"Hmm… So you're their leader? And you dare defy the divine?" Imu spoke coldly.
"Heh… God? What a joke," Guy chuckled, his tone dripping with mockery. "You're nothing more than a ridiculous traitor pretending to be divine. I thought you might have some backbone, but you're just a pathetic fool."
Imu's expression twisted upon hearing the word "traitor." All trace of calm and composure vanished as bloodshot eyes locked onto Guy with murderous intent. "What did you just say?"
"Traitor. Didn't hear me the first time? Trash," Guy mocked without restraint.
"Die—Temporal Decay!" Imu roared. With a wave of their hand, a golden radiance burst forth, engulfing Guy in its glow.
"Everything and everyone decays under the passage of time. Die of old age—turn to ash in the flow of time!" Imu sneered. No one had ever survived this technique.
But then… their eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible…!"
"Sorry to disappoint," Guy said as he stepped out of the golden radiance completely unharmed.
"By the way," he added with a smirk, "I'm a Primordial Demon. This level of temporal decay? Are you playing games with me? Disgusting vermin."
Ever since learning of Imu's power, he had chosen this battlefield for the decapitation strike. He, Milim, and Veldora were all nearly immortal beings—unless the time manipulation stretched for tens of thousands of years, it wouldn't even scratch them. And clearly, Imu's control over time fell far short of that level.
In a blink, Guy vanished from sight and reappeared right in front of Imu. A radiant magic circle flared beneath their feet.
"Magic—Demon's Cage!"
Instantly, a cage inscribed with mysterious glyphs descended from the sky, trapping both of them inside.
"What is this thing?" Imu teleported a short distance away within the cage.
"Just a little spell," Guy said flatly. "Only one of us walks out alive. So go ahead—struggle all you like."
"I am the King of the Celestials! The Creator! I will not lose to some lowly species like you! Die—Eternal Moment!"
Imu activated the power of the Time Fruit. The world froze in place—only Imu could move.
Their 800 years of Armament Haki mastery solidified into jet-black armor covering their body. Fists like hurricanes pummeled Guy relentlessly.
After a few seconds, time resumed its flow. Imu quickly retreated as Guy, bloodied but standing, narrowed his eyes. "What an annoying ability."
"But that's what makes it fun… right?" With a dark grin, Guy's magic power surged, pushing against Imu like a tidal wave.
In response, Imu unleashed their Conqueror's Haki, meeting the pressure head-on.
The two clashed once more. It had to be said—Imu, after 800 years of training and with the power of the Time Fruit, was monstrously strong. The sporadic time freezes left Guy on the back foot, unable to properly retaliate.
Meanwhile, on the outside battlefield, things were starting to get... peculiar.
"Hey!" Garp called out while exchanging blows. "Little missy, what's your name?"
"Violet . Why are you asking in the middle of a fight? We're enemies!" she snapped, blocking one of his punches—though, without realizing, her strikes had begun to soften.
"Aw, don't be like that," Garp laughed. "I want to overthrow the World Government too. This fight? It's kinda pointless. How about we both fake it? Fighting all-out is exhausting, you know?"
Violet hesitated for a moment, then said nothing—but her weakening blows were answer enough. From then on, the two looked like they were fiercely dueling… but neither was actually putting in effort.
"Damn it, what's Garp doing—chatting with the enemy?" Sengoku complained from afar. "Aren't you supposed to be a Marine?!"
"Didn't eat breakfast, did you?" Whitebeard boomed with laughter as he charged in, swinging his weapon. "Put some muscle into it!"
"Goddamn it, not so hard!" Sengoku's face twitched as he barely blocked the blow. Why am I even fighting this lunatic? No chance to slack off at all!
"Hey, why don't we fake it too?" Roger suggested to Kong, totally unfazed by Kong's face turning black with exasperation.
There was a long silence. Just as Roger thought Kong was about to go all out, Kong muttered, "...Fine."
And so, two more slackers joined the battlefield.
Of course, not everyone was pretending. The top and vice heads of CP9, loyal to the World Government to the core, fought with deadly seriousness.
Unfortunately, they were completely overwhelmed by Whitebeard and Benimaru.
"Azure Blaze!"
Seizing an opening, Benimaru unleashed his ultimate move. A realm of white flame engulfed the CP9 leader. As screams rang out, and the fire faded, nothing but ash remained.
"Tch. Honestly, with the power those guys have, this shouldn't have taken so long." Benimaru rested his blade on his shoulder, glancing toward the horizon. They're probably slacking off again…
"Whatever. Let's finish cleaning up here first."
Benimaru turned his gaze to the enemies still surrounding him. Those caught in his eyes shuddered with dread.
"Let's hope those guys pick up the pace a little."