Music Fruit

The five Vice Admirals struggled to resist Lu Zhuo's sword pressure. Then, when they suddenly saw him flash into the air above them, their hearts filled with alarm.

Just then, another strange force surged from Lu Zhuo, instantly combining with his sword pressure.

The five Vice Admirals suddenly found themselves unable to use Geppo and were forcibly pressed down onto the ship!

"Is this... sword pressure... and... Conqueror's Haki?!" The five Vice Admirals finally showed expressions of shock.

Conqueror's Haki was incredibly rare across the entire sea.

Even the Marine Admirals—and even Fleet Admiral Sengoku—didn't possess Conqueror's Haki.

Anyone who possessed Conqueror's Haki was born to rule!

In the original story, among all the characters, the only ones known to possess Conqueror's Haki were Luffy, Whitebeard, Red-Haired, Rayleigh, and Hancock!

The other two Four Emperors probably had Conqueror's Haki as well, bringing the total to seven.

Among all those powerful pirates and Marines, only seven people possessed it!

"Damn it... This is my first time enduring the combination of sword pressure and Conqueror's Haki!" The five Vice Admirals stood on the deck, bearing the enormous pressure, while nearly half the other Marines had already passed out.

"Get down here!" Onigumo abruptly drew his sword and slashed fiercely at Lu Zhuo in the air.

At the same time, the other Vice Admirals also fought against the pressure, some drawing their swords and others using their abilities.

Looking at the sword beams, which were far weaker than his own slashes, Lu Zhuo's expression remained indifferent.

The next moment, Zhankong was in his hand.

In the moment after that, his figure flickered and appeared at the far left of the ten warships. He hovered in the air, his sword moving as though it were mired in a swamp.

"Not good!" The five Vice Admirals cried out in alarm as a sword beam in the air split into thirty-two streaks and slashed down toward the warships.

The five men were about to stop him when Lu Zhuo's figure vanished again.

He reappeared at the far right of the ten warships. Then, expressionless, Lu Zhuo disappeared once more.

That first attack had been divided into thirty-two slashes. In truth, one sword had been split into thirty-two, rather than a single slash of the original strength being transformed into thirty-two equally powerful ones.

Each slash had roughly one-tenth the original power. Even so, this was equivalent to nearly tripling his strength—a testament to the gulf between a High-Level Swordsman and an Intermediate Swordsman.

Lu Zhuo moved faster and faster. After flashing around dozens of times, he returned to the air above the ten warships.

After the five Vice Admirals had joined forces to block Lu Zhuo's first slash, they didn't move again.

Neither did the ten warships.

Nor did the Marines who had avoided being knocked unconscious by Lu Zhuo's Haki and sword pressure.

The ocean stopped moving. The waves seemed frozen.

Everything, everything, seemed to have come to a standstill.

In the distance, Nami and Robin watched the battle, their eyes wide with shock. They could now tell what Lu Zhuo had done.

On the other side, Luo was somewhat weaker, but he was a swordsman himself.

His hand tightened around his sword, trembling uncontrollably. A hint of excitement shone in Luo's eyes. Was this the power of a true swordsman? It was magnificent.

The next moment, Lu Zhuo slowly sheathed his sword.

In truth, his move should have had one final, explosive stroke, gathering all the sword beams together. But there was no need.

At last, after everything had remained frozen for a full three seconds, everything in the area beneath Lu Zhuo where the ten warships stood was reduced to countless fragments!

Even the sea and its waters were cut into countless pieces no bigger than a palm.

What an incredible sight! The ten

enormous, imposing warships had been reduced in an instant to countless palm-sized fragments, scattered across the sea!

Luo clenched his fists, his face alight with excitement.

"Just as I thought, he's strong—far too strong. Even when we sparred, I had no idea how powerful he really was. And he reached this level in only two short years. He's still got a ways to go before he can head for the New World, but by the time he gets there, he'll probably be strong enough to crush Joker!"

Luo's eyes burned with fervor. Of course, to defeat any powerful force, you had to start at its foundations and dismantle it bit by bit.

But if you had enough power to ignore all the rules, there was no need to eliminate its subordinates first. You could simply fight your way straight through!

Lu Zhuo's face was slightly pale as he looked down at his handiwork, but he was fairly satisfied.

He was a little frustrated that he hadn't unleashed the final slash, but he had preserved his strength. He had no idea what might happen next.

In the original story, nothing happened after Luffy and the others destroyed Enies Lobby, but that was obviously because of Garp.

Lu Zhuo didn't have a grandfather like Garp. The World Government would probably be furious, and an Admiral would be sent after him!

But he had no regrets. If it meant helping Robin overcome her emotional knot, then so what if he had to oppose the World Government?

Besides, pressure bred motivation. Lu Zhuo wanted to fight an Admiral again, push himself to the limit, and complete his sword domain once and for all.

Standing on Zhankong, he flew back to Nami and Robin.

He smiled at them and said softly, "Let's go. It's over!"

"Is this really the Music Fruit?" Conis held the Devil Fruit, visibly excited. Suddenly, she kissed Lu Zhuo on the cheek, her face turning as red as a ripe apple.

Nami pursed her lips and complained, "I'm the one who found it... And you forgave that jerk Lu Zhuo so easily."

"Hehehe." Robin watched them and laughed happily. With her emotional knot gone, her smile seemed even more radiant.

When Conis learned that Lu Zhuo's plan had been meant to help Robin overcome her emotional knot, she hadn't felt any resentment. And now that Lu Zhuo had finally found her favorite Devil Fruit, she was overjoyed.

After eating the Devil Fruit, Conis felt a strange power spread throughout her body.

Everyone was staring at her, and she felt a little self-conscious.

"Conis, try out your power. Play a tune."

"Okay!" Conis quietly answered Lu Zhuo, took out her harp, and began to play softly.

It was a light, crisp melody. Conis had played it many times before, but this time it felt completely different to Lu Zhuo and the others.

Lu Zhuo suddenly felt much more energized. Even the fatigue from the battle seemed to vanish all at once.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" He couldn't help praising her repeatedly. He knew the Music Fruit couldn't be limited to just this, but he was already extremely satisfied with this ability.

He figured the Music Fruit probably had many different abilities, making it like a super-powered cleric from a game.

There was probably music that boosted attack power, music that strengthened defense, music that increased speed, music that erased fatigue, and even music that could kill without anyone noticing.

Of course, she'd have to practice gradually to master all that. And for Conis's experiments, they didn't have a lab rat, but they did have a big white bear...

And so...

From then on, Bepo's sounds of joy and misery echoed across the Holy Sword.