Black Turn Domination
The sea wind howled across the Deserted Island, whipping up pebbles and dust, Hunting Roar.
Kizaru broke the silence first; his usual languid expression was gone, replaced by an unusual seriousness.
His eyes, behind the lenses, were now as sharp as knives, and his tone had deepened.
"That was... the reason you've been saying—'not ready yet,' right?"
Roy, with his back to them, gazed at the distant Holy Land shrouded in dark clouds and black mist, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Ah~
He sighed softly, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
"It's terrifying, isn't it?"
Kizaru adjusted his Glasses and said in a low voice, "Wow~ If you had been a step later, I might have... lost a brother."
His tone remained flippant, but within that familiar "joking" tone lay a hint of seriousness and gratitude.
Sakazuki leaned against the crumbling rock, his brow furrowed, the fierce anger on his face gone, leaving only a repressed shadow.
"That feeling," he said hoarsely, "Is like being gripped from the depths of my soul."
"For a moment, I really thought I was going to be dragged away."
He raised his hand, covered in lava, and clenched his fist tightly. "If I were truly dragged into the abyss by that East West... would I still be myself?"
Kuzan sighed lazily, hands in his pockets, and interrupted, "Hey, hey~ stop making it so scary, okay? If you get controlled, I'll have to clean up your mess."
He tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "A walking volcano? That image... just thinking about it is terrifying enough."
"Pfft." Kizaru chuckled softly.
The atmosphere finally relaxed a little.
However, the three of them soon looked at the figure who was still deep in thought.
Roy stood silently on the sea cliff, the wind lifting the hem of his cloak, his expression thoughtful, lost in thought:
"During these two years, I was able to return to the God Valley storyline thanks to the special abilities of the Space-Space Fruit."
"This time, I didn't interfere with the original plot development; I was merely an observer."
"I just want to see how someone as powerful as Rocks can fail..."
The nightmarish image flashed through my mind again: Imu's cold Rinnegan, Rocks's rage, and the darkness that devoured the heavens and earth—
"Imu planted the seed in his heart before he lost control."
"She manipulated him with her abilities and provoked him with her words—enraging him, tormenting him, and stirring up the deepest hatred in his heart."
"It wasn't until he completely erupted, at the moment of his mental breakdown—that power— 'Black Turn Domination' —was fully activated."
"That wasn't pure ability... it was more like a kind of mental infiltration."
"This power needs a 'vessel,' a person completely consumed by emotions."
"Anger, hatred, pain... once emotions reach their extreme, they are taken over by that 'darkness'."
"The reason why Saint Garling deliberately provoked Sakazuki and Kuzan with his words was to create that triggering condition..."
"So—it's not simply a matter of combat strength, but rather a problem with the game's mechanics?"
Roy's thoughts churned in the wind.
He was calmly deducing the trigger logic of "Black Turn Domination," but in a fleeting moment, an outrageous, almost absurd thought flashed through his mind—
"Wait a moment..."
His expression paused slightly, and a strange light appeared in his eyes.
--That boy.
--That uncontrollable laughter.
--The kind of "optimism" that even death couldn't break him.
"No wonder..." Roy murmured, a hint of realization in his voice.
"No wonder Luffy in his past life laughed like that after Awakening the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the horizon where the sea met the sky.
"That kind of laughter wasn't ordinary joy... it was complete liberation."
"Completely inhuman, devoid of fear, like a monster that only knows how to laugh."
"So, that's the opposite of 'turning black'."
He exhaled softly, a playful smile appearing on his lips.
In other words--
"Only those 'fools' who are born fearless, without anger, and without attachment... will not be swallowed by darkness."
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and he chuckled softly, as if mocking himself.
"Haha... So, only 'pure idiots' are truly free?"
His thoughts shifted, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to his forehead, laughing even more unrestrainedly:
"Could it be that Laugh Tale really does say: 'Idiots without the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika are not allowed to enter!'?"
"You angry, thinking, and struggling creatures are all toys that Im manipulates!!"
"Only Nika —that perpetually laughing madman—can rise above all else!!"
Laughter echoed in the wind, carrying a hint of unbridled arrogance and irony.
Kizaru, Kuzan, and Sakazuki exchanged a glance and fell silent.
A sea breeze blew by, and the atmosphere became so eerily tense it almost froze.
"... What are you laughing at?" Kuzan finally couldn't help but tilt his head and ask, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Roy paused for a moment before realizing what he had just said.
He coughed lightly, quickly wiped the smile off his face, and pretended to straighten his cloak with a serious expression.
"Nothing."
He turned around, gazing intently at the gradually dissipating dark clouds on the horizon, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
Don't worry--
"That thing... I have a clue about it."
The sound of waves crashing against the Reef carried on the wind, and the three Admiral vaguely sensed that Roy's casual remark might foreshadow—
Next, the balance of the world will tilt once again.
The Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, beneath the Vacant Throne.
The air seemed to freeze, so oppressive that you could almost hear your own heartbeat.
The Five Elders knelt on one knee, heads bowed, even their breathing was cautious.
Saint Mars, severely injured by Roy, knelt at the very end, his body shrouded in a faint black mist.
The body, shattered by Conqueror's Haki, is now regenerating under Imu's power.
The broken bones were put back in place in the eerie light, but the process of "regeneration" felt like a punishment. The pain made the veins on his forehead bulge, but he dared not make a sound.
After a long silence, Saint Garling leaned deeply, his forehead almost touching the cold floor tiles.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Your subordinate is incompetent... they escaped."
Silence, like a grave.
The next second--
"You,"
A deep voice slowly emanated from the Throne, carrying a chilling aura that could freeze one's soul.
"We lost."
Just two words, yet they struck like Mamaragan simultaneously.
"--!!!"
The Five Elders trembled, bowed their heads in unison, cold sweat trickling down their temples. No one dared to argue, no one dared to raise their heads.
The blurry figure seated high on the empty Throne slowly rose.
The voice rang out again, cold and calm, yet containing an undeniable command, "That thing Vegapunk developed."
Go get it.
"Reverie..."
The atmosphere suddenly tightened, as if the heavens and earth were swallowed up by that one sentence.
"--Meet ahead of schedule."
As soon as the words were spoken, the temperature in the entire hall plummeted.
The Five Elders kowtowed in unison, their voices synchronized yet trembling:
"Yes, Your Highness!"