If Kuma had been present, he would have immediately recognized the grotesque spectacle below. The so-called corpses of the Revolutionary Army were performing the legendary Nika Dance.
Their movements grew increasingly exaggerated, each motion more erratic than the last. With every step, the aura surrounding Joy Boy intensified, rising steadily to a suffocating level.
Lucia's gaze sharpened as she observed the anomaly. Drawing her blade, she pointed it directly at the dancing figures and issued a cold command.
"Destroy their bodies."
At once, a Marine stepped forward with a cannon, unleashing a barrage of fire.
Yet the shells halted midair, repelled by an invisible barrier surrounding the Revolutionary Army. Not a single shot managed to penetrate its defense.
Lucia frowned, her expression darkening.
"All officers ranked Colonel and above, follow me."
A violet flame ignited along her blade. Her figure shot into the sky as she brought her weapon crashing down with a Fallen Angel Hammer, striking the barrier with immense force. Blue cracks spread rapidly across its surface.
The other Marine officers followed without hesitation, their limbs and weapons coated in Armament Haki. A relentless barrage of strikes rained down upon the weakening barrier.
With a sharp fracture, it shattered completely.
Even then, the Revolutionary Army soldiers inside paid no attention to Lucia or the Marines. They continued their eerie dance, devoid of awareness, until a massive wave of purple flames descended from above, reducing them to dust.
Joy Boy watched without emotion. Those soldiers had already died. Their final dance had merely fulfilled their remaining purpose.
At this point, his accumulated power had reached its peak. By his estimation, it was sufficient to inflict severe damage upon Lloyd.
High above, Lloyd's figure had already merged with the darkness. At the center of the sky, a colossal vortex rotated slowly, radiating a terrifying, oppressive force.
Sensing the overwhelming energy emanating from it, Joy Boy's expression turned grave.
He glanced briefly at Nami, Chopper, and Brook behind him before speaking softly.
"For freedom."
Nami did not understand his meaning, but a deep sense of dread took hold of her. Whatever was about to happen, it would not end well.
Yet she could not even control her own body.
There was nothing she could do.
Desperation filled her voice as she cried out,
"Luffy, wake up! Don't let him control you!"
Joy Boy ignored her completely. Luffy's consciousness had already been shattered by the excessive consumption of Rumble Balls. No amount of shouting would reach him.
A breath of white mist escaped Joy Boy's lips as his body expanded under a radiant glow. Conqueror's Haki coiled around him like a living force.
Behind him, Nami, Chopper, and Brook reacted involuntarily. Pain twisted their expressions as their bodies swelled in tandem with his, even Brook's skeletal frame was affected.
Above them, the dark vortex shifted.
A massive pitch black blade slowly emerged, its tip aimed directly at Joy Boy.
Joy Boy roared, his voice shaking the heavens.
"Come, for freedom! Nika Liberation Punch!"
Before he could advance, Nami, Chopper, and Brook screamed in terror. Their fists rose against their will as their bodies shot upward toward the blade. Joy Boy followed closely behind.
From within the vortex, Lloyd's voice echoed, steady and devoid of emotion.
"Dark Judgment."
Buzz.
The enormous dark blade surged downward, colliding head on with Joy Boy's attack. The sky itself seemed to split, black and white dividing the battlefield.
At the forefront, Nami, Chopper, and Brook bore the brunt of the clash. Their faces contorted with agony, yet Joy Boy showed no hesitation. Instead, he increased the output of his Haki.
Lightning crackled violently, sending shockwaves crashing into the sea below.
Nami's scream tore through the battlefield. Cracks spread rapidly across her skin, her body unable to endure the overwhelming force.
She was the first to break.
Darkness engulfed her form, and in the next instant, her eyes went hollow. A thin fracture appeared on her forehead, splitting downward with a sharp sound.
Her body separated into two halves, dissolving into fragments of white light that scattered into the air.
Chopper followed almost immediately, his fate no different.
Brook witnessed it all.
The loss of his companions filled him with unbearable grief. Within the hollow sockets of his skull, two green flames flickered violently.
At that moment, the power of the Yomi Yomi no Mi erupted completely.
Though it could not free his body from Joy Boy's control, it granted his soul the ability to escape.
Brook's jaw opened wide, and a green, skull-shaped soul emerged.
The instant it separated, his enlarged skeletal body was consumed entirely by the darkness.
Floating in the air, Brook's soul felt an irresistible pull.
It was the call of the underworld, something he recognized all too well.
Without his physical vessel, his existence in the world was unstable. Only through sheer will and the power of his Devil Fruit did he resist being dragged away.
He fixed his gaze on Joy Boy.
Joy Boy, however, paid him no attention. The deaths of Nami and Chopper had already been factored into his plan.
Brook's soul flickered violently.
Then, with everything he had left, he roared,
"Luffy!"
Joy Boy's expression shifted instantly, his eyes widening in shock.
"What?"
In the next moment, Brook's soul plunged directly into Joy Boy's body.
Joy Boy trembled violently. The radiant glow surrounding him dimmed, and the force behind his attack weakened.
Pfft!
The dark blade pierced through his enlarged fist, releasing a torrent of white mist.
Joy Boy gritted his teeth, struggling to hold his ground.
Suddenly, a green flame ignited at the center of his forehead.
Within his mind, Brook's voice echoed desperately, calling out Luffy's name again and again, trying to awaken his suppressed consciousness.
Pain exploded through Joy Boy's mind. He threw his head back and let out a long, anguished howl. The straw hat atop his head trembled violently.
The green flame flickered, shrinking rapidly.
As it neared extinction, Brook gathered the last remnants of his strength and cried out one final time within Joy Boy's consciousness,
"Wake up, Luffy!"
The moment his voice faded, his soul shattered completely.
There was no return to the underworld.
Brook ceased to exist.