Time Fruit: Rock Vanishes

The Time Fruit—acting as a Paramecia, rule-based Devil Fruit among Devil Fruits.

It never participates in combat, directly rewriting the "process."

It cannot return to the past, only sending subjects to the future.

It is neither a functional class of acceleration, deceleration, and pausing, nor a phenomenal class of age increase or decrease.

Instead, it deletes the "present" and brings forward the "result."

--Skipping all intermediates, like clipping a segment directly out of a timeline.

Just then, at the very moment when Azure Dragon and Hakai collided.

Kozuki Toki completed the most extreme manipulation of her life, leaving only a single thought in her mind.

--Save them.

She activated the Time Fruit ability, sending "herself" to the future several minutes later.

"Hum--"

Time quivered gently.

Her entire body vanished, her "existence" erased from this very moment.

The collision of lightning and Hakai continued, and the world shook.

Rock's Observation Haki enveloped the entire island yet failed to capture her existence, because in that instant, she simply was not on "this timeline."

Several minutes later, she returned.

It was not movement or stealth, but an "arrival" that instantly manifested behind Rock.

Time "placed" her back onto the "timeline."

Rock's body suddenly tightened, his instinct reacting before consciousness at this moment.

"Boom--!!!"

Conqueror's Haki—erupted!

Black-and-red Haki surged like a tsunami, attempting to repel everything behind him!

The air collapsed and the ground fractured, but—it was a fraction of a second too slow.

Kozuki Toki had already entered the range of her ability activation.

Her tears slid down her cheeks, yet her gaze was resolute as never before.

"I..."

The voice was so soft it was nearly swallowed by the thunder.

"Really still don't wish..."

She gritted her teeth, tears scattering.

"For Wano Country—to be destroyed because of this!!!"

"Hum--!"

Light spread from