"So, this is the power of the Dimension Fruit..."
Law stared at the purple longsword that continuously sliced through space itself, its form unstable and distorted, shock filling his eyes.
He once heard Corazon mention several space related Devil Fruits recorded inside the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Among them, three were considered the most famous.
The Ope Ope no Mi, the Warp Warp Fruit, and the Dimension Fruit.
The Ope Ope no Mi could create a special spatial domain where the user could manipulate everything freely, almost like a god within that space.
The Warp Warp Fruit allowed the user to teleport themselves across space, directly affecting the user's own body.
The Dimension Fruit, however, was completely different.
It could not create space, but it could tear apart stable space itself, destroying everything caught within the fractured area.
Among all space related Devil Fruits, it possessed the greatest destructive power.
And now, that terrifying ability had somehow been fused with a blade.
"Something's wrong..." Law frowned slightly, confusion appearing in his eyes. "Can a Paramecia Devil Fruit even be fused with an object? Did the World Government develop some new technology?"
Normally, only Zoan Devil Fruits could be infused into objects, granting them consciousness, movement, and animal transformations.
He had never heard of a Paramecia or Logia ability being merged with a weapon.
"Exactly! That's impossible!" Apoo shouted in disbelief. "A Paramecia Devil Fruit fused with a sword? Old man, you've got to be lying!"
"How could a sword even control a Devil Fruit ability? Only Zoan types can give life to objects!"
"Oh? Is that so? Forgive this old servant's ignorance..."
The old man's decayed beard trembled lightly as he stroked the rounded head of the cane in his hand. A strange smile slowly spread across his wrinkled face.
"Cough... cough... This old servant does not know why either, but the fact remains, it can use the power of the Dimension Fruit."
"Wait..." Law's eyes suddenly narrowed as he stared at the crude cane sword.
His expression drastically changed.
"That presence..."
A cold chill ran down his spine.
"So that's it," Law muttered. "This sword isn't an object... it's alive."
Apoo blinked in confusion.
"Alive?"
Law took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening as he looked at the old man.
"The cane in his hand isn't a weapon. It's a living person transformed into a cane sword."
"Huh?!"
Apoo stared blankly at the shriveled wooden cane.
No matter how hard he looked, he could not connect that dry, lifeless object with a human being.
"Cough... cough... What an impressive young man..."
The old man slowly stroked the cane again, his eerie smile widening further.
His withered face resembled a dead tree blooming with twisted life.
"You saw through it so quickly... and you also possess a spatial Devil Fruit ability. You must be the Supernova known as the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law."
Suddenly, both Law and Apoo noticed something strange.
The old man's figure flickered for an instant.
It looked as if he vanished and reappeared in the same place.
Like an afterimage.
Or perhaps something even stranger.
"Move!"
The moment his Observation Haki warned him, Law instinctively drew Kikoku.
"ROOM!"
A spherical space instantly expanded around him.
"Shambles!"
Several invisible slashes erupted outward, colliding against unseen spatial tears slicing toward him from every direction.
"Sever!"
Whoosh!
A harsh tearing sound echoed through the air.
Crack... crack...
Law's slashes froze midair as they collided against invisible spatial fractures. The attacks remained locked in a deadly stalemate.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
Apoo viciously smashed his jaw against his skull, producing harsh metallic sounds.
"Slash!"
An invisible sound wave blade shot directly toward the old man's neck.
The old man calmly swung the cane sword in an arc.
"Oh my... pirates truly are vicious. Trying to take this old servant's life so suddenly."
The moment Apoo's sound slash entered the fractured space around him, its speed rapidly slowed until all its power vanished completely.
Law's expression darkened.
"He uses the Dimension Sword to fracture the surrounding space. Any attack entering those tears gets destroyed before reaching him."
Sweat formed on Apoo's forehead.
"Huh? Then how the hell are we supposed to fight this guy? Might as well surrender."
Law narrowed his eyes.
"No. The ability has a weakness."
A sharp glint flashed across his gaze.
"The fractured space doesn't belong to him naturally. He isn't immune to it either. While using the sword, he also has to avoid the torn space himself."
Law lowered his voice.
"If we attack from every direction simultaneously, he'll be forced to seal every opening around himself. That'll restrict his movement."
Apoo's eyes rolled upward as he transformed one arm into a guitar.
"Yo~ Yo~ So all we gotta do is hit him from everywhere at once?"
He strummed aggressively.
"Awoo~ Law, get ready! The concert's starting!"
Doo doo-doo... Wum~~
Apoo rapidly transformed different parts of his body into instruments, creating chaotic rhythms and bizarre sounds.
Bang! Bang!
"Hey! Old fossil! Listen up!"
He slammed his chest like a drum while shouting loudly.
"Move with the rhythm! Feel the beat! Right now, I present the melody of death, performed by the one and only Supernova musician, Scratchmen Apoo!"
The old man tilted his head slightly while listening.
"Cough... cough... This old servant truly is old. I cannot appreciate such strange music."
Before he finished speaking, a sharp light flashed beneath his sagging eyelids.
"Oh? Trying to sneak attack this old servant? How despicable."
Whoosh!
The cane sword suddenly slashed downward, carving a massive trench across the deck while simultaneously shattering the space ahead.
Boom!!!
Explosions instantly erupted around him.
"Explode!"
Apoo grinned viciously.
"Yo~ Yo~ It's not over yet!"
He hammered his fists against his chest repeatedly.
"Explode! Explode! Explode!!"
Massive explosions detonated from every direction around the old man, flames surging skyward.
"Cough... cough... Mere tricks."
The old man's hoarse voice echoed from within the flames.
"Yo! Damn it!" Apoo's eyes widened. "You're still alive?!"
As the flames faded, the old man stood there completely unharmed.
Apoo's face twitched.
"How are we supposed to beat this monster..."
The old man slowly lifted his wrinkled eyelids.
"Cough... cough... Pirate, if you submit to our masters, the Celestial Dragons, perhaps you may still keep your life."
Pfft!
Before he could finish speaking, the old man's head suddenly flew into the air.
"Shambles!"