Chapter 468: Guardian, Destroyer!
"Clone?"
Fengyue's expression froze. Only now did he realize that the man he had met out at sea wasn't the real Ryuunosuke—it had been a physical replica.
A clone strong enough to deceive even him.
Then what about the original?
If a single duplicate possessed that much power and cunning, what kind of monster was the true Ryuunosuke?
Ryuunosuke spoke calmly, breaking Fengyue's thoughts.
"It's called a clone, but its thoughts are linked to mine. Everything it sees, I see. Everything it learns, I learn."
He folded his arms.
"So yes—I already know what you told my clone earlier. You came to persuade me to join the so-called Evictors faction, didn't you? Then tell me more about your people. In return, I'll show you something."
Ryuunosuke slid a folder across the table. "This is the data Keshia provided about the Guardians. You can take a look."
The report shimmered with seals of light, projected from Gaino's archive system.
Fengyue picked it up, scanning through the details. His brow furrowed.
Much of it was false. Some even contradicted what he knew firsthand.
"So, she fed you misinformation…" Fengyue muttered, sighing. "Even parts of her own profile are wrong."
Ryuunosuke leaned back with a small smile. "Oh? How big are the discrepancies?"
"Not massive," Fengyue admitted. "But several key points are reversed entirely. For example, when I was observing your battle inside that barrier, your clone seemed certain Keshia would win. Now I understand—you were testing me."
He looked embarrassed. "You fooled me cleanly."
Ryuunosuke chuckled softly but said nothing.
Fengyue continued, his tone turning serious.
"The weapon she wields, the Hammer of Gothel—it's one of her sacred armaments. But there's something missing from your data. Guardians possess two divine instruments, not one. She concealed that fact from you deliberately."
"Because she doesn't trust me," Ryuunosuke concluded.
Fengyue nodded. "Exactly. In her eyes, you're still an unknown variable. So she only revealed what she wanted you to see."
Ryuunosuke rested his chin on his hand. "Tell me something, then. How much do you actually know about the Guardian organization? And what's your connection to them? You told me before that I shouldn't join them—why?"
"I joined the Evictors a hundred and twenty years ago," Fengyue replied, his tone quiet but steady. "Before that, I only knew fragments of their history. But I can tell you this—the Guardians exist to protect her."
"Her?" Ryuunosuke asked.
"Lilith," Fengyue said gravely.
The name alone seemed to weigh down the air.
Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes. "The same Lilith who brought the Devil Fruits into this world?"
Fengyue nodded. "She's real. And it was her hand that birthed the power of the Devil Fruits—their immortality, their curse, and their will."
"That explains a lot," Ryuunosuke muttered. "So the Guardians serve Lilith… and you, the Evictors, exist to destroy them—and erase the Devil Fruits themselves."
Fengyue's aura flared faintly, light pulsing beneath his skin. "Exactly. Our purpose is to purge her influence from this world. To return the sea to what it once was, before the age of the Devil Fruits."
Ryuunosuke's gaze sharpened. "Then the Guardians and Evictors are two sides of the same coin—creation and destruction."
He paused. "If Lilith truly exists, then she must be on Raftel. Am I right?"
Fengyue's eyes flickered. "That's… correct. And yes, that's why Roger's story ended the way it did."
"Roger?" Ryuunosuke echoed.
Fengyue nodded. "Everyone remembers him as the Pirate King. But the truth is, he became one of the Guardians' followers. The Great Age of Exploration wasn't about freedom—it was a recruitment drive. He used his death to ignite a race, to find the strongest who could reach Raftel and carry out their will."
He clenched his fists, voice heavy with regret. "Roger sacrificed everything for that. His life, his name… his dream."
Ryuunosuke fell silent.
The pieces clicked together in his mind, painting a far darker picture than any rumor or legend.
"So the so-called One Piece… isn't treasure. It's a chain leading straight to Lilith."
Fengyue nodded slowly.
Ryuunosuke frowned. Until now, he had always believed Raftel was tied to the World Government's erased history—the void century, the fall of the ancient kingdom, the birth of the Celestial Dragons. But this theory rewrote everything.
If Lilith's existence was true, then even the World Government might just be another byproduct of her influence.
It was a dizzying thought.
Yet something still didn't add up.
Too many parts of the story were too clean—too perfect.
"This information," Ryuunosuke murmured, "feels… designed. The lies are woven too neatly into the truth. Whoever crafted this, they knew exactly how to mix fact and fiction."
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