"Luffy, he... he's not dead, is he?!"
Seeing this, Usopp's eyes widened as he let out a cry of disbelief.
Usopp hadn't mastered Observation Haki, so he had no idea what had happened to Luffy. Shanks, Yasopp, Zoro, and the others, however, kept their gazes locked on the spot where Luffy had vanished. Through their perception, they knew that not only was Luffy not dead, but his presence had actually grown stronger.
Sengoku slowly turned his head and gave Shanks a long, deep look.
"Gahahahahahaha..."
Suddenly, a white figure shot out from the lingering aftermath of the explosion. The figure was clutching its stomach in a fit of laughter, its body shaking as peals of joy echoed out. The white, cloud-like sash around its shoulders trembled with every laugh.
"Luffy!!"
Usopp and Franky shouted in unison, finally letting out a breath of relief.
In his Nika form, all of Luffy's injuries had miraculously healed.
Such was the power of laughter.
The stronger his laughter, the stronger Luffy's power became.
"My gamble paid off!!"
The tension in Shanks's eyes finally eased. As he spoke softly, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile.
Benn Beckman blew out a smoke ring and slowly holstered his flintlock.
You bet on the right man, Shanks! Beckman thought to himself.
The sight equally stunned Big Mom's children. They had been certain that Luffy would die under the force of Hakai, but to their astonishment, he was completely unharmed.
"Is this a Devil Fruit Awakening?" Perospero wondered aloud. Luffy's current state, especially the white, cloud-like sash, bore a striking resemblance to what he knew of Awakenings.
"White monkey? Impossible!! How are you not dead yet?"
Big Mom roared at the still-laughing Luffy, her expression growing even more maniacal.
"Zeus!!" Big Mom bellowed, summoning the thundercloud who had been slacking off above her head.
"Mama!!"
Zeus immediately understood, responding with a cry before unleashing a powerful bolt of lightning that streaked toward Luffy.
CRACKLE!!
The lightning hissed through the air.
A grin split Luffy's face as he suddenly inflated his head to a colossal size and simply ate the lightning bolt whole. This was the incredible creativity of the Nika form, always responding with impossible, imaginative attacks.
"What!!"
The onlookers stared, their eyes wide with shock.
Poof!!
A few puffs of smoke escaped from Luffy's mouth, and the lightning attack simply dissipated inside.
"Gahahahahahaha... That tasted pretty good!!" Luffy roared with laughter again, the sound piercing Big Mom's ears like a series of taunts.
"He ate it?" Big Mom stared in astonishment.
Her eyes then turned a deeper shade of blood red. Stomping hard against the ground, she launched herself at Luffy, her sword Napoleon radiating a terrifying aura of Haki.
Luffy met her charge, swinging his own giant fist.
BOOM!!
In an instant, the air crackled with immense streams of black and red lightning.
The battle had instantly reached a fever pitch.
However, Luffy had only just awakened Gear Five—his Nika form—and it was placing an immense strain on his stamina. This meant he couldn't maintain this state for long.
But this fight was never destined to be a long one.
Big Mom was nothing more than a stepping stone.
With Shanks, Beckman, and Sengoku present, they had the power to end the battle at any moment. As soon as Luffy's stamina ran out and he reverted from his Nika form, they could safely get him away.
Perospero and the others quickly understood this as well. They were already ordering their fleet to pull back.
...
Meanwhile, at Fish-Man Island, Ryuuto was still waiting for Walde and the others to arrive, but instead, he was met by Rocks, who was in the midst of a massive scheme.
The island-sized ship, the Thriller Bark, grew larger and larger before everyone's eyes as Rocks and his crew brazenly sailed into view.
"What a unique design for a pirate ship," Nami remarked.
"Yeah, it looks like a circular island!" Vivi added, studying the Thriller Bark.
"Blackbeard? Rocks? What a mess!"
"Wait, why are they here?"
As the thunderclouds in the sky relayed information back to him, Ryuuto was stunned. None of this made any sense. Wasn't the Thriller Bark Gecko Moria's ship? And what happened to Blackbeard to make him look so... strange?
Or perhaps...
Blackbeard was already dead. He died during the Paramount War!
Could it be that Rocks had been inside Blackbeard's body all along? Was that why he had reappeared? It would explain why Blackbeard could go days without sleep as a child, why his teeth were always changing position, and why he could consume two Devil Fruits.
Could he have two souls in one body? Was Blackbeard's soul in control before? And now Rocks's soul has taken over?
Unbelievable!! What a shocking revelation!
Countless thoughts raced through Ryuuto's mind. Combining this with the information he already possessed, he pieced together the general idea. He still remembered the resurrected dead he had encountered on Dressrosa. They were now standing silently on the deck of the Thriller Bark, their numbers terrifyingly vast.
"It seems the Davy Clan is full of secrets," Ryuuto sighed helplessly, shaking his head.
CRACKLE!!
With a flash of lightning, Ryuuto shot directly toward the Thriller Bark. In his view, if a fight was inevitable, it was better to have it on Rocks's home turf. He had no intention of letting the Noah, which he had worked so hard to maintain, be destroyed again. Besides, his Art of Thunder was now perfected; he was supremely confident in his own power.
But before Ryuuto could even get close, Rocks leaped into the air, swinging his cutlass in a powerful slash aimed right at him. He had sensed Ryuuto's presence long ago.
The sight of Ryuuto filled Rocks with rage, and he attacked without hesitation.
After all, Ryuuto was the one who killed Blackbeard.
BOOM!!
A golden bolt of lightning slammed into Rocks's slash, creating a deafening explosion. A powerful shockwave swept outwards, the force of the wind making the giant sails of the Thriller Bark snap and billow.
Then, to Rocks's wide-eyed fury, the bolt of lightning shattered.
CRACKLE!!
The shattered lightning instantly reformed into countless smaller bolts that shot out in all directions before rapidly converging on the ship's deck.
It all happened in an instant.
The bolts of lightning on the deck quickly coalesced, forming the figure of Ryuuto.
"Zehahahahaha, Ryuuto, it's been a long time!!" The figure standing before him let out Blackbeard's boisterous laugh.
"Blackbeard? Or Rocks?"
Ryuuto was thrown into confusion. He had assumed Blackbeard's consciousness was dormant.
"That's not important!"
"What is important is that I've come here for something. I hope you won't stand in my way. Otherwise, I'll show you what the world's strongest Haki truly is!!"
The voice switched, and it was Rocks now speaking to Ryuuto. His tone was domineering, every word radiating absolute confidence. If their first clash hadn't revealed Ryuuto's strength, he might have already been diced into pieces.
"Interesting! You want the Noah, don't you?"
Ryuuto's eyes narrowed, a malicious smile playing on his lips. If that were the case, then only one of them would be leaving this place alive.
"The Noah? What garbage!! That's just a broken-down wreck for escaping," Rocks replied with disdain.
"Then...?"
Ryuuto's tone grew even colder. It was now clear what Rocks was after: the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon!
"Don't play dumb with me!! You have two choices. Give me Poseidon, or I'll take her myself after I kill you!"
Rocks grinned widely, his voice laced with a sinister laugh.
"That's really too bad for you."
"Abyssal Eruption: Heaven's Burst!!"
Ryuuto had been gathering power during their conversation. With a sharp cry, he condensed the ocean currents to their absolute limit before unleashing them outwards. Beneath the Thriller Bark, a whirlpool nearly a thousand meters wide began to form. This was Ryuuto's ultimate technique, combining his ability to command the weather to create a colossal waterspout that would rise to the heavens. He planned to use this single, massive attack to send Rocks and his crew to the bottom of the sea.
"Zehahahahahaha... You really think I didn't know what you were planning?"
But Rocks remained completely unfazed. He took a few leisurely steps forward, his voice dripping with mockery.
"Black Tide!!" Rocks roared, planting his feet firmly.
In that instant, the sea began to churn violently. Countless streams of ink-black water erupted from the depths, and an immensely powerful aura filled the air.
Then—
Ryuuto could only watch in stunned disbelief as his "Abyssal Eruption: Heaven's Burst" was completely swallowed by the endless black tide surging from beneath the waves.
A look of utter shock appeared on Ryuuto's face.
This is the power of a fundamental law, and one of the strongest at that. I can feel endless death and destruction from this black tide. What an unsettling aura.
Ryuuto's mind reeled. He never imagined Rocks would play his trump card right from the start.
"Zehahahahahaha..."
Rocks let out a triumphant laugh at the sight.
Not only that, but under Rocks's control, the raging black tide on the sea's surface formed into massive, watery hands that slammed down toward Ryuuto on the deck. The pitch-black hands radiated an absolute cold. Before they even reached him, Ryuuto could feel a chill that seemed to pierce his very soul. This was the Black Tide from the depths of the sea, possessing extreme cold and the power to erode souls.
Its power was extraordinary.
It was clear Rocks was taking Ryuuto very seriously, unleashing the power of a Sea God from the very beginning.
"Tidal Art: Giant Hands of the Black Tide!" Rocks's voice rang out.
However, an attack of this level is not enough to harm me!! Ryuuto thought. An immense amount of lightning erupted from his body, and a wave of purple energy instantly swept outwards with him at its center. In that moment, Ryuuto's form seemed to grow immensely tall, ancient lightning patterns hovering around him as his figure flickered between solid and ethereal.
This was Ryuuto's Domain of Thunder!
He took aim at the giant hands of the Black Tide and spat out glob after glob of purple liquid.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As the two forces collided, strange ripples of power pulsed through the air, followed by a series of explosions.
But in the end, Ryuuto's attack proved superior. The Giant Hands of the Black Tide were shattered by his projectiles, dissolving into a rain of seawater that fell upon the deck.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The deck was instantly corroded, with holes appearing wherever the water landed.
"How is this possible?! This is the power of a Sea God!" Rocks's eyes went wide with disbelief. He knew Ryuuto was strong, but this was absurd! The power of a Sea God, blocked so easily?
"Gahahahahahaha... And I am the Thunder God!!"
Ryuuto laughed boisterously. His figure moved like a phantom, tracing an unpredictable path through the air before instantly appearing in front of Rocks.
At the same time, a purple lightning spear materialized in his hand.
"Take this, Rocks!!"
With a shout, Ryuuto thrust the spear toward him.
The purple lightning pulsed with a terrifying aura of destruction.
The scene unfolded in slow motion before Rocks's eyes. He had no time to dodge and could only defensively raise his cutlass in front of his chest.
BOOM!!
A massive impact echoed out—
And Rocks's figure was sent flying backward violently. His feet carved a deep trench in the deck as he skidded across it at high speed.
Rocks could never have imagined that the "Sea God" power he had acquired through the Davy Clan would be so perfectly countered by Ryuuto. But it wasn't his fault. How could he have known that when it came to the power of destruction, nothing could compare to the God of Thunder, the wielder of divine punishment and the arbiter of judgment from the heavens?