Disappointment.
Profound disappointment.
This was the only emotion Xiano felt in his heart at this moment.
At the very beginning, he had actually been looking forward to this fight.
Though Lucci hadn't yet mastered Two-Color Haki, that didn't matter—Xiano could simply choose not to use his own. Back in the Goa Kingdom, hadn't Garp done the same?
Restricting Haki and relying solely on Martial Arts, trading blow for blow—that could still make for an exhilarating battle.
But alas…
Lucci was simply too weak.
Even if Xiano stood still and let him attack, Lucci couldn't break through his defenses.
This man, who in his memories had once exuded overwhelming presence the moment he appeared—whose intimidation even surpassed some of the Warlords of the Sea…
Now, dealing with him felt no different from dealing with Nami.
"Now, it's my turn."
Xiano's voice was eerily calm:
"You've landed so many punches on me. It's only fair I return one, don't you think?"
"Survive this punch, and you live."
"Fail to, and you die."
"After all…" Xiano looked down at Lucci, his gaze laced with mockery. "The weak have no right to live—isn't that what you believe?"
Before infiltrating Water 7, Lucci's hands had already been stained with far more innocent blood than most villains.
When he was just thirteen, a weak member nation of the World Government had been invaded by Pirates, plunging into crisis. Five hundred soldiers had been defeated, forcing them to urgently seek aid from the World Government.
But when Lucci arrived as reinforcements, he ignored the Pirates entirely. Instead, he mercilessly slaughtered all five hundred soldiers—leaving not a single survivor.
His reasoning was simple.
He believed those five hundred soldiers were too weak to uphold their duty, too weak to deserve life in this world.
For someone like this…
Xiano couldn't be bothered with the other CP9 agents—so long as they didn't provoke him, he wouldn't go out of his way to deal with them.
But Lucci?
He had no reason to hold back.
The next instant—
Xiano deactivated his Paper Drawing Martial Body form.
Crack!
His body expanded at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, his loose clothes instantly tearing apart under the strain.
Amid the sound of ripping fabric, the delicate, handsome youth vanished without a trace.
In his place stood an absolute monster.
A towering figure of four and a half meters, muscles like forged steel, veins writhing beneath the skin like living creatures.
The moonlight was completely blotted out, replaced by an oppressive shadow that loomed like an iron curtain, suffocating in its terror.
Lucci stared up at the colossal figure before him, lips trembling, face drained of color.
This was his true form?!
Why hadn't he revealed it sooner? Why had he disguised himself as some unassuming youth?!
Had he known this from the start… he would never have underestimated such a monstrous physique!
"Hmm? Grew a little taller again?"
Xiano paid no attention to Lucci's shock. He examined his own body, lips curling into a low, rumbling chuckle.
"My weight must be over a ton now."
Slowly, he clenched his fist.
The sound of cracking knuckles erupted like thunder, the air around him visibly distorting under the pressure.
"Good. Almost adjusted. Time to prepare for your punch, Lucci."
Xiano unwaveringly extended his large hand, gripping Lucci's head like a ping pong ball before casually tossing him high into the air.
Before Lucci could react, his body was already hurled a hundred meters upward, rapidly beginning its descent. In his vision below, Xiano had clenched his fist, grinning savagely as he looked up.
BOOM——!!!
Xiano's fist shot forward explosively.
He had no intention of using the Six Styles Ultimate Technique, let alone resorting to a trump card like Elbaf's Spear.
Lucci wasn't worthy.
No flashy techniques, no Haki enhancement—just a simple, ordinary punch, a burst of pure, unadulterated strength.
Yet even so!
The shockwave formed by the fist compressing the air expanded like an explosion, instantly tearing apart the ground within a radius of dozens of meters. The terrifying sonic boom shattered every window in Dock One.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
"Iron Body!"
Feeling the overwhelming force, Lucci's face twisted in desperation as he roared.
Simultaneously, his body rapidly completed its transformation, fully shifting into his leopard form.
Though he knew the chances of blocking it were slim, at this point, he had no choice but to bet everything on his defensive measures!
Creak—
Just as the fist's shockwave was about to engulf him, an eerie green door suddenly unfolded beneath him.
"Air Door Opening!!!"
Bruno's figure flashed out from the door, arms crossed as he positioned himself in front of Lucci, gritting his teeth and activating Iron Body as well.
"Bruno…" Lucci's eyes widened in shock.
BOOM——!!!
In the deafening explosion, Bruno's Iron Body didn't even hold for half a second before being shredded like rags by the shockwave.
His chest immediately caved in, the sound of shattering bones unmistakable. Blood gushed from his orifices as his body was sent flying backward like a broken kite.
The eerie green door fared no better.
Under the violent shockwave, it shattered like fragile glass with a crack, dissolving into specks of green light that vanished into the night sky.
The remaining shockwave pierced through these embers, slamming mercilessly into Lucci.
THUD!
A dull impact!
Though Bruno and his door had absorbed most of the force, the residual power was still enough to instantly shatter Lucci's leopard-form defenses.
After hanging in the air for a brief moment, his body plummeted limply to the ground, cratering the pavement with a web of fractures.
Dust billowed.
"Bruno…"
Lucci strained to turn his head, searching for Bruno as blood continuously spilled from his lips.
Even with Bruno taking the brunt of the attack, Lucci had still been reverted to his human form, his bones shattered and organs seemingly displaced.
He soon spotted Bruno.
His comrade, who had just thrown himself into the line of fire, now lay a few meters to the north.
Having borne the full force of the impact, his condition was far worse—his body mangled, his breathing ragged, clearly on the verge of death.
"Lu… Lucci…"
Bruno's gaze locked onto his, trembling as he weakly raised a hand and drew another door on the ground:
"W-while I still have breath… crawl inside and escape… or else when I die… the ability will vanish…"
Escape?
"Cough…" Lucci spat out bloody foam, his vision blurring as he stared at the door.
"Escape…?"
Suddenly, he tilted his head back, gazing at the night sky as he let out a low, hoarse laugh.
"People can run away... but where can my heart and will escape to?"
Bruno was stunned.
He had never seen Lucci with such an expression before. Those eyes, always cold and confident, were now filled with self-loathing and despair.
"I've already lost... can't you see? Utterly and completely defeated..."
Lucci's voice grew fainter.
He raised his right arm, staring at his trembling hands. The index finger that Xiano had brutally torn off earlier, now without the stamina to sustain Life Return, began bleeding profusely again.
"What 'CP9's greatest genius in eight hundred years'... what 'pinnacle of Martial Arts'... all just a joke..."
His voice suddenly rose as he burst into hysterical laughter, laced with madness:
"A joke!!"
He had given everything he had, yet couldn't even leave a single wound on his opponent!
While that man's casual punch had plunged him into an inescapable crisis!
And the age gap—he would turn thirty in a few years, while that man was only eighteen... Such an insurmountable chasm was enough to shatter anyone's spirit!
Thud!
A fist suddenly struck his face, cutting Lucci's mad laughter short.
It was Bruno, mustering his last ounce of strength in a final surge, crawling painfully to his side. Clutching Lucci's collar with a death grip, his voice hoarse:
"Lucci! You bastard, don't forget—your life was bought with everything I had! You don't have the right to decide whether to live or die!"
"Losing to such a monster is only natural! Pull yourself together—don't treat it as some unforgivable disgrace!"
"Get out of here now... As long as you live, there's still a chance for the future!"
Lucci stared blankly at Bruno, the darkness in his eyes unyielding.
"A chance?"
He let out a bitter laugh. "That monster... how could—"
"Then get stronger again!"
Bruno coughed up blood but kept his fierce gaze locked on him. "Didn't you always say... the weak have no right to survive?"
"Then what does that make you now... giving up like this?!"
Lucci's body shuddered violently.
Yes...
Physical weakness wasn't terrifying—it was the collapse of will. If even he surrendered, how was he any different from the "weaklings" he'd executed with his own hands?
Gritting his teeth, he struggled to prop himself up, his focus sharpening once more.
"Bruno..."
"Shut up... and go!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Xiano's footsteps echoed in the distance.
Unhurried, yet each step seemed to land in the pause between heartbeats, tolling like a death knell that filled them with dread.
He was coming...
That monstrous man!
Bruno's face turned ashen, his body trembling violently, yet he mustered his last strength to push the door toward Lucci:
"There's no time left, Lucci! Go now!"
"The reason I saved you... was to ask you to rescue Kaku and Kalifa from those girls after you escape. Out of all of us... only you can do it..."
Lucci was finally moved.
After a long, deep look at Bruno, he said nothing more. Dragging his broken body, he crawled painfully toward the door.
However.
Just as Lucci was about to cross the threshold—
"Wororororo~! Such a powerful presence, there's no mistake! Finally found you, you little brat, Xiano!!!!"
A boisterous laugh filled with surprise and excitement suddenly rang out from the night sky.
BOOM!!!
The next second, a massive black shadow descended like a meteor, carrying terrifying force as it crashed heavily between the two of them!
In an instant, the ground shattered and exploded, sending shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.
Lucci and Bruno's bodies were instantly crushed into pulp by the overwhelming force, not even given a chance to scream.
The emerald-green door, due to the death of its ability user, vanished without a trace.
Whoosh...
As the dust gradually settled, a towering, demonic figure slowly rose.
The man had shoulder-length black hair, a pair of terrifyingly long horns atop his head, and a bare torso covered in scars. Strapped to his back was an enormous spiked club, while his right hand held a gourd of wine, which he was gulping down noisily.
"Hmm?"
Xiano had been yawning just moments ago, utterly uninterested in the bonds between CP9 agents, and was about to deliver the final blow to Lucci.
But then...
An unexpected surprise arrived!
Staring at the giant man chugging wine like a madman, Xiano's initially indifferent eyes suddenly lit up, burning with fierce fighting spirit. His lips slowly curled into a grin, widening until it erupted into a wild laugh:
"So you actually found me, huh? Seems like both of us are in luck today!!!"
...
Outside the massive iron gates of Dock One.
More and more Blue gathered here, the citizens having just arrived in time to witness the demonic figure's descent from the sky.
For a moment, everyone froze.
"Hey, am I seeing things?"
"Is that... Kaido?!"
Someone in the crowd was the first to recognize the towering figure's identity, their voice trembling as they shouted.
"Kaido, who rules the seas like an emperor, leader of the Beast Pirates?!"
"One of the Four Emperors... Why would one of the Four Emperors be here?!"
Fear spread like a plague, and the once-noisy waterways fell into dead silence.
The onlookers turned pale, some even collapsing to the ground, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"R-run for your lives!!!"
A scream pierced the air, and the crowd exploded into chaos. Everyone frantically urged their Blue to turn and flee, the waterways instantly becoming a congested mess as screams echoed nonstop.
"It's Kaido! It's really Kaido!"
"A monster like him should be in the New World—why is he in Water 7?!"
"We're doomed! Where's the Navy?! The World Government?! Someone save us!!!"
Desperate cries filled the air, reaching the silent clearing.
Kaido paid no attention. He was long accustomed to such reactions. After draining his gourd, he let out a satisfied belch before finally looking up at his opponent.
Under the moonlight, when Kaido got a clear look at Xiano's face, he froze, his expression turning puzzled and bewildered:
"Did I pick the wrong guy again?"
He'd sensed an overwhelmingly powerful presence from the sky, which was why he'd landed here.
But this didn't match at all!
Still... to think there was a fighter of this caliber in the first half of the Grand Line?
Might as well try recruiting him!
"What do you mean 'wrong guy,' Kaido!"
Xiano clenched his fists until they creaked, unable to hold back a wide grin at the words. "The real deal stands right before you, yet you don't recognize me? Wasn't it my name you just called?"
"You're Xiano?"
Kaido frowned, pulling out a crumpled bounty poster from his coat. He held it up, comparing the face on it to Xiano's.
His expression immediately turned skeptical.
"This is you?"
The photo on the bounty poster clearly showed a handsome young man with a sword strapped to his back.
Yet the man before him was undeniably a burly, muscle-bound giant who bore no resemblance whatsoever to a Master Swordsman.
"That's me."
Xiano nodded.
"Who the hell are you trying to fool? These aren't even the same person!"
Kaido crumpled the bounty poster into a ball and hurled it to the ground, baring his fangs in a furious roar:
"You take me for an idiot? Think I'm that easy to trick?!"
"Tch, what a hassle..."
Xiano sighed in resignation as his muscles abruptly began contracting.
Whoosh!
Under Kaido's stunned gaze, the four-meter-tall towering figure shrank in the blink of an eye, reverting to the black-haired youth depicted on the bounty poster.
"How about now?"
Xiano shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugged, and looked up at Kaido. "Recognize me now?"
"..."
Kaido's eyes bulged as he stared at Xiano for a long moment before snapping out of his daze. He picked up the bounty poster from the ground and smoothed it out, this time carefully comparing it back and forth.
Only then did wild joy finally erupt in his eyes!
It really did seem to be this kid after all!
After scouring the vast seas for so long, how difficult had it been for him?!
Thankfully there was no mistake this time—he'd finally found the real deal!
"Urororororo, you brat..."
Kaido threw his head back in unrestrained laughter, just as he was about to say something—
"ROOOAAAR—!!!"
An earth-shaking elephant's trumpet suddenly resounded, making the entire Dock One tremble beneath their feet!
Kaido whirled around to see an enormous mammoth charging toward them from the distance. Each thunderous step made the ground quake, its massive tusks gleaming coldly under the moonlight.