The Fortune Teller's End, Roy's Return
Sabaody Archipelago - Abandoned Warehouse
In a dark corner, Buggy Hawkins sat cross-legged, his fingertips deftly flipping through the tarot cards.
The flickering torchlight cast an inconspicuous glow on half of his face, making him look like a wizard awaiting judgment.
The black cat, Fǎsītè of the Mink Tribe, crouched to one side, her tail thrashing restlessly, her golden vertical pupils filled with confusion.
"Captain, the entire archipelago is in complete chaos..."
"This is the perfect opportunity for our 'Hawkins Pirates' to make a name for ourselves! Why are you hiding here?"
Hawkins did not respond, and slowly turned over the last card in his hand.
--Death Reversed
His pupils contracted sharply, and his voice was low and hoarse. "Survival rate... one hundred percent."
"Escape rate... zero percent."
"If you can live... why can't you escape?!"
Fǎsītè's ears perked up, her tail stiffened, and her eyes suddenly became alert.
Wisps of white mist seeped silently from the cracks in the warehouse floor, meandering and spreading like snakes.
Before I knew it, the surroundings were filled with thick fog, and the chill was penetrating to the bone.
"Captain... something's wrong!"
"This fog... is getting thicker and thicker!"
Hawkins tensed up, and the tarot cards slipped to the floor with a "thud"!
The next second--
"Call--"
A cold breath suddenly rang in his ear, and the tarry smell of Cigars mixed with the stench of blood assaulted his senses.
"... We've found you."
His voice was deep, like the whisper of death.
Hawkins felt a chill run down his spine, Fǎsītè bristled, her claws snapping out. "Who?!"
"Bang!!"
Before she could finish speaking, a heavy punch covered in Armament Haki slammed into Fǎsītè's abdomen!
The cat warrior's pupils contracted instantly, a scream escaped his throat, blood gushed out, and his body was blasted away, crashing through three brick walls like a rag doll before finally embedding itself in the pile of cargo crates and losing consciousness!
Hawkins retreated ten meters the instant the sound rang out, and the power of the Straw-Straw Fruit was activated immediately!
Countless straw figures flew out from the sleeves with a "whoosh" and quickly formed a formation!
"Straw Chariot!"
"Boom!!"
The straw figures twisted and merged, transforming into a ferocious Straw Cart that crushed the wooden plank ground and crashed into the depths of the white mist!
"White Vine!!"
Smoker's roar exploded through the fog!
The Smoke suddenly transformed into countless chain-like tentacles, instantly entangling the war chariot!
"Snap--!"
The next second, the scarecrow chariot was pulverized and turned into countless fragments!
The Impact exploded out like a giant wave, directly blowing off the roof of the warehouse!
Amidst the flames and smoke, Smoker finally revealed himself.
Cigar burned, Smoke swirling around him, and his cold voice was like a judgment. "Hawkins —your prophecy was correct."
"You can survive..."
But you can't escape either.
The dilapidated warehouse collapsed completely in the aftermath of the battle, with smoke and dust billowing and broken tiles flying everywhere.
Hawkins's eyes darkened completely. He dared not be careless, clasped his hands together abruptly, and growled:
"The Demon Subduing Form!!"
"Boom--!"
Its body swelled rapidly, transforming into a giant scarecrow several meters tall!
Rough straw ropes and runes were sewn together all over his body, his fingertips formed cold, five-inch iron nails, and eerie flames burned in his eye sockets, making him look like an evil spirit from the Underworld.
The straw giant's footsteps thundered, the earth trembled, and the oppressive atmosphere made the naval soldiers on the outskirts of the block break out in a cold sweat.
"Go to hell!!"
The giant claw swept across, and the five-inch nail pierced the air, slashing towards Smoker with chilling destructive power!
"White Fist!!"
Smoker roared and threw a powerful punch!
"Boom!!"
The white mist collided head-on with the straw giant, billowing smoke and dust, Shockwaves swept across the entire street!
However, in the next instant, several naval soldiers on the street corner screamed and fell to the ground at the same time, blood splattering from their chests, their faces contorted in pain!
"W-What's going on?! We weren't attacked at all!!"
Hawkins looked down at him, his voice cold and menacing. "Useless, Navy."
Every blow you strike at me will be redirected to someone else.
"Brute force is meaningless before me."
Smoker emerged from the ruins, his face ashen, with Smoke billowing wildly around him.
"Hateful...!"
The giant straw claw slammed down again!
Smoker roared and punched to block, "Bang!!" The sound shook the block, but another innocent soldier was simultaneously struck in the chest and passed out in agony!
Seeing his subordinates fall one after another, Smoker's eyes twitched violently, and the anger in his chest finally erupted!
"Bastard!! I hate trash like you who use others as shields!!"
His roar was deafening, but it forced him to slow his attack, preventing him from making another move easily.
Just as the stalemate was at its peak --
"Commander Smoker!!"
Tashigi arrived, panting, dragging the subdued Fǎsītè along.
She adjusted her Glasses and quickly analyzed the situation. "His ability can only transfer the damage he takes!"
--But 'suffocation' won't transfer!!"
Hawkins' pupils constricted, a genuine chill creeping into his heart for the first time. "What?!"
Smoker tightened his grip on his Cigar, his eyes suddenly turning cold and sharp. His arms instantly materialized into elements, white mist roaring and churning in the air!
"White Mist - Binding Coffin!!"
"Boom!!"
Countless thick white mist tentacles surged out and instantly entangled the straw giant!
His limbs, torso, and neck were all tightly bound. Hawkins' massive body struggled frantically, runes flashing, but he could not break free!
"Click-clack!!"
The white mist rapidly contracted, solidifying into a sturdy "white coffin" centered on the giant scarecrow!
The coffin walls compressed, the space rapidly shrank, and a claustrophobic, oppressive feeling swept over us!
Hawkins pounded on the ground inside, his roars carrying through the thick fog:
"It's no use!! I am—immortal!!"
However, the next second he felt a suffocating pressure coming at him!
The thick fog, like a living venomous snake, frantically poured into the mouth and nose, blocking breathing and rapidly sucking the air out of the coffin!
"Cough... cough cough!!"
A tearing pain surged through his chest, Hawkins' strength suddenly weakened, and the straw giant's shell collapsed with a "crash"!
His vision began to darken, and a wave of terror washed over him. "Survival rate... 100%..."
"They were captured?!"
Hawkins felt as if his chest was on fire, and his vision went black!
"Cough, cough--!"
His power rapidly declined, the straw giant's shell collapsed with a "crash," and the giant shadow crashed down!
"Bang!!"
Hawkins reverted to human form, knelt on the ground, his face turning blue and purple with his eyes rolling back, and finally suffocated and passed out!
Smoker flicked his arm, the white smoke receding like a tide, and coldly exhaled a puff of smoke:
"Hmph... so-called Supernovas..."
"That's all there is to it!"
Elbaf Underworld
The black spatial currents twisted wildly in mid-air, and a figure was thrown out from the crack, crashing heavily in front of the mountain-like foundation of the Treasure Tree Adam.
"Bang!"
Dust exploded, and rubble flew everywhere. The figure knelt on one knee, his chest heaving like thunder.
"Ouch... it hurts... it's been so long since I've felt this real pain..."
He grinned and chuckled, but his laughter was tinged with weariness and bloodlust.
His clothes were torn and stained with blood, as if he had struggled back from Purgatory.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes still burning with an undying fighting spirit.
It was Roy who returned from the ancient Battlefield eight hundred years ago!
That scene was still echoing deep in his mind:
With a wave of his hand, Joy Boy's absurdly powerful force homogenized everything he touched with the attack, as if all things in the world were to be assimilated into one.
--That unrestrained, top-tier Conqueror's Haki, unleashed as if it were free, swept across the sky, chilling the kings to the bone and causing the world to lose its color.
His chest heaved violently, Roy gritted his teeth, but couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto his lips.
"What a monster... Even someone as arrogant as Imu was so scared that he knelt down on the spot."
He couldn't help but chuckle softly at the thought of that scene.
But the smile vanished in an instant. Roy raised his hand, pondering as he sensed the surging power within his body.
"However... it wasn't without its gains."
"My Conqueror's Haki, after being tempered in those two top-tier battles... has finally firmly established itself at the top of the first tier."
"Crackling..."
Suddenly, the heavy clanging of iron chains sounded behind me.
In the shadow of the roots of the Treasure Tree Adam, a massive figure was tightly bound by heavy Seastone chains.
The man's eyes were covered by layers of thick bandages, and his whole body exuded a repressive and ancient aura, like a demon god slumbering in the abyss.
With the slight tremor of the chains, the deep, hoarse voice seemed to echo from the depths of hell:
"Human, you have a familiar aura about you..."
The air in the Underworld suddenly turned cold, and even the roots of the precious tree seemed to tremble.
(P. S.: I'm setting up a bowl, hoping for some free gifts...)