Madman

"Pop!"

At that moment, a sharp finger pierced the air, followed by countless afterimages that whistled forward like a torrential downpour.

River's eyes flashed, and his figure became elusive.

His entire body swayed like willow fluff in the wind, twisting into afterimages as he darted left and right through the gaps between the relentless finger strikes.

"Kami-e?!"

Lucci's heart jolted as he recognized a technique from the Six Powers.

Drawing a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and increased the speed of his attacks.

Meanwhile, Kalifa, Kaku, who had climbed back to his feet, and Kumadori shouted and charged in.

"Hmm?"

River turned his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he glared at the three.

An overbearing presence suddenly surged through the air and swept outward. The three charging toward him stiffened, forced to stop dead in their tracks.

"I-I can't move!"

"My whole body is shaking! What's going on?"

"Fear... instinctive fear, fear from deep within my soul is sweeping through my whole body."

"Who the hell is this guy?!"

The three stood trembling not far from River, unable to take another step forward no matter how hard they tried.

Intimidation!

His sheer presence had rooted them to the spot.

Turning back to Rob Lucci, River grinned.

"Show me what you're made of, Rob Lucci!"

Then his fist jolted, shattering the air as he swung it forward.

Lucci's pupils contracted. His figure flickered repeatedly as his feet kicked against empty air, leaving ripples as he dodged the punch. Then he raised his right leg high and brought it down hard.

"I'd like to see just how strong the former Admiral Daytime Tiger, whose records are classified as S-rank secrets, really is!"

As his murmur rang out, the air split, and a devastating slash whistled forth.

"Hah?!"

River looked up with a grin, amusement in his eyes.

He raised his right foot and kicked out as well.

Boom!

Waves of air churned and surged outward, scattering Rob Lucci's Tempest Kick.

The next instant, River stepped forward, and his figure suddenly twisted and vanished.

"He disappeared?"

"No, it's Shave!"

Lucci's pupils contracted in shock.

To use Shave so effortlessly that his movements could not even be seen, his mastery of the Six Powers had clearly reached an extraordinary level.

He had never encountered a Six Powers expert like this before!

"I'm behind you!"

River spoke as he reached for Lucci's head.

He was not particularly tall by pirate standards, but he still stood over two meters, not much different from Lucci.

Hearing his voice, Lucci hastily turned and pushed off the ground, retreating swiftly to put some distance between them.

His breathing grew slightly ragged, a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his gaze became utterly grave.

An enemy unlike any he had ever faced!

This was Admiral-level strength. Even the man's effortless movements subjected him to terrifying, mountain-like pressure.

The pace of the battle might not have been especially intense, but the psychological pressure was immense.

"What's wrong, Rob Lucci? Within Cipher Pol, you're called the strongest and most ruthless killing machine in its history, the strongest in eight hundred years."

"Is this all you've got?"

River's eyes flashed as he spoke calmly.

He naturally admired Rob Lucci a great deal. The man possessed exceptional talent and limitless potential.

At the same time, he had a cold heart, embraced necessary evil, and practiced dark justice.

Just how wide is the gap?

The distance between me and an Admiral.

Lucci quietly asked himself.

Even now, his opponent had yet to use his full strength. Dealing with the attacks of the entire CP9 squad seemed effortless, as easy as swatting flies.

He truly deserved to be classified as an S-rank threat.

At the same time, Lucci was deeply curious about what River had done all those years ago. A former Marine Admiral like him had actually been concealed from the world.

"Come again, Rob Lucci."

"Let's see how much damage you can do to me with your current strength!"

River beckoned with a finger.

Rob Lucci's gaze suddenly sharpened. He leaned forward, his body stretching into an afterimage, and arrived in front of River in an instant.

"Tempest Kick!"

River's eyes shone as he spread his fingers and met the slash produced by Tempest Kick head-on.

Bang!

Waves of air scattered, and the Tempest Kick slash shattered.

He strode forward, closing in on Lucci.

Under immense pressure, Lucci thrust both hands forward, clenching them into fists and bringing them together.

"Secret art: Rokuogan!"

Facing River, who had reached him in just three steps, Lucci unleashed his strongest secret art without hesitation.

Boom!

A powerful shock wave erupted instantly. Space itself seemed to collapse as fierce winds and violent pressure swept across River's face.

Just as the blast was about to strike him, River tilted his head slightly.

Whoosh!

He easily evaded the Rokuogan.

"He actually dodged it!"

"You've got to be kidding! That's Lucci's strongest move!"

"It's like he predicted Lucci's movements!"

Watching from the side, Kaku and the others were shaken, unable to believe their eyes.

Rob Lucci, too, had fallen silent. Against an enemy standing barely a meter away, even his strongest move had been easily dodged.

It felt like a silent mockery of him.

The gulf between them was like an entire dimension.

"Have you given in to despair, Lucci?"

"Don't you want to defeat me anymore?"

Just then, River spoke again.

Rob Lucci's eyes narrowed. The next second, he lunged once more, thrusting a Finger Pistol at River.

Yet, just as with the Rokuogan, his opponent easily evaded every attack, as though he knew Lucci's movements in advance and reacted accordingly.

"I can't land a single hit!"

It was not only Kaku and the others who had realized this. Rob Lucci had noticed it too, and his heart grew heavy.

Despair!

In his short life, from birth until now, he had never felt such despair.

"Your strength, just like your life, has gone down the wrong path!"

"Rob Lucci!"

River's voice rang out again.

Lucci gritted his teeth and roared, launching another frenzied assault.

He would not allow someone else to judge his life so casually.

But he still could not hit him. Not even once.

His Finger Pistols, swift and relentless as a rainstorm, could not even touch the hem of River's clothes.

"I can change your life and make you stronger!"

"Perhaps you should consider serving under me!"

Hearing this, Rob Lucci's heart jolted.

Change his life and make him stronger? What was with this man? Or rather, what secrets was he hiding?

He clearly possessed Admiral-level strength, yet remained unknown, while the World Government kept him in its sights and under surveillance.

Who was he? What did he intend to do?

"The World Government can't give you a future. Only by serving under me can you realize your full potential."

As that voice reached him, Rob Lucci suddenly noticed that the flickering figure of the man before him had come to an abrupt stop.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

In an instant, his Finger Pistols struck, piercing deep into the man's body.

"Are you insane?!"

Lucci froze for a moment, then his pupils contracted.