came alive.
At that same moment, a illusory flower, enveloping the entire sky and turning it a single shade of red, appeared in this world.
The moment the illusory flower materialized, a pressure that filled the heavens and earth, far more powerful than the illusory eye and only perceivable by it, descended from the void.
Kōta himself couldn't do anything to this emotionless world will. But the other shore was different.
It was a being beyond this world. Even if the world will was emotionless, it had the ability to seek advantage and avoid harm, knowing what it could not provoke.
The illusory eye gave Kōta a deep look, then shifted its gaze to the massive Higanbana, staring at it for a moment before gradually dissipating.
The instant the illusory eye vanished from Kōta's view, the lightning that had filled the entire sky also vanished into thin air, like a drawing on a canvas being erased.
This left the sky with only "red."
"Higanbana, let's go back!"
Kōta mentally thanked the other shore and retracted his gaze, thrusting his sword fiercely into the void before him.