"What?!"
The old man's severed head flew high into the air.
His eyes remained wide open, staring blankly at the headless body still standing below.
Law slowly sheathed Kikoku.
"That's impossible!" the old man screamed, his voice sounding like the cry of a dying ghost. "I sealed the entire surrounding space! There's no way you could have reached me!"
His cold and resentful eyes locked onto Law.
"What exactly did you do, pirate?!"
Law looked at the falling head and answered indifferently,
"I hid my ROOM inside the spatial fissures you created. The moment the fractured space restored itself, my ROOM expanded around you, allowing me to teleport directly to your side."
His gaze shifted toward the cane sword held by the corpse.
"If you were the actual user of the Dimension Fruit, you would've sensed my ability invading your space."
Law's eyes narrowed slightly.
"But unfortunately, you aren't."
He looked directly at the cane.
"She is."
Before the severed head could continue screaming, the headless body suddenly moved.
Without hesitation, it turned around and raised the cane sword toward Law's back.
The instant the blade swung, the surrounding space would be torn apart completely.
"This ability is too dangerous," Law muttered quietly. "I can't give you even a second to react."
He stood motionless behind the corpse as if he hadn't noticed the incoming attack.
Then he softly spoke,
"Sorry. As a doctor, I have to kill you."
"ROOM... Release."
The spherical spatial domain vanished instantly.
The headless body froze.
Pfft!!
A violent spray of black red blood erupted from the corpse like a fountain.
The body collapsed heavily onto the deck.
Meanwhile, the severed head smashed against the floor and rolled several times, leaving a long trail of blood behind it.
Gulu... gulu...
Finally, it stopped near Apoo's feet.
"Ol... old servant..."
The old man's lips trembled weakly while his dim eyes stared blankly upward.
Slowly, the light faded from them completely.
"Heh, what a shame, old man."
Apoo tilted his head and stared down mockingly.
"Yo~ Yo~ Looks like the one who missed the rhythm was you."
He lifted his foot and stomped down violently.
Splat!
The head burst apart like a smashed watermelon, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
"Disgusting."
Law stood atop his submarine after teleporting outside the ship's range. He frowned at Apoo with visible irritation.
"Scattering human remains everywhere is disrespectful to life."
Apoo nearly choked from anger.
"Huh?! You're the one who sliced him apart, and now you're lecturing me about respecting life?!"
He pointed furiously at Law.
"Fine! Fine! You saved me this time, so I'll let it slide!"
Then his expression shifted as he pointed toward the cane still clutched by the corpse.
"But what about that thing? You said earlier it wasn't a sword."
Apoo's eyes twitched slightly.
"You said it was a person."
Under normal circumstances, Apoo would have immediately stolen such a rare Devil Fruit weapon for himself.
But after witnessing everything, even he felt uneasy looking at it.
"That sword..."
Law stared silently at the cane for a moment.
Then he expanded his ROOM once more.
Swish!
He instantly swapped places with a nearby barrel and appeared beside the corpse before removing the cane from its hand.
"Scan."
Using the Ope Ope no Mi's ability, Law carefully examined the weapon.
A moment later, his breathing grew heavier.
"As expected..."
His voice became grim.
"The reason this cane sword can use the Dimension Fruit's power is because it was forged from an actual Dimension Fruit user."
Apoo froze.
"A person? You're seriously saying this thing is human?"
He stared at the shriveled cane in disbelief.
"Where the hell does that look human?!"
Law's expression darkened.
The hand holding the cane trembled slightly, something extremely rare for him.
"Even though its appearance has completely changed, my scan confirms it's still alive."
He paused briefly.
"Through some unknown forging process, her consciousness was erased, leaving only the ability behind."
A chill ran through Apoo's body.
"So someone can actually turn Devil Fruit users into living weapons...?"
He imagined himself being forged into an object, unable to control his own body while someone else wielded him like a tool.
"Hah..."
Apoo subconsciously took a step back.
"That's sick."
His face twisted with anger.
"If I ever find whoever created this, I'm killing them myself."
Crackle!!
Silver lightning suddenly exploded beside them.
Boom!!
Before either of them could react, Admiral Cero had already appeared nearby.
"What a disgusting use of power..."
Cero's silver eyes swept over the cane in Law's hand.
A trace of anger flashed within his pupils.
"To forcibly forge a living person into a weapon... this completely violates justice."
Apoo's face instantly changed.
"Damn it, Admiral Cero!"
He instinctively prepared to attack.
"Don't move," Law immediately warned him. "Cero is the God King's clone."
"Wha...?"
Apoo stared blankly at Law.
"The Marine Admiral Cero is actually a clone of God King Shirogai?!"
His mind nearly stopped processing.
Over the past year, Admiral Cero had become infamous throughout the seas for extorting pirates and dominating battlefields with overwhelming strength.
And now Law was saying that monster was merely Shirogai's clone?
"Give it to me."
Cero calmly took the cane sword from Law.
Then his gaze shifted toward the smoke covered city of Mary Geoise.
"Be careful."
His expression became serious.
"Several extremely dangerous people have already arrived."
"Don't lower your guard."
Far beneath Mary Geoise...
Inside the Abyss Prison.
Bang!
Bang!
Heavy hammering echoed endlessly throughout the dark chamber.
Crackle... crackle...
The blazing coal fire illuminated the stone room with an eerie red glow.
Five prisoners trembled violently while chained to stone pillars.
Sea Prism Stone explosive collars tightly restrained their necks.
Their bodies were covered in wounds.
Their terrified eyes stared toward the shirtless blacksmith standing beside the furnace.
Covered in sweat and burns, the man continuously hammered a burning object that was slowly taking the shape of a weapon.
Clang!
Clang!!
Clang!!!
The prisoners' faces turned pale with despair.
"M... Monster..."
"To actually forge Devil Fruit users into weapons..."
"Please... save me..."
One of them broke down completely.
"I don't want to become a weapon..."
===
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