One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 696: Darkness and Sun

The aftershocks of Chen Ye's attack had not yet dissipated.

Dark gravity is still distorting the sky.

The clouds broke apart.

A dark gray vortex pressed low over the earth.

All the coalition soldiers knelt on the ice, their limbs stiff.

The bones were firmly nailed to the spot.

Even breathing is a luxury.

Chen Ye released his suppression.

Aura release.

Crimson gold flames suddenly spread out from behind him.

A gash was torn open in the gray sky.

The golden light lacked the ferocity of thunder.

Pure, unadulterated heat.

The sun was pulled closer to the Earth.

The light fell on the ice field.

The few remaining naval soldiers closest to the battlefield were the first to show physical symptoms.

They were pinned to the ground, their spines deformed.

Golden light fell on his back.

The stiffness in my bones has mostly subsided.

They can move their fingers again.

"active."

A naval officer gritted his teeth and propped himself up, his pupils filled with golden light.

"Retreat!"

Beckman's voice came through as he pressed one hand against the brim of his hat and waved the other hand behind him.

The able-bodied soldiers began to move backward.

The speed is not fast, but the direction is the same.

Within the area illuminated by the golden light, the physiological pressure caused by the gravity of darkness was weakened.

The remnants of the Allied forces were finally able to withdraw.

Chen Ye didn't look at them.

His gaze was fixed on Leviathan, who was a hundred feet away.

The massive torso of the ancient demon lay prostrate on the icy plain, the dark gold patterns on its scales flowing like life.

The giant, blood-red eye was fixed on the golden figure high in the sky.

Crimson gold divine flames flowed along the outline of Chen Ye's body.

From the shoulder blades to the arms, and then to the sides of the waist.

Finally, it coalesced into a golden halo beneath their feet.

The flames did not spread outwards, but remained tightly adhered to his skin.

Like a living suit of armor.

This is the complete form of Apollo, the sun god.

Golden flames covered Chen Ye's entire upper body.

Light patterns, resembling feathers, condensed on the shoulders and spine.

The spine stretches out a golden ridge that runs through the heavens and the earth.

His hair floated upwards in the flames, with thin golden flames trailing behind the ends of the strands.

His face appeared pale and sharp in the light.

The irises of both eyes turned into molten gold.

Another force has also awakened.

Erebus is darkness.

A dark aura seeped out from the cracks in Chen Ye's body.

It did not resist the golden flames, but instead revolved around them.

A silent, black river.

Where darkness passes, fragments of dark rays remaining in the air are absorbed.

Even the lingering corrosive effects seeping from the spatial cracks were swept away.

Golden Flame Purification and Suppression.

Darkness absorbs and counters.

The two forces did not conflict.

They formed a stable cycle on the surface of the leaf.

Crimson gold flames flowed on the outer layer, dispelling the erosion.

The darkness of Erebus swirls beneath the golden flames, devouring all external forces as fuel.

Gold and black alternate.

Like the yin and yang fish of Tai Chi, they push each other.

On the icy plain, everyone fell silent.

Whitebeard gripped the Murakumo-giri tightly.

He stood on the shattered ice, his battle robe torn to shreds, revealing his scarred chest.

He looked up at the golden-black figure high in the sky, his pupils shrinking to their limit.

"The Sun and the Abyss".

His voice was very low.

"That kid has two completely opposing forces within him."

Lockes did not respond.

He stared at the golden-black ring on Chen Ye's body.

For the first time, a serious look flashed across his dark eyes.

He was ready to charge.

But he stopped.

No gold and black cycle can be created without sheer domineering power.

The brutal combination of these two forces will only lead to self-destruction.

I can't be domineering.

Even Devil Fruits can't do that.

That's a complete system.

The golden flames and the darkness each have their own roles.

A system capable of participating in a war of gods.

"This is not something a human could create."

Locke finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Or rather, this is no longer human."

On the other side of the battlefield.

Shanks, wielding Griffin with only one arm, pressed the blade against Shamrock's neck.

Red and black electric arcs intertwined.

But his gaze shifted, looking at Chen Ye high in the sky, his single eye filled with an unfathomable solemnity.

"Continue to retreat."

Shanks withdrew his gaze and gave orders to the nearby members of the Red-Haired Pirates.

"This is no longer a battlefield we can participate in."

The members of the Red-Haired Gang did not hesitate at all.

They helped their injured companion up and quickly moved him to safety.

Shanks used the edge of his sword to pin down the struggling Shamrock, and slowly retreated.

This area was given to the two giant shadows in the sky.

Chen Ye did not respond to the reactions of the powerful figures around him.

He was doing something else.

The true power of Apollo form begins to be unleashed.

Crimson gold flames expanded outwards from the body's surface.

It's not a spread.

It is expansion.

Chen Ye's body grew taller under the influence of the golden-black power.

Bones, muscles, skin—every layer is being reconstructed by divine power.

His size has been steadily increasing.

ten meters.

Twenty meters.

Fifty meters.

One hundred meters.

The golden flames grew denser as they were magnified.

The darkness of Erebus also expanded.

The black swirling current transformed into a massive black river that encircled the entire area.

Chen Ye's body finally stopped at a level close to Leviathan.

Two enormous shadows faced each other across the void.

The ice field collapsed amidst the confrontation between these two forces.

It's not vibration.

It's not cracked.

It burst open directly.

The ice layer within a radius of several hundred meters beneath Chen Ye's feet was crushed into fragments.

The ice shards flew into the air, only to be pulverized by the golden-black cycle.

The same applies to Leviathan's feet.

The weight of the ancient demon, combined with the suppression of the dark gold patterns, turned that area into a black swamp.

Beckman, standing some distance away, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"The entire area within a radius of several miles at the center of the battlefield was a dead zone."

He immediately turned and waved to the Allied forces, his voice broken and fragmented by the storm.

"Everyone keep moving backward! Don't stop!"

The coalition soldiers did not need a second prompting.

The two giant shadows in the sky were more convincing than any command.

The giants carried their wounded comrade on their backs.

The surviving naval personnel helped each other up.

The pirate alliance discarded excess equipment.

Everyone was retreating in the same direction.

Chen Ye did not wait.

He made the first move.

A massive, crimson-gold hand, embracing the darkness of Erebus, struck Leviathan's shoulder and neck.

The scale of the event was not exaggerated.

The giant golden hand steadily pushed through the air, with black energy surging within its palm.

The speed suddenly increases to maximum before approaching the target.

Leviathan did not dodge.

It didn't even move.

The dark gold patterns beneath the scales flowed in reverse the instant the giant hand touched them.

The patterns flow backward from the tail to the head at an extremely fast speed.

Three breaths.

In just three breaths.

The crimson-gold divine flame in Chen Ye's palm and the darkness of Erebus were absorbed into the scales by the dark gold patterns.

They were swallowed up cleanly and efficiently.

The swallowed power was released from the gaps in the scales at the tail of Leviathan.

It turned into wisps of faint black mist.

drift.

It's been uninstalled.

Chen Ye's palm strike only left a slight scorch mark on Leviathan's scales.

The depth did not penetrate the outermost layer of scales.

This kind of damage is practically nonexistent.

Chen Ye withdrew his hand.

There was no direct attack.

He took a half step back, his gaze fixed on the dark gold patterns on the surface of Leviathan's scales.

After the pattern is absorbed, the flow returns to normal and the speed is stable.

But Chen Ye caught it.

He seized upon a detail.

Each time Leviathan absorbs external force, the moment the patterns return to normal from their reverse flow, the dark gold patterns at the junction of its throat and chest become stagnant.

It's not stagnation, it's sluggishness.

The flow rate slowed down by a fraction of a beat.

The time was extremely short.

However, Chen Ye's Observation Haki allowed him to scan the recovery rhythm of the patterns inch by inch when he struck again.

He captured that moment.

A flaw.

It appears after each time it is devoured.

The position remains unchanged.

The time remains unchanged.

Chen Ye etched this information into his mind, his face expressionless.

Leviathan reacted more violently.

It was enraged.

All the bony fins on its back stood upright, emitting a piercing metallic clang.

A dark aura emanated from the gaps in each scale.

A pure outburst of rage.

Darkness surged forth like a tsunami, engulfing the surrounding space for hundreds of meters.

Im's voice came from deep within Leviathan's gaping maw.

It drowned out the roar of the storm and the shattering ice.

"You did make a move after all."

There was no surprise in his tone.

Im used the word "as expected".

It knew from the beginning that Chen Ye would make a move.

It is waiting.

Its desire to kill Chen Ye was already deeply ingrained.

All the previous arrangements were designed to force Chen Ye into the game.

Luffy is the bait.

Chen Ye is the prey.

Upon hearing Im's words, Chen Ye's gaze swept over the dark gold patterns on Leviathan.

The voice was calm, as if stating a fact.

"I was hoping to see what other tricks you had up your sleeve."

His tone was not sarcastic.

There was no contempt.

There was no hostility.

It was just calm.

"Or we can wait until you reveal a real weakness before we make our move."

He had been observing.

I've been calculating.

They have been searching for Im's core weakness.

He then actively seeks out the one and only point where he should take action.

The unsung judge.

This positioning has never changed.

Chen Ye then spoke, his voice echoing across the entire icy plain.

"But it seems that if I don't make a move soon, I'll be in for a miscalculation."

This is a statement for everyone to hear.

The Straw Hat Pirates heard this from behind the distant ice rocks.

Zoro crouched down next to Luffy, his hand resting on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.

He was ready to rush out.

The muscles in the body were stretched to their limit.

But Chen Ye's words made him stop.

Chen Ye was not indifferent.

He was calculating from beginning to end.

Calculate Im's hand.

Calculate Leviathan's defenses.

Calculate the time it takes for Luffy to run out of energy.

A window for calculating the coalition's retreat.

He was searching for the one point that could save everyone.

The only one.

Zoro released his hand from his sword.

He didn't rush out; instead, he turned around and squatted down next to Luffy.

Facing the direction Luffy fled, three swords were placed across his lap.

Chopper lay on Zoro's back, his little face full of tension.

But he didn't move any closer.

The most important thing to do now is to protect Luffy's recovery space.

"Zoro..."

Chopper's voice trembled.

"Don't move."

Zoro's voice was steady.

"Now that he's made his move, he won't let that thing get any closer to Luffy."

In the sky, Leviathan understood.

Im is no fool either.

Chen Ye said, "I'll make my move when you reveal your true weakness."

This means that Chen Ye has already found something.

One direction.

This was enough for Chen Ye to conclude that Leviathan's defense was not insurmountable.

The blood-red giant eye shrank to a thin line.

The aura of darkness surged.

Purposeful cohesion.

The dark gold patterns on Leviathan all lit up.

The power beneath the scales operates in a completely new mode.

It lowered its body and dug its four claws deep into the ice.

The bony fins on the back changed from being upright to tilting forward.

All the dark energy was compressed into the core of the torso.

It abandoned the energy storage rays.

Leviathan is preparing to close in and crush them.