A Warm Heart, Bai Cangshu Awakens (4K, Please Subscribe)

Bzzzt~

Within the pure white Consciousness Space, three powerful consciousnesses collided, beginning a fierce struggle for dominance. Even the three spirit bodies became unstable.

Roland held the greatest advantage. Not only was he a true Title-level Reincarnator who had crossed two Power Tiers, but he also possessed the power of Virtue: Morning Star of Hope and the God Hand.

The causality of his victory had naturally always been on his side.

Yet now, he was restrained by the gritting Marine behind him. Marine soldier Corey should have been in roughly the same state as those thirty-three thousand Yin Spirits. He possessed some power, but compared to the three of them, he was utterly unremarkable.

Yet it was precisely this insignificant fellow whose presence was becoming increasingly intense. He had no intention of accepting the hope of rebirth. He stubbornly clung to Roland, hoping Bai Cangshu would win and fulfill his promise to the little girl.

During this kind of battle of pure consciousness, such thoughts could not be concealed.

Even Satoru Gojo showed a surprised expression.

"You really are… quite something…"

At his core, Satoru Gojo was also an anomaly. From the depths of his soul, he had accepted that he was a born powerhouse, and he had little empathy for ordinary people.

After the Star Plasma Vessel incident, when he first awakened, fully grasping his power and true self, he had asked Suguru Geto whether they should kill all the other humans present. That alone showed that Satoru Gojo was a true superhuman who believed that throughout heaven and earth, he alone was supreme.

He merely glanced at Corey before paying him no further attention, instead seriously dispersing his existence and consciousness completely.

Amid the intense contest between the three, Bai Cangshu’s spirit body became increasingly solid. His greatest advantage was that he was the natural owner of this body.

The so-called Throne of the Heart had always been where he belonged.

The moment he touched the Throne of the Heart, he could already sense the situation outside his body: that overwhelmingly fierce aura, the terrifying monstrous strength that had destroyed the town with a single strike, and that surging rage.

The three spirit bodies refused to yield, all crowded before the Throne of the Heart. Roland suddenly sighed, and then every face on the lower half of his body opened its eyes.

Satoru Gojo sensed that something was wrong, but before he could react, black mist enveloped the three spirit bodies and carried them together into the Throne of the Heart.

Corey’s hand suddenly grasped nothing. As he fell, he saw a distorted figure emerge atop the previously empty Throne of the Heart, vaguely taking the shape of a giant hand.

On the ruined slopes of Skuld Island, Garp turned around and saw the man he had smashed underground rising inch by inch from beneath the earth.

Ugly flesh buds continuously grew across the man’s battered body. Before long, his body had fully recovered.

Not only that, the dissipated black mist thickened once more.

Intense white light began to radiate from the man’s body.

"Vice Admiral Garp, if you were faced with a choice right now."

"One choice is to forget the tragedy of Skuld Island and leave this place with all the Marines."

"The other is for the tragedy of Alabasta to happen once again."

"What would you choose?"

A calm smile rested on his face. At this moment, it looked somewhat out of place, because his black short hair was slightly standing on end. Some powerful force seemed to be rising within him every moment, while his eyes trembled continuously, unstable.

Crack.

Garp turned around. The ground around them kept shattering, seawater began surging upward in reverse, mixing with the bloody water from those faces. At the same time, vast numbers of flesh tumors had completely burst apart. Many islanders whom Roland had previously transformed broke from their shells, turning into monsters like Netherworld demons and beginning to stir.

Garp lowered his eyelids. Standing over two meters and eighty centimeters tall, he easily looked down upon Bai Cangshu.

"What would I choose?"

As though he had heard a joke, he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Of course I’d choose to punch you into the sky!"

Garp would not be bound by such a simple Moral Dilemma. Other than justice, there was very little in this world that could restrain him.

Garp moved, and his fierce presence erupted from his body once more. That Conqueror’s Haki, as though it could melt everything, instantly spread through the surroundings like lightning.

Whether they were Netherworld demons or the few powerhouses corrupted and transformed into monsters, all were struck by the intense Conqueror’s Haki.

Bai Cangshu—no, Roland—was forcibly suppressing the tearing pull of the two alien souls within him. To achieve his goal, he had become utterly unscrupulous. He did not even care whether he remained himself, so long as he could forcibly gain control of the body.

Even if he truly merged with the other two souls in the end and lost himself, even if he was no longer Roland, he still wanted to wield that Dragon Slayer and slash the so-called Abyss God.

That was the compensation Guts, who had been toyed with to death by fate and the world, deserved. It was the compensation he himself, who had given everything and ultimately died, deserved!

Roland’s heart was so resolute that the two alien souls, both lacking human self-awareness and empathy, were simultaneously suppressed by the power of the God Hand and unable to break free.

Watching Garp approach, Roland raised his hand. Intense ki condensed in an instant, and through that special Left Arm of the King, it seemed to be strengthened to an extreme degree.

Dazzling golden ki condensed to an incredible degree. Rather than spreading, it solidified until it was as thin as a finger.

Dodon Ray!

Buzz!

The Ki Blast tore through the air. Garp naturally stepped to the side, allowing the laser-like Ki Blast to shoot past him. To him, this sort of attack was meaningless.

Roland’s lips curled unnaturally, as though he wanted to smile, but Satoru Gojo and Bai Cangshu’s wills prevented him from doing so.

Garp’s expression changed. He suddenly forced himself to alter course and threw a punch through the air at Roland.

The air shattered completely once again as the power of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion erupted ahead of time.

The Ki Blast twisted, then the two forces collided directly and caused a massive explosion.

Garp had just foreseen that if he did not block that attack, the Ki Blast would pierce a Marine warship ten nautical miles away, killing an entire ship of Marines in the explosion. It would then continue onward and eventually strike the Golden Emperor’s Grand Fleet farther away, causing horrifying casualties.

Roland drifted backward through the air like an Immortal Crane spreading its wings. His movements were not as natural as when Bai Cangshu used the body himself, but they were far more natural than when the Yin Spirits controlled it. Taking advantage of Garp’s concern for his subordinates, he had forced Garp to unleash his strike early and drifted away.

He pointed toward the center of the shattered island. As a Reincarnator whose spirit had crossed two tiers, he knew very well that a certain Reincarnator had buried a Cursed Spirit seed underground. As Garp shattered the island, it began to emerge.

That seed had absorbed the despair of the mutated people who had long been corrupted by him on this island, as well as the despair of the islanders who had suffered Enel’s cruel rule for two years. It should make for a decent Cursed Spirit.

Thus, he gave that Cursed Spirit hope—a possibility to produce an exceptionally powerful Cursed Spirit.

Crackle!

In the sky, Enel suddenly turned his head. He could not see the Cursed Spirit, but he could clearly feel the lightning in the atmosphere boiling.

Was someone else controlling lightning?!

Roland continued retreating as he watched that mass of distorted cursed energy begin to take shape in the form of black lightning.

Born from the fear of Enel, the fear of lightning, and twisted despair, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit finally let out its first roar in this world.

Unfortunately, most beings in this world could not perceive such a thing.

Even Garp merely sensed that something was amiss.

Crackle!

Garp moved as if using Teleportation, while a vast patch of scorched black earth suddenly appeared where he had been.

Roland had released the Cursed Spirit, intending to use this uncontrollable creature—which would nonetheless be extremely troublesome for this world’s Plot Characters—to buy time. He himself intended to reclaim his own Special Construct: Eldorado.

Crackle!

Blue-white lightning flashed. A massive electric net enveloped Roland. Enel floated in the air, holding a long golden staff, still stopping Roland from leaving with a persistence Roland could not understand.

"Yahahaha! Demon, do you think I’ll let you leave?!"

Roland looked at Enel in confusion.

"That king should have only ordered you to guard me until I died or escaped. The agreement has clearly been fulfilled, so why are you still doing this?"

"Go chase your Endless Vearth, Enel."

Roland held the power of hope in his hand. He was even willing to give Enel a share of hope, allowing him to find that boundless land more smoothly.

Yet Enel turned into a bolt of lightning and avoided the white radiance. Lightning surged across his body, while electric particles crackled all around him.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I am… God."

"Gods naturally punish demons!"

"Yahahaha!"

The smile on Roland’s face gradually faded. One after another, these people rejected his hope and repeatedly hindered him. This caused the malice he had forcibly suppressed in his heart to slowly surface once more.

Faces also began appearing beneath Bai Cangshu’s body. Roland’s demonic body of the God Hand had been completely destroyed. At this point, he could not truly reopen the Eclipse, but the power of the Netherworld was still returning to his soul.

Yet that transformation would still be obstructed by the Left Arm of the King.

A flash of light appeared in Roland’s left hand, and he gripped the pitch-black Dragon Slayer one-handedly.

The Left Arm of the King grasped the Dragon Slayer, which could absorb Haki. In an instant, black lightning shot into the sky. Even from dozens of nautical miles away, one could sense the terrifying aura rising.

Roland suddenly swung his sword down at Bai Cangshu’s body.

Splat!

Blood gushed forth, and vast amounts of black qi began to spread. Bai Cangshu’s body became completely wrapped in black mist as a powerful will began descending upon it.

At that instant, both Bai Cangshu himself and Satoru Gojo felt a suffocating, despairing aura emerge, firmly suppressing their souls.

Roland seemed unaware of what had happened. All he thought was that he had to complete that swing, no matter the cost.

Even if he had to sacrifice this world, even if he had to allow the Lord of the Abyss to truly descend here, so long as… he could swing that sword…

"Garp, Enel, welcome the despair that belongs to this world."

Roland raised his right hand. The illusory white radiance was dim beyond measure, while the suppressed Scarlet Great Sin began to reveal itself.

The morning star dims, hope loses its light, and the world instead embraces the light of Silence known as despair.

Attention, use the Great Sin Sequence (Unascended) as the foundation to devour the Virtue Sequence (Ascended II: Morning Star of Hope)?

At this moment, Bai Cangshu’s pupils had likewise turned scarlet. Roland did not hesitate in the slightest and was about to confirm, but his right hand slowly lowered.

The corners of his mouth gradually lifted, revealing that signature cruel smile.

"Hey, hey, Roland. Don’t go telling my body what to do!"

Boom!

Pitch-black Conqueror’s Haki shot into the sky. Within the Consciousness Space, Satoru Gojo fell from the Throne of the Heart. Stunned, he looked at the man now seated upon the throne. That ordinary-looking man wearing a Marine uniform was sitting there, gritting his teeth as he tore apart the consciousness connecting Roland to the other fellow.

Presumably, he himself had just been torn away in the same manner.

Moreover, the other man’s spirit body was illusory and was gradually about to dissolve atop the throne.

At that moment, through the Throne of the Heart, Bai Cangshu finally experienced Corey’s feelings. It was as if he had become Corey, living through an entire lifetime in a brief instant.

He had grown up in an ordinary family, nurtured by love, and so he had wanted to warm others with love as well. He had some talent, but faced with the endless stream of monsters on the sea, he could only feel dejected in private. In the end, he chose to give up Marine Headquarters and return to his hometown branch, becoming an ordinary "Captain Corey."

He had given up many grand dreams, retaining only a tiny bit of selfish desire: he hoped to become someone like that hero who had cleansed the East Blue into the safest sea, here in the waters of his hometown.

He had done many things. Some succeeded, some failed. Sometimes, he had even mocked himself in taverns, saying that he would probably live an unremarkable life.

But one day, when he raided that dangerous island, lightning from across the sea electrocuted his body into convulsions. A tiny little person had dragged him from the beach to the woods, allowing him to evade the Skypiean’s pursuit.

In the end, disregarding his own weakness and the Thunder God’s might, he boasted once more.

"Cindy, in my capacity as the special operations captain of the G51 Branch, I grant you the temporary status of special operations member."

"Team Member Cindy, I will return to call for reinforcements and look for an opportunity to completely save this island from the evil god. And you must protect yourself until I arrive. Um… and help others as much as you can, understand?!"

"Yes, sir! Officer Corey!"

The little girl swung her hand so hard she nearly smacked her forehead red. The admiration and hope flowing from her eyes warmed Corey’s heart. He was no longer afraid of the God of Thunder, nor did he want to become a Buddha and reincarnate now.

He wanted to feel that warmth flowing through his heart… one more time.

Bai Cangshu touched his heart. For the first time, that heart beat with such vivid power.

"Ha, what two… naive fools."

Bai Cangshu felt waves of killing intent battering him. His nerves hurt as though they had snapped, yet he still laughed cruelly.

Bai Cangshu raised his right hand high and once again actively activated the bloodline ability, Yin Spirit Possession.

"Satoru Gojo, you don’t want to see someone like him win either, right? Come on, lend me your power. Let’s go… end all of this!"

Within the Consciousness Space, Satoru Gojo felt the powerful suction emerge from the Throne of the Heart. Knowing that Bai Cangshu intended to borrow his power to suppress Roland together, the corners of his mouth lifted. He raised his hand and flung aside the Yin Spirits beside him that were unconsciously flying toward the Throne of the Heart in response to Yin Spirit Possession.

"Yo. If I steal your body, don’t regret it."