One Piece: Kaido's adopted son, starts with the Eight Gates Formation.

Time stood still.

Space, frozen.

That "Star-Shattering Roaring Cannon," powerful enough to blast a planet into dust, that devastating torrent of pure white energy, was steadily caught by an ordinary gray hand that wasn't even wearing a wrist guard.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

There was no impact that tore everything apart.

All the rage, all the destruction, became as docile as a cat being choked before that palm.

next second.

Click.

A faint, yet chilling, cracking sound.

Ji Lian remained expressionless, his five fingers slowly closing.

That terrifying energy, enough to make even the God of Destruction take notice, was...crushed by him.

It really was crushed.

Like crushing a ripe apple, the juice splashes everywhere, then turns into countless harmless white specks of light that dissipate into the air.

The entire Realm of Nothingness was deathly silent.

All the soldiers who witnessed this scene were completely stunned into a state of mental paralysis.

Vegeta, trampled underfoot, stared wide-eyed in humiliation, forgetting even the excruciating pain he was enduring.

What is that?

What exactly is it?!

He had unleashed his full power, even at the level of a god, only to have his arm broken by a single punch from his opponent.

But this gray alien... crushed an energy cannon that was hundreds of times stronger with his bare hands?

What the hell is the point of fighting?!

"You are very strong."

Jiren slowly lowered his hand, his face still expressionless, and spoke to Boros in the distance in a low, emotionless tone.

"But it shouldn't be used here."

The tone was neither a warning nor a threat.

It's like stating an established fact, a universal axiom.

"Oh?"

After a brief moment of astonishment, a frenzied fighting spirit, a million times hotter than the previous meteor burst, erupted from Boros's enormous single eye!

Instead of being angry that his move had been broken, he burst into wild laughter of extreme pleasure!

"Hahahaha! Funny! So funny!"

"Finally! Finally, one has appeared!"

"A guy who can withstand my power!!!"

He can feel it!

I could feel it very clearly!

The silent, gray-haired man before me possessed a bottomless ocean of energy!

That's not about any skill or transformation!

Rather, it is pure, refined through countless trials, tempering one's own body and energy to the extreme, reaching the absolute power of the "Tao" realm!

This was something he had never encountered in all his years of searching across the universe...

The strongest!

"bring it on!"

"bring it on!!!"

Boros let out a roar of excitement that made him tremble; he couldn't wait any longer!

There was no unnecessary talk or probing between the two.

The moment when the fighting spirit reaches its peak!

Boom! Boom!

The two figures vanished from the spot at the same time!

next moment!

In the very center of the arena, two streaks of light, one gray and one white, collided violently at a speed that defied the laws of causality!

There are no fancy moves, just the most primitive and pure clash of fists!

Thump—! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

This time, it was not silent.

Instead, it was a deep, resounding boom that was enough to cause the entire Boundless Realm to tremble violently!

Centered on the two individuals, a circular, visible shockwave of destruction spread wildly in all directions!

The seemingly indestructible arena floor crumbled and churned in large sections, like a lake surface tossed with a boulder, before being completely annihilated by that terrifying energy!

This is not a battle!

These are two humanoid celestial bodies, engaged in the most savage collision!

"Run!"

"Get out of here! You'll get caught up in this!"

"Holy crap! What kind of monsters are those two?!"

The contestants from other universes let out screams that were so horrified they were almost distorted.

They didn't dare approach that area at all; even the residual energy emanating from it was enough to eliminate them instantly!

Several unlucky contestants were unable to dodge in time. They were only grazed by the edge of the shockwave. Their bodies felt as if they had been hit by a ton of hammers. They screamed and turned into streaks of light, flying out of the arena!

When gods fight, mortals suffer!

This is no longer a battle they can intervene in, or even understand!

Two figures, one in gray and one in white, engaged in a frenzied hand-to-hand combat that transcended dimensions on the collapsing arena!

Each punch caused the space to groan in agony, as if it were about to collapse.

Each kick further reduced the wreckage of the ring to dust.

Their speed was so fast that one second they were on the east side of the arena, and the next second they had already appeared on the west side, leaving behind only continuous explosions and roars!

High in the stands.

Beerus, the God of Destruction of Universe 7, was so shocked that his mouth was agape, as if he could fit a fist in it.

Looking at the gray Jiren on the screen, he thought of his proud team from his own universe...

We're doomed.

This time we're really doomed!

And in the team of Universe 7.

Sun Wukong, the man who had just been provoked by Vegeta's kick from Boros and whose Saiyan fighting spirit had been ignited by this earth-shattering battle, was unusually calm at this moment.

He looked at the two figures that were no longer visible to the naked eye, and felt the purest and most profound "power" and "realm".

His blood was boiling, burning!

So strong!

That's really impressive!

However, he forcibly suppressed the primal urge to rush into the battle immediately.

He knew that he wasn't qualified yet.

Sun Wukong slowly closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate on this extremely chaotic battlefield.

He was adjusting his breathing, clearing his mind, recalling every detail of Weiss's teachings, and the feeling of powerlessness when Lynn knocked him down with a single finger.

He's going to break through!

He must break through!

Break through to that ultimate realm belonging to the gods, which even the God of Destruction finds difficult to grasp!

Freedom and ultimate freedom!

In the center of the battlefield.

"Hahaha! That's great! That's so satisfying!"

Boros burst into hearty laughter amidst the frenzied exchange of attacks!

He suddenly accelerated, closing in on Jiren, and with an incredible twist in mid-air, unleashed a whip kick imbued with the power of a collapsing star, slamming it hard into Jiren's side!

boom!

Jiren was hit squarely by the kick and flew sideways, tumbling hundreds of times in the air before finally regaining his balance.

However, he was completely unharmed.

"That's interesting."

Jiren looked down at the spot where he had been kicked, and a slight change finally appeared on his perpetually unchanging face.

He slowly raised his head, and for the first time, a true fighting spirit ignited in his deep eyes.

"So..."

Om-!

A deep red, violent aura, like burning magma, erupted from his body!

For the first time, Jiren became serious.

……

Just as the entire battlefield's attention was drawn to that earth-shattering "ultimate showdown."

A corner of the chaotic battlefield.

Red-haired Shanks strolled leisurely among the crumbling rocks.

He wore a gentle smile, neither attacking nor avoiding any attacks.

A cyborg warrior from Universe 3 saw this "unsuspecting" man, his eyes flashing with cruel killing intent, and rushed over at high speed, his laser blade aimed straight for Shanks' back!

However, just as he was about to succeed...

The cyborg warrior's movements suddenly froze.

The light in his eyes quickly dimmed.

Then, he just collapsed to the ground with a "thud," losing all consciousness, without any injuries on his body.

It was as if his "existence" and his "will to attack" had been taken away out of thin air at some point.

Shanks didn't even turn around to look at him.

He just walked like that, and any athlete who tried to get close to him or who was hostile to him would inexplicably lose consciousness and fall to the ground the moment they stepped into his 100-meter radius.

He was like a walking "absolute safe zone," and also like a death god who brought absolute silence.

finally.

He stopped in his tracks.

Before him, a small figure, covered in bandages, convulsing violently and foaming at the mouth, was trembling behind a huge rock.

Having already developed PTSD from being frightened by Lynn, he was now nearly scared out of his wits by the battle between Jiren and Boros...

Frieza, the Emperor of the Universe.

Frieza sensed the approaching, incomprehensible aura of terror. He trembled as he looked up and saw a face with a warm smile.

"Heh...heh...no...don't come any closer!"

Frieza was so scared that his tail stiffened. He tried to transform, but found that his body was completely out of control due to extreme fear!

Shanks looked down at the "Emperor" who was slumped on the ground, his smile growing even more gentle.

He slowly crouched down, meeting Frieza's gaze at him, and spoke softly in the familiar tone of an old friend:

"King Frieza."

"How about we talk about 'The Way of the Emperor'?"

"Heh...heh..."

Frieza's body convulsed violently, and he gasped for breath like a broken bellows.

His scarlet eyes were fixed on the red-haired man who was strolling leisurely towards him, and fear seemed to be overflowing from his very bones.

But the last, and only, remaining dignity of the cosmic emperor forced him to straighten his body, which had been curled up in fear.

"Just a mere caveman!"

Frieza screamed, her voice sharp and piercing due to extreme emotional turmoil.

"So you also want to lecture me, the Great King!"

boom!

A golden, sacred aura soared into the sky!

Amidst the blinding light, Frieza's body rapidly expanded and transformed, becoming his proud golden final form!

The unparalleled sense of power temporarily dispelled some of the fear in his heart.

He raised his right hand high, and on the tip of his index finger, an ominous purple energy ball, powerful enough to destroy a planet, began to gather frantically.

Death Orb!

"Give me your power, and become dust of the universe!"

He roared ferociously, trying to use this power to prove that he was still the supreme cosmic emperor.

However, faced with this earth-shattering power...

Shanks, the red-haired man, simply looked at him calmly.

He didn't draw his sword, and even the gentle smile on his face didn't change in the slightest.

But an invisible, indescribable, terrifying pressure suddenly descended!

That's not energy, that's not momentum.

Rather, it is a higher-dimensional "will" that reigns supreme!

Conqueror's Haki!

Under the influence of this will, Frieza suddenly discovered that the death orb he had been perfectly controlling at his fingertips had begun to flicker uncontrollably!

On the surface of the sphere, violent energy surged like boiling water, constantly bubbling up as if it were about to explode at any moment!

"What...what's going on?!"

Foley-Sa's brain has gone blank.

His almost perfect control over energy, which he was so proud of, actually... went awry!

His power is resisting his commands!

In the instant he was utterly horrified, a calm voice, not through his ears, but directly deep within his soul, resounded in his mind.

"Your power is built upon anger and fear."

"But the true emperor rules over everything."

"Including your own heart."

This voice was like a key that opened Pandora's box!

It instantly ignited the nightmare deep within Frieza's heart, a nightmare he had suppressed so tightly that he never wanted to recall again!

On Namek, there's Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan, with those cold, angry green eyes!

In the Realm of Nothingness, there was a two-year-old child demon who, with just one finger, made him experience what "absolute" meant!

The fear of being dominated and the despair of being crushed, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly shattered the false confidence he had built up with his "golden form"!

"No……"

"No!!!"

"Shut up! Shut up, you idiot!"

Frieza's mind has completely collapsed!

He let out a shrill scream that was so mournful it was inhuman, and with all his might, he hurled the completely out-of-control ball of death light in his hand at the figure that had brought him endless terror!

He just wanted that voice to disappear!

Let that calm face disappear!

Let all of this disappear!

Faced with this raging energy sphere capable of completely annihilating him, Shanks's eyes finally showed a slight change.

It was a kind of... approving scrutiny from someone in a superior position towards a challenger.

His eyes narrowed.

"Gods, beware!"

Shanks neither dodged nor parried.

He simply stepped forward, gently.

boom!

A more condensed and purer, almost tangible, Conqueror's Haki will, like an invisible impact, struck the purple sphere of death instantly!

An extremely bizarre scene unfolded.

The sphere of deathly light, carrying the power to destroy everything, suddenly paused in mid-air!

Then, it bizarrely reversed direction at an angle that completely defied the laws of physics!

It grazed Shanks' body and flew past at an angle!

Boom-! ! ! !

On the distant horizon, a massive mountain that had survived the previous battle was silently reduced to ashes by the bombardment of this sphere of death, along with the surrounding land for thousands of meters.

The power of that single strike was terrifying.

Frieza, who caused all of this, was completely stunned at this moment.

His golden form body froze in place, his mind blank, and he had lost even the ability to think.

His attack...

Was its trajectory forcibly distorted by the other party's "will"?

What is this?

What kind of unreasonable force is this?!

He couldn't understand it.

It was precisely because of this incomprehension that I felt an unprecedented, soul-deep tremor.

Slowly, Shanks drew his sword, Griffin, from his waist.

The gleaming blade, reflected in the chaotic light and shadow, revealed Frieza's face, etched with blankness and despair.

The sharp tip of the sword, devoid of any murderous intent, simply and gently pointed at Frieza's brow.

There were still tens of meters between the two.

But Frieza felt that the cold blade was already pressed against his soul.

"Now."

Shanks' smile remained gentle.

"Can we have a proper talk now?"

At that moment, Frieza felt as if he was not facing a "person".

Instead, it is about confronting a "concept".

A concept called "King".

His so-called "emperor of the universe" is as insignificant as a joke in the face of this concept.

however.

Just as this clash of wills was about to end with the complete surrender of one side.

A light laugh, tinged with amusement and elegance, suddenly rang out between the two of them.

"hehe."

"What a brilliant sermon."

Aizen Sousuke's figure appeared like a ghost between Shanks and Frieza.

He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes behind the lenses scrutinizing Shanks with interest, before glancing at Frieza, who was completely dumbfounded beside him.

Finally, his gaze fell back on Shanks.

That look in his eyes was like that of a chess player who had spotted another interesting chess player.

"Lord Shanks."

Aizen's lips curled into an enigmatic smile as he asked softly, as if discussing an academic matter.

"Would you be interested in having a chat with me...?"

What is the definition of "God"?