After the explosion died down, the entire area was unrecognizable. The ground had been blasted into a massive crater dozens of meters wide. In the center of that crater, two figures stood facing each other, both breathing heavily.

"Huff… Huff… Sengoku, even though you've already seen through my weaknesses, you still underestimated me," Rosinante said with a ragged breath, smiling coldly. "Or maybe you never took me seriously in the first place, thought capturing me would be as easy as turning your palm. But if I didn't have a trump card—would I even dare stand here?"

"Impossible… You were clearly out of strength just now!" Sengoku frowned deeply.

It was true—he hadn't taken Rosinante completely seriously. But as a seasoned Navy admiral who had spent a lifetime on the battlefield, carelessness was simply not in his nature. This was Admiral Sengoku in his prime—not the future Fleet Admiral who spent his days behind a desk signing documents.

His Observation Haki had clearly sensed Rosinante's stamina nearing exhaustion… and yet now, that very same Rosinante stood tall, fully revitalized, his energy seemingly back to peak levels. How could this be?

Sengoku knew he couldn't have misjudged it. His Observation Haki might not rival Gol D. Roger's, but it was still among the best in the world. It was absolutely impossible he'd misread Rosinante's state.

From afar, Kong too furrowed his brows. He had seen it—Rosinante was clearly drained moments ago. So how had he recovered? More than that, Kong could sense it now: an unending surge of power was bubbling from within Rosinante's body, making his aura increasingly vibrant and fierce.

"This is… such incredible life force!" Tsuru exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"That's right—life force. But how? He's not even a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. How can he possess such a strong and constant surge of life force? This far exceeds what even an admiral-level combatant should have," Kong said in disbelief.

He realized now why the power Rosinante radiated felt so familiar—it was life force. Something commonly felt from awakened Zoan users. Their notorious vitality and regenerative capabilities came from this very power.

But Rosinante… Rosinante's life force was now even more concentrated than that of awakened Zoans.

"I didn't expect your ability could even accomplish this…" Sengoku muttered, clearly shaken.

The moment he sensed the waves of life energy emerging from Rosinante, Sengoku understood the truth.

Silent Life Force. Just like how Rosinante could silence his injuries or seal away attack force for later use, he had now learned to seal away life energy as well—an incredibly esoteric and profound feat.

"This is just like your injury-sealing technique, isn't it? Another kind of seal—an inscription, right?" Sengoku asked.

"Exactly. It's called Life Seal," Rosinante replied.

He had been able to sense life energy for over two years already, but mastering it had proven incredibly difficult. Life is the essence of all living things—subtle, elusive, mysterious. Influencing its core with his silence-based powers required immense mastery.

But after advancing to admiral-level, Rosinante's Silent Power had finally reached a level where he could mute the excess life energy that naturally diffused from the body each day. Normally, this overflow would simply dissipate. Rosinante, however, had wanted to capture and store it, just like how he sealed wounds.

Unfortunately, life force was far more abstract and harder to bind. He had long failed to find a way to inscribe a seal that could contain it.

That was, until he came across ancient texts in Ohara. There, he discovered a record about a former user of the Life-Life Fruit, who could seal their life energy into a special rune. Using this clue, Rosinante created his own version: the Life Seal.

This seal stored the otherwise wasted life energy over time, which he could then unleash when needed—rapidly recovering stamina and even healing injuries. It was a tremendously difficult seal to inscribe. It had taken Rosinante an extraordinary amount of time to barely master it.

Moreover, this wasn't something just anyone could use. Since the sealed energy was his own, only Rosinante could control and activate it.

Sengoku's expression darkened. This new ability drastically increased Rosinante's threat level.

"Looks like you really won't be heading to Impel Down. I'll have to go all out and reduce you to dust," Sengoku said gravely.

"Killing me won't be that easy," Rosinante replied, his tone equally fierce.

With no more words, the two clashed once again.

Fists coated with brutal energy met waves of devastating shock force. Each blow sparked violent explosions, tearing chunks of earth skyward. The ground beneath their feet trembled and shattered.

Spectators watched in utter disbelief. Was this even a battle between humans? It looked like the end of the world.

Backed by boundless life energy, Rosinante's attacks became wild, ferocious, and utterly unrestrained. His Silent Power surged from within like a storm.

With his body's natural limits removed, the Devil Fruit's might reached terrifying new heights. Normally, even when his body's limiter was released, Rosinante would still carefully regulate the fruit's power—afraid of destroying his body. But not anymore.

With life force as a shield, Rosinante had no fear. He summoned his fruit's powers freely.

From the depths of his being, a force of absolute silence began to stir. It was deeper than silence—more primal. An eternal silence began to emanate from him, almost as if the very concept of sound and presence were unraveling.

Suddenly, Rosinante entered a strange new state of awareness.

Then something even more bizarre happened.

Though Rosinante made no visible move to activate his power, silence fell across the entire battlefield.

No one could make a sound.

Under the influence of this eternal silence, color seemed to drain from the world. Within its domain, the very sky and earth dimmed and faded.

Everyone inside this zone felt it—a heavy, formless pressure bearing down from all directions. The air itself thickened, becoming almost solid, making movement difficult. Breathing became labored. Their bodies felt stiff and sluggish.

But worse than that was the helplessness. Their powers… were weakening.

Their Devil Fruit abilities were being suppressed, unable to manifest fully. Attacks they launched felt strangely dampened—as if their full power was being swallowed by the silence. Blows that should've held tenfold strength landed with barely seventy percent… or even less.

Sengoku's face twisted in alarm. He opened his mouth to speak—but no sound came out.

"…Devil Fruit Awakening," Kong said in Sengoku's place, his voice trembling slightly.

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