The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Chapter 576, Mu said it. Your choice was wrong.

Im's will only "descended" and "manipulated" Nasujuro's body, rather than completely replacing or perfectly merging with it.

The original owner of this body possessed a highly developed Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability.

Including the intricate transformations between human and beast forms and the skills of a great swordsman.

It is clear that Im cannot fully inherit or precisely control it.

Therefore, faced with Gern's defiant declaration of severing his head, Im was unable to unleash the strongest human-beast form of the Mythical Zoan species.

They chose a more direct and brutal approach that better reflects the very nature of their "existence".

"Hiss! Hiss!!!"

A horse's neigh, belonging to no living being and filled with deathly silence and ominous intent, suddenly burst forth from Nasujuro Sei's headless body!

The sound was sharp and piercing!

Immediately afterwards, the headless body underwent a horrifying transformation!

The bones expanded, twisted, and proliferated wildly!

In the blink of an eye, it completely abandoned its human form and transformed into a giant horse skeleton frame that was tens of meters tall!

But it wasn't Nasujiro's skeletal horse; rather, it was built on pale bones.

It quickly covered itself, becoming blackened, shriveled, and devoid of flesh.

Black skin clinging tightly to the bone!

The skin was covered with strange patterns, as if woven from countless dead souls.

This is clearly a giant horse that crawled out of the depths of hell, exuding a strong aura of death!

At the same time, dark red reincarnation-patterned eyeballs sprouted from the hollow eye sockets of the horse skeleton, becoming the only flesh and blood on the horse skeleton's body.

"Roar!!!"

The skinned horse with bones roared to the sky, its four huge bony hooves stomping the ground!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The island trembled violently!

With its roar, an even denser and more deathly cold aura from the underworld erupted from its center like a tide!

Wherever the yellow fiery clouds passed, rocks cracked, and everything they touched froze into frosty patterns!

Everything around it quickly withered, froze, and turned into a dead zone!

Faced with this terrifying change and the overwhelming chill of the underworld, Gern did not retreat, but instead slowly closed his eyes.

He was perceiving, analyzing, and verifying his conjectures.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes!

There was no longer any hesitation or probing in his eyes, only absolute calmness and focus!

"Boom!!!"

At the same time, the air within a radius of several meters centered on Gern's body began to vibrate at a peculiar, stable high frequency!

"Heavenly Tremor Domain!!!"

Whether it's the pervasive chill of the underworld, or the dust drifting in the air, or the shattered aftershocks of energy...

Any attempt to intrude into this domain will be instantly and mercilessly shattered, bounced off, and annihilated by the high-frequency vibrations!

Heavenly Tremor Awakening: Absolute Defense Domain!

It uses vibrating particles to form a close-fitting barrier, isolating it from all abnormal energy and physical erosion!

Immediately afterward, as the zombie-like giant horse charged towards him, unleashing a torrent of deathly energy and frost...

Once again, Gern clenched his fists around the Eight Directions, channeling all his power into a single point.

With a simple yet lightning-fast sword slash aimed at that massive target, he unleashed a devastating strike!

"Shh!"

The dark blue blade flashed, leaving a straight trail.

There was no earth-shattering collision.

Because it's exactly what Gurn was thinking right now!

This "skinned horse skeleton" body was forcibly transformed by the remote control of Im's will...

It possesses only a terrifying appearance and an aura of death...

But in terms of actual combat skills, reaction speed, and defensive awareness...

Pathetically weak!

It didn't even make any dodging or blocking motion; it just stood there, completely still.

The Eight Desolate Blades swept over its massive body without any hindrance.

Divide it in two right in the center!

Boom...

The remains of the giant zombie horse, split in two, fell to either side, kicking up clouds of dust and ice crystals.

But the next moment, the dark red energy surged again, and the two halves of the body, which had been split apart, seemed to be pulled apart by invisible threads.

They quickly closed up and reconnected, the black skin and bones at the severed point regenerating and healing rapidly...

Within a few breaths, a complete, skinned horse skeleton rose from the ground once more.

It let out a silent roar at Gern, pawing the ground with its four hooves.

Prepare to launch yet another chaotic and disorderly collision!

Gern stood still, slowly sheathing his sword, watching the monster that kept regenerating but seemed to only have two modes: "regeneration" and "charge".

A knowing glint flashed in his eyes.

He got it.

Im is very strong and unfathomable; his nature and power may far exceed our imagination.

But this battle puppet, which was remotely summoned through Nasujuro's body and forcibly catalyzed...

Its "combat capability" is completely different from its "status" and "threat"!

This body is more like a "battery" and "turret" that carries part of Im's will and power.

It can enhance the release of powerful energy (the chilling energy of the underworld) and restore the body to its original state of "immortality".

However, Nasujuro Sei, a top-tier expert, has significant weaknesses in his combat intelligence and real-time reaction skills!

Im is clearly not good at (or disdains) the fine manipulation of the body for high-level combat.

In other words, what belongs to others will always belong to them; Im only has the authority to strengthen and control their bodies!

This is a huge breakthrough for Gern!

“I see…” Gern muttered to himself, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The 'god' who is high above... doesn't seem to be very good at fighting 'personally'."

His eyes sharpened as he watched the horse bone charge again.

"Then, as long as my attack speed and destructive power exceed the recovery limit of this 'broken doll'..."

"You can only keep recovering!"

"But ironically, I also possess the ability to destroy the most powerful Devil Fruit!"

Once Gern figured out the key to it, his fighting style instantly became extremely aggressive and targeted.

Faced with the horse's bone charge, which was once again devoid of any skill and relied solely on brute force and deathly energy, the horse no longer chose to confront it head-on or maneuver around it.

The ground beneath his feet cracked open, and he leaped lightly into the air, easily avoiding the powerful but clumsy impact.

While in mid-air, Gern's eyes flashed with malice. He gripped the Eight Directions Blade tightly with both hands, pointed the blade downwards, and thrust it fiercely into the earth below!

"Buzz, Boom!!!!!!!!!"

The force of the vibration poured down!

Centered on the Eight Desolate Piercing Point, eight incredibly thick, pale shockwave torrents erupted in eight directions like awakened dragons, surging outwards!

The ground was torn apart and arched up by this terrifying force, forming eight bottomless, enormous rift valleys.

In an instant, the bones of the horses that had charged and were unable to turn around in time, along with a large area around them, were completely swallowed up and buried!

Everything at the edge of the rift valley is being squeezed inward and collapsing!

Area control! Terrain alteration! Movement restriction!

Just as the shockwave raged and dust filled the air, the remains of the horse bones began to surge again at the bottom of the rift, attempting to reconstruct themselves.

Gern had already fallen from the air, and with a sudden whip kick, he slammed the end of the Eight Desolations Blade hilt hard!

"call out!!!"

The Eight Desolations transformed into a dark purple lightning bolt, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound and lingering shockwaves, shooting into the rift below.

With a loud clang, the horse bone, which had just formed half a body, was firmly nailed to the hard rock layer at the bottom of the valley!

The blade was mostly submerged, and the intense vibrations continued to interfere with its recovery process!

Conqueror's Haki pinpoint control! Regeneration restriction!

This is not over yet!

As soon as Gern landed, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest!

His gaze was focused to the extreme, and the pale, vibrating particles around his body frantically gathered in his palm!

"Heavenly Tremor - Heavenly Prison Gate!!"

A low shout!

An energy ring, no bigger than a palm and with a blinding white light flashing around its edges, appeared out of thin air in front of the clasped hands!

The energy ring slowly rose into the air, and during its ascent, it began to expand rapidly!

In the blink of an eye, it expanded into a huge white halo with a diameter of over 100 meters, hanging high above the rift valley, becoming the Ring of Judgment!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!!"

In the next instant, within the halo, countless pale, condensed beams of light, almost tangible, rained down.

The dense, indiscriminate rain poured down on the horse bones pinned down by the Eight Desolations and the surrounding area!

The continuous blasts repeatedly tore apart, shattered, and scattered the horse's newly restored body parts, suppressing the recovery speed to its limit!

Everything went as Gern had predicted.

This body, remotely controlled and forcibly catalyzed by Im, possesses only the characteristics of "immortality" and energy release.

However, in actual combat, he is far less formidable than Nasujuro Sei himself, whose masterful swordsmanship has been honed through countless trials!

They could only repeat the cycle of "being destroyed - being restored - being destroyed again", completely falling into Gern's rhythm!

"Heh..." Gern looked down from mid-air at the "undead" monster struggling, regenerating, and shattering again in the trembling inferno.

A slight smile involuntarily crept onto his lips as he murmured to himself.

"So... it's not a 'numerical monster,' but a 'mechanical monster.'"

So, once we figure out Im's mechanics, cracking it becomes...

The words came to an abrupt halt!

"Pfft."

Gern's expression froze instantly, and the corners of his mouth that were turned up stiffened.

Then, somewhat taken aback, he slowly lowered his head.

He saw that his chest area was completely unharmed, with no broken skin or blood seeping out.

but……