A Genius Questioning His Life

Morning light filtered through the expensive glazed windows, scattering specks of light across the soft velvet bed that one could sink into.

Robin's long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.

What greeted her was an unfamiliar ceiling carved with intricate vine patterns, while the air carried a crisp, luxurious fragrance.

"You're awake."

A gentle yet unfamiliar female voice came from beside her. Robin jolted fully awake and turned her head warily. Sitting by the bed was an exceptionally beautiful blonde woman, her azure eyes like a tranquil lake as she watched Robin with a faint, warm smile.

She wore a perfectly tailored silk gown, her bearing flawlessly elegant.

"Who are you? And... why am I here?"

Robin pushed herself up, instinctively clutching the thin blanket. Her voice carried the wariness she had developed over the years. She vividly remembered yesterday's chaos and flight, but everything afterward was somewhat blurred.

"My name is Stussy,"

the blonde woman said with a slight smile, her unhurried voice carrying a soothing quality,

"I'm Adams's woman. As for why you're here... you fell asleep while he was bringing you back yesterday. What, you don't remember at all?"

"I think... something like that did happen."

Robin tried hard to recall. Fragments of memory gradually came together—her desperate escape, a warm embrace, a reassuring scent, and the overwhelming exhaustion that had swept over her once the string wound tight for so long had suddenly snapped loose.

She really had lost consciousness completely and fallen into a deep sleep in that man's arms. At the thought, an indescribable warmth quietly passed through her heart.

But then Stussy's introduction struck her like a bucket of ice water, making her shudder.

"Wait, you just said... you're his woman?"

There was a hint of urgency and... resentment in her tone that even she had not noticed.

Stussy immediately caught the little girl's subtle feelings. A teasing curve appeared at the corner of her lips as she deliberately drawled,

"That's right, little sister~ Sorry, but your big sister here... got there first."

"W-Why are you telling me that?!"

Robin's cheeks grew slightly hot, and she turned her gaze away in a fluster,

"I don't have those kinds of feelings for him! Not before, not now, and I absolutely never will in the future!"

Stussy found the little girl's denial amusing.

She stopped teasing her and elegantly took out two Den Den Mushi from beside her. One was an ordinary communication Den Den Mushi, while the other had a black shell and was a special model with anti-eavesdropping capabilities.

Robin caught sight of her movements from the corner of her eye, her face full of confusion.

Stussy then placed a slip of paper with a number written on it atop the exquisite bedside table and explained,

"He asked me to tell you that someone... has been waiting for you for a very long time."

Robin's heart suddenly leaped. An unbelievable yet desperately desired possibility rose in her mind.

Half-believing and half-doubting, she picked up the communication Den Den Mushi. Her fingers trembled slightly as she dialed the number on the note.

Seeing this, Stussy smiled knowingly, quietly left the room, and gently closed the door behind her.

"Purururu—Purururu—"

The Den Den Mushi rang a few times before it was answered. There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a voice Robin had missed day and night.

"Moshi moshi..."

Just that tentative greeting was enough to make Robin's tears burst forth. Large tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the silk sheets.

The circular Arena.

The violent sounds of collisions rang without end. Two figures crossed paths and clashed at high speed in the center, sparring with one another.

Lucci gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit. His fingers created countless afterimages as they attacked the silver-haired youth opposite him.

Lucci's swift attack trajectories reflected in Adams's pupils, yet his eyes remained calm and still. There was not even a trace of seriousness on his extraordinarily handsome face.

From Adams's perspective, Lucci's fierce assault—fast enough to make ordinary agents dizzy and despair—moved so slowly it might as well have been still.

This was not Observation Haki, but purely the result of monstrous neural reflexes and dynamic vision.

His body merely swayed slightly from side to side and shifted in small movements, evading every Shigan by a hair's breadth. His posture was as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll through a courtyard.

"What's wrong? Is this all you can do?"

Adams spoke leisurely, his voice carrying a calm magnetism.

A flash of anger appeared in Lucci's eyes. He snorted coldly, pushed off with his feet, and abruptly slid backward more than ten meters, widening the distance between himself and Adams.

Then he suddenly whipped a high kick through the air—

"Rankyaku: Hyoubi!"

A vacuum slash shaped like a sharp flying bird roared forth, cutting through the air.

A faint look of appreciation finally appeared in Adams's eyes.

"Oh? Compared to when we first met, both its scale and power have increased considerably. Not bad progress."

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually raised his right leg and seemingly lightly kicked forward—

Screech!

An even larger azure vacuum slash appeared out of nowhere, nearly covering half the Arena as it howled forward with crushing force.

Boom!!

The instant Lucci's Hyoubi collided with it, it shattered and vanished as easily as fragile glass.

The Rankyaku sent by Adams continued onward without losing any momentum, carrying an aura of destruction.

Lucci's pupils shrank sharply. The intense sense of danger made every hair on his body stand on end, and he threw himself to the side with all his strength.

Whoosh—!

The enormous Rankyaku flew past, nearly grazing his scalp. The gale it created made his cheeks sting.

The slash finally crashed into the protective forest at the edge of the Arena. Amid a series of teeth-grinding cracks, dozens of thick trees were cleanly severed at their waists, sending wood chips raining through the air.

Adams glanced at the mess and sighed helplessly.

"Tch, I'll have to transplant another batch from below again. What a hassle."

Unlike Adams's casual manner, Lucci was now half-kneeling on the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead. A storm had already risen in his heart, and he was even beginning to question his life.

This guy's Rankyaku... his mastery is actually far beyond mine?!

Boundless humiliation and unwillingness instantly swallowed him. Clearly... clearly, he had been the first to train in the Six Powers, and he had even taught Adams their fundamentals.

And yet... in the field I take the greatest pride in, he crushed me with an absolute advantage?!

A powerful sense of unwillingness surged through his heart.