Boom!!
The plaza, spanning hundreds of meters, shook violently.
The tremor spread outward like a tidal wave, racing across the ground.
As it expanded, the earth within a radius of nearly a kilometer split apart.
Several pirates who failed to escape in time were swallowed by the collapsing stone.
Ain and Isuka immediately retreated again and again.
Kalifa and the others did the same.
For a brief moment, they considered making a run for it.
Yet no matter how much Kaku and Kalifa urged them, Jabra, Fukurou, and Kumadori refused to take the opportunity to flee.
As the rumbling continued, an enormous shadow gradually engulfed the entire plaza.
Pica had transformed into a colossal stone giant, towering dozens of meters high.
The sight alone drained the color from many faces.
"As expected of the Donquixote Family’s strongest combatant," Spandine said excitedly, a trace of delight flashing across his eyes.
"With a move like that, holding the Admiral off for five minutes shouldn’t be difficult."
He immediately turned toward Iga and Ihe.
"Iga! Ihe!"
"Rob Lucci is still unconscious, and the others aren’t much of a threat."
"If we move now, we won’t even need five minutes to capture them!"
Iga’s expression shifted slightly.
But beside him, Ihe instinctively looked toward the lone figure standing amid the shattered ground.
Lucas remained as calm as ever, leisurely sipping his liquor.
For some reason...
That relaxed expression made Ihe’s heart tighten.
"Ihe! What are you waiting for?"
Spandine shouted impatiently.
"If we don’t move now, then when?"
At the same time, the gigantic stone giant that was Pica let out a shrill roar.
"You’re just a newly appointed Marine Admiral!"
"How dare you disrespect the authority of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"Let’s see how your Conqueror’s Haki stops this!"
His gigantic arm, more than ten meters long, swung downward.
It descended like a mountain collapsing from the heavens.
The deafening roar of rushing air echoed endlessly.
Ain and Isuka both turned pale.
Looking at Lucas, who still hadn’t moved an inch, an absurd thought crossed their minds.
Surely...
He isn’t planning to block an attack like this with Conqueror’s Haki again...?
Even Rayleigh, watching from afar, couldn’t help but be startled.
"Is this kid being too reckless?"
"His Conqueror’s Haki has already reached the point where it can produce tangible shockwaves..."
"But facing a monster of this size head-on..."
"...that alone shouldn’t be enough."
Pica’s attack was nowhere near the level of the monsters Rayleigh had sailed with in the past.
Even so, judging from the strength Lucas had displayed moments ago...
Even if he could withstand this attack...
Breaking it outright should still be impossible.
But the instant that thought flashed through Rayleigh’s mind—
An indescribably terrifying aura erupted from Lucas’s body like an awakening volcano.
The air across the heavens seemed to freeze.
Lucas slowly raised his head.
His Conqueror’s Haki surged outward, becoming almost completely tangible.
Crimson-black lightning crackled violently around him.
An endless torrent of Conqueror’s Haki condensed into an enormous blood-red silhouette that shot straight into the sky.
The gigantic stone hand crashing toward him exploded apart.
Countless boulders rained down like a meteor shower.
Pica froze in shock.
Without thinking, he hurriedly looked upward.
In that split second, he was certain he had seen something.
Lucas’s Conqueror’s Haki...
Had undergone an astonishing mutation.
If he wasn’t mistaken...
It had taken the form of an enormous creature.
A creature born of crimson lightning.
Everyone else was equally stunned.
Before anyone could process what had happened, they instinctively raised their heads toward the sky.
Then—
Every pupil contracted.
The clouds overhead had turned blood red.
A colossal crimson figure nearly one hundred meters long burst through the cloud cover.
A Qilin.
It hovered above the battlefield like a ferocious divine beast, gazing down upon the earth below.
An overwhelming sense of danger instantly gripped everyone’s heart.
The feeling of insignificance deep within their souls was magnified countless times over.
Even Lucas stared upward in surprise.
When he first obtained the Intermediate Mutation Card, he had considered countless possible uses for it.
Whether it was Armament Haki, Observation Haki, or the various martial techniques he possessed...
Those could all be improved through enough training.
Only one power couldn’t be strengthened through effort alone.
Conqueror’s Haki.
Originally, Lucas had merely hoped to enhance the impact of his Conqueror’s Haki a little.
That way, during future battles, he could comfortably stand on the sidelines, contribute a little, and continue living his easygoing life.
He had never imagined...
That the Intermediate Mutation Card would mutate it into an actual Qilin.
If he remembered correctly...
The way it descended from the heavens...
The overwhelming posture with which it overlooked the world...
It reminded him of a certain ultimate technique from his previous life.
Still...
As Lucas gazed at the blood-red sky...
He had to admit.
He liked this style.
More importantly...
He still didn’t have to lift a finger.
"Come."
"Descend..."
"Qilin."
Lucas took another sip of liquor before slowly looking skyward.
The enormous crimson Qilin coiled among the clouds.
Its massive body flickered between illusion and reality.
Then—
With the momentum of a force capable of piercing heaven and earth—
It charged downward toward Pica with a thunderous roar.
Its speed was terrifying.
Its presence overwhelming.
Pica’s entire spine turned cold.
"What..."
"What is that thing?!"
"Is that really Conqueror’s Haki?!"
"His Conqueror’s Haki... has become a monster that’s charging straight at me!"
Boom!!!
A violent explosion erupted like a volcanic eruption.
Blinding crimson lightning burst across the battlefield.
The raging shockwave swept outward in every direction.
Everyone who had been standing nearly a kilometer away was snapped out of their daze—
Only to be swallowed instantly by the expanding storm.
Dust filled the heavens.
Thunder roared endlessly.
The echoes rolled across the sky without end.
No one knew how much time had passed before the dust finally began to settle.
Everyone who had been blown off their feet hurriedly struggled back up.
Ignoring the dirt...
Ignoring the blood...
Ignoring their own battered appearances...
They all looked toward the center of the battlefield.
Even Rayleigh, the Dark King, was no exception.
The moment they saw the scene before them...
Their faces turned deathly pale.
The enormous stone giant, once dozens of meters tall...
Was gone.
In its place lay an enormous crater over ten meters deep.
Inside the shattered rock...
A blood-soaked figure was wedged between the cracks.
It was Pica.
Half of his body had been charred black.
One arm...
And one leg...
Had vanished completely.
The instant he sensed death closing in, Pica had abandoned all thoughts of defending himself.
Instead, he had desperately used the power of the Stone-Stone Fruit to merge into the bedrock and flee.
But no matter how desperately he tried to escape...
Against the crimson that descended like divine lightning...
Everything he did...
Was utterly meaningless.
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