Chapter 203: Bombarding the Holy Land Mary Geoise (Part 2)
Inside the Five Elders' office!
After the CP0 agent left, the Five Elders fell into silence.
"How did that Blue Demon guy even survive? Even if by some miracle he lived, how did he manage to kill Luo, someone with the power of a Navy Admiral, and withstand his final attack in life-burning mode?" the sword-bearing elder broke the silence, voicing what all five were wondering.
The Curse-Curse Fruit's ability to steal life was something no strong warrior could defend against. After all, time spares no one. No matter how powerful someone is, in the face of time, they must yield.
The attack was launched in an invisible manner—blocking it required not only a powerful Armament Haki, but one that covered the entire body.
Even the tiniest gap was like having no defense at all against the Curse-Curse Fruit.
And with a young Admiral-level warrior burning his entire life force to power the attack, the curse's potency would be at its peak. Anyone hit would basically be dead.
"So how exactly did Blue Demon survive?"
In their memory, only Rocks had ever resisted such an attack with his unique Armament Haki technique.
They had once used this same one-hit-kill fruit power against Rocks, sacrificing a Navy Admiral-level combatant and an overpowered Devil Fruit to do so.
But it had failed—Rocks' Haki blocked it. They thought no one else could ever do the same, but now Blue Demon seemed to be another exception, and they still couldn't believe it.
"That guy Blue Demon… there's no way he could've just gained a Haki technique like Rocks out of nowhere!" said the blond elder, still in disbelief. Then he turned to the elder with the curved blade. "Has Viper reached out?"
"No," the elder replied.
The five fell silent again. They all understood—if Viper hadn't contacted them, it meant Blue Demon's life span hadn't been significantly affected. At the very least, his combat power was still intact.
Otherwise, if Blue Demon had been weakened, Viper would've captured him and contacted the Five Elders directly.
That he hadn't could only mean one thing: Blue Demon was still alive and well.
"Maybe Blue Demon learned Rocks' Haki technique during the God Valley battle?" the long-bearded elder speculated. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense—after all, Blue Demon had been the first to break through Rocks' Haki defense.
"Whether he learned it or not, what's certain is that Blue Demon is no longer afraid of that kind of Devil Fruit ability."
"The Curse-Curse Fruit is a single-target attack that no one else can block for you. If Luo Han survived, he had to have blocked it himself."
After these statements from the sword-wielding elder and the one with the curved blade, silence returned to the room.
Finally, the sword-wielder spoke again. "This attack plan has already failed. There's no use talking about it further."
"What we need to consider now is whether Blue Demon will retaliate… or rather, how he plans to retaliate."
"..."
Once again, silence filled the office. It was a troubling question—perhaps the very cause of the unease they had all been feeling these past few days.
…
Elsewhere—
Luo Han and Cole had flown high into the sky, piercing through the clouds until they were level with Mary Geoise.
"Let's begin, Cole."
"Got it, Brother Han," Cole replied coolly, beginning to transform into his full form. This time, the transformation was enhanced after yet another physical evolution.
Luo Han was full of anticipation. The last time Cole used his full form was on Ark Island—and this time, the size alone was bound to shock the world.
Wooooo… Grrrruuuuh!
A strange and primal sound echoed out, like the call of a giant ancient beast.
"This is getting out of hand!" Luo Han's eyes went wide in disbelief.
Cole's body expanded rapidly and transformed—
In moments, a 10,000-meter-long mythical beast—the Kun—appeared in the sky. It resembled a whale, but its previously smooth black skin was now laced with massive blue tendons, each dozens of meters in diameter, crisscrossing its body.
Its 1,000-meter-wide tail fin generated gusts with each movement, scattering the clouds behind it.
Two enormous pectoral fins stretched wide, resembling wings. Their span was so vast that they blocked out the sun over the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
Everyone on the islands below noticed the change and looked up—then stood frozen in shock.
"What is that?!"
"A monster!!"
"A flying Sea King?!"
"If that thing falls, we're doomed!"
"Run!"
A shout broke the trance, and people quickly reacted. No matter what it was up there, the best move was to run.
Boom!
People all across Sabaody rushed toward the ports and shores, trying to escape.
Meanwhile, Sister Shao and Aishi also stared up at the Kun.
"Big Sis, what is that?" Aishi asked in awe and fear. "Is that a Sea King? It just appeared out of nowhere!"
"No."
Sister Shao frowned. "That's Cole's ability."
"..." Aishi was stunned.
Seeing Aishi confused, Sister Shao pointed upward. "Cole is a Mythical Zoan user—he ate the Kun-Kun Fruit."
Just as she said it, Aishi gasped and pointed in horror. "That's Cole?!"
She'd never seen Cole's full transformation. In fact, it had only happened once after setting out from Ark Island. Aishi and Sora had joined Luo Han later and hadn't witnessed it.
"Yes," Sister Shao confirmed.
"That's impossible!"
Aishi stared in disbelief at the creature covering half the archipelago.
"Even for a Mythical Zoan, isn't that size a little too much?!"
"Aishi ," Sister Shao said seriously, "now's not the time to worry about Cole's powers. The real question is—who are Cole and Luo Han fighting?"
Aishi froze. Right!
Weren't they supposed to have already left? If Cole was still here, that meant Luo Han was too.
"Did they run into enemies?!"
"Sister Shao!" Aishi 's face turned solemn. "I'm going to help them!" She turned and ran toward Island 20.
"Stop right there, Aishi !"
Whoosh! Sister Shao used "Shave" to instantly appear in front of her. "You know your own strength, right? Going there would only make you a burden to Luo Han!"
"Trust him! You know how strong he is!"
"But…" Aishi began.
"No 'but'!"
Sister Shao interrupted her. "Listen—do you think Luo Han can't hear us talking right now? No! With his Observation Haki, he knows everything."
"If he isn't saying anything, it's because he wants you to think clearly and not act recklessly. His enemies aren't ordinary pirates—they're the World Government and the Navy."
"Do you really want to be his weakness?"
Ugh! Aishi froze. That last sentence hit her like a hammer.
"I want to get stronger, Big Sis!"
Aishi broke down crying and hugged Sister Shao tightly. She didn't want to be left behind anymore. She wanted to fight alongside Luo Han—not watch helplessly from the sidelines.
Sister Shao said nothing, just gently patted her head.
…
Down below, Luo Han really had heard them and was briefly stunned.
"How does Sister Shao know my Observation Haki lets me hear people talking?"
As for Aishi , she'd clearly been tricked into staying calm. He hadn't meant to ignore her—he was just stunned by Cole's transformation and hadn't reacted in time.
By the time he wanted to say something, she and Sister Shao were already hugging. So he let it be.
"Let's begin, Cole. Use that ability."
Hovering above Cole's massive head, Luo Han's expression grew excited.
"Okay, Brother Han!"
Cole was excited too. He'd never used this power before, but it was unquestionably his strongest attack.
Woooooo… Grrrruuuuh!
The ancient, beastly sound echoed again.
The Kun began to open its massive mouth. At full extension, the gap between its jaws was 4,000 meters. Inside… it wasn't clear whether what was visible were teeth or more mouths.
"Is that thing an alien?" Luo Han gasped in awe and fear.
As the Kun opened its mouth wider, it didn't reveal a throat, but another massive mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth—each tooth the size of a building.
Inside that mouth was another mouth… and another…
Like something out of Alien, or like Kog'Maw from League of Legends, with layers of mouths nested inside.
RUMBLE!
A thunderous boom erupted!
Once the Kun's mouth reached its limit, an immense gravitational pull formed between its jaws. Space itself warped and funneled into it like streams of liquid.
Seawater around the Sabaody Archipelago twisted upward into massive pillars, each hundreds of meters wide, pulled toward Cole's open jaws.
"Oh no! That Sea King's gone berserk!"
"Get back!"
People who had been boarding ships now screamed in panic.
The water pillars being pulled toward Cole lashed out wildly.
The seas around the archipelago were now filled with dense, towering columns of water.
The sea currents turned chaotic. Many ships already at sea were crushed or hurled into the air, only to come crashing down and shatter against the ocean's surface.
People fled back to the archipelago, trembling as they looked up at the so-called Sea King, praying it wouldn't fall from the sky.
But this was no Sea King—it was Cole. And he wasn't going to fall.
After about ten minutes, the water being pulled into Cole's mouth had been compressed to the limit by the warped space inside.
The seawater below settled once more, no longer rising toward Cole.
(END CHAPTER)
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