The Five Elders once said that another will resides within every Zoan Devil Fruit user.
And the Gum-Gum Fruit was never truly the Gum-Gum Fruit. Its real identity was a Zoan, the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika.
For all eight hundred years of the World Government's existence, they had searched for traces of this fruit. Yet the fruit itself seemed almost intelligent, deliberately avoiding anyone who tried to find it. In the end, through a strange twist of fate, it was eaten by Straw Hat Luffy.
After awakening his Observation Haki, Kojin's perception of everything around him had reached the very limits of this world. Future Sight, wide-range sensing, hearing the Voice of All Things, he had naturally mastered all of the abilities associated with advanced Observation Haki.
Whenever he drew close to Straw Hat Luffy, he could hear a peculiar spiritual pulse coming from within the boy. It sounded like someone laughing freely and without restraint, yet also like the beating of solemn drums. Even the air seemed filled with the scent of freedom.
"If I can sense him… can he sense me, too?" Kojin murmured to himself.
He continued toward Area 12 at an unhurried pace. Kuina had already gone ahead with five Pacifistas and the Research Force.
Kojin, meanwhile, was thinking about something else, how to reach the Warrior of Liberation sleeping inside Luffy, and how to guide that strange spiritual presence toward awakening. After all, being able to sense it didn't mean he could truly make contact with it.
The only reason Kojin could feel such a presence in the first place was because of the awakened Devil Fruit powers within his own body: the Thunder God form of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, along with an entirely new form created after pushing the Kunpeng Fruit to its absolute limit.
Because of that, Kojin understood one thing perfectly: the Five Elders had been right. There truly was another will hidden inside a Zoan Devil Fruit user.
That will could strongly influence the host's emotions and spirit while granting them unbelievable power. Incredible stamina and recovery were only the basics. Far more terrifying was the explosive leap in power that occurred in that instant, as though a human had suddenly crossed the boundary into the realm of gods.
"Sun God Nika."
"The Warrior of Liberation."
A faint smile appeared on Kojin's face. "This should be interesting."
With the strange connection already forming between them, there was a very real chance that the other will inside Straw Hat Luffy could be awakened ahead of time. But before that could happen, Kojin would naturally have to give it a little push. After all, Devil Fruit awakenings, and the dormant wills sleeping within their users, usually needed some kind of catalyst.
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Area 12.
Five Pacifistas strode toward the Straw Hat Pirates, their expressions completely emotionless as they opened fire.
"Why are these things here?!" Usopp screamed in horror. "And there are FIVE of them! This is five times worse than last time!" Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and sprinted away.
"That Pacifista we saw on Skypiea might mean there was a secret Marine base there," Robin said as she ran. "No… more accurately, it was probably an experimental base belonging to Kojin's forces."
Her expression grew serious. Without even realizing it, they seemed to have stumbled onto one of Kojin's secrets, and judging by the scale of things, it was an extremely important one.
"Luffy! What do we do?!" Sanji shouted.
The entire crew was running, but the ground kept trembling behind them as the five Pacifistas pursued without slowing down. At their current speed, they couldn't widen the gap at all. If this continued, a fight would be unavoidable.
"KEEP RUNNING!" Luffy shouted, the usual grin gone from his face. "These guys are seriously strong! We can't beat them right now! If you get the chance, split up and escape!"
At least when it came to judging the difference in strength between them and the enemy, Luffy hadn't lost his head.
Everyone nodded. And it wasn't just the Pacifistas chasing them, a large number of Marines were following close behind as well. Their situation was quickly becoming desperate.
Suddenly, one of the Pacifistas behind them blinked.
'Crackle!'
Blue lightning erupted from its eyes and shot toward the crew. The brilliant flash lit up the area above them, and the air immediately filled with the smell of ozone and singed earth.
"Zoro!" Luffy whipped around and shouted.
Zoro turned sharply and swung two swords at once.
'BZZZT!'
The air split apart as his flying slash collided head-on with the lightning, exploding into a blinding burst of light.
Everyone breathed a little easier. For the moment, the immediate danger had passed.
Zoro exhaled slowly as he stared at the five Pacifistas, his expression grim. After a brief hesitation, he turned and resumed running.
They still weren't strong enough to fight these things head-on. But if he could find an opportunity to isolate one and fight it alone… maybe he would have a chance.
Ever since the battle at Thriller Bark, everyone in the crew had grown stronger to some degree. And among them, Zoro had gained the most.
The meaning contained within Kojin's sword strike had been far too profound and unbelievably difficult to comprehend.
Even though Zoro had spent countless days and nights thinking about it, he still hadn't truly grasped it. At best, he had only scratched the surface.
But even that had caused his strength to increase dramatically. He could now launch flying slashes almost at will, and their power was far greater than before.
Even things without a physical form, intangible energy itself, could now be cut by his blade. In a sense, Zoro had already begun stepping into the realm of being able to cut anything.
'Just how far has that man's swordsmanship gone…?' The question rose involuntarily in Zoro's mind as Kojin's figure flashed through his thoughts.
Then suddenly, a figure appeared directly in front of them. The moment she saw them, she slowly drew the sword at her waist.
"Kuina?!" Zoro's pupils contracted as he shouted in shock.
"Straw Hat Luffy. Roronoa Zoro." Kuina raised her sword and pointed it toward them, her voice cold. "I'll be your opponent from here on."
She glanced at the Pacifistas. "Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Five Stars. Your mission ends here. Go find some other pirates."
The five Pacifistas immediately came to a halt. A moment later, they turned and strode away in another direction.
Before long, they regrouped with Enel and Wyper, who were waiting beneath a tree.
"She's not even trying to hide that she's going easy on them," Enel muttered.
"That has nothing to do with us, Enel." Wyper gave a faint smile.
With that, the two followed after the Pacifistas and soon disappeared from sight.
"Phew… We're safe!" Usopp let out a huge sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.
Luffy grinned as well and looked at Kuina. "Is she your friend, Zoro?"
Zoro, however, remained serious. With two swords in hand, he stared intently at her. "A friend? You could say that. But given the situation right now, she's probably treating us as enemies."
He had known Kuina since childhood, so naturally he understood her well. Beneath her appearance was a will tougher and more stubborn than most men's. More importantly, Kuina was an incredibly powerful swordsman. Zoro had never once doubted that.
Suddenly, Kuina swung her sword. "Don't get the wrong idea. I only sent PX-1 through PX-5 away because I wanted to enjoy capturing you pirates myself."
The instant her words fell, the air trembled. A massive flying slash tore forward, wide enough to engulf the entire group. In the blink of an eye, it was already upon them.
"She's strong!" Luffy shouted.
Sanji stared in shock. He had never expected Moss Head's childhood friend to be this powerful.
"I'll hold her off! You guys use this chance to get away!" Zoro drew his third sword and clenched it between his teeth, leaping forward to meet the incoming slash head-on.
'CLANG!'
His three swords collided with the flying slash, producing a sharp metallic crash. A violent force surged into him. The razor-sharp pressure swept across his entire body, and Zoro's expression changed instantly, shock flashing through his eyes.
'She's already become this strong?!' He had prepared himself for it, but after clashing with her personally, Kuina's strength still exceeded his expectations.
"Hey, Moss Head! You sure you can handle this?!" Sanji shouted.
"JUST GO!" Zoro gritted his teeth and held the slash back with everything he had, the force pushing his feet backward across the ground.
"Move!" This time, Luffy made the decision without hesitation. After being pushed into desperate situations again and again, he had finally learned how to judge what needed to be done depending on the circumstances. Apparently, Kojin's earlier lessons had actually gotten through to him.
Everyone clearly trusted Zoro. Without another word, they turned and ran.
"Moss Head! Meet us at the usual place! You better come back!" Sanji shouted over his shoulder as he ran.
"Don't worry!" Zoro never looked back, but his voice was unwavering. His eyes remained locked on Kuina, and a wild grin spread across his face. "There's no way I'm losing to her!"
His entire body tensed, and all three swords moved at once.
'BANG!'
The flying slash in front of him was cleaved apart, the crushing pressure vanishing instantly.
Kuina smiled faintly. "If you couldn't even block that attack, I'd have to wonder whether the fight I've been looking forward to all these years was even worth having."
"You won't be disappointed." Zoro lowered his stance. His eyes turned ferocious, almost beastlike, and he bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Come on!"
Kuina didn't hesitate. Her body moved almost instantly, her feet pounding rapidly against the ground as Zoro charged forward at the exact same time.
A heartbeat later, their blades crashed violently together.
"Three Sword Style, Beautiful Demon: Sleepless Night Oni Giri!"
"One Sword Style, Iai!"
Their attacks collided with tremendous force. A violent shockwave blasted outward in every direction, whipping Nami's hair as she ran.
Unable to help herself, she glanced back. Zoro stood there with all three swords drawn, locked in a fierce clash with Kuina. The force between them was so intense that sparks crackled through the air around their blades.
Then suddenly, the wind grew stronger.
A flash of lightning streaked across Nami's vision. Before she could react, an enormous shadow fell over her, and an overwhelming pressure descended upon the area.
"You didn't actually think that I'd let you escape this easily, did you? Straw Hat Pirates." A cold voice sounded right behind her.
At the same time, a huge hand shot forward, clamped around Nami's neck, and lifted her straight off the ground. In an instant, the terrifying sensations of suffocation and death overwhelmed her.
The rest of the Straw Hats, who had been running ahead, froze instantly. Their expressions changed drastically as all of them spun around at once.
(End of Chapter)
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