Roy Vice Admiral up the fruit from the Momonosuke and examined it closely.
Pink peel, scaly patterns—yes, this is the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon that Vegapunk replicated.
Vegapunk, that perfectionist, deemed the fruit a failure simply because its color was off, and carelessly tossed it into Punk Hazard's warehouse.
But in Roy's opinion, this fruit is no less valuable than the genuine Azure Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon that Kaido ate.
Although Roy had freed Momonosuke from his control, his mouth was still agape and his body was trembling like a leaf.
He couldn't hear what Roy was saying; his ears were ringing.
The man's face loomed larger and larger in his vision, overlapping with the figure in his memory wielding a knife amidst flames.
"No--Don't kill me--Don't kill me--"
He tried to beg for mercy, but only muffled whimpers came out of his throat.
Tears slid down his cheeks, leaving two white streaks as they ran down the dust on his face.
"Sigh~"
Roy looked at him like this, sighed inwardly, and waved his hand casually.
A very thin blade of space flashed past.
Momonosuke's sobs stopped abruptly.
The tiny head rolled off the neck, bounced twice on the ground, and rolled to the corner of the wall.
The headless body remained in a kneeling position, its hands still holding the fruit, but there was nothing left in its palms.
Blood gushed from the severed neck, spreading rapidly across the dusty floor.
Roy flicked non-existent blood beads off his fingers, turning his gaze away from Momonosuke's corpse and back to the Pink Dragon Fruit in his hand.
As for just now, killing an eight-year-old child would be easier for Roy than crushing an ant.
But there was no anger, no murderous intent, and not even disgust in his eyes when he scrutinized Momonosuke.
There was only one mild, almost objective evaluation.
The bloodline of Kozuki Oden.
What kind of person was Kozuki Oden?
Powerful, bold, foolish.
For the sake of the so-called "founding of the nation" ideal, he danced naked for five years, only to die a meaningless death.
And Momonosuke--
This only son of the Kozuki Family perfectly inherited all of Kozuki Oden's flaws, except for his lechery and tendency to cry, and didn't inherit even a single one of his father's good qualities.
He is cowardly and incompetent, clinging to life and afraid of death. In the original work, his mournful face and lewd expression repeatedly send readers' blood pressure soaring.
" The Kozuki Family bloodline ends with you."
Roy put the Pink Dragon Fruit into his storage bag, then glanced at Momonosuke's headless corpse.
"Besides, no one will know that you died here."
However, Kin'emon are also on this island. Although that Foxfire Kin'emon isn't much stronger than you, at least he still has some backbone.
With him around, Luffy and his crew will still have to face Kaido.
If all else fails--
With a little manipulation, it wouldn't be difficult for the Straw Hat Pirates to run into the Beasts Pirates, given the influence of Hachinosu in the New World.
Roy turned and walked out of the abandoned laboratory, his footsteps fading into the empty corridor.
Only the small, headless corpse remained in the laboratory, along with a head in the corner that still bore a terrified expression.
Dark red blood stained the broken glass, gleaming faintly in the dim light.
Roy felt no remorse for killing Momonosuke.
But what Roy cared about most was actually--
Luffy.
Or rather, the Devil Fruit that Luffy possesses.
The Gum-Gum Fruit —no, it should be called the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, Model: Sun God Nika, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Sun God Form.
The fruit Joy Boy ate eight hundred years ago has had its true name concealed by the World Government.
They simply slapped the pseudonym " Gum-Gum Fruit " on the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and for hundreds of years no one noticed anything amiss.
Why would an ordinary Paramecia Gum-Gum Fruit be coveted by the Five Elders for eight hundred years?
Why would Red-Haired Shanks personally go and steal it?
What gives them the ability to almost alter reality after Awakening?
There is only one answer.
The true nature of this fruit far exceeds what World Government are willing to acknowledge.
After Awakening his Nika Form, Luffy can transform his imagination into fighting power, and can change the physical properties of his surroundings at will.
It can turn the earth into rubber, Inazuma into jump ropes, and enemy attacks into farces.
That power wasn't simply physical enhancement, but rather a kind of intervention ability that bordered on the level of rules.
In the world of One Piece, a place filled with all sorts of bizarre and rule-based Devil Fruits, the power of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika is simply outrageous and completely disregards the rules.
After Roy Telekinesis Fruit Awakening, he was able to interfere with matter and energy within his domain, but that was achieved by forcefully suppressing it with his mental power.
Essentially, it's about using one's own will to override reality.
The power of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika is different—it doesn't suppress, it alters.
They can twist reality itself into whatever shape the ability user desires.
This power is likely the key to defeating Imu.
Imu.
That mysterious being who sat on the Empty Throne in Mary Geoise for eight hundred years never showed himself in public, never made a move.
But Roy pieced together a vague outline from the Five Elders ' attitude, the World Government's fear of the Poneglyph, and the erased fragments of history—
Imu is very strong, strong enough to make the Five Elders, ancient monsters who have lived for eight hundred years, bow down in submission.
He is powerful enough to suppress everything in the world single-handedly.
Against an opponent of this caliber, Roy could never be too cautious.
Therefore, Luffy must Awakening, he must take the lead, and he must distract Imu on the front lines.
Only in this way can Roy secretly plot and deliver a fatal blow at the most crucial moment.
"Let the bloodline of the Kozuki Family be the first offering to the new era."
Roy turned and left.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Punk Hazard, an encounter that would change the world order in the original story is unfolding as scheduled.
Roy stood atop an abandoned cooling tower, his Telekinesis creating a semi-transparent barrier in front of him, completely isolating him from the outside world.
From this vantage point, you can overlook the entire Central Experimental Zone—the buildings contaminated by toxic gas, the still-operating SMILE factory, and two groups of people converging on this side from different directions.
The Straw Hat Pirates landed on the south side of the island.
Luffy, as always, was the first to jump off the ship, running across the ice towards the island while shouting "Adventure! Adventure!"
Zoro followed behind him, three swords hanging at his waist, his expression as languid as ever.
Nami and Usopp shouted themselves hoarse trying to call Luffy back, but to no avail. In the end, Sanji lit a cigarette and slowly followed after them.
Two years have passed, and the changes in this group of people are neither huge nor small.
Luffy didn't grow much taller, but his shoulders broadened considerably.
Although his chest wasn't attacked two years ago, it now bears a gruesome X-shaped scar.
Zoro has lost an eye, and the scar running from his forehead to his cheek makes him look even more intimidating than before.
Sanji's eyebrows were still curled, but he had more stubble than before, and his eyes looked more composed.