Naruto: Copy System#717+718: A Decent Punching Bag, The Death of Imu

"This fire is pretty nice. A good way to warm up." Shin stood amidst the inferno, completely unharmed.

"Impossible!"

Imu stared at the unscathed Shin, her mind reeling. How could he be completely fine? Her flames could melt anything—even Seastone. Why were they useless against Shin Uzumaki?

"Are you shocked?"

Shin walked out of the flames and strode toward her, his true aura steadily rising.

The oppressive force crashed down on Imu, making her body buckle. She nearly collapsed to her knees.

"Such powerful Conqueror's Haki..."

This was the strongest Conqueror's Haki Imu had ever felt. She unleashed her own, not hoping to overpower his, but simply to withstand the crushing impact.

"It’s not that I’m too strong. You’re just too weak," Shin stated plainly.

Imu felt a surge of humiliation. No one had ever called her weak. To be told she was "too weak" was an insult she couldn't stomach.

"If you can't take it, don't force yourself. There's no point."

Shin said, looking at Imu as she struggled against the pressure of his Haki.

The terrifying Conqueror's Haki caused the surrounding structures to crumble. The force of his will alone was affecting the physical world, cracking the walls of the entire Flower Room.

———————

Outside, Hancock and the others had returned to the Pluton.

"Why are you all back?" Olvia asked Hancock, then noticed Shin wasn't with them.

"Where's Shin?"

"That Imu is stronger than we thought. We'd only be a burden if we stayed," Robin explained.

"I see... Is Shin going to be alright?" Olvia asked, her voice laced with worry. She immediately released her Observation Haki, enveloping the entire area to assess the situation.

Sensing Shin's terrifying aura, Olvia let out a breath of relief. It seemed he was fine for now.

Of course, Shin was fine. The one in real trouble was Imu, who was being completely suppressed.

Shin's Conqueror's Haki alone had her pinned down, making it difficult for her to even move.

"Don't worry. With Shin's strength, he'll be fine. But I have to admit, that woman is surprisingly strong. Otherwise, I would have dealt with her myself."

Hancock acknowledged Imu's power, then glanced at Amatsuki Toki, who felt a hint of malice in her gaze.

"Hancock, I can feel ill intent in your eyes," Amatsuki Toki couldn't help but say.

"I was just thinking... you and Imu are from the same era, aren't you? How is it she's so powerful, and you're so... weak?"

Hancock's words were blunt, causing Amatsuki Toki's expression to darken. She didn't respond.

How could they be compared? She had traveled through time to get here from eight hundred years ago. Imu, on the other hand, had lived through all those centuries. There was no comparison.

———————

The battle raged on. Imu had now completely transformed into a fire phoenix.

Flames coiled around her body, far more destructive than the flames of Marco's Phoenix Fruit. The heat surpassed that of the Magma-Magma Fruit, and she possessed an incredible healing ability—it was like an upgraded version of the Phoenix Fruit.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Shin kicked Imu, sending her crashing into the ground. Her flames were terrifying, but Shin was completely unfazed. A fire like this couldn't hurt him.

The kick had broken who knows how many of her ribs, but she quickly got back up, her injuries healing at an astonishing rate.

"That healing speed of yours... it’s almost on par with a Six Paths Sage Body," Shin remarked, watching Imu's rapid recovery.

Imu had no idea what a "Six Paths Sage Body" was. All she knew was that she had to defeat Shin, to tear him to shreds.

The sword she held was now glowing red-hot from the flames. With a single slash, she tore the earth apart and swung at Shin.

Shin simply raised his hand and caught the blade. The extreme heat had no effect on him—his hand was coated in Armament Haki.

CRACK!!!

The sound of shattering metal echoed as the sword broke into countless fragments.

"You make for a decent punching bag."

Shin said, then threw a punch that pierced straight through Imu's body. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, which instantly evaporated in the intense heat.

"DIE!"

A cruel smile twisted Imu's face as she clawed at Shin's handsome face.

'Whoa, can't have that. Trying to ruin this handsome face of mine?' Shin thought, tilting his head just enough to dodge the attack.

"<Shinra Tensei!>"

A wave of repulsive force sent Imu flying. She crashed to the ground, covered in blood, looking utterly defeated.

"<Susanoo!>"

A black skeleton materialized around Shin, then grew flesh and sinew before being clad in armor. It sprouted legs and a pair of wings unfurled from its back.

The two-hundred-meter-tall behemoth stood tall, its mere presence inspiring dread. A fierce wind swept across the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, tearing away the very top layer of the ground.

"What the hell is that? What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat?"

The massive hole in Imu's abdomen healed as she looked up at the terrifying armored warrior, feeling a fear she had never known. Even when she was being utterly crushed by Shin before, she hadn't been afraid.

But now, faced with the overwhelming presence of the Susanoo, true fear crept into her heart.

"Would you believe me if I said I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit?"

Many people had asked Shin this question, and he always answered truthfully. But no one ever believed him.

"I don't believe you... What is your connection to Uranus?" Imu asked angrily, convinced Shin was mocking her. She suspected he had some connection to Uranus—otherwise, how could he wield such terrifying power?

"Oh? Actually, I'd really like to know... what exactly is Uranus?"

A flicker of interest appeared in Shin's eyes. There weren't many things in this world that could capture his interest, but the Ancient Weapons were one of them.

He already had Pluton, and Poseidon was the mermaid princess, Shirahoshi. As for the mysterious Uranus, Shin knew nothing about it. But as the king of the Celestial Dragons, Imu had to know.

Imu stared at Shin, her suspicions wavering. She had thought he was connected to Uranus, but it seemed he had no idea what it was.

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Shin stared at Imu with great interest.

"Tell me what Uranus is. If you do, I might let you live."

Shin, who had been about to command the Susanoo to attack, held back. Among the three Ancient Weapons, Uranus was by far the most mysterious.

"Hmph, why should I tell you?" Imu snorted. Transformed into a phoenix, she had grown to a massive size.

She was dozens of meters tall, but compared to Shin's Complete Body Susanoo, she was nothing.

Still, a sliver of hope remained in Imu's heart. Perhaps this giant was all bark and no bite, not as powerful as it seemed.

With a beat of her wings, she launched a massive fireball at the Susanoo. The flames struck the armored giant, causing some minor damage.

Seeing this, Imu's heart leaped with joy.

But she had celebrated too soon. The damage was repaired in an instant, and her expression immediately changed.

"How did it recover so quickly?" Imu thought in shock, then the sky suddenly went dark.

Looking up, she saw a giant hand reaching for her. Imu flapped her wings, trying to fly away and escape its grasp.

"Not bad. You actually dodged it."

Shin was slightly surprised that Imu had managed to escape his attack, but he hadn't been serious.

From the wings on its back, the Susanoo drew a massive katana and slashed at the flying phoenix.

Honestly, this phoenix wasn't much to look at. In fact, it was rather ugly. At least, by Shin's standards.

At best, it was a little better-looking than Ho-Oh (Pokémon), but not by much.

So, Shin didn't hold back, slicing off one of the phoenix's wings with a single blow.

The fiery bird fell from the sky, crashing to the earth as the Susanoo's blade continued its descent.

Seeing the blade, Imu didn't dare maintain her phoenix form and quickly reverted to her human shape.

The phoenix form was powerful, but its size made it an easy target. In human form, dodging attacks was much easier.

She rolled away, narrowly avoiding the Susanoo's blade as it carved a deep scar across the Red Line.

One of Imu's arms was gone. The wing that had been severed was her arm.

"Damn it."

Flames flickered at the wound, and a new arm grew back.

"Limb regeneration?" Shin was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected her to be capable of that. Marco's Phoenix Fruit couldn't do that. It could heal wounds quickly, but limb regeneration was impossible.

"<Banshō Ten'in!>"

Shin, standing within the crystal on the Susanoo's forehead, used Universal Pull. Imu's body flew uncontrollably towards him.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit's ability?" Imu shouted in shock. As far as she knew, only the Dark-Dark Fruit had a similar gravitational ability.

She desperately tried to resist being pulled, but she couldn't. In the end, Shin grabbed her.

He held her by the neck, his cold eyes staring into hers.

"Tell me about Uranus, or I'll have to kill you." Shin's voice was calm, but his body radiated a terrifying killing intent.

Engulfed in his killing intent, Imu's body went cold, and she trembled.

The threat of death was upon her, but she gritted her teeth and refused to say a word about Uranus. She was surprisingly tough.

"Did you really think I couldn't find out just because you wouldn't talk?"

Shin mercilessly used his soul extraction ability. With his Nine-Tomoe Rinne-Tenseigan, reading her memories was effortless.

"You're useless to me now. If you had told me before, I might have spared you."

Shin then crushed her soul. With her soul gone, Imu was dead. Even with a phoenix fruit that allowed for rebirth from flames, with no soul, death was absolute.

———————

Glancing at Imu's corpse, Shin ignored it and looked down at the ground, a strange light in his eyes.

"So Uranus is a person too... or rather, a living being..."

By reading Imu's memories, Shin had learned that Uranus, like Shirahoshi, was a living being.

It was Uranus who had given Imu her phoenix fruit, and the Celestial Dragons served Uranus. And Uranus was sleeping beneath the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

"If it's sleeping, and all this commotion didn't wake it up... did it die in its sleep?"

Shin couldn't help but wonder. He then returned to his ship, the Pluton.

"Is Imu dead?"

Seeing Shin return, Amatsuki Toki immediately asked him, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Yes, she's dead. But let me ask you a question. Do you know about Uranus?"

Shin asked Amatsuki Toki. After all, she was from that era; she should know a lot.

Hearing Shin's question, Amatsuki Toki first nodded, then shook her head, leaving Shin completely confused.

What does that mean? Do you know or not?

"I've heard of Uranus, but I've never seen it." Amatsuki Toki didn't know much about Uranus either. Even if she had heard of it, she had never seen it.

"Alright."

Shin wasn't disappointed. He had already guessed that Amatsuki Toki might not know.

"Let's leave for now."

Shin glanced at the ruins of the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, then said to Hancock and the others.

Hearing his words, Kalifa immediately used her Float-Float Fruit ability, making the Pluton rise into the air and fly away.

"Shin, you must have learned something about Uranus, right?" Robin asked Shin.

"That's right. Uranus is actually in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise right now," Shin nodded.

However, hearing his words, Robin looked at Shin with confusion. If he knew Uranus was in Mary Geoise, why didn't he go find it? From what she knew, Shin was very interested in this.

Was it dangerous? No, that couldn't be right. Even the Celestial Dragons had been wiped out. What danger could Uranus pose? Robin had defined Uranus as a tool, not a living being.

Of course, Shin didn't think Uranus was dangerous. He definitely wanted to see this so-called Uranus, but to do so, he had to get the Pluton away from Mary Geoise first, to avoid getting it caught in the crossfire.