Lucci stopped in his tracks, his leopard-like pupils contracting into dangerous needle points. All of his hatred and killing intent reached a peak at this moment. He wasted no words and instantly entered his strongest Leopard-Human form. His muscles bulged, black spots covered his body, and he radiated a ferocious aura.
"Where is Spandam?" Lucci's voice was deep and hoarse. It contained endless murderous intent. Spandam was the one who had pushed him and his comrades into the abyss, making him the primary target for vengeance.
"That trash? He was dealt with long ago for being incompetent," the CP0 commander said indifferently, as if he were speaking about an ant. "It seems the task of cleansing our ranks must be completed by me after all."
"Finger Pistol: Yellow Lotus!" Lucci shouted. He vanished instantly and appeared before his opponent a second later. His ten fingers became a blur, carrying enough power to pierce through steel as he targeted all of the commander's vital points!
"Iron Body: Hollow Wood." The CP0 commander did not even try to dodge. His body showed a strange resilience. When Lucci's Finger Pistol struck him, it made a sound like knocking on rotten wood, and most of the force was strangely deflected.
"Tempest Kick: Victorious Bird!" Lucci changed his technique with extreme speed, sending a fierce slicing wave roaring forward.
"Paper Arts: Warrior Body." The CP0 commander's figure twisted like a phantom, avoiding the slash by a hair's breadth. His counterattack arrived at the same time: "Finger Pistol: Spots!"
The two figures collided and separated at high speed within the narrow passage. Every exchange carried deadly intent. Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick, Iron Body, Paper Arts—the signature techniques of the CP9 were shown perfectly by these two top users. They even used powerful Armament Haki and Observation Haki to strengthen their moves. This was a fateful showdown between the former strongest agent and a current high-ranking official. It was Lucci's personal battle for blood.
On the other side of the castle, the elite forces of the Revolutionary Army led by Dragon followed another route. After paying a heavy price, they finally achieved a breakthrough past layers of guards. They forced their way into the legendary chamber of the Empty Throne! The massive circular hall was empty except for the gigantic stone throne in the center, which symbolized that "The World Has No King." Contrary to what they expected, the throne was empty because Imu had already left.
However, the walls surrounding the hall were covered with dense ancient writing and murals that were not Poneglyphs. The air felt ancient and weathered.
"Quick! Record everything!" Dragon ordered immediately. Scholars within the Revolutionary Army, along with Sabo and others, moved quickly. They used video Den Den Mushi and their own knowledge to record and decipher the information on the walls.
The murals were shocking. They depicted the prosperity of the Great Kingdom, the betrayal of twenty kings, a world-destroying war, the downfall of the kingdom, and a vague figure. The writings were even more mysterious. They looked like experimental logs and monologues that mentioned the "Clan of D" as the remaining "Will Inheritors" of the Great Kingdom. They were described as an "unstable factor" that had to be watched. The logs also discussed the "side effects" and "control mechanisms" of Devil Fruits.
These fragments were like pieces of a puzzle. They were slowly revealing the truth of the Void Century that had been buried for eight hundred years. The ideals of the Great Kingdom, the dirty foundations of the World Government, the source of the Celestial Dragons' power, the Will of D, and the secrets of Devil Fruits—the answers to many mysteries were hidden here!
Dragon looked at the records, his body trembling with excitement and rage. This was the reality the Revolutionary Army had always searched for. It was the truth the World Government desperately hid—a truth that could change everything people knew.
"We must take this out and make it public!" Dragon said with firm resolve.
But as they focused on recording, glowing runes suddenly lit up on the floor of the hall. A cold, mechanical voice sounded: "Unauthorized access detected... Initiating Final Purge Protocol..."
The walls and ceiling cracked open to reveal red-flashing muzzles, and powerful energy began to gather. At the same time, a force field started to seal the entire hall. Even though Imu was gone, a deadly defensive system remained.
The three battlefronts were now in their most dangerous moments. High above, Imu seemed to be completely enraged. The halo around Imu began to contract, and a power far more fundamental than "Uranus" began to awaken. It seemed to be a part of the fundamental power of the world itself.
Takuro felt that power. Even in his Super Saiyan 2 state, his eyes became serious, but his wild smile grew more ferocious. "Finally... are you getting serious?"
He clasped his hands together again. His golden Ki aura and silver-white lightning retracted and compressed. He was no longer trying to release a massive amount of energy but was condensing all his power into a single point to prepare for the final collision. The outcome for Mary Geoise and the future of the world would be decided in the next few minutes.
The halo around Imu transformed into dense, wriggling black runes. These runes looked alive, like the physical form of the world's fundamental laws. Imu's aura became ancient and hollow, as if Imu was no longer an individual but the representative of the world's will.
"Anomaly, your very existence is an error," Imu's voice said. It had no emotion and sounded like the cold sound of Law. "Hereby, be corrected."
Imu raised a hand, pointing not at Takuro, but at the concept of space where Takuro stood. In an instant, the rules of physics around Takuro began to change wildly. Gravity spiked 1000 times higher, trying to crush him into a paste. The air stopped moving, and extreme cold and heat alternated in the area. Even the energy inside his body began to flow backward. This was not an energy attack, but a direct change of the world's rules to dismantle his existence.
"What kind of hellish ability is this?" Takuro asked as his golden pupils turned serious for the first time.
"Have you realized the disparity?" Imu's voice sounded like it came from another world. "Against the Law of the world, brute force is meaningless."
"Law?!" Takuro looked up with madness in his eyes. "Then I'll use my power to smash your damn Law, along with you!!"
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