This figure wasn't large. Although his face couldn't be seen, his presence suggested he was about the same age as me, no more than two years younger.
Yamato was only twelve now, and this person felt at most fourteen.
When the shadowy figure saw Yamato, he showed surprise. Then, he faster reached for that glass sphere.
"Stop!" Yamato rushed forward, drawing her blade. It was the Thunder Bagua, just as she used with her blade, but at her current level, it was probably only worthy of being called Thunder Four Bags.
Immense power shook the air, forcing the shadow to pull back. The shadow realized this opponent was strong, not someone he could easily ignore.
The blade sliced through the path his hand had just taken. A dark energy emanated, possessing extremely evil and corrosive properties.
Seeing her relentlessly pursue and attack again, the shadow instinctively unleashed a power. For some reason, Yamato felt like her head had been hit by a sledgehammer. A vast, invisible force struck her.
"Ugh!" Yamato coughed up blood, sent flying by the impact. She crashed heavily to the ground, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the shadow. "World Government?!"
The shadow, only showing his eyes, widened his pupils. Then, killing intent erupted from him, and another invisible force surged forth.
Though unseen, a powerful force was approaching. I knew it was psychic power, a force possessed only by the World Government, besides Mumei aboard Roger's ship!
Over the years, the World Government had cultivated a large number of espers, who displayed their incredible abilities in various fields, making many people envious of this extremely convenient, even omnipotent power.
Even Yamato, who rarely ventured out, knew this. The force that had hit her was definitely psychic power, meaning this shadowy figure was from the World Government.
Why was someone from the World Government here? And trying to steal the Super Ability Device?
Yamato was filled with confusion, but this was the first time she was acting on Oden's orders, and she absolutely could not fail!
Merging with the shadow, Yamato let out a low growl and immediately activated her Devil Fruit power, instantly transforming into her hybrid form!
Dog-Dog Fruit: Mythical Zoan: Okuchi no Makami's Human-Beast Form!
Animal-Type Devil Fruits are classified into human, beast, and human-beast forms. The human-beast form is the strongest, combining the advantages of both human and beast forms. And now, after entering this form, Yamato was different from her usual self.
Because she was still merged with the shadow, under Kozuki Oden's shadow power, Yamato's human-beast form had changed. Her body was black, and a strange mask appeared on her face. This was precisely the mask Kozuki Oden created for his general-level shadow warriors!
This mask made Yamato appear like a demon god. The black sword in her hand seemed to ignite like dark flames. With a powerful swing, her immense strength sliced through the invisible psychic energy. The split psychic energy blasted to her sides, distorting and twisting the heavy steel door.
Yamato was surprised, but she immediately struck again. Fighting an esper meant getting close!
But something surprising happened to Yamato. The shadowy figure before her not only possessed incredibly strong psychic power but also top-tier physical combat skills. As Yamato attacked, he was also thinking about closing the distance and did so faster!
Soru!
The shadowy figure instantly appeared in front of Yamato, followed by a Rankyaku propelled by psychic power. Yamato didn't have time to react and was kicked in the head.
Yamato cried out in pain again, her brain taking a heavy blow. She was sent flying once more.
The shadow let out a cold snort. He used his psychic power again, directly blasting through the sphere containing the Super Ability Device and then levitating it into his hand.
If he could, he would have killed Yamato for identifying him as World Government, but there was no time. Gunfire outside was subsiding, and more and more people were flooding in.
Clutching the Super Ability Device, he gritted his teeth and roared, unleashing his strongest power. It directly hit Yamato, sending her flying again. She was blasted in the direction of the soldiers who were pouring in through the entrance.
The shadow himself, meanwhile, took cover behind a counter.
"Don't even think about running!"
The large number of soldiers pouring in from the entrance were knocked down by the thrown Yamato, but more people rushed in. However, they didn't fire, as there were too many important data files in the research lab.
They pressed forward, and some of them were tasked with controlling the blasted Yamato. But when they reached the counter, something unbelievable happened.
There was… absolutely no one there?!
Several kilometers away from the research lab, the shadowy figure suddenly appeared in a courtyard. Seeing no one around, he leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
This is…
Instantaneous transmission?!
But, it's impossible. Currently, the only person in this world with instantaneous transmission ability is Mumei from the Roger Pirates, and Mumei wouldn't join the World Government.
Although there are Paramecia-type Devil Fruits that grant instantaneous transmission, none have been eaten yet, at least not by anyone on the seas now.
Yet, what he used was clearly instantaneous transmission. What was going on?
There's nothing to be surprised about. After all, instantaneous transmission is one of the abilities gained through the Esper Training Box.
The Esper Training Box allows one to train in a maximum of three psychic abilities: psychic power, X-ray vision, and instantaneous transmission.
His ability to use instantaneous transmission was naturally due to this, though in his memory, it wasn't called an Esper Training Box but Pandora's Box!
While most espers in the World Government only gained psychic power, two exceptions appeared in recent years.
Those were Lucci and Monet!
Both of them, in addition to having formidable psychic talent, also occasionally gained the ability of instantaneous transmission. However, their instantaneous transmission was far from its peak; it required a long delay for transfer and consumed more power.
They were still far from Roger Pirates, but the World Government was quite satisfied with this situation.
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