One Piece: Creating Avatars Start With Ryomen Sukuna

Chapter 372: King Suspects Sukuna is Cheating

High above in the distant sky.

King and Sukuna faced off again after their explosive clash.

Nearby, a massive black hole, hundreds of meters wide, devoured everything in its path. It was as if even light itself was being pulled into the void, forming a dark star in the heavens.

But soon, the hole stitched itself shut and vanished.

The panicked people below barely noticed the fleeting black star.

Only the strong men with sharp-eyes, looking at the sky, caught its brief existence.

"This is getting tricky," King muttered, rubbing his temple as he looked at Sukuna's unflinching expression.

Last time, he'd pummeled this guy with ease. Now? He was barely holding the upper hand.

His power had already surged to insane levels, how was this still happening?

Is this guy cheating?

King's suspicion came from his own understanding of their abilities. His King Engine and Sukuna's Curse Absorption were fundamentally different abilities.

Early on, the King Engine was a one-shot burst, perfect for overwhelming foes. Curse Absorption, meanwhile, was a slow-burn and continuous ability. So, it made sense that King, with his explosive King Engine, had dominated Sukuna back then.

Curse Absorption had given Sukuna a massive edge in survivability early on. Honestly, if Sukuna hadn't been so stubborn and gone toe-to-toe with King last time, he wouldn't have bitten the dust.

Now, both their powers had skyrocketed.

The King Engine's stamina issues were past, now it could run indefinitely. Even without it, King had no weak points. His body wasn't a liability anymore; his life was tied to an ever-running power core. His physical form was just a shell, reshapeable at will.

In a way, he was barely human, just a human skin draped over raw power.

The King Engine's old limits, stamina, weaknesses and constraints, were gone.

Sukuna's Curse Absorption had also patched its flaws and now it was amplified by the planet's negative energy. The power it unleashed was downright terrifying. Plus, Sukuna had spent all his time since the upgrade honing his ability's applications.

King? He'd been eating, teasing his pet, and recently got hooked on a gaming console and was battling it out with friends.

Yet, somehow, King still edged out slightly.

That was thanks to his ability leaning hard into combat. During fights, luck seemed to spark his creativity, new moves just popped into his head.

If anyone was cheating, it was probably King himself.

But, clueless about his own hacks, he felt like he was up against a cheater. Annoyed but determined, he squared up to keep fighting Sukuna, whose face was growing more crazed by the second.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle's intensity cranked up.

Both unleashed massive moves intermittently.

Black holes tore open across the planet's surface. Waves of devastating energy rippled through the crust, even reaching the mantle.

If not for some mysterious force counteracting the fallout, the planet might've been rocked by catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis.

---

Red Line, Holy Land Mariejoa

On the ground, people stared at the sky, where black and white ripples pulsed again. Occasionally, a fleeting black star would flicker and vanish.

Deafening booms echoed relentlessly.

The sky looked like it was collapsing again, the world turned upside down. Fierce winds whipped up a terrifying spectacle.

Guards and Marines in the Holy Land shivered, they were too rattled to focus on defending. In this chaos, the demons, under the Apostles' orders, launched a fresh assault.

In the ruins of Pangea Castle, the two Five Elders glared at the Apostle Celestial Dragon with grim faces.

Moments ago, Celestial Dragon's voice had echoed across Marijoa, spurring the demons to attack again.

"Apostle Celestial Dragon, what are you playing at?" Mustache Elder Saint Warcury demanded, forcing himself to ignore the dazzling light show in the sky and focus on the Apostle.

Their expressions were dark, tinged with confusion. The Five Elders felt powerless.

The invasion of Marijoa had shifted. Now, it hinged on the clash between the Two Gods, King and Sukuna. Their battle's outcome would decide the course of this war.

Fighting now would only rack up pointless casualties. More importantly, for the Five Elders, this was the Holy Land. Battling here would cause incalculable damage, something they desperately wanted to avoid.

So far, Lord Imu and the national treasure's details remained tightly guarded. The Two Gods' power was absurdly overwhelming, the World Government's trump cards couldn't compete.

That's exactly why they had to keep those cards hidden.

This era was wild. They needed every ace up their sleeve. Exposing their hand now could spell doom in this dangerous age. As the world's rulers, they were prime targets.

The demon Apostles, possibly controlling Sea Kings, served the Demon God. Among pirates, Hisoka and his Extreme Evil Fleet loomed large. Orochimaru, a Pirate King, allied with the one of the Four Emperors' Shiki the Golden Lion, though it might be more like subordination. Artoria, the Miracle King of King of Corti, had rallied her nine holy knights powerhouses. The Dark Curtain Organization, led by their boss Dio Brando, was eyeing seas beyond South Blue.

There are too many wildcards.

If their trump cards were revealed, others would see right through them. The Five Elders felt they'd be out of the game.

The future was uncertain. These upheavals had flipped the world in under a year. Two towering figures, the Sun God and Demon God, loomed overhead.

It was a surreal experience for the Five Elders. If they didn't tread carefully, their grip on world dominance could slip.

Their only comfort? The Sun God, one of the Two Gods, was at least on their side.

"Heh heh heh…" Celestial Dragon chuckled lowly at Saint Warcury's question.

The psychic laughter sent a chill through the Five Elders. Celestial Dragon's massive head, exposed to all, was unsettlingly curious.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done," Celestial Dragon said.

For it, with the Demon God fighting above, how could they, his creations, just stand by? They had to act.

Compared to that, losses were secondary.

"Come on! I haven't fought strong humans yet. You two, come at me one by one or together, I don't care."

Celestial Dragon taunted the Five Elders, then sauntered out of the ruins, unbothered by whether they'd follow.

Saint Warcury and the beard elder Saint Marcus Mars exchanged a glance.

Finally, Saint Mars stepped forward, following Celestial Dragon.

He had no choice.

He is hoping the marines show up soon.

From the Five Elders' perspective, since the allied kings were here, Marine Headquarters must've dealt with its issues. Reinforcements were only a matter of time. They just hoped the Marine wouldn't drag its feet.

All that military funding, and they are not here when it counts?

( End of this chapter )