The battle-hardened Lucci made a split-second decision. At this point, capturing Robin had become an impossibility, but they could not afford to return empty-handed!
BOOM!
Lucci poured every ounce of his raw power into a desperate burst, breaking free from the compressed vacuum of space and lunging recklessly toward Drake.
Before he even spanned the distance, a succession of sharp, ear-splitting air pops erupted through the sky. Finger Pistol: Flying Fire!
"Shift!" Drake ripped his hands through the air, bending the spatial fabric before him. The trajectories of the projectiles instantly warped, veering wildly off course.
Drake honestly hadn't expected Lucci to possess combat capabilities of this caliber when their lines first crossed. This sheer level of physical reflex and destructive output was still a fraction below the standard of a Yonko, but it was infinitely close.
Two years ago, this man had been defeated by Luffy. Yet despite Luffy's legendary growth rate, his standard progression was still a step behind Lucci's adaptation. Given that Luffy was an absolute prodigy when it came to the art of war, this deduction firmly highlighted Lucci's innate genius.
Furthermore, Luffy had already mastered all three types of Haki. Even with that arsenal, a rematch against the current Lucci wouldn't guarantee a victory for the young pirate. That realization alone underscored the assassin's underlying terror.
This man specialized exclusively in the perfection of his physical vessel. Paired with his formidable Armament Haki, peerless reaction speed, and tactical combat instincts, every single one of his attributes ranked among the absolute best in the world.
When an individual stacked those precise traits together, their total combat power became completely oppressive.
He pursued a singular, absolute refinement of raw physical dominance, entirely unburdened by extraneous thoughts or complex Devil Fruit mechanics; his speed and power were driven solely by the pure mechanics of his body. A man who trained that philosophy to its absolute apex was a terrifying powerhouse, against whom supernatural abilities would often yield miniscule results.
A cold resolve hardened in Drake's heart. If an opportunity to eliminate him manifested today, he could absolutely not let this man walk away alive. Otherwise, he would inevitably evolve into a catastrophic adversary in the future!
As Drake braced himself for Lucci's impending strike, the assassin suddenly pivoted sharply in mid-air, changing direction to rocket straight toward Kenshin and his group.
Drake: "???"
Not only Drake, but even Kenshin was completely caught off guard. They had been standing on the sidelines to avoid escalating the conflict, yet this guy was actively hunting them down?
SHING!
Kenshin's long blade cleared its sheath. The sheer caliber of Lucci's physical prowess sent a surge of competitive excitement through his chest. Since the man had come for them, then they would trade blades!
He unleashed a massive flying slash, pouring his full power into the arc to intercept the assassin.
Yet, Lucci didn't afford him so much as a passing glance, vanishing from his trajectory entirely.
"This is bad! His target is the child!" Bael suddenly roared in alarm.
What?!
Everyone present was utterly stunned. Lucci was actually turning his weapon against a child?
"No! Lord Momonosuke!" Kin'emon's eyes snapped wide as he let out a frantic shriek.
Only then did he register that the assassin's trajectory was locked entirely onto the comatose Momonosuke.
The Akazaya samurai gritted their teeth, desperately trying to drag themselves up, but the catastrophic trauma their bodies had sustained was simply too immense. Even standing was a monumental struggle, let alone crossing the distance to intercept an elite assassin like Lucci.
The only person standing immediately beside Momonosuke was Ann. Chopper was anchoring the medical checkpoint further back with the rest of the Akazaya, leaving a substantial gap between his position and the boy. There was simply no time to formulate a defense.
In the blink of an eye, Lucci materialized directly in front of Ann.
At this stage, Ann had effectively spent the absolute last of her combat capabilities; the severe strain of her previous meridian-severing technique had pushed her physical vessel far past its breaking point. Staring into the face of Lucci's sudden descent, she lacked any methodology to resist.
Lucci cast a frigid, detached glance at Ann, raising a single finger to drive it straight toward the center of her brow.
CLANG!
At the absolute precipice of disaster, a massive iron rod slammed into the line of fire, planting itself firmly in front of Ann. The Finger Pistol failed to advance a single fraction of an inch.
Despite his attack being cleanly parried, not a single ripple of emotion surfaced on Lucci's face. He simply wove around Ann's flank in a fluid motion, reaching down to hoist Momonosuke into the air by his collar.
Fast! He was simply too fast!
Before anyone's nervous systems could even register the sequence of events, Momonosuke was already dangling helplessly from Lucci's grip.
"Lord Momonosuke!!" Kin'emon screamed, his voice cracking with pure desperation.
The Akazaya Nine dragged themselves onto their feet, their glares locking onto Lucci with a lethal, unbridled intensity. The surrounding samurai watched on, their faces pale with sheer terror.
Momonosuke was the future sovereign of their nation!
"Momo!" Luffy gasped in shock, finally registering that Momonosuke had been captured by the assassin. "Let him go!"
Drake teleported, materializing directly in front of Lucci. He hadn't anticipated that the CP0 leader would completely disregard standard tactical etiquette to claim the boy.
Momonosuke...
What exactly does this guy intend to achieve by capturing him? Wasn't his primary objective Nico Robin?
"Was he your target from the very beginning?" Drake demanded. Seeing that Lucci merely responded with a cold, silent smirk, his brow furrowed deeply.
Luffy's pupils shrank. Weaving through a joint assault from the two remaining masked agents, he broke away and materialized right alongside Drake. High above them, violent shockwaves continuously detonated across the heavens, signaling the ongoing, apocalyptic struggle between Ace and Big Mom.
"Pigeon guy! Let Momo go right now!" Luffy roared in fury.
"Lord Momonosuke!!" the unified voices of the samurai echoed across the clearing.
"Gah... Lord Momonosuke... your..." Kin'emon's voice faltered as his gaze locked onto Momonosuke's right shoulder, which hung completely empty.
Staring at the tattered, blood-stained sleeve fluttering idly in the cold morning wind, a profound, crushing despair settled over the hearts of the samurai alliance.
"Ugh..." Kikunojo clamped a hand tightly over her lips, desperately trying to suffocate the violent sobs building in her throat.
The image of the carefree, innocent Momonosuke felt as though it had been right before their eyes just yesterday, yet the reality playing out before them now was unimaginably cruel.
"So this brat is already missing an arm," Lucci remarked indifferently, casting a passing glance at Momonosuke's severed shoulder.
"You bastard!" Kikunojo bit her lip so hard fresh blood began to seep from the flesh, yet her battered body refused to move.
"He is the sole remaining heir of the Kozuki bloodline, isn't he? Which means that as long as he is executed, the Land of Wano will no longer possess a legitimate sovereign capable of ascending to the position of Shogun!" Lucci continued calmly.
Hearing his calculated deduction, the expressions of the Akazaya Nine turned entirely ash-white. They glared death at Lucci, yet not a single one dared to execute a hostile movement. Momonosuke's life was entirely subject to the assassin's whim!
"Momo..." Luffy gritted his teeth to the point of fracturing, his glare pinned to the boy dangling from Lucci's hand. Only now did he register the catastrophic nature of Momonosuke's injury.
Momo's arm was severed...
Who did this?!
"Momo's arm... did you do that?!" Luffy's voice dropped to a low, guttural growl that sounded like a cornered predator, sending a primal shiver through the surrounding air.
"Oh?" Lucci raised an eyebrow. He had naturally noted Momonosuke's physical state, but he didn't care in the slightest. Whatever condition a mere child was in held absolutely zero relevance to his mission parameters.
At that moment, the two masked agents Luffy had bypassed closed the distance from behind, but Kenshin and Locke stepped into the gap, cleanly cutting off their approach.
"The ultimate destiny of Wano has already been codified; it will be formally annexed and managed by the World Government. As such, the sovereign title of Shogun isn't something a pathetic brat gets to inherit."
"Given the circumstances, his continued existence serves as nothing more than an administrative obstacle. You would do well to discard any lingering delusions of hope."
Lucci spoke with a voice that was completely devoid of human warmth. Since the operation to secure Nico Robin had resulted in a tactical failure, the pacification and annexation of Wano had to be executed flawlessly. Otherwise, he would lack a sufficient achievement to present to his superiors upon his return.
"What did you say?!" Luffy's eyes widened with an explosive, incandescent fury, his physical vessel coiled to spring forward.
But in the very next microsecond, the entire battlefield was frozen in a state of absolute, paralyzed shock.
With a single, precise thrust of his hand, Lucci drove his bare arm clean through Momonosuke's chest...
The entire clearing fell into an absolute, deafening silence.
"LORD MOMONOSUKE!!"
Kin'emon launched himself forward with a desperate shriek, but before he could even span two paces, his knees buckled and he crashed heavily onto the stone. He didn't stop, frantically dragging his battered frame across the ground toward Lucci.
"Lord Momonosuke..."
The rest of the Akazaya Nine discarded all regards for their survival, crawling forward through the dust in a state of total psychological collapse.