Iceburg's Mansion
Rob Lucci could clearly feel how troubleso the man before him was. Every ti he used Soru, trying to launch a surprise attack, it failed—every single ti. It was as if his movents had been completely seen through.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A massive explosion tore through the mansion, flas ripping the entire building apart.
"Hm?" Zoro tilted his head.
'My chance!'
Lucci's eyes lit up. His hands snapped together.
"Six King Gun!"
A powerful shockwave blasted Zoro backward.
"Haaah—" Lucci exhaled in relief.
Slash—! Slash—! Slash—!
Three blue flying slashes cut through the air in rapid succession.
A sense of danger flooded Lucci's body. In that instant, he seed to forget that close combat was the greatest advantage of a Zoan user.
Years of brutal combat had sharpened his instincts. Even without Observation Haki, his perception was still extrely keen.
Lucci dodged the first slash.
The second grazed past him.
But the third—
He couldn't avoid it.
Blood sprayed across the sky. For the first ti, Lucci had been wounded.
But it certainly wouldn't be the last.
Zoro narrowed his eyes. A crimson glint flashed within them.
His biceps bulged as a faint demonic aura began to thicken around him.
Then Zoro opened his eyes fully—scarlet light flowing within them.
"Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Oni Giri!"
At that mont, Zoro seed like a vengeful demon.
The blades in his hands were like the scythes of the Grim Reaper.
A streak of purple light tore through the sky and appeared before Lucci in an instant.
"Iron Body!"
In Lucci's pupils was the reflection of death itself. For the first ti, a trace of fear appeared in his eyes.
Three deep sword wounds carved across his chest, tearing through flesh. Blood poured out uncontrollably.
"GAAAH!"
The intense pain pierced his brain. The sinister aura was spreading through his body.
Clenching his teeth, Lucci endured the agony and kicked off into the air with Sky Walk, fleeing into the distance.
The ever-proud Rob Lucci… had actually run away.
Above the Mansion
Thunderclouds gathered in the sky.
Nami stood atop the roof, spinning the Clima-Tact rapidly.
Cold bubbles and hot bubbles shot into the thunderclouds.
Soon, rain began to fall.
The light drizzle extinguished the flas and cald the chaos.
Zoro watched Lucci flee but didn't pursue him.
Speed wasn't his specialty. He could briefly accelerate during battle, but not over long distances—especially against an opponent who could fly.
Franky House
"Huff… Huff…"
Kalifa was panting heavily.
"He's like a slippery eel! I can't hit him at all!"
Beside her stood Kaku and Blueno, both covered in bruises and bumps.
Kaku glared at them, then looked toward the completely uninjured Sanji across from them.
'What a monster…'
"Don't forget our objective," Kaku said.
"We must deliver Franky to Enies Lobby. Kalifa, stall him!"
"…Fine."
Kalifa reluctantly agreed.
The pressure Sanji gave them was similar to the towering presence of Rob Lucci, the strongest among CP9.
They had initially planned to find his weakness and eliminate him.
But although they found the weakness…
…it was useless.
Soon, Kaku and Blueno hoisted the half-asleep Franky onto their shoulders and fled.
"Stop right there!"
Sanji tried to chase them, but a long leg wrapped in a whip-like strike swept toward him.
Sanji stepped lightly aside and dodged.
He had already seen through their plan—but he had no way to stop them.
'Sigh… since I can't stop it…'
His previously furrowed brows relaxed.
"Miss Kalifa… how about we go grab a drink together?"
"Get lost, you pervert!"
Kalifa lashed her whip at him repeatedly.
Sea Train Platform
Franky's mouth had been gagged.
anwhile, Kaku and Blueno wrapped bandages around their wounds.
"I wonder if Lucci succeeded," Kaku said with so concern.
"No problem," Blueno replied confidently.
"He's the strongest among us. Besides, we already lured away their strongest fighter. What trouble could they possibly cause?"
"Is that so…" Kaku muttered.
"I still have a bad feeling about this."
Sabaody Archipelago — Human Auction House
Luffy arrived wearing a black cloak.
The auction hall looked exactly like the one in the original tiline.
'Not even VIP seats… No wonder the Celestial Dragons get punched.'
Luffy casually found a seat.
His Observation Haki spread across the hall.
There were many people here.
But most of them were trash.
Soon, a man stepped onto the stage.
"Welco to our auction! I guarantee none of you will leave disappointed!"
"Now, for our first item!"
The auctioneer slamd his hamr.
Behind the curtain, a group of muscular n were dragged out like dogs.
"These are strong laborers from various kingdoms. Because of population burdens, they've been sold here!"
"There are ten in total!"
"The starting price is 100,000 Berries each!"
"Just imagine—only 100,000 Berries for a lifelong laborer!"
"1 million! I'll take them all!" shouted a man who looked like a farm owner.
No one raised the price.
They were just a few laborers after all.
The auction continued.
"This is a crew mber from a pirate crew worth over 100 million!"
"These are beautiful won carefully selected from various kingdoms!"
"And this—"
"A princess who fell from the Samaladon Kingdom!"
Luffy's expression grew darker and darker.
Slave trading was thriving right beneath Marine Headquarters.
What a cruel irony.
But he didn't cause trouble.
The tide of an era wasn't sothing one person could overturn.
Soon, n and won were pushed onto the stage.
They were shackled, priced, and sold.
At that mont, their fates were decided.
Commoners becoming slaves.
This was the tragedy of the age… and the decay of the world.
Soon the cheap slaves were sold off.
Then ca the luxury items.
"Look! A golden crown excavated from ancient ruins!"
"It shines like the stars themselves!"
"I'm sure the nobles among you won't refuse it!"
"Starting price: 10 million Berries!"
"11 million!"
"15 million!"
"20 million!"
…
In the end, the crown sold for 55 million Berries.
Luffy quietly watched the nobles competing desperately for a crown.
He slowly shook his head.
99% of wealth gathered in the hands of 1% of people.
An ordinary person could exhaust their entire life working and still never match a single wave of a noble's hand…
Or a single plunder by pirates.
Roger's final words had been like a spark that ignited a world filled with gas.
'After coming to this world… what should I really do?'
'Beco the Pirate King?'
Luffy's thoughts were tangled.
In just a few hours, he had seen even more clearly how rotten this world truly was.
"Now… the final item of the auction!"
The auctioneer's shout pulled Luffy back to reality.
He noticed many people suddenly breathing faster.
Their eyes burned with excitent.
Most of them were pirates.
"You're all here for this, aren't you?"
"That's right!"
"The grand finale of today's auction is—"
"The trunk of Treasure Tree Adam!"
The curtain fell.
A massive tree trunk appeared before the crowd.
"Treasure Tree Adam is the strongest wood in the world! Ships built from it are incredibly durable and can withstand imnse pressure!"
"Legend says the Pirate King Gol D. Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson, was built from Treasure Tree Adam!"
"Starting price—"
"1 billion Berries!"
Luffy blinked.
Iceburg had said it would cost no less than one billion.
And the starting price was already one billion.
Three minutes passed.
The hall remained silent.
'I see…'
'Only pirates truly need Treasure Tree Adam.'
'But how could a bunch of pirates who only know how to pillage and indulge possibly have one billion?'
"1 billion!" Luffy said without hesitation.
"1 billion Berries! Any other bids?"
"1 billion once!"
"1 billion twice!"
"1 billion three tis!"
BANG!
"Sold!"
After the auction ended, Luffy could feel many greedy and malicious gazes fixed on him.
He didn't care.
Inside the auction hall's backstage area, Luffy casually waved his hand.
A mountain of colorful banknotes piled up instantly.
"Sir, would you like us to help transport it? For a small fee—"
"No need."
Luffy placed his hand on the tree trunk.
In an instant—
It vanished.
Ignoring the receptionist's shocked expression, Luffy walked out.
He headed toward a certain location.
A Desolate Island
Dozens of vicious pirate crews had gathered.
"Kid, hand over that item!"
A burly man wielding a giant axe sneered.
"That's not sothing you should have!"
"Just a bunch of trash," Luffy said coldly.
A crimson light flashed in his eyes.
Dark red Conqueror's Haki lightning filled the sky.
With a single step forward—
His overwhelming aura shook the entire island.
In an instant, not a single person remained conscious.
Luffy turned into a bolt of lightning and left.
The next second—
A glowing point appeared high in the sky.
Then—
A colossal pillar of lightning crashed down onto the island.
Everything on the island was instantly erased.
The sea surged.
Water evaporated into steam.
From the Sabaody Archipelago, countless people looked up and witnessed it.
A pillar of divine light descending from the heavens…
As if a god had casually wiped an island from existence.
Den Den Mushi Call
Pururururur—
Luffy picked up the Den Den Mushi and smiled.
"Hello? This is Luffy."
"Luffy! CP9 took Franky to Enies Lobby!" Nami said urgently.
Because of Sanji's chivalry, Franky and CP9 had boarded the Sea Train together.
Since Enies Lobby belonged to the World Governnt, they needed their captain to decide what to do.
After all, Franky wasn't their ally yet.
In fact, he had been their enemy.
"I see."
Luffy chuckled.
"I heard he's good at shipbuilding."
"I've decided to recruit him as our shipwright."
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Luffy transford into a streak of blue lightning.
He skimd across the sea surface.
His desHination—
Enies Lobby.
Sea Train — En Route to Enies Lobby
Rob Lucci sat in a seat, his body wrapped in bandages.
His face was pale.
"Lucci… how did you end up so badly injured?" Kaku asked in confusion.
As the strongest among them, how could he suffer wounds deep enough to expose bone?
"It was that swordsman," Lucci said calmly.
He opened his eyes.
There was no fear.
No relief at surviving.
Only deep calm.
"That's terrifying," Kaku muttered.
"And that's when their captain wasn't even there."
"Tell … if two monsters like that are already on the crew…"
"How strong must their captain be?"
"The one with a 400 million Berry bounty…"
"Straw Hat Luffy."
Lucci suddenly opened his eyes and stared straight at Kaku.
After a long silence, he spoke:
"I will wash away this humiliation."
Kalifa finally stepped in to ease the tension.
"Regardless, it's over now."
"They wouldn't possibly storm Enies Lobby, would they?"
"For hundreds of years…"
"No pirate has ever dared to cause trouble at Enies Lobby."
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