"Am I seeing things..."
Sanji, taking a puff of his cigarette, hesitantly turned to Zoro beside him.
"That's Roman, right?"
"Yes,"
For once, Zoro didn't argue with Sanji. Instead, he held his swords with both hands, seriously watching the figure standing at the peak of the white vines.
"It's Roman. But his condition..."
It's hard to say, but Roman now looked full of energy, his aura soaring like a wolf's smoke!
It's good, but clearly different from the usual Roman. Now his entire expression and aura were filled with greed, savagery, and brutality...
Thud,
"That guy isn't Roman."
Luffy also landed on a white 'leaf,' seriously looking at the arrogant figure standing at the top of the vines.
"Everyone!"
Taking advantage of the suddenly 'recharged' "Thief's Extreme Art", Nami was lifted by the wind and flew up.
"Be careful, Roman is out of control!"
Waving a manual in her hand, Nami quickly explained to everyone: "Roman just drank the 'Cell Will Awakening Potion' developed by the Marines, and his mind was overwhelmed by the instincts of his cells, making him full of biological desires—"
"What are biological desires?" X3
Faced with the questions from the three main fighters of the Straw Hat crew, Nami had to give examples.
"For example: eating meat, getting stronger, women~~~"
"Meat! I want to eat meat too!"
Luffy shouted with open arms.
"Getting stronger? Sounds good!"
Zoro held his swords, full of fighting spirit.
"Beautiful women? Where~~"
Sanji instantly twisted like a noodle.
...??!
This Straw Hat crew is hopeless, tired, let it be destroyed.
Nami covered her forehead, almost in tears. Do these guys even understand the current dangerous situation—
"Help, help! Someone save me!!!"
A cry broke the silence of the battlefield, which had been divided by Roman's single move. Rob Lucci, with a grim face, pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
"Commander..."
"Lucci? Great, save me! I'm being chased by that demon woman—"
"Ugh, —ah! I've been stabbed in the butt, I'm going to die!!"
From the Den Den Mushi came the sounds of running, slashing, crying, and despair almost overflowing from the device. One could easily imagine the miserable situation of the man named Spandam at this moment.
?!
This useless commander! He can't even handle a woman with Seastone handcuffs...
Wait, could it be that Nico Robin has undergone Seastone suppression training?! Careless—
"Save me, save me, Lucci!!"
The guy on the other end of the Den Den Mushi sounded like he was being chased by a monster, desperately wanting to crawl through the device.
"Help me quickly! Or I'll destroy your hometown—"
!?
In an instant, Rob Lucci's pupils dilated and contracted violently. He took a deep look at the other CP9 members lying in the ruins, then had no choice but to turn and use Geppo to fly towards the Tower of Hesitation! The Straw Hat crew didn't stop him because:
"You... dare to see me... and not kneel!?"
Facing waves of violent killing intent that could make an ordinary person's heart tremble, Sanji threw away his cigarette and commented.
"It's hard to believe that the usually rational Roman goes 'crazy' like this."
"Such intense killing intent,"
Zoro grinned, showing his white teeth like a beast!
"Looks like I can finally have a good fight with Roman—"
"W-what should we do?"
Usopp, no, Sogeking, who was already hugging Chopper, was about to cry. He could muster up courage against enemies, but facing their suddenly erratic main strategist...
"How about you record Roman's words with a recording shell and play it back to him later?"
???
"Spare me, I don't want to be trained to death by Roman—"
"Impudent!"
As the killing intent on the battlefield grew stronger and more overwhelming, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper began to feel their hearts pounding and their breaths becoming labored. Sanji and Zoro, at the forefront, tightened their legs and gripped their weapons to the limit, cold sweat unknowingly seeping out.
Then...
The killing intent disappeared!
It vanished suddenly and completely, like a massive tsunami that crashed down but turned into mist at the last moment! The abrupt change caused a dizzying sensation, as if their nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
Although Enies Lobby is a 'land of light' without night, it was undeniably nighttime elsewhere. The sea wind howled, carrying a chill and a sense of foreboding, sweeping over the broken Judicial Tower and lifting wisps of dust like fog and smoke.
Along with the killing intent, Roman, who had been standing at the top, also disappeared!
"Be careful, he's right..."
Using the connection between her "Thief's Extreme Art" and Roman's bloodline, Nami immediately warned, but it was too late.
Almost simultaneously, Sanji kicked backward with a loud bang, creating white airwaves in the air! But—
He missed!
Roman, bent like a sheet of paper, easily dodged Sanji's kick! At the same time, a faint glow emanated from Roman's left hand, where he had folded his thumb, middle finger, and ring finger, leaving only his index and pinky fingers extended.
"Is this...?"
The Silver Fox Foxy's 'Slow Beam'!
In an instant, Sanji froze comically in mid-air, as if hit by a paralysis spell. Only one thought remained in his mind:
It's over!
Thirty seconds. Based on Sanji's understanding of Roman, that was enough time for him to chop Sanji into mincemeat, wash his hands, smoke a cigarette, and grab a chair to watch Sanji turn into dumpling filling.
Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone.
"Three-Sword Style - Wolf Swords!"
Like flowing water, the sword light poured down, enveloping Sanji. The sword light perfectly avoided Sanji, forcing Roman to retreat! —Or rather, Roman retreated on his own.
As the sword light fell, Roman's figure suddenly disappeared, just like when he initially launched a sudden attack without warning! Almost everyone lost track of his position in an instant, and Zoro's sword light all struck empty air because Roman had already locked onto his next target:
?!
Usopp, completely stiff, couldn't even move a finger. A cold voice sounded behind him, and then:
"Explosive Palm!"
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted in Roman's palm, then was firmly locked in by his five fingers. The terrifying energy was casually slapped onto Usopp's back.
Click,
In an instant, Usopp's entire body bent forward into a 'V' shape and flew out, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, with only one question in his mind:
Why?
Why hit me first—
His vision went black, and the long-nosed sniper crashed into the building's rubble.
Whoosh!
"Roman, stop!"
In the next moment, a fist extended and smashed into the spot where Roman stood, but it only splashed a cloud of debris.
"Hey, hey, hey, this is too much, right?"
Zoro, biting his Wado Ichimonji, looked more serious than ever!
Now, Roman not only came and went without a trace, making him impossible to catch. But the most terrifying thing was that Zoro couldn't sense Roman's killing intent! The 'Observation Haki' they usually trained with didn't give any warning.
This wasn't just about hiding his killing intent well; it was that Roman didn't even see Usopp as a person! Like a child eagerly dismantling and assembling a toy, no matter how focused, there wouldn't be a single thought of 'killing' in his subconscious.
This was an extremely dangerous mindset, especially for the Straw Hat crew.
The essence of Observation Haki was 'listening.' Currently, the Straw Hat crew was only at the stage of sensing the presence and emotional changes of nearby creatures, using it to predict and avoid danger.
Only by advancing further could they read the positions, numbers, and next actions of enemies outside their line of sight. —Even if the enemy was a robot or a natural disaster!
With Roman's current ability to release killing intent and pressure the surroundings, and to retract it and blend in seamlessly, the Straw Hat crew had no way to be on guard. Combined with his elusive skills, he could kill anyone without them knowing.
Even more frightening was that, with the entire Straw Hat crew present, Roman couldn't even generate a single thought of 'killing,' which meant what?
"What are you doing!?"
Luffy stood in front of Roman, protecting the others behind him.
"Snap out of it, Roman—"
"I... am fine."
Once in battle, Roman seemed to become a different person. His eyes were pure and lively, like those of an innocent child who had found a fascinating toy.
In short, he was still in a state of 'instinctual' control, driven by another desire.
The desire to destroy!
"Very good..."
Looking at Luffy, 'Roman' grinned, showing a smile that was a mix of innocence and cruelty.
"I will... tear you all... apart!"
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