Chapter 202: The Black King Who Lost Everything, Luffy
Kaito Shirogane felt how fragile Roland's spiritual form was. He was standing at the top of the Spirit Tower again, touching the Throne of the Heart. He found that even without sitting on it, he could now control his body to some extent.
This told him that Roland's spirit was on the verge of shattering. This Special Reincarnator, who might have once been powerful, had been pushed to his absolute limit by the corruption.
In the sea of consciousness, he had "cut away" the part of himself that was Roland, leaving only the pure [God Hand], and had erupted with terrifying power to suppress Kaito, Gojo, and Coby. But now, even without them doing anything, he was about to die.
Roland had a very persistent [Heart], but Kaito could see clearly: the guy had been duped by the God of the Abyss.
Perhaps the real Roland had died long ago. His ability to remain in a mission world for two years as a spirit was itself a product of the [God of the Abyss]'s power.
The [God Hand] were the means by which the [God of the Abyss] interfered with the worlds. That being, who resided in the deep [Sea of Souls] where normal methods could not reach, could only manifest its will by creating [God Hand].
Whether it was the human world in Berserk or the One Piece world now.
A God Hand like Roland was merely a product to carry out that will.
Kaito prepared to take back his body, but the chaos outside surprised even him.
Tsk, in a way, the God of the Abyss is the one who acts most like a Reincarnator.
It actually wanted to sink its claws completely into this world, scattering Behelits and even Eggs of the King, to re-impose the Law of Causality here.
Humanity's free will would be shackled by this [Law of Causality], leading the world to a tragic end.
This was something even the most powerful Reincarnators would struggle to do, yet the [God of the Abyss] had achieved it through a single Special Reincarnator.
Kaito even guessed that the [Guts] who had appeared in the One Piece world, who might have become a Reincarnator, was himself part of the [God of the Abyss]'s plan.
Krrackle!
Black lightning instantly pierced the Spectral Realm.
The three God Hand members sensed something and turned.
There, a pitch-black figure stood at the edge of the Spectral Realm. He had torn a hole in it, and the outside light was shining in like a column.
"This guy is..."
[Void, the Archangel] looked at the newcomer. He sensed a great anomaly. He could not see any possibilities on this person.
Or rather, all possibilities on this person had been severed.
[Ubik] possessed space-time abilities. He could see a person's past, present, and future. Sensing the anomaly, he pointed, and a screen of light appeared in the sky, flashing with images of the man's past.
Kaito, who had regained some of his physical senses, also followed Roland's gaze and saw the screen.
In the images, Foosha Village was burning. The Dadan family lay in a pool of blood, as several hooded Reincarnators complained about the low point-reward, kicking Dadan's body.
In the village below, the beautiful Makino was stripped, shackled, and unconscious. Mayor Woop Slap's limbs were broken, as several people toyed with him, forcing him to crawl.
The scene flashed. Usopp lay dead on his hometown's beach, his eyes empty, his chest pierced, as a group of people casually set fires...
The scene flashed again. The Straw Hat's ship was docked in a burning Alabasta. The boy in the straw hat stared at Vivi's dead body, his face ashen...
Every flash was a new scene from hell. The timeline was jumbled, the locations and people chaotic. Sometimes a person who died in one scene would reappear in the next, only to die again.
Ubik, who had almost completely suppressed his human emotions, stopped floating as he watched.
"You..."
He was about to speak, but a laser flashed, and the black figure was in front of him.
Only then did Ubik see his face: long black hair, a body covered in scars. His face was untouched, save for a single scar beneath his eye.
"How was it? My past. Pretty exciting, right?"
The man's voice was hoarse and cold. Ubik suddenly sensed immense danger. He was supposed to be able to isolate himself from space, but in this moment, he felt threatened.
A transparent force field expanded, but the newcomer just reached out his hand... and plucked.
Ubik looked down, stunned. He touched his chest in disbelief.
"My heart... is gone..."
The man looked at the heart in his hand. It was no longer human, but larger, the blood thick, a face on its surface.
Pff!
Ubik fell from the sky, silent.
Slan and Void leaned in. They realized this newcomer was completely different from a human. That black aura around him was severing their [God Hand]-specific traits.
How could a God Hand be killed just by having its heart removed? The only explanation was that, in that instant, Ubik had lost his [God Hand] nature and had been killed like a mortal.
On the ground, Kaito, even from thousands of meters away, clearly saw the newcomer. Despite the different hair and aura, he recognized him as the World-Child of One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy.
But this one, missing his left arm, was clearly not the laughing Straw Hat Boy. This was a "Black King" who had fallen into darkness after losing everything.
The moment Kaito saw this Black King Luffy, Luffy looked back. Their eyes met, and Kaito was slammed by an intense Conqueror's Haki—one filled with despair, hatred, and killing intent, far more terrifying than Garp's.
Black King Luffy swiped his hand, and a "door" appeared in the air. He stepped through it and emerged in front of Kaito.
Kaito's pupils shrank. That ability was... the [Door-Door Fruit]?!
And that move from before, it was like the [Op-Op Fruit]'s ROOM. And his movement was the [Glint-Glint Fruit].
Does Black King Luffy have ALL the Devil Fruit powers?!
Kaito sensed the truth of his power.
But Black King Luffy's gaze wasn't focused on Kaito.
"You're back. Heh. Surprised I'm not dead?"
Kaito's mouth opened, but Roland's voice came out, trying to communicate.
Kaito and Roland were now controlling one half of the face each.
Behind them, the Spectral Demons roared, but a golden light (from Luffy) shot out, and everything slowed.
It was Foxy's [Slow-Slow Fruit] ability...
Black King Luffy looked at Kaito's body, but he could still sense a faint, familiar aura. A hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes, but it vanished, replaced by a long sigh.
"Roland..."
"You're already dead. Why cling to this world? Why let that thing use you?"
His Haki seemed to lessen, but then he raised his hand. A giant paw-print appeared. Kaito's body was sent flying backward, but a phantom-like, black spiritual form (Roland's) was left behind, pushed out.
[You have been affected by the Black King's ability. The erosion of God Hand: Roland has been cleansed.]
Kaito was stunned. The [Paw-Paw Fruit] could do that? He guessed it was more than just a Devil Fruit power, but he couldn't know for sure. Regardless, he was free of Roland, earlier than expected.
Kaito's eyes scanned the area. Because Roland had been in control when the "evacuate" order was given, Kaito had missed it. He was still operating on his original plan: finish the team battle and end the mission.
He was looking for Moon Fiend and Critical Point.
Theoretically, there should have been many Reincarnators. His -7 score meant the Nexus expected him to be able to get back to 0. The second batch was all in teams, and Silverlight had been with CP9. Other factions must have had Reincarnators, too.
He just had to kill them and leave with positive points.
Kaito moved, charging toward the Marine warship. Everyone else was still caught in Black King Luffy's [Slow-Slow] beam, moving in slow motion.
Light flashed in Kaito's left hand, and the black [Dragonslayer] appeared.
He had no swordsmanship. He just swung it with terrifying strength.
Pff!
Blood and limbs flew, but both were frozen in the air by the slow-light.
Kaito smiled cruelly and ran for the warship.
Black King Luffy, who had been speaking to Roland's fading spirit, felt the thick stench of blood and frowned, his killing intent rising.
Kaito's brutal methods... they were just like theirs.
Roland's last shred of sanity returned. He followed Luffy's gaze and saw the man with Guts's Dragonslayer, wantonly slaughtering the Spectral Demons. He suddenly understood the "possibility" he had seen.
"I see... That is the ending."
(End of Chapter)
~~~
We hit our goal of 50, 55, 60, and 65 reviews—thank you all! As promised, you're getting 8 extra chapters as a reward!
Next goal: 70 reviews.
~~~
PS: I wasn't uploading the review bonus chapters before because there were too many bot reviews, and it became a real hassle to manage.
But now, all the bot reviews are gone — I've deleted most of them — so here's the bonus chapter as promised!
Please don't post bot reviews again — it's real hassle man.
Thanks for understanding and for all your genuine support!