69novels Chapter 237 The Return, Arjuna's Power
Chapter 237 The Return, Arjuna's Power
Chapter 237 The Return, Arjuna's Power
Outside the third isolation room of the deepest part of the Naval Headquarters prison.
The heavy gate, forged from sea stone and a special alloy, suddenly let out a groan of unbearable strain.
Then, there was a loud bang.
The door hinges twisted and deformed, and sparks flew everywhere as the entire door was blasted away by a tremendous force, crashing heavily against the wall opposite in the corridor.
Only deep dents remain.
"Cough—cough cough—" Two naval officers, covered in blood and barely breathing, lay in a pool of blood outside the door.
One of them used his last bit of strength to press an inconspicuous alarm button in his pocket, and then completely lost consciousness.
The highest level of intrusion alarm rang throughout the entire Naval Headquarters!
Inside the Yuanshi office, Sengoku and Green Bull Aramaki were analyzing the battle reports sent back from the front lines of Impel Down. The moment the alarm sounded, both of them changed color.
"What's going on?! Where did that alarm come from?!" Sengoku suddenly stood up, his face ashen.
The communications soldier responded frantically, "It's—it's headquarters prison! The third isolation cell! Someone's broken in!"
"The target is Arjuna?! Who could it be at this time—" Sengoku's pupils suddenly contracted.
His mind flashed back to the Blackbeard Pirates' seemingly stubborn but actually abnormal behavior in Impel Down, as well as the vague report about Earl of Heroes' abilities.
"Damn it! Their target was never Impel Down! It's Arjuna! Damn it, they have the ability to teleport—"
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to bypass all the outer defenses and appear here directly. Damn it, we underestimated the abilities of the Heroic Spirits!"
The carefree smile on Green Bull Wild Shepherd's face vanished, replaced by a chilling killing intent.
"How dare they barge into Marine Headquarters and cause trouble—they're asking for it!"
The two figures vanished from the office in an instant, rushing towards the anti-magic prison at top speed.
The third isolation room in the prison.
The dozens of sea stone chains that had bound Arjuna had broken off and were scattered all over the ground.
Blackbeard, the Earl, Lafitte, and Van Augur stood at the broken gate.
Arjuna, now free, stood there with his head down, his dark hair falling down, obscuring his expression.
But the aura of vengeance emanating from him was fluctuating violently, like a volcano about to awaken.
"Hehehe!! Did you see that, Arjuna!" The black-bearded man spread his arms wide, his single eye gleaming with triumph.
"We've come! To fulfill our promise to you, to give you back the power and opportunity to take revenge on Akainu and the Navy!"
Arjuna slowly raised his head, his eyes, which had once burned with the flames of revenge but had become empty due to the break of the contract, were now filled with complex emotions.
He looked at the count in the shadows: "I have already tasted the bitter fruit of the revenge you gave me. Akainu has died and been resurrected; we have no more grudges."
"Moreover, in Alabasta, under Yang Jian's divine gaze, my contract has already collapsed."
"Now I am nothing but a wandering ghost, of no use to you—to this world."
"Failure is not the end, but a new beginning, Arjuna." The count's deep voice carried a seductive power.
"Breaking the contract means you've broken free from old constraints."
"Look at this world, look at Akainu, whom you served and who later betrayed you. Look at the so-called justice of the Navy behind him."
"And look at the world government they uphold—have they ever truly cared about justice?"
"What they uphold is nothing more than the Celestial Dragons' disgusting order! Oppression, enslavement, hypocrisy—that's the truth of this world!"
Lafitte gracefully twirled his cane and continued, "And Captain Teach will shatter all of this, overthrow this corrupt world government, and bring unbridled freedom to this sea!"
The black-bearded man grinned menacingly: "A hero brought to this world by divine intervention. Akainu and the Navy only see you as a tool of war."
Have you ever witnessed the full spectrum of this world? Have you ever seen a starving orphan reach out to a hero in despair?
Under the influence of the Count's illusionary abilities, Arjuna clearly saw a skeletal hand pursuing hope.
However, it was accompanied by a loud gunshot.
This poor child died at the hands of a Celestial Dragon, who did it all for a laugh.
Arjuna's eyes wavered, but he remained silent.
Seeing this, Blackbeard grinned maliciously and carefully took out the Heart of the Cloud Sea, which seemed to have lightning flowing inside, from his pocket!
"Look at this, Arjuna! This is a treasure obtained from the Sky Island; it contains—Indra's divinity!"
"What?!" A Zhou Na was terrified. He stared intently at the Heart of the Cloud Sea. The familiar and supreme aura made his soul tremble.
"Father God—Indra?! This—how is this possible?! Has he also come to this world?"
"Hahaha! Nothing is impossible!" Blackbeard held the Heart of the Clouds in his palm.
"The gods of your world are far more concerned about this place than you imagine! Even the great god Indra is dissatisfied with this corrupt world!"
"He chose us! That's the key proof!"
"Arjuna, join us! Not just for revenge, but to fulfill God's will and to create a new world!"
"You! You are a hero bestowed by heaven! One of the pioneers of the new world! You will regain your power, a power far greater than before!"
Guided by the Earl's spiritual power, Arjuna's vision seemed to be forcibly opened, and countless images of the World Government oppressing civilians, the Celestial Dragons acting recklessly, and the Navy acting as accomplices flooded into his mind like a torrent.
These images, intertwined with his own resentment, constantly assaulted his defenses.
Furthermore, there was the faint call from the supreme divinity at the source of his bloodline within the sea of clouds—
The last trace of hesitation vanished from Arjuna's eyes, replaced by a cold light mixed with determination.
He slowly straightened up, and his previously listless aura surged like a tidal wave. The dark flames of revenge ignited around him once more, but they were even more violent than before!
"I see it—the karma of this world—it truly needs to be purified."
Arjuna's voice was cold and ethereal. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and powerful magic surged forth. The phantom of the artifact Gandibal condensed in his hand, emanating a chilling aura.
"Then—for the sake of the people and children of this world, the Bow of Vengeance obeys your command."
boom!
The final barrier of the prison was completely destroyed by the magic power erupting from his body!
"Hahaha!! That's it!" Blackbeard was overjoyed.
Just then, two powerful auras descended from afar with a thunderous roar!
"Blackbeard!!! How dare you!!" Sengoku's roar was like thunder as he and Green Bull Aramaki appeared at the end of the corridor.
The enormous, gleaming golden Buddha image and countless surging, grotesque plants filled the entire space!
"Oh? Finally, two decent-sized fish have arrived."
The count, hidden in the shadows, let out a low, cold laugh, but he did not step forward, seemingly hesitant.
Blackbeard looked at the furious Sengoku and the menacing Green Bull, narrowed his one eye, and a sly look appeared on his face.
"Hahaha—Marshal Sengoku, it's been a long time! Your aura is still as strong as ever. However, we're not the main characters today."
He took a step back and patted Arjuna on the shoulder.
"Arjuna, these two troublesome fellows are yours to handle."
"Let them see the power you possess now that you've regained your faith!"
"My Lord, Lafitte, Oka, let's go! Let's move the Marine Headquarters' database!"
Before the words were finished, darkness surged forth again, enveloping Blackbeard, the Earl, Lafitte, and Van Augur. Their figures faded rapidly under the angry gazes of Sengoku and Green Bull, and they were teleported away.
They were clearly on a mission to steal classified data and intelligence.
"Don't even think about escaping!" Green Bull roared, and countless ferocious plant vines with spikes and suckers lashed out at the disappearing darkness like giant pythons, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier.
At that moment, Arjuna stood in front of Sengoku and Green Bull.
Holding the Gandy Longbow, his cold gaze locked onto the two men. His overwhelming killing intent, a mixture of vengeful darkness and a hint of divine majesty, firmly anchored the two top combatants of the Navy.
"Your opponent—is me."
"Arrogant!" Green Bull Wild Shepherd, with his fiery temper, turned all his anger on Arjuna when he saw Blackbeard flee.
"A useless heroic spirit locked in a cell dares to block the way?! How dare you!"
Countless thick black vines burst forth from the ground, like tentacles from hell, carrying an aura of devouring life, and coiled around Arjuna from all directions.
The thorns on the vines gleamed with an eerie light, clearly possessing the properties of being highly poisonous and capable of absorbing energy.
Arjuna's eyes remained unmoved. He didn't even pull Gandibal away; he simply held his bow horizontally in front of him and uttered cold proverbs.
"Pervading all, destroying all — the flame of purification."
Buzz!
Centered on him, pitch-black flames suddenly bloomed like a lotus flower!
The flames were not scorching, but rather carried an aura of annihilation and end!
The vines of the Green Bull, which were capable of absorbing life energy, withered and turned to ashes the moment they came into contact with the black flames, just like ice and snow meeting the spring sun!
"What?!" Green Bull's pupils shrank. His ability had been so easily suppressed?
Clearly, he had never witnessed the power of a Heroic Spirit firsthand.
"I told you, Aramaki! We must never let our guard down when facing Heroic Spirits! Each of them possesses power surpassing that of the Sea Emperors!"
"Great Buddha - Shockwave!"
At that moment, the Warring States transformed into a golden Buddha, its enormous palm carrying a tremendous force that could suppress everything, and pressed down on Arjuna like a mountain!
Wherever the shockwave passed, the air emitted a deafening roar.
Arjuna finally moved.
He gracefully and swiftly turned to the side and drew back Gandibar's bowstring.
Boundless dark magic and a trace of blue divine power converged at his fingertips, condensing into a jet-black arrow that seemed capable of devouring light!
"Pierce through—the curse of the Beast's Fur."
call out-!
The jet-black arrow left the bowstring without making a earth-shattering sound, but it carried a strange power that went straight to the essence. It instantly tore through the vast golden shockwave of the Warring States period, and shot straight into the palm of the Buddha like a hot knife through butter!
Sengoku's expression changed slightly. He could feel the terrifying curse power contained in the arrow, enough to erode his Buddhist light!
He immediately changed tactics, bringing his enormous Buddha palm together and concentrating the brilliant Buddha light at a single point, attempting to shatter the arrow.
boom!!
The jet-black arrow collided with the Buddha's palm, resulting in a violent energy explosion!
The black curse power and the golden Buddha light corroded each other, and the resulting shockwave caused cracks to spread throughout the entire prison structure!
The enormous Buddha statue from the Warring States period was actually forced back a step by the force of the impact!
"They actually managed to repel Fleet Admiral Sengoku's shockwave?!" The naval officers who rushed to provide support were all horrified when they saw this.
Upon seeing this, Green Bull roared and transformed into a churning sea of green plants.
"Luxurious Tree Realm Descends!"
Even more resilient trees surged forth from the ground, walls, and ceiling, attempting to completely trap Arjuna.
Swallow.
Arjuna hovered in mid-air, his gaze still cold as he faced the sweeping tree realm.
He drew the bowstring again, and this time, five arrows were simultaneously drawn on the bowstring, the five different magical attributes blending perfectly!
"Taste—the annihilation of the five aggregates being empty."
The five-colored arrows shot out like meteors in five different directions, not attacking the Green Bull itself, but rather striking the energy nodes of the tree world!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five explosions rang out almost simultaneously, instantly destroying the internal energy structure of the Tree Realm, which represented life and devouring, and causing large swathes of trees to collapse at a visible speed!
Green Bull grunted and was forced to exit his plant form, his face pale. His ability had once again been precisely countered by his opponent!
Arjuna pressed his advantage relentlessly, and Gandibar opened and closed repeatedly, each weapon possessing completely different properties such as curse, exorcism, and destruction.
A barrage of arrows, like a death rain, rained down on Sengoku and Green Bull.
Sometimes it's a splitting arrow, sometimes a tracking arrow, and sometimes a delayed-detonation explosive arrow.
He unleashed the full power of archery and Noble Phantasms, combined with the madness brought by the Avenger's Spirit Origin.
In an instant, Yunhai single-handedly suppressed two top naval combatants!
Zhan Guo raised a solid shield of Buddha's light, constantly blocking and shattering the incoming arrows, but with each strike he felt the Buddha's light being eroded, and his arms went numb.
Green Bull was in a worse predicament. His plant attacks were completely countered by his opponent, and he could only keep generating hard wooden shields for defense. However, the arrows could easily penetrate his defenses, forcing him to dodge constantly.
"Damn it! This guy is even stronger than he was in Alabasta! What did Blackbeard do to him?!" Sengoku gritted his teeth.
His face was extremely solemn. He looked at Arjuna, who was walking leisurely during the attack, as if he hadn't exerted his full strength, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.
He knew that he and Green Bull alone were absolutely no match for Arjuna at this moment.
Blackbeard and his men are wreaking havoc elsewhere in headquarters, stealing crucial intelligence. Every second of delay means a greater loss.
"This can't go on any longer—"
While struggling to fend off Aryu's relentless attacks, Sengoku spoke into the miniature communicator hidden in his ear, his voice almost squeezed out between his teeth.
"Contact the Holy Land—urgent request for assistance! We request that Lord Taigong Wang and Yang Jian immediately provide support to headquarters and inform them that the Avengers have spiraled out of control, and the situation has exceeded the Navy's jurisdiction!"
He knew what requesting the support of Heroic Spirits from the World Government meant; it was tantamount to admitting that the Navy was incapable of handling the crisis alone.
But in order to stop Blackbeard's plot, to prevent Arjuna from causing even bigger problems, and to protect the core secrets of the Marine Headquarters, he had no choice!
Arjuna, seemingly sensing Sengoku's intentions, launched an even more ferocious attack, his jet-black arrows raining down on the two like splashes of ink.
Only then did he truly harbor murderous intent; an arrow beyond visual perception was about to pierce through the Warring States period!
Sengoku's Observation Haki began to roar wildly, seemingly indicating that there was no way to turn the tide.