The sea wind carried a thick stench of blood as it howled across the ruined deck.
Whether it was the Kuja Pirates’ female warriors, the surviving Marines, or even Onigumo himself, everyone was staring at the black serpent coiled atop the pile of scrap metal as if it were an alien creature.
It had swallowed a self-destruct core?
That was a compressed energy source capable of leveling a small island!
Just what was this thing’s stomach made of — a black hole or Seastone?
“This… this is impossible…”
The black remote control slipped from Onigumo’s hand and shattered on the deck.
His rock-solid worldview completely collapsed in this moment.
He had imagined countless possibilities: Zane would be blown to pieces, blown apart, or sense the danger and flee in time.
What he never imagined was that the beast would actually eat the bomb!
And then burp afterward like nothing had happened!
“This digestive ability… even Big Mom’s ‘Soul-Soul Fruit’ creating humanoid appetites in objects couldn’t compare, right?!” Onigumo muttered, his eyes filled with fear.
Meanwhile, Zane was undergoing an unprecedented transformation.
Pain!
This was Zane’s first sensation after swallowing the core.
Although the core hadn’t exploded, under the strong acid of his stomach fluids it released energy like a raging thunder dragon, rampaging through his veins and scouring every cell in his body.
[Ding!
Successfully devoured high-energy power core (PX prototype)!] [Detected special energy: High-compression bio-electricity and liquid fuel!] [Gluttony skill operating at overdrive… Warning!
Energy overflow!
Forcing physical reconstruction!]
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!
Strange bright blue circuit-like patterns suddenly appeared on Zane’s originally ink-black scales.
These patterns crisscrossed like a precise integrated circuit board etched onto living flesh.
His muscles began to swell and contract irregularly, producing a roar like a high-powered engine revving.
His body temperature skyrocketed.
The surrounding seawater evaporated instantly, forming a white steam force field around him.
“This feeling…”
Zane clenched his non-existent fist (by curling his tail powerfully).
He could clearly feel his heartbeat had tripled.
His blood surged like a raging river through his vessels.
An seemingly endless surge of power filled his entire being.
[Gene sequence recombination… Fusing technological characteristics…] [Congratulations!
Host has obtained new ability: Overload Mode!] [Skill Description: Burn stored high-energy fuel in a short period to activate full cellular activity, forcibly increasing all functions (speed, strength, reaction, nerve conduction) by 200%!
The cost is massive stamina consumption and post-battle weakness.]
“So this is… the power of technology?”
This ability sounded a lot like Luffy’s future Gear 2 and Gear 3 — burning potential for a short, powerful burst.
Then let’s test just how far this ability can go.
Zane slowly raised his head.
His originally golden vertical pupils had now turned a ghostly blue with flowing electronic light, like two burning will-o’-the-wisps.
The blue patterns on his body pulsed with his breathing, as if charging.
“Onigumo.”
A cold, metallic-tinged voice (transmitted through air vibration) rang across the battlefield.
Zane’s gaze pierced hundreds of meters and locked onto the figure on the main ship’s command platform.
“You chased me quite happily earlier, didn’t you?
Six Powers · Shave is pretty fast, huh?”
Whoosh!
Zane’s figure vanished without warning.
The deck where he had been standing instantly shattered into powder, leaving a massive crater — caused by pure explosive force.
On the main ship’s command platform, Onigumo’s Observation Haki screamed warnings.
His mind was filled with crimson danger.
“Where?!
Too fast!
More than twice as fast as before!”
Onigumo instinctively tried to use Shave to evade or Iron Body to defend.
But the moment his toes touched the ground and his muscles tensed—
Whoosh—!
A violent, fishy gale slammed into his face, carrying a strong burnt and ozone smell.
“Too slow.”
A mocking voice seemed to ring directly in his mind.
The black afterimage solidified before his eyes.
Zane’s massive snake head stopped almost touching Onigumo’s face.
The speed was so extreme that the air behind Zane only then produced a belated sonic boom.
BOOM!!!
“You… how is this possible…” Onigumo’s pupils contracted violently.
Survival instinct made him slash with his blade.
“One Sword Style – Iaido!”
Clang!
The slash landed precisely on Zane’s neck.
But this time, there was no blood, no white mark — not even half a step of retreat from Zane.
In Overload Mode, Zane’s scale hardness had risen another level, and the flowing blue energy patterns formed a high-frequency oscillating energy shield that directly deflected Onigumo’s blade.
“Is this all the strength you have?
Didn’t eat enough, Vice Admiral?”
Zane’s mockery was in full swing.
He whipped his tail violently.
The blue patterns on his tail lit up to their brightest.
[Overload · Lightspeed Tail Hammer!]
BANG!!!
This strike was so fast it was impossible to see with the naked eye.
Onigumo had no time for any effective defense.
He could only cross his arms in front of his chest and release every ounce of his Haki.
“Iron Body · Steel!”
Crack.
The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out.
Onigumo’s proud defense collapsed instantly before absolute speed and power.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, blasted straight off the command platform!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Onigumo’s body smashed through three layers of reinforced steel cabins before slamming heavily into the main ship’s massive main mast that required three people to hug.
Accompanied by a teeth-grinding breaking sound, the huge mast flying the seagull of justice flag collapsed, smashing onto the deck and kicking up clouds of dust.
“Vice… Vice Admiral!”
The surrounding Marines screamed in terror, raising their guns to shoot, but their trembling hands couldn’t even pull the triggers.
“Get lost!”
Zane whipped his head around and roared.
[Conqueror’s Haki Pressure (Pseudo) + Deep-Sea Intimidation + Technological Soundwave!]
The terrifying aura spread like a physical shockwave.
The ordinary soldiers felt as if their brains had been struck by a hammer.
Their minds went blank, eyes rolled back, and they collapsed like falling dumplings.
At this moment, the main ship’s deck held only ruins, fallen soldiers, and the black demon god coiled in the center, crackling with blue electricity.
“Cough… Pfft!”
From the wreckage, Onigumo pushed aside the wood pressing on him and shakily stood up.
His arms were twisted unnaturally — the bones clearly shattered.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
His Justice coat was in tatters, covered in dust and blood.
But he was, after all, an elite Vice Admiral of Headquarters.
Even heavily injured, the fighting spirit in his eyes hadn’t diminished — it had grown even more疯狂 due to the desperate situation.
“Good… Very good…”
Onigumo spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments and stared fixedly at Zane.
“I never thought that after decades dominating the seas and slaying countless pirates, I would be pushed to this extent by a snake.”
“If that’s the case…”
Onigumo took a deep breath.
His muscles began writhing at a bizarre frequency.
His somewhat emaciated, damaged body suddenly swelled.
His hair grew wildly.
“Life Return · Martial Body!”
This was his final trump card in desperation — squeezing out every bit of life potential, pouring consciousness into every cell, forcibly controlling bodily functions, ignoring pain, and erupting power beyond his limits.
“You’re still not dead?”
Zane looked at Onigumo, who had stood up again with an aura that had only grown stronger.
The blue light in his eyes flickered.
“I must admit, you Marines do have some skill.
You’re much tougher than those weakling pirates.”
Zane slowly slithered down from the command platform.
His massive body scraped across the deck, creating dazzling sparks.
“Since you want to die with dignity, I’ll grant you that wish.”
“As respect to a strong opponent, I will send you off with my strongest move.”
The blue patterns on Zane’s body blazed brightly.
All the energy gathered toward his throat.
This time, it wasn’t just fire venom — it also included the high-compression plasma energy converted from the core he had swallowed.
A heart-palpitating black-blue light glowed in his mouth.
The surrounding air distorted violently from the extreme heat.
[Ultimate Technique: Hellfire Black Python Cannon (Overload Version)!]
On the opposite side, Onigumo had gathered every ounce of his Haki and life force into the already chipped blade in his hand.
The blade hummed, letting out a resolute, tragic cry.
“One Sword Style · Secret Technique: Dragon Slayer!”
One man.
One serpent.
On this broken warship, under the setting sun of the Calm Belt, they were about to unleash their final collision.
On the distant Perfume Snake, Hancock stood at the bow, watching the black figure confronting a Marine Vice Admiral head-on, radiating kingly dominance.
She clutched her chest tightly with both hands, her eyes filled with obsession and awe.
“That is… my King.”
In this moment, she was no longer the arrogant Empress.
She was the woman of the King, witnessing her King bare his fangs at the world for the first time.
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