Grinning from ear to ear at Imu's potent haki, which I honestly wasn't expecting given that she can seemingly use whatever devil fruit she wishes, I licked my fangs before responding in kind as my conquerors' haki erupted out of my body like a violent tsunami as it aggressively collided against hers, the two of us entering a battle of wills.
"Hehehe, what's your desire, huh? What drives you to possess such powerful haki?" Asked Diddy curiously with a ferocious grin as he looked at Imu, who narrowed her eyes before releasing a sigh.
"Control… Control of my life… Control of your life… Control of everyone's life." Replied Imu calmly as she opened her eyes and looked at Diddy, who raised an eyebrow before erupting into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! It seems we were destined to be enemies then, no matter what!" Said Diddy with a smirk as he loudly laughed while wiping his tears, only for his gaze to suddenly harden.
"My ambition is strength. But not just any strength; I want to be the strongest… Because only the strongest can do whatever the fuck they want to. I've lived a life of being controlled, and there is no way I'll willingly ever go back to such a life… This taste of freedom and strength is like an addictive drug… One that I never wish to stop consuming no matter the consequences." Declared Diddy solemnly as he tightly clutched his bo-staff while staring into Imu's pupil's eyes, his words causing her to frown deeply.
"You're not Joyboy… But your ideals greatly resemble his. He, too, wanted freedom above all else, but I couldn't allow that. His life was mine to control, and those who do not submit to my control… Shall cease to exist." Remarked Imu softly as she looked at Diddy while her voice grew colder by the second, only for a mighty blizzard to engulf their surroundings.
Raising my arm, blocking the freezing winds from hitting my face, I listened to my instincts and leaped to the side, dodging an icicle from penetrating my head while I tried finding Imu, though the blizzard obscured my vision, not to mention I wasn't given a moments rest as I was forced to constantly dodge and deflect attacks from nearly every direction.
'Kuzan and another's devil fruit.' Thought Diddy lightly as he knocked away a large hand made of snow, only for another to suddenly appear behind him.
"Beastly Fist!" Said Diddy as he swiftly turned around, punching the massive snow hand while also using one of the seventy-two Bian, creating a vacuum void of air and snow.
The path I had just created in hopes of escaping this blizzard of hell was obstructed by a scalding sea of plasma, causing me to click my tongue as I swung my bo-staff, deflecting beams of light from hitting me.
'Mael and Kizaru's devil fruit.' Thought Diddy lightly as he observed his surroundings, catching a glimpse of Imu to his left.
"Beastly Eruption!" Said Diddy as he leaped towards his left while swinging his bo-staff upwards, blowing open the blizzard, only for it to promptly close.
Clicking my tongue, I swiftly leaned forward, dodging two bone projectiles from stabbing me in the back, though that wasn't all, as iron rods emerged from all directions in the blizzard, forming a cage as it tried to trap me.
"Tsk, alright, you want to play like that?" Asked Diddy with a faint smirk as he swiped his nails, launching five sharp blades of air that slashed through the iron rods, allowing him freedom.
As I floated in the air, I was about to hit the ground with Naga-sa in hopes of dispelling the blizzard, but before I could, the air surrounding me suddenly vanished, causing me to fall out of the sky,
'Fuck it, this will have to do!' Mused Diddy as he spun in the sky, building momentum before he slammed his bo-staff onto the ground while a powerful wave of lightning erupted from the collision.
'Beastly Shockwave!' Thought Diddy as his wave of lightning forcefully pushed back the freezing blizzard, albeit with difficulty.
Using this chance, I pushed myself off the ground and leaped into the sky, escaping the hellish blizzard, though when I did, I got to witness one surprising sight.
"I see. You can't just use every devil fruit… You can control those who have also eaten them." Remarked Diddy lightly as he looked between Kaido, Freyja, Bullet, and Blackbeard.
It wasn't only those four, but everyone who had eaten a devil fruit, which were a large number of pirates, were kneeling on the ground and unable to move; however, that was only for my allies; everyone else, such as the five elders, CP0, Admirals, and anyone else on the side of Imu was free to act as they please.
I even saw the Revolutionary Army in the distance with Sebas, yet the only ones able to move were Sabo, Lindbergh, and others I didn't bother with.
'Good thing I never ate a devil fruit.' Thought Diddy lightly as he wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead before shifting his focus to Imu, who was surrounded by the five elders.
"Are you the creator of devil fruits of something?" Asked Diddy lightly as he floated in the air while eyeing Imu, who nodded, surprising him.
"That was supposed to be a rhetorical question, but I suppose it makes sense." Muttered Diddy softly as he rubbed his head before glancing at his crew.
"A long, long time ago, I created a fruit that, when eaten, will turn them into my obedient slaves… With my creation, I spread them throughout the world, awaiting the day when I could control every soul in this world; however, Nika didn't like that when he found out. He attempted to dissuade me, explaining the values of freedom, but I ignored him." Said Imu softly as she looked at Diddy, who surprisingly paid attention.
"Nika? Isn't he the Sun God or something? I think I've heard Mael mention him." Muttered Diddy lightly as he rubbed his chin while looking at Imu, who nodded.
"Yes, and I, who was brought into creation alongside him, Imu, was a Demon; we could be considered siblings, though such things hardly matter to us." Replied Imu as she gazed at Diddy, who raised an eyebrow in surprise before nodding his head in understanding.
"In the end, we had a cataclysmic fight, resulting in the end of the prehistoric era… Though we were both grievously wounded, I entered a deep sleep to heal my wounds. However… Nika had other plans. Instead of recuperating, he tampered with my fruits, granting them his power and giving whoever consumes them power from one's imagination. Doing so drained him of his strength, and so he died, though not before splitting himself into two pieces. His power went into one of my fruits and his will into a living being." Stated Imu lightly with an indifferent gaze as she looked at Diddy before raising her head and looking at the night sky.
"When I had awoken from my slumber 800 years ago, he had become whole within the body of a mortal; however, he failed to defeat me, and so, ever since then, he continued to reincarnate throughout the years, and it wasn't until recently that we had killed him after he reached the final island. Though, it seems in this generation, his fruit and reincarnation had finally become whole once again." Added Imu with a bit of frustration as she furrowed her brows before sighing.
"I'm assuming Nika is now Joyboy? That would make a lot of sense… I think. I don't really pay attention to stuff about him." Asked Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he tapped his chin, only for Imu to furrow her brows while nodding.
"Urgh, D-DO SOMETHING DIDDY!?" Exclaimed Freyja loudly as she glared at Diddy, only for Saturn to kick her, flinging her through several mansions.
"I am doing something; I'm learning about the past and who Imu is; this can be very Important information." Said Diddy defensively as he eyed the mansion Freyja was lodged in, only for Sebas' to click his tongue.
"W-When have you ever cared for the past or who someone is?" Asked Mael as he narrowed his eyes at Diddy, who burst into laughter while nodding.
"Hahaha, true. I was really bidding my time to figure out how to free you all." Replied Diddy lightly as he patted his stomach while Imu frowned at his words.
"And, any luck?" Asked Blackbeard with a hopeful gaze, only for his expression to twitch.
"Hmm, maybe if you say please." Said Diddy with a smirk as he glanced at Blackbeard with a thoughtful expression.
"P-Please!" Yelled Scar urgently as he struggled against his fight now that he was being jumped by S-Bear and CP-0.
Chuckling at Scar, I turned and looked at Imu, who was giving me an annoyed yet curious look, which was the most emotion I'd seen her display.
"Nika gave us devil fruits, probably with the hopes of us fighting back against you, yet that failed miserably. However, if haki, something that everyone has, can harm devil fruits, which is basically the power of a god, doesn't that mean it can also overpower your control over them?" Remarked Diddy with a feral grin as he eyed Imu, who furrowed her brows, only for his conqueror haki to violently surge in response.
Spreading it throughout Mariejois, I surrounded my allies with my haki, successfully freeing them from Imu's control, though it only worked so long as they stayed within the confines of my haki.