Usopp's eyes rolled back as his body collapsed without a sound.
The marble Lloyd had fired was far too fast. Its size was so small that none of the others even realized what had happened. One moment Usopp was standing, the next he was already on the ground.
Chopper, who stood closest to him, reacted first. He rushed forward in panic and knelt beside Usopp, his trembling hands reaching for him. The moment he saw the tiny hole in the center of Usopp's forehead, his entire body froze. His face lost all color.
Lloyd raised his hand slowly and crooked a finger.
Usopp's body suddenly lifted into the air as if pulled by an invisible force. Even the massive slingshot still clutched in his hand flew along with him. Chopper was thrown aside as if he weighed nothing, crashing hard onto the ground.
Kozuki Toki's eyes flickered. Without drawing attention, she quietly stepped back.
Lloyd caught Usopp's body with one hand and pressed down on his head. With a simple twist of his wrist, a dull cracking sound echoed across the clearing. Usopp's head was torn off as easily as if it were made of clay.
Lloyd casually held the head in one hand and picked up the slingshot with the other. He studied it for a moment, his expression completely indifferent.
"A child's toy," he muttered coldly.
"Dragon Claw Fist, Flame Dragon King!"
A roar exploded through the air.
A massive ball of blazing fire swallowed Lloyd instantly. The explosion shook the ground, and the surrounding grass was reduced to ashes in seconds. Heat waves spread in every direction, turning the entire area into a sea of flames.
Ace stood with his right hand shaped like a claw, fire spilling from between his fingers. His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared into the flames.
"Did I get him?" he whispered.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of calm footsteps echoed from within the fire.
Everyone stiffened.
Lloyd slowly walked out of the burning inferno as if he were strolling through an empty street. His clothes were completely unharmed. Not even a strand of his hair had been singed.
He held Usopp's head in one hand and the slingshot in the other. His golden eyes fell on Ace.
"Hey," Lloyd said flatly, "you almost burned my toy."
The moment he finished speaking, his pupils shrank slightly. A dazzling golden light burst from his eyes.
Ace instantly crossed his arms in front of his chest, thinking Lloyd was about to attack him directly.
However, the attack never came toward him.
Behind Ace, several members of the Spade Pirates suddenly exploded into bloody mist without warning. Others collapsed instantly, blood pouring from their noses and mouths. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the crew was either dead or unconscious.
Ace slowly turned his head. The scene behind him made his heart stop.
The men who had followed him across the seas were lying in pieces on the ground.
When he turned back to Lloyd, flames ignited in his eyes. The hatred in his gaze was so intense it felt like it could burn the world itself.
Lloyd ignored him completely.
He calmly placed Usopp's head in the center of the slingshot and pulled it back. Then he aimed directly at Luffy, who had been kneeling on the ground the entire time, unmoving and silent.
Ace's pupils shrank violently.
His mind had not even processed what was happening, but his body moved on instinct. He threw himself toward Luffy.
The next second, a dull impact echoed through the air.
A large spray of warm blood splashed across Luffy's face.
Luffy's eyes widened as if he had just woken from a nightmare. The sight before him made his entire body go numb.
Two faces were staring down at him.
One was Ace.
The other was Usopp.
Usopp's severed head was embedded deep inside Ace's chest. His lifeless eyes stared directly at Luffy.
Ace's face was deathly pale. His lips moved, but no words came out. His body trembled slightly before collapsing forward right in front of Luffy.
Blood spread across the ground like a red sea.
Luffy knelt there, frozen in place, as two streams of bloody tears slowly flowed down his face.
He raised a trembling hand toward Ace, but before he could touch him, Ace's body suddenly slid backward across the ground. It dragged along the blood and stopped at Lloyd's feet.
Lloyd opened his palm.
A dark vortex appeared instantly.
Ace's body was pulled upward as if caught in a black hole. Lloyd grabbed him by the hair and lifted him effortlessly.
Even after receiving such a fatal wound, Ace still had a faint breath left. After all, he carried the blood of the Pirate King.
Lloyd lowered his head and spoke quietly beside Ace's ear.
"Portgas… no. I should call you Gol D. Ace. It seems the destiny of the D clan is to become sacrifices."
Ace's body trembled once.
Then his eyes lost all light.
He died with his eyes still open, filled with unwillingness.
Lloyd calmly removed his head and stored it inside the dark bible.
The head of the Pirate King's son would be more than enough for the Navy's propaganda for a long time.
At that moment, Luffy began to mutter to himself.
His voice was hoarse and broken, like someone who had completely lost his mind.
Nami rushed toward him and hugged him tightly.
"Luffy, what's wrong with you? Say something!"
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A strange sound suddenly echoed from Luffy's chest. It sounded like drums beating slowly inside his body.
Luffy suddenly broke free from Nami's arms and stood up.
His face still had two lines of bloody tears, but his expression changed rapidly between grief and joy.
Ace's headless body was still lying nearby. The smell of blood filled the air.
And yet Luffy suddenly laughed.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So you finally showed yourself, Joy Boy," he said calmly.
The Demon Blade Muramasa appeared in his hand once again.
But Luffy suddenly stopped laughing. A strange voice came out of his mouth, completely different from his usual tone.
"A descendant of Cassilias… it is not time yet."
In an instant, Lloyd vanished.
He appeared directly in front of Luffy and slashed toward his head without hesitation.
Luffy leaned backward just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike. His face remained completely blank.
Then he kicked the ground and retreated rapidly, landing beside Kozuki Toki.
The moment he landed, he spoke in a calm and unfamiliar voice.
"Use your devil fruit ability now."
Kozuki Toki had already prepared herself. The moment she heard those words, she released the power of the Time Time Fruit.
A colorful light burst out and surrounded Luffy, Nami, and the others.
Lloyd's eyes turned completely dark.
The entire Sabaody Archipelago was instantly swallowed by darkness. Several black vortices appeared in the air around Kozuki Toki, twisting space itself.
Her expression changed immediately.
"No… the time passage cannot open!"
The reason was simple. The power of the Dark Dark Fruit represented a black hole itself. It distorted both space and time.
A serious expression appeared in Luffy's eyes.
"This child is still too weak. He cannot withstand my will. I cannot worry about that now."
Kozuki Toki stared at him in shock.
"Luffy, what are you talking about?"
He did not respond.
Instead, white flame clouds appeared around his body like ribbons. He let out a roar, and a powerful invisible force exploded outward, tearing apart a large portion of the surrounding darkness.
Kozuki Toki clenched her teeth and used her ability again. However, the influence of the darkness had not completely disappeared. No matter how hard she tried, she could not push the time passage beyond a single year.
Blood began to flow from her nose. Her vision blurred.
With one final cry, she collapsed.
Colorful pillars of light shot into the sky, carrying Luffy, Nami, and the others away. They vanished in an instant, leaving only silence behind.