The ice-and-snow rabbits, radiating a biting cold, were seconds from impact. A savage, beast-like glint appeared in Rob Lucci's normally calm eyes. He let out a low growl as his body began to transform. Muscles bulged and his bones cracked, while black fur erupted from his skin. In less than a second, he had shifted into the sleek, powerful form of a humanoid leopard.
It was the power of his Devil Fruit: the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard.
"Iron Mass!" he roared.
The moment the transformation finished, he combined advanced Armament Haki with the strongest defensive technique of the Rokushiki. His muscles instantly hardened, becoming stronger than steel.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The snow rabbits slammed into his body and shattered into a cloud of ice crystals, completely failing to damage him. With a fierce roar, Lucci flexed his arms, unleashing the terrifying power coiled in his muscles. The arms made from Robin's Devil Fruit power, which had been holding him like chains, shattered like glass.
Just then, two figures appeared in the ruined doorway of the lab. Nico Robin and Monet stood at the front of several dozen elite warriors. These soldiers, the Saiyan Guard, wore the latest Germa combat suits and moved with a silent, deadly precision. They had been dispatched by Tesoro, who was busy maintaining order at the gladiatorial arena, as soon as he learned of the attack on the laboratory.
Seeing the black-clad CP9 agents destroying the facility, the guards launched their attack without hesitation.
Lucci stared at the two women leading the charge. A cold gleam entered his predatory eyes. "It's you," he said, his voice a low growl. "The 'Devil Child,' Nico Robin… a survivor of Ohara."
Robin simply snorted, uninterested in trading words with him. She slowly raised her arm and gave the order to her troops. "Capture them all."
"Everyone, attack!" Lucci countered, showing no sign of weakness.
In the next moment, the two forces collided. The Saiyan Guard, armed with advanced technology, crashed against the elite agents of CP9, masters of the superhuman Rokushiki martial arts. The massive underground laboratory instantly erupted into a chaotic battlefield.
Amid the chaos, Lucci's figure vanished.
"Soru!"
He moved like a bolt of black lightning, weaving through the fighting and heading straight for the enemy commander—Nico Robin.
"Finger Pistol!"
His leopard claws, condensed with enough power to pierce through steel plates, shot toward Robin's heart. Yet, her calm blue eyes showed no trace of panic. Through her intense training in the Turtle Hermit Style, her ability to sense Ki had become incredibly sharp. She had already tracked Lucci's exact path the moment he started to move.
Still, she let him come closer. A hint of mockery flashed in Lucci's eyes.
'Is she insane?' he thought. 'Does she really think she can fight me up close?'
But in the next instant, Robin's seemingly delicate fist, wrapped in a faint, almost invisible layer of Ki, moved to meet his attack.
Clang!
The sound of their clash was like metal striking metal. Lucci felt an impossibly strong force surge from her fist, a power so great it sent a numbing shock through his entire arm.
"What?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"I'm not the same helpless girl you remember from Ohara," Robin said quietly. The years she had spent training had completely transformed her, granting her an incredible level of strength.
Before Lucci could recover, a freezing wind swept toward him.
"Snowstorm!" Monet cried out.
Countless snowflakes, each one as sharp as a blade, formed a swirling blizzard that threatened to tear him apart. Lucci cursed under his breath. He had no choice but to kick off the ground and use Moonwalk to create some distance.
"You pathetic trespassers," Monet hissed, her voice full of anger. "You dare to invade our master's territory? You won't be leaving here alive."
"Tch!" Lucci clicked his tongue. These two women were far more troublesome than he had expected. He quickly scanned the rest of the battlefield and was horrified by what he saw. His elite, battle-hardened CP9 agents were actually being pushed back by the Saiyan Guard. The combination of their strange combat suits and refined martial arts was proving to be too much for his team.
This was not going well.
"Surrender," Robin said, her voice cold and firm. "You have nowhere to run."
Lucci took a deep breath, preparing to risk everything in one final, desperate attack to break through their lines.
But before he could move, a terrifying and indescribably evil presence descended on the battlefield. It appeared without any warning, instantly filling the room. Every person there, from the CP9 agents to the Saiyan Guard, felt a deep, primal fear rising from within their souls.
"Robin, what's going on?!" Monet asked, her voice trembling.
Robin frowned, her eyes scanning the room. In the center of the lab, a large, black-and-purple circle had appeared on the floor. It was made of countless strange, glowing runes, and the suffocating, ominous energy was pouring out of it.
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of danger flooded Robin's mind.
"Monet, move!" she yelled.
Without a second thought, she shoved Monet hard, pushing her out of the way. The very instant they moved, an invisible wave of destructive energy passed through the spot where they had just been standing.
BOOM!
The wall behind them exploded as if it had been hit by a cannonball, and the shockwave sent both women flying.
Robin struggled to lift her head, her gaze fixed on the figure that was slowly emerging from the circle of light. It was a strange old man in a kimono, with two long white mustaches and a pair of fierce bull horns on his head. His lower body was that of a giant, demonic spider, and he leaned on a staff. Ominous, flame-like black clouds swirled around his shoulders.
"You dodged that," the figure said, his voice faint. His cold, abyss-like eyes stared at them without a single trace of emotion. He was Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense.
"…The survivor of Ohara."
"That… that monster…" Monet stammered, her face pale with fear. "What is that thing?"
But for once, even the well-read Nico Robin had no answer. The Saiyan Guard members could only stare, frozen in shock at the creature before them.
At that moment, Lucci and the other CP9 agents immediately stopped fighting, turned toward the figure, and dropped to one knee in a display of absolute respect.
"We greet you, Lord Saturn!" they all shouted in unison.
'The… the Five Elders?!' Robin's mind went blank. She could never have imagined that the true leader of this operation was one of the highest authorities in the World Government himself.
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