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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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"What are you up to?" Auguro roared toward a shadowy area.
The man wearing the ram's horn devil mask stepped out, speaking with a snicker.
"What else? Of course, to save this nation!"
The man swiftly removed his mask, leaping onto a nearby rooftop, and shouted loudly.
"Everyone! The Royal Family doesn't care about the lives of us commoners at all!"
"They've resorted to every extreme just to raise taxes! Now they're even turning our homes into a battlefield!"
"We just want to survive. Are we wrong to want that? Do we have no right to live? Is this fair?"
Guided by this highly inflammatory speech, the residents spontaneously shouted in unison.
"It's not fair! We want to live! We want to live!"
The ram-horned man smiled with satisfaction. His voice was like the tempting whisper of a demon.
"If we want to survive, there is only one path! That is to completely eliminate this corrupt Royal Family who doesn't care about our lives!"
Auguro was stunned. This guy wasn't trying to stir up a rebellion to profit from the aftermath; he was trying to usurp the throne himself!
Swoosh!
Auguro used Shunpo (Flash Step) to instantly appear near the ram-horned man, his Zanpakutō slashing down towards his head. The ram-horned man reacted swiftly, drawing his blade to block the strike.
"You're not CP0, are you!" Auguro said, his expression grave. CP0 might try to destabilize a nation for profit, but taking power themselves was absolutely impossible!
"Hehe! Who knows!"
The ram-horned man didn't answer. Instead, he yelled toward the surrounding civilians.
"Hurry! This is a dog of the Royal Family! Let's eliminate him together!"
As his words fell, a faint mist began to permeate the air again. Clearly, this guy was using his ability once more!
This time, Auguro was prepared. His Spiritual Pressure firmly guarded his mind, leaving no loophole for the opponent.
The ram-horned man's eyes flashed with surprise. He had possessed his Devil Fruit for many years, and Auguro was the first person to so easily thwart him!
"However, my Devil Fruit ability is not as simple as you think!"
The next moment, Auguro saw the civilians who had initially been timid, praying for divine help, now picking up weapons and charging at him fearlessly.
Normally, this scene wouldn't be surprising. After all, Auguro had already experienced this in the hotel and knew this guy could control people. But this time, the situation clearly exceeded his expectations.
Auguro swung the flat of his blade, trying to knock the charging civilian unconscious. The next second, the civilian's figure suddenly vanished, reappearing directly behind him!
"Is that... Soru (Shave)?"
Auguro's eyes widened. This was a technique only mastered by highly trained elites. Had this civilian once been a Marine?
However, upon closer inspection, the man was just an ordinary civilian. Never mind the Marines, he likely lacked even basic fitness training!
What is going on?
Swoosh!
Before he could figure it out, a Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) slash swept towards him. Auguro tilted his body slightly, evading the attack. Only then did he notice that several civilians were performing Rankyaku!
At that moment, a light bulb went off in Auguro's mind.
He glared at the ram-horned man and shouted, "You are making them do this!"
"Hehehe!"
The ram-horned man burst into laughter.
"I am Floyd! The Illusion Man, having eaten the Maimai no Mi (Muddle-Muddle Fruit). I can influence people's emotions and thoughts through sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste! I can then fully control them!"
"The people you face now are ordinary civilians. But under my control, their brains believe they are CP0 elites, forcing their bodies to perform the techniques! That's why they can effortlessly use the Six Powers (Rokushiki)!"
Auguro understood now. The new species of flower, the spice in the food, and even the brightly colored decorations in the capital. All of it was preparation by Floyd to control the entire populace.
And because he had controlled most of the civilians for so long, the moment the Shadow Dragon Guards and Auguro's group entered the capital, their presence was immediately exposed.
"Hehehe! You brought people to the Furant Kingdom to rule it, didn't you? I wonder if you can bring yourself to strike them?"
Floyd hid behind the crowd, laughing triumphantly.
"Hmph!"
Auguro snorted. Floyd was right; he truly couldn't bring himself to kill these innocent civilians. But that didn't mean he was defenseless!
Buzz!
A fierce wave of Conqueror's Haki swept out, mixed with potent Spiritual Pressure, descending like a god.
A group battle? The thing a Conqueror's Haki user feared least!
However, to Auguro's surprise, his Conqueror's Haki failed to knock out the civilians! While it wasn't completely ineffective, only a sparse dozen people on the edges collapsed. That was less than one-tenth of the rioting crowd!
"Hahaha..."
Floyd couldn't help but laugh out loud. He looked mocking, like a cat toying with a mouse.
"Did you think I haven't dealt with Conqueror's Haki users before?"
"Such crude aura intimidation is completely negated if I plant a sufficiently strong suggestion of courage in their minds! So, Sith Auguro, what will you do now? Do you want to stop them?"
"I'll give you a friendly warning: you better be fast! I don't think they'll last much longer!"
Floyd's words darkened Auguro's face. These civilians looked like they were only being manipulated, with no immediate physical harm.
But the Six Powers were mandatory training for Marine elites, requiring extremely high physical conditioning! By forcing these civilians to use techniques beyond their body's limits, they would inevitably suffer physical damage!
If this went on, their muscles and bones would suffer irreversible harm. In severe cases, they might be crippled or even die from physical exhaustion!
This Floyd clearly didn't care about the civilians, merely treating them as tools to control the Furant Kingdom!
"You bastard! You are truly utterly evil!"
Auguro's eyes were cold, and he looked at Floyd as if he were already a dead man.
"No matter what you say, if I eliminate you, the power will naturally disappear!"
If you can't solve the problem, eliminate the person who created it. It was that simple and brutal!
Swoosh!
Auguro's Shunpo allowed him to flash through a large crowd in an instant. His raised Zanpakutō, covered in a thick layer of Armament Haki, aimed for Floyd's neck.
However, Floyd saw this and smiled with disdain. The next second, he completely vanished from Auguro's sight!