Boom!
Without any warning, a burst of Conqueror's Haki, like a mountain torrent, erupted from Rorschach's imposing figure, drawing tiny, spiderweb-like black and red lightning bolts across the sky above the entire town.
The terrifying aura transformed into tangible pressure and impact, sweeping across all directions like a hurricane.
In an instant, the town residents who had gathered around, their faces fixed with stiff smiles, turned pale, their eyes rolled back, and they fell down one after another, like a wheat field cut down by a scythe.
The sound of falling bodies merged into one. Some people who were closer even had crimson blood flowing from the corners of their mouths.
In less than three breaths, on the vast town square, besides Rorschach, only Hibari, Law, Pammer, Bepo, and a few others remained standing.
Seeing the demonic Rorschach look down at her, Hibari, who had been looking aggrieved, now had a look of terror on her small face, and she involuntarily began to retreat.
Rorschach looked down at her panicked face, a smile curling his lips, revealing four snow-white fangs.
"What? Aren't you Hibari? Hibari wouldn't be afraid of me."
In front of the few 'acquaintances' who were still standing, Rorschach slowly raised his terrifyingly thick giant arm, a cruel smile appearing on his face.
"Don't play these games, dragging your feet. Aren't we going to fight in the end anyway? If you have the guts, come out directly! I want to see where such a troublesome guy has popped up from again."
Looking at his huge fist slowly extending into the void in front of him, Law, Pammer, and the others, who were holding their katanas, all changed their expressions. They turned around without hesitation and ran for their lives.
"Don't run! You've set up such a big spectacle, isn't it just to gather people? Now, I'm joining in. Let your king come out and see me!"
Boom!
Without Haki, without using the power of storms and lightning, merely relying on the savage physique enhanced by his Mythical Zoan form, Rorschach unleashed an air cannon hundreds of meters wide, compressing the air in front of him layer by layer, turning it into rolling shockwaves that crushed towards Hibari and the others who were fleeing.
"Damn it! What kind of monster is this guy!"
A sharp shriek erupted from Hibari's throat, and then her tiny body was hit by the violent impact, spewing out a large amount of blood.
Before she even landed, her delicate skin cracked inch by inch, her limbs twisted and detached from her torso, her pretty face split open on both sides, and a black and yellow bee's head emerged from her cracked face.
Following that, a four to five-meter-long body and transparent wings unfolded from her back.
It was clearly a giant bee, five or six meters long.
The giant bee spread its wings, buzzing and vibrating. It quickly soared dozens of meters into the sky, changed direction, and seemed to want to fly towards the latter half of the island.
However, before it could make a move, a golden bean of electric light, trailing a silvery-bright trajectory across the night sky, shot like lightning and instantly blew its massive head to smithereens.
The headless body flapped its wings, wobbling as it plummeted towards the town below.
Law and Bepo, who witnessed this scene, all changed their expressions. Their bodies rapidly expanded, and under Rorschach's gaze, they transformed into various strange-looking insects, scattering and fleeing quickly.
Their transformations somewhat surprised Rorschach.
"So many Animal-type Devil Fruit users? And all insects."
Thinking of insects, Rorschach couldn't help but recall the first powerful enemy he encountered in this world.
Mihawk Jones.
Speaking of which, that 'Law' just now said this place was called the Country of Reunion.
"Country of Reunion, reunion..." Rorschach's burly body contracted, returning to his human form. His eyes flickered, and he pondered for a moment. A flash of lightning in his mind, "No wonder it sounded familiar. Is this the Bug Kingdom?"
He remembered that last year, he, Law, and Hibari had heard about the Bug Kingdom from the auction house chairman holding the Sandworm Fruit at an auction in Sabaody Archipelago, mentioning that Mihawk Jones was from the Bug Kingdom.
Although somewhat surprised that there were so many Devil Fruit users related to insects here, Rorschach's actions did not stop.
He stomped his foot, a flash of electric light appeared on his body, and he vanished from his spot, appearing in front of a rapidly flying cicada. He casually used the Marine Six Powers, which he hadn't used in a long time, on this insect that had once resembled Law.
"Finger Pistol!"
"Get lost! Marine!"
The cicada in front of him, entirely black and seemingly the size of a house, opened its mouth and roared, then opened its massive proboscis to bite at Rorschach's outstretched arm.
Pfft!
Blood splattered, accompanied by the crisp sound of the iron-hard proboscis being easily pierced. A basketball-sized hole, a mixture of blood and flesh, appeared, having penetrated through the cicada's head that was lunging at Rorschach.
With a loud boom, the giant black cicada fell, collapsing a house below.
Watching the bizarre insects scattering and fleeing, Rorschach hooked his finger, and the golden hair tie behind his head detached. In his hand, it split into tiny golden beads, which, entwined with electric light, shot in all directions with whooshing sounds.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amidst a series of explosions, a string of blood mist burst in the air above the town, and insect corpses fell, landing amidst the shattered buildings.
Then, Rorschach saw these dead insects gradually shrink their enormous bodies, transforming into unfamiliar male and female faces.
They were indeed all Devil Fruit users.
These Devil Fruit users, who had transformed into various insects, were actually quite strong.
Rorschach estimated that the weakest among them had a bounty of at least ten million Berries.
The strongest were the bee and cicada disguised as Hibari and Law, whose strength was estimated to be above a hundred million Berries in terms of bounty.
Unfortunately, their opponent was the current Rorschach.
Even Mihawk Jones, who had once put immense pressure on Rorschach, would be instantly killed if he stood before the current Rorschach.
However, a question still lingered in Rorschach's mind.
How did these Devil Fruit users disguise themselves as Hibari and the others?
And they disguised themselves so well.
If Rorschach's Observation Haki hadn't been strong enough, even he might not have been able to distinguish that the Hibari earlier was a fake.
After cleanly eliminating a dozen or so ill-intentioned insects, Rorschach turned back to the square, looking at the two hundred or so Marine soldiers lying on the ground.
These people were truly Marines, not disguised by anything else. Rorschach could clearly sense their familiar aura.
He crouched down and checked the condition of a few soldiers who had been knocked out by his Conqueror's Haki, finding that nothing seemed abnormal about them.
But why had that strange smile also appeared on their faces just now?
Thinking of insects, Rorschach thoughtfully extended his hand and placed it on a Marine soldier.
Zzzzzzz electrical arcs emerged from his hand, forming an electric net that entered the soldier's body.
"Hmm?"
When the electric arcs penetrated into the soldier's body and reached his abdomen, Rorschach's brow suddenly furrowed.
He reached out and pried open the soldier's closed mouth, then with a wave of his right hand, the surrounding air surged, transforming into invisible tentacles that probed into the soldier's oral cavity, following his throat into his stomach.
The soldier's stomach swelled, as if something was struggling inside, appearing somewhat terrifying.
Rorschach's face was grim. He virtually pinched his fingers, grasping the invisible airflow tentacles, coiling around something, and pulling it out.
With a pop, a black, fuzzy object was pulled from the soldier's mouth and landed at Rorschach's feet.
Rorschach frowned and saw that the thing was moving.
It was clearly a fist-sized black spider, covered in black fuzz, with the outline of a human face on its back and several pairs of compound eyes on its abdomen!
"Parasites again?" Rorschach exhaled, suddenly feeling somewhat troublesome.
If this spider, as he suspected, was similar to the parasitic offspring created by Mihawk Jones after his transformation, then the master of this place was probably quite formidable.
Splish!
The human-faced spider, which had unfolded its black segmented legs and attempted to escape, was crushed by the invisible air.
Rorschach stood up, looking at the thousands of people lying spread out across the square and street.
If all these people were parasitic offspring, then that would indeed be quite bad.
Rorschach shook his head, waving his hands to transform the surging air around him into hanging transparent tentacles, which probed into the mouths of the soldiers, pried open by invisible air hands.
Soon, fist-sized black spiders were pulled out and crushed on the ground.
Having done all this, Rorschach did not linger there. With a flash of his figure, he flew to the latter half of the island, the area shrouded in mist.
His intuition told him that was the key area of this mysterious island.
It was very likely that the missing Zephyr, Hibari, and Enel, as well as the master of this island, were all there.
Deep within the mist, in a downward sloping basin.
Here, too, was a massive complex of buildings, no smaller than the town outside the mist.
If that outer area was considered the outer city of this country, then this was the inner city.
In this inner city, permeated by night, specks of lamplight gathered like a tide, illuminating the city brightly.
The city was bustling with people, lively and vibrant.
On the streets, vendors set up stalls selling various delicious foods, fruits, vegetables, and daily necessities.
Lovers embraced, leaning on each other, their faces filled with sweet smiles.
Compared to the stiff smiles on the faces of the residents in the outer city, the people here seemed to genuinely feel the beauty of life, enjoying this rare tranquility.
Clang. Clang.
Among the passersby, Zephyr, dragging his heavy mechanical arm, carried a bamboo basket in his left hand. The basket contained freshly bought potatoes and fish. A faint smile on his face, he pushed open the door of a house facing the street.
With a soft creak, the sound startled the people inside the house.
A middle-aged woman with long black hair, a somewhat ordinary appearance, but very gentle eyes, came out of the house, holding a purple-haired infant in her arms. Seeing Zephyr enter with the bamboo basket, she quickly greeted him.
"Let me see, what did you buy?" The woman handed the infant she was holding to Zephyr, while she herself took the bamboo basket from Zephyr's left hand and looked inside, chuckling, "Oh, you, why did you buy potatoes and fish again? Didn't I tell you to buy some greens from Old George's stall, and then a few pounds of beef from Uncle Joseph's? Don't you get tired of eating potatoes and fish every day?"
Listening to the woman's nagging, Zephyr simply grinned, resting his heavy mechanical arm below his left hand, afraid that the cold metal would bother the infant he was holding.
It was a baby boy.
His chubby little face was exquisitely pink and adorable, and he was sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.
At this moment, Zephyr's cloudy eyes were completely filled with the image of this adorable little one.
His eyes were full of love and tenderness, wishing he could hold the infant in his arms forever.
The woman next to him, holding the bamboo basket, saw Zephyr's expression. Her nagging gradually subsided, and she pursed her lips, taking the bamboo basket to the kitchen.
"Zephyr, take the child to the room, it's windy outside. There's fresh milk in the room. When he wakes up, feed it to him with a bottle. Remember to warm it with boiled water, but don't make it too hot for the child. Taste it yourself first to check the temperature."
Zephyr looked up, watching the woman's back disappear into the kitchen doorway. His heart pounded, and he couldn't help but hug the sleeping infant tighter. He took large strides, reaching the kitchen doorway in a few steps, and looked inside.
In the kitchen, the woman was placing the bamboo basket on the stove, picking up an apron to tie around her waist.
Seeing Zephyr enter with the child, an expression of helpless amusement immediately appeared on her face.
"What are you doing, Zephyr? Haven't you seen your wife before? This is the kitchen. There will be a lot of smoke when I cook later. Don't let it bother the child, hurry and get out."
Listening to the woman's scolding, Zephyr didn't move. He just held the infant tightly with one hand, standing like a log in the kitchen doorway.
Seeing Zephyr's direct gaze, the woman rolled her eyes at him reproachfully, but a faint blush appeared on her face. She turned around, scooped some clear water, and began to wash the potatoes and fish Zephyr had bought.
Then, she skillfully picked up a kitchen knife, sliced the potatoes into shreds, and the fish into thin pieces.
The woman bustled about, a smile on her face, humming an unknown melody. Soon, a large pot of shredded potato and fish stew was ready.
As she was scooping the steaming soup and vegetables into an iron basin, reaching out to carry it, Zephyr, who had been standing at the kitchen doorway, immediately stepped forward, extended his heavy mechanical arm, and picked up the steaming bowl of soup.
The woman watched this without a word, simply pursing her lips into a smile, and turned to dish out the rice.
Soon, bowls and chopsticks were set on the stone table in the courtyard.
At this moment, the infant in Zephyr's arms suddenly began to cry loudly, making Zephyr flustered and at a loss.
Seeing this, the woman quickly ran over, took the infant from his arms, comforting him while looking at Zephyr, "You fool, what are you standing around for? Go get the milk!"
Zephyr came to his senses and immediately rushed into the room like a madman, finding the milk bottle.
When he brought the bottle out, the woman said helplessly, "And the boiled water? This milk is cold."
Zephyr turned back into the room, fetched the boiled water, carefully warmed the cold milk, unscrewed the bottle cap, gently sipped a little, then screwed the cap back on and handed the bottle to the woman.
The woman tested the milk's temperature again before confidently beginning to feed the infant.
Zephyr stood silently behind her, watching.
The infant stopped crying as soon as he drank the milk and began to gulp it down.
Soon, a bottle of milk was finished.
Then, he started crying loudly again.
Seeing this, the woman couldn't help but smile, turning to glance at Zephyr: "Look, Zephyr, your son is just like you, even his big appetite is the same. One bottle of milk isn't enough, he needs more."
Saying this, she skillfully lifted her clothes and held the infant in the crook of her arm.
While feeding, she hummed a soft melody.
Behind her, Zephyr stood like a stone statue, and suddenly, two lines of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.
(End of Chapter)
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