Punk Hazard, New World
"Shirorororo!!! It seems like I must have forgotten it again….This doesn't seem like Vegapunk's Devil Fruit facility. Why don't you tell me again why a bunch of kids like you want to know where that failed experiment is?" Caesar Clown's voice was laced with genuine confusion, his face swollen and bleeding from the earlier blows.
His trademark smugness was gone, replaced by a flicker of fear as he glanced at his captors. Shackled by seastone cuffs, Caesar was a shadow of his former self, deprived of the powers that had once made him a force to be reckoned with.
Bam!
A powerful strike sent Caesar sprawling across the cold, metallic floor, his body colliding with a harsh thud. Smoker, his expression a mix of anger and impatience, stood over him, his seastone weapon still raised. The harsh clink of the shackles echoed in the dimly lit room as Caesar groaned in pain, trying to push himself up.
"We're done with your games, Clown," Smoker growled, his voice low and menacing. "You've led us to the wrong facility twice now. Our patience is wearing thin, and if you keep stalling, you'll regret it."
Caesar wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring up at Smoker with a mixture of defiance and fear. His mind raced, trying to calculate his next move. He was stalling, hoping for some miraculous escape or a change in the tide, but he could see in their eyes that they were reaching their limit.
He had no idea why they were so intent on finding Vegapunk's old facility, the one even the famed scientist had deemed a failure. There was something these kids knew, something he didn't, and that piqued his curiosity even in the face of danger.
Lucci, who had been silent up until now, moved with the grace of a predator. He grabbed Caesar by the collar and hoisted him up with ease, his expression cold and devoid of emotion. "I have no time for your jokes," Lucci whispered, his voice like ice, sending a shiver down Caesar's spine.
"This is your last chance. Tell us the correct location, or I won't stop at just breaking your limbs. Dead weight is of no use to me. If you think I am bluffing, try me.!"
The menace in Lucci's tone was unmistakable, and Caesar felt his heart pound faster. He had seen that look before—the look of a killer who wouldn't hesitate to end a life if it meant achieving his goal. Caesar was a cunning scientist, a man who had danced with danger many times, but this was different. He was cornered, and he knew it.
"Alright, alright!" Caesar spluttered, his bravado crumbling under the pressure. "I'll take you there, just stop beating me up! What kind of children beat up their elders?" He attempted to inject some of his usual arrogance into the complaint, but it only served to earn him another sharp smack, this time from little Reiju, whose patience had long since evaporated.
"Enough with the theatrics," Reiju snapped, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. Her eyes, cold and calculating, bore into Caesar. "Lead us to the facility, and maybe we won't have to hurt you any further."
Caesar rubbed his throbbing jaw, feeling the sting of Reiju's slap. He knew better than to push his luck any further. His mind churned, weighing his options. Leading them to the facility might buy him some time, perhaps even an opportunity to turn the situation in his favor.
But he also knew that whatever these kids were after, it wasn't something trivial. The fact that they were willing to go to such lengths, that they were so desperate to find Vegapunk's abandoned project, sent a chill down his spine.
As he began to walk, the chains clinking with every step, Caesar's thoughts raced. What could they possibly want with a failed experiment? Was there something about it he didn't know? Something that even Vegapunk might have overlooked? The idea gnawed at him, his scientific curiosity battling with his self-preservation instincts.
Lucci and the others followed closely, their eyes never leaving him, and their presence was a constant reminder of the danger he was in. Caesar could feel the weight of their expectations, the unspoken threat that hung in the air. This was no ordinary mission, and he was caught in the middle of something far larger than he had anticipated.
As they moved through the facility, the corridors echoing with their footsteps, Caesar couldn't help but glance back at them every so often, his mind whirling with possibilities. What were they after? And more importantly, what did they know that he didn't? The answers to those questions could be the key to his survival—or his demise.
But for now, all he could do was lead them to the facility and hope that somewhere along the way, he could find a way out of this mess.
Under the looming threat of death, Caesar Clown finally ceased his stalling. The fear of the relentless Lucci and his team, along with the unmistakable dread that radiated from them, broke through his last defenses.
With a reluctant nod, Caesar led the group deeper into the sprawling facility, his chains clinking ominously in the silence. They moved through winding corridors, past rooms that hummed with forgotten machinery and the remnants of past experiments.
Unlike the other areas of the facility where signs of activity were still apparent, this part seemed to have been long abandoned. Dust settled on every surface, and the walls bore the scars of age and neglect.
Finally, they reached a secluded wing of the facility, a place that even Caesar hadn't ventured into in years. The door before them was massive, a monolithic slab of reinforced steel that seemed out of place among the other, more mundane entries.
The air grew thick with tension as they approached it, Lucci at the forefront, his gaze locked on the door as if he could sense something beyond it.
"Open it," Gladius demanded, roughly pushing Caesar forward.
Caesar sneered, defiance flickering back into his eyes despite the situation. "Shirororororo, this was one of Vegapunk's personal labs. Do you really think I have access to a place like this?"
The derision in his tone only earned him a hard glare from Gladius, who was on the verge of striking him again. But before he could, Lucci stepped forward, his patience clearly at its limit. Without a word, he coated his fist with Haki, the air around him crackling with power.
"Bam…! Bam…! Bam…!"
Each of Lucci's strikes landed with the force of a cannon, his Haki-coated fist slamming into the steel door with relentless precision. Every punch left a deep dent, the metal groaning under the pressure.
Caesar's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He had expected the door to withstand any assault, believing it to be impenetrable to Devil Fruit users due to its seastone infusion. But the sight of this child—no, this prodigy—tearing down the vault-like door as if it were made of paper sent a chill down his spine. Unconsciously, Caesar took a few steps back, fear rooting itself in his heart.
"Boom!!!"
With a final, sickening punch, the door blasted open, the steel crumpling inward as if it had been struck by a titan. The sheer force of the impact sent echoes reverberating through the abandoned wing. Lucci stepped inside without hesitation, his presence commanding, as if he had been drawn here by an invisible thread.
Caesar, seeing his chance, attempted to slip away quietly, but Reiju was quick to point a seastone-loaded pistol at him, her gaze cold and unyielding. Realizing escape was impossible, Caesar fell back into line, his earlier bravado completely shattered.
As Smoker and Gladius moved to explore the lab, Lucci's eyes were set in a particular direction. His steps were deliberate, as if guided by an unseen force, until he finally found himself standing before a sealed glass display.
Within the display, resting on a soft cushion, was a crimson Devil Fruit, its surface adorned with the signature spiral patterns. The fruit seemed to pulsate with a strange energy, one that Lucci could feel resonating within him. He knew, instinctively, that this was what he had been searching for.
"Lucci! Is that it? Is that the fruit you were looking for?" Smoker asked, stepping up beside him. He noticed the intense focus in Lucci's eyes, the way he seemed almost entranced by the fruit. To Smoker, the fruit looked like any other Devil Fruit, but he knew better than to underestimate its potential. The fact that Lucci had been so drawn to it was proof enough of its importance.
"Shirorororo! So that's what you kids were after, the technology to create artificial Devil Fruits." Caesar's voice broke the tense silence, his tone shifting back to its usual arrogance. "You could have just told me! I worked closely with Dr. Vegapunk on this particular project. It was a total failure, you know."
Caesar's boasting fell on deaf ears. The kids completely disregarded him, their focus solely on the fruit. Lucci, however, took a deep breath, his mind racing with the weight of the decision before him.
Master Ross had offered him a choice—one of two other mythical Zoan fruits that the family held in their possession. Yet, despite the allure of those options, Lucci had been drawn to this one, this supposed failure, because he felt a connection to it that he couldn't explain.
The sound of glass shattering echoed through the lab as Lucci punched through the display case, shards scattering across the floor. He reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he grasped the crimson Devil Fruit. The fruit felt warm to the touch, as if it was alive, pulsing with a latent power that was just waiting to be unleashed.
"We should quickly collect any data that's left behind," Reiju commented, her voice cutting through the tension as Lucci lifted the fruit to his mouth.
Caesar, however, was angry. "Kid! Are you mad? That's a defective fruit!" His voice was filled with a mix of shock and horror. He wasn't really concerned for the child's well-being, but for the secret that the crimson Devil Fruit held.
He didn't want it to vanish into oblivion, especially if there was more to it than he had been led to believe. But his protests were in vain. Without hesitation, Lucci bit into the fruit, its bitter taste causing a grimace to cross his face, but he continued, determined to consume it entirely.
"Do you feel anything? Can you tell what kind of Devil Fruit it is? Does it work?" Smoker bombarded Lucci with questions, but Lucci merely smiled, a knowing look in his eyes.
Master Ross had advised him not to reveal his powers too soon. Doing so would undoubtedly alert the World Government to the fact that Vegapunk had succeeded in his research. For now, Lucci would bide his time, waiting for the right moment to unleash the power of the fruit.
The Donquixote family's acquisition of Vegapunk's research files in the future would conveniently shift any suspicion away from the possibility that the scientist had betrayed the World Government.
After all, if a second Dragon Fruit appeared in the world, the Government might begin to question Vegapunk's allegiance. But Ross couldn't risk exposing Vegapunk just yet, not when the scientist played such a crucial role in their plans.
As Lucci stood there, feeling the latent power of the fruit settle within him, he knew that his gamble had paid off. He had chosen this fruit for a reason, one that went beyond logic or reason—it was a connection, a calling. And soon, the world would witness the birth of a new legend, one that would shake the very foundations of power.
*******
As the battlefield trembled beneath our feet, I stood resolute, gripping my two blades firmly, their edges glowing with an ominous energy that seemed to draw the very life out of the air around us.
The ground beneath me cracked and split as though the earth itself was retreating in fear of the power I was about to unleash. My gaze locked onto Kaido, the formidable Azure Dragon, whose mere presence had struck terror into the hearts of countless warriors. But today, even the mightiest would learn what it meant to face true power.
"Niten Ichi Ryu: Journey to the Afterlife!!!" I roared, my voice echoing across the desolate battlefield. My twin blades, their edges wreathed in a dark, foreboding aura, infused with haki and lightning slashed through the air with the precision of a reaper's scythe.
The ominous energy surrounding the blades intensified, casting an eerie glow that seemed to steal the color from the world around us, leaving only shades of death and despair.
Across from me, Kaido's massive form rippled with raw power as he prepared to meet my attack head on. His eyes, filled with a mix of rage and recognition, blazed with an intensity that mirrored the molten fury within him.
"Kaen Daiko!!!" Kaido roared, his entire being morphing into a terrifying visage of boiling lava. The air around him shimmered with heat as his immense dragon form surged forward, a living embodiment of wrath and destruction. His scales glowed red-hot, and flames licked at the edges of his colossal frame as he channeled every ounce of his anger and power into a single devastating charge.
Despite the immense size and power of my opponent, I felt no fear—only a steely resolve and an overwhelming thrill of the battle. Kaido had come to realize the truth: that despite my youth, despite the fact that I was barely into adulthood, I possessed the strength to wound even the mightiest of creatures.
The fact that I wielded Akatsuki, a blade forged in the deepest depths of darkness, only deepened his rage and fear.
Behind Kaido, Raylene picked herself up from the rubble, her body battered but her spirit unyielding. She could feel the weight of the battle, the pressure of the impending clash that seemed to distort reality itself.
Even though both Kaido and Raylene had consumed mythical Zoan fruits, granting them power and regenerative abilities beyond that of most beings, they had failed to gain any significant advantage over me.
The scars that now marred their once-invincible forms were testament to that fact. If this had been a one-on-one fight, I would have overwhelmed them already, leaving them broken and bloodied far more than they are now.
"Shoryu: Kaen Hakke!!" Kaido bellowed, his voice shaking the heavens as he unleashed his ultimate attack. The sheer force of his charge sent shockwaves rippling through the air, and for those watching from afar, it was as if two colossal entities—one a massive dragon of molten fire, the other an ethereal reaper wielding a scythe of death—were about to collide in a world-ending clash.
The ground beneath us buckled and shattered as Kaido's immense dragon form hurtled toward me. The heat of his approach was so intense that the very air ignited and the ground crystallized, creating an inferno that roared and crackled with unimaginable fury.
But I remained unshaken, my focus unyielding. With a surge of dark lightning, I propelled myself forward to meet his charge, my blades slicing through the searing heat as if it were nothing but a light breeze.
And then, the moment of impact.
The world seemed to freeze for an instant as our attacks collided. My blades, wreathed in darkness, clashed against Kaido's molten form with a force that sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
The island itself seemed to groan under the pressure, as if struggling to withstand the immense power being unleashed upon it, both our conquerors haki tearing through the very world. The ground quaked, and the sky darkened as the very atmosphere was torn apart by the sheer magnitude of the clash.
For a moment, it seemed as if the world would be ripped apart. The immense dragon roared with fury, his molten body writhing and churning as he struggled to overpower me.
But despite his overwhelming size and strength, he could not push me back. My blades, fueled by my overwhelming will and the dark power of Akatsuki, cut through his molten scales as if they were nothing more than paper. I could feel the resistance, the struggle, but it was futile. I was stronger, faster, and more focused, and ultimately my Conqueror's haki was too overwhelming for Kaido to counter.
Suddenly, there was a deafening crack, and a massive dragon horn flew through the air, severed cleanly from Kaido's head by the sheer force of my strike. The severed horn spun through the air, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud that shook the earth and created a massive crater next to Raylene. The sight of the horn lying there, shattered and broken, was a stark reminder that the once-invincible Kaido had just been humbled.
A blood-curdling roar of pain and fury erupted from Kaido's throat as his massive form was sent hurtling back, crashing into the ground with a force that sent shockwaves rippling through the island.
The sheer impact of his fall caused the island to crack and splinter, creating fissures that radiated outwards like the spokes of a broken wheel. His colossal dragon form began to writhe and contort, the once-mighty beast now reduced to a bruised and battered shadow of its former self.
As the dust settled, Kaido's form began to shrink, the immense dragon slowly reverting to his hybrid state. His breath came in ragged gasps, his body heaving with the effort of trying to stand.
Blood poured from the deep gash where his horn had once been, staining the ground beneath him. The mighty Azure Dragon, the so-called immortal Kaido, had been brought low by a mere teenager.
I stood over him, my blades still humming with dark energy, my eyes locked on his. The battle had taken its toll on all of us, but I remained resolute, unshaken.
Kaido, now on his hands and knees, stared up at me with a mixture of disbelief and rage. His eyes, once filled with pride and invincibility, now reflected the dawning realization that he had been bested, but that didn't break his spirit.
The battle was not over, but the scales had tipped, and the world would soon know that the Azure Dragon had been humbled by a young warrior wielding the power of darkness itself.
*****
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