So...
So fast!
Zoro could scarcely believe his eyes.
Since setting out to sea, this was the first time he had encountered an opponent capable of blocking his Three-Sword Style Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, and she had...
Blocked it with such ease.
Who...
Who was this woman?
Zoro could scarcely believe his eyes, but Yachiru's next words were even harder to accept.
"In terms of force, that was just about adequate for trimming my nails."
It was an insult, but before Zoro could respond, Yachiru slashed downward with her two joined fingers.
They were merely two fingers, the fingers of a young woman. Her hand was as smooth and tender as a baby's, a perfect creation seemingly fashioned by the gods. That hand alone could have captivated men throughout the world.
Yet those seemingly divine fingers now became a deadly weapon, one even sharper than the swords in Zoro's hands.
Slash!
Her two fingers swept downward like an incomparable blade. Zoro's eyes went blank as a wound deep enough to expose bone appeared across his chest. Blood erupted from his body.
Yachiru stood directly in front of him, her head reaching only to his chest. The blood should have splashed across her, but some unseen force seemed to divert it.
A vast amount of blood sprayed outward, yet not a single drop touched Yachiru.
"You..."
Zoro tried to speak, but the intense pain made it impossible to utter another word. Excessive blood loss forced him to his knees, and he looked ready to lose consciousness at any moment.
"Sorry, sorry..." Yachiru bent down. "This might sound terrible, but that really was my first fight. I couldn't control my strength properly." She stuck out her tongue, then took the Reverse-Blade Sword from Zoro's hand.
"I saw this sword healing your injuries earlier, right?"
Yachiru struck Zoro with it. A strange power immediately spread outward, and the wound across his body rapidly healed.
Yachiru narrowed her eyes at the sight. Even with Roger's and Ann's memories, she had never seen a sword like this.
Weapons with unusual abilities certainly existed in this world. Ann herself possessed such a weapon, but those weapons were created by fusing them with Devil Fruits.
Making a weapon stronger and granting it greater spirituality required demon cells to awaken its consciousness.
Vegapunk was currently the only person who possessed such technology, and even he could not guarantee that every experiment would succeed. As a result, every unusual weapon of that type was officially recorded, along with its appearance and the ability of the Devil Fruit fused into it.
As Fleet Admiral, Ann naturally had access to that information, but no Reverse-Blade Sword like this appeared in those records.
Most importantly, Ann had not sensed the presence of a Devil Fruit within the blade. The aura inside it was extraordinarily close to that of a demon...
This man had a connection to Kenshin. Kenshin had even taught him Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, so his possession of a black blade was not surprising. But where had this Reverse-Blade Sword come from?
Yachiru tossed it back to Zoro. "Sorry about that. I only wanted you to understand the difference between our strength and to borrow your sword temporarily."
"I'll return it after a while." Yachiru adopted an adorable expression, taking full advantage of her youthful appearance.
Zoro had only just recovered and was helpless before that expression. He wanted to refuse, since a sword was a swordsman's life, but before he could speak, Yachiru had already taken Dark Moon.
"Don't be so stingy. I'm doing this to save the world." Yachiru shrugged. "I'll return it later."
With that, she vanished.
When Roger split Ann from himself, Ann had specialized in Observation Haki, which was why it remained her greatest strength even now.
When Ann split Yachiru from herself, Yachiru specialized in speed. As a result, she was exceptionally fast.
To reach Alabasta as quickly as possible, she had traveled at full speed after leaving Marine Headquarters. She had not even taken a ship, but had "run" across the sea.
That was how she reached Alubarna in such a short time.
However, traveling at such tremendous speed had consumed a considerable amount of stamina. After leaving Zoro, she did not go far. Instead, she sat on nearby high ground, recovering while observing the situation throughout the city.
At the same time, she watched Zoro's movements.
"Damn it!" Zoro could not help roaring. Once again, he experienced that feeling of complete powerlessness, and this time, someone had even taken his sword.
His teacher had left that blade to him, giving it tremendous personal significance.
He forced himself to stand, but his chest still ached, making even the slightest movement extremely difficult.
Yachiru's strike had been so powerful that even after the Reverse-Blade Sword healed the wound, some internal injuries remained. It was as though she had sent some force into his body that continued destroying it from within.
Fortunately, the Cartel soldiers were gathering in another direction, and no one nearby paid him any attention. Otherwise, a few shots might have been enough to take his head.
Yet Zoro did not believe Yachiru had lied. Perhaps she truly had "stolen" Dark Moon to save the world.
He knew that if she had possessed any malicious intent, even ten lives would not have saved him.
The difference in their strength was suffocatingly vast.
Yachiru had inflicted a critical injury with only two fingers, and even that had presumably been the result of her holding back.
She could easily have killed him and taken all three swords. Instead, after injuring him, she had used the Reverse-Blade Sword to heal him.
Zoro's instincts told him that Yachiru was not lying.
"Save the world...?"
He could not help wondering aloud, "Could something like that really be happening?"
Zoro forced himself forward, only for Sanji's voice to suddenly come from behind him.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Saving the world?"
Sanji carried Luffy over one shoulder. He looked at Zoro in exasperation. "You two never change. Hasn't this happened before? You always end up covered in injuries."
Sanji remembered seeing Luffy and Zoro collapse from severe wounds twice already. Zoro had at least remained standing this time, while Luffy had fallen as usual.
Sanji himself was in poor condition. His body was covered in marks left by flames, explosions, and bullets.
"What happened to him?" Zoro asked, looking at the unconscious Luffy.
"I don't know, but it was dangerous. He nearly died. I found him in the rubble. It wasn't a gunshot or an explosion. There's a clear fist-shaped depression in his abdomen," Sanji explained.
The Cartel soldiers in Sanji's area had moved earlier. After sensing that something was wrong, Sanji had not tried to play the hero by chasing them. He had instead gone to check on the others.
Upon reaching Luffy's location, he found him on the verge of death beneath the ruins.
"Let's head back for now," Zoro said. "I have a feeling something strange is happening. I also encountered a peculiar woman just now..."
Or rather... a girl?
They looked toward the royal palace, which seemed much quieter now despite having suffered constant bombardment earlier.
Zoro frowned. "If those soldiers aren't attacking the palace, then the direction they're heading is..."
Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, then exclaimed simultaneously.
"Usopp?!"
Sanji extended his Observation Haki. His mastery was considerable and surpassed Zoro's.
At that moment, he sensed something unusual.
He found Usopp's presence. Usopp possessed a highly distinctive aura, making him easy for Sanji to identify, but two other people beside him seemed to possess somewhat similar auras.
The vast numbers of Cartel soldiers were heading toward those three.
Then something shocking occurred within the range of Sanji's Observation Haki.
In what seemed like a single instant, the presences and voices of more than a thousand Cartel soldiers surrounding the three...
Vanished?!
What... what had happened?
Sanji's Observation Haki allowed him to sense only a general impression of the scene, leaving him unable to understand what sort of battle had occurred.
He had fought the Cartel soldiers before. Although most were ordinary people, there were always a few enhanced soldiers among them. These individuals possessed superior physical abilities and better equipment, and were probably squad leaders or similar officers. They became extremely troublesome in large numbers.
Yet the presences of more than a thousand Cartel soldiers seemed to disappear in only a second.
Afterward, the presences of Usopp and his two companions rapidly moved away.
"What happened?" Zoro asked after seeing Sanji's astonished expression.
"I'll explain later. Usopp should be relatively safe for now. We need to return to the palace and see how Nami is doing!"
The situation was urgent, and neither of them was in good condition. They had no energy to waste arguing.
The two hurried toward the palace.
No one could have imagined how many powerful individuals would arrive that day in an ancient city previously known only for its rich history.
After watching Zoro and Sanji leave, Yachiru turned her attention toward the seemingly bottomless chasm.
The Thunder Angel...
Had it emerged from there?
Her Observation Haki came from Ann. Although its effectiveness had greatly diminished after the division, Yachiru still possessed some of the finest Observation Haki in the world.
She could sense an incomparably evil aura rising from the chasm. Dark currents surged upward and seemed to condense into a demon's face in the sky, grinning viciously over the city.
Someone had already entered. It was the Man in the Mirror. Why had that man come here?
Yachiru was confused. The events in Alubarna should have been confidential. Why would a man like the Man in the Mirror, who always acted alone, suddenly appear here?
And that fool...
Did he not realize that entering so recklessly might allow the enemy to trap him?
Yachiru also wanted to investigate below. After a moment's thought, however, she decided to meet someone else first.
Yachiru could naturally sense everything Sanji had detected, and she could do it far better. She could even view some scenes from a great distance.
That man...
He definitely knew something.
Yachiru rapidly headed toward Belit's location.
Belit had brought Koza and Usopp into an underground passage.
Its entrance lay among some ruins. Belit concealed it again before descending and looking at the two men. "All right. We shouldn't be discovered here for a while."
Koza and Usopp exchanged glances. Although they had never known each other and could even be considered enemies, they now shared the same question.
Usopp hesitantly asked, "What happened to the Cartel? Why did they suddenly go mad?"
"They've been controlled, or more accurately, placed under 'Artificial Fanaticism,'" Belit said. "Let me explain everything."
He looked at Koza with a serious expression. "I didn't know the truth when I left the Cartel. At the time, I merely sensed that it had changed. Koza, do you know when those changes began?"
"..." Koza fell silent and considered the past. "After Anzu became seriously ill."
"That illness allowed death to defeat him," Belit slowly explained. "During his sickness, he heard a demon's voice and accepted its power under its temptation."
"Anzu... became a demonfolk?!"
"I can't be certain," Belit said. "I noticed the Cartel changing afterward and argued with Anzu many times, but I couldn't change his mind. My only choice was to leave. I traveled throughout Alabasta until I learned that you were attacking Alubarna, then came here."
"We attacked because we wanted to enter the entrance to Hell!" Koza hurriedly said. "Teacher, you know that entering it would allow us to discover the ultimate secret of this world!"
"Yes, but that isn't the point." Under Usopp's horrified stare, which clearly said, "You two are teacher and student?!", Belit continued. "After arriving in Alubarna, I repelled one of your attacks. Later, I discovered this passage by chance and learned where it leads."
"Where it leads?"
"Yes. This passage leads to the chasm where the Thunder Angel was buried!" Belit said gravely. "It was there that I finally learned the true nature of the Fragment of Light we fused with all those years ago!"
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