Lloyd held the Demon Blade Muramasa in one hand as the black wings behind him flapped slowly, lowering his figure from the sky with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
His indifferent gaze swept across Emet below before landing on Nami and the others gathered within its massive palm.
"You caused such a huge disturbance, and now you think you can escape?"
Nami and the others instinctively swallowed nervously.
Their hearts burned with hatred toward Lloyd. Every single one of them wanted revenge for Zoro and the others who had fallen because of him.
Yet now that Lloyd stood before them once again, none of them even possessed the courage to speak.
This was also Lindbergh's first time directly facing Lloyd in person.
The moment their eyes met, every strand of fur on his body stood upright.
His instincts screamed at him that the monster floating above them was not an opponent he could possibly fight against.
Lindbergh could not even properly enter a battle stance. His body stiffened as he grit his teeth and spoke with a trembling voice.
"What the hell is this pressure?!"
Joy Boy's brows were tightly furrowed, his face completely serious.
The worst possibility had become reality.
The Celestial Dragons had truly found this place.
Amid the tense silence, Emet stared fixedly at Muramasa and the black aura continuously leaking from Lloyd's body.
"As expected… he really is a descendant of Cassilias."
A dark glint flashed through Lloyd's eyes.
He slowly raised one hand toward the people below and opened his palm.
A pitch-black vortex immediately formed above it.
The moment Joy Boy saw it, his pupils shrank.
Not good!
Without hesitation, he spread both arms protectively in front of Nami and the others.
The next second, Lloyd spoke coldly.
"Universal Pull."
Buzz!
Terrifying gravity exploded outward from Lloyd's palm.
Joy Boy's attempt to resist proved completely useless.
Emet's gigantic steel body was instantly dragged upward toward the sky against its will.
The sudden weightlessness caused Emet to panic briefly as its enormous limbs flailed wildly through the air, nearly throwing Nami and the others from its palm.
Before Emet could even approach Lloyd, the wings behind Lloyd suddenly transformed into streams of black light.
The two streams condensed into a massive pitch-black spear before launching directly toward Emet's chest.
Joy Boy instantly shot upward.
Before the dark spear could pierce Emet's body, Joy Boy arrived in front of it and slammed both giant hands against the spearhead.
Boom!!!
The horrifying impact sent Joy Boy crashing backward into Emet's chest as both figures plummeted toward the ground.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Emet smashed into the earth and created a gigantic crater, while Joy Boy remained pinned against its chest by the dark spear.
Crack! Crack!
Massive amounts of red and black lightning erupted from Joy Boy's hands.
Veins bulged violently across his arms as he unleashed terrifying physical strength before roaring and forcefully throwing the dark spear skyward.
The spear split apart mid-air into two black streams that returned to Lloyd's back, reforming into his dark wings once again.
Joy Boy slowly stood atop Emet's chest.
His head remained lowered as his black hair suddenly began moving wildly despite the absence of wind.
In the next instant, the hair transformed into blazing white flames.
The cloud-like ribbons behind him became even more solid while Conqueror's Haki lightning exploded around his body.
Then he slowly raised his head.
Within his golden pupils was Lloyd's figure suspended high above the battlefield.
Emet slightly lifted its head.
"Joy Boy…"
Joy Boy glanced back and gave Emet a grin.
Then he slowly crouched down.
Emet's metallic body compressed beneath Joy Boy's feet like a giant trampoline, yet the force itself caused no damage to Emit.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
Blood-red patterns spread across Muramasa's blade, making the cursed sword appear increasingly sinister.
Almost simultaneously, Lloyd and Joy Boy shot toward one another.
One black figure.
One white figure.
The instant they collided in mid-air, terrifying Conqueror's Haki lightning erupted across the heavens.
The black and red lightning bolts rained onto Egghead Island below, shattering huge portions of the island apart.
Having fully entered battle mode, Joy Boy burst into loud laughter as he fought.
In complete contrast, Lloyd's face remained utterly emotionless, his cold eyes carrying not the slightest ripple.
The battle between them instantly escalated into chaos across the skies.
Boundless darkness surged from behind Lloyd.
Countless black arms extended outward from the darkness, clawing toward Joy Boy from every direction.
Joy Boy exaggeratedly bounced and twisted through the air while dodging the grasping dark hands one after another.
Watching Joy Boy's carefree laughter, Lloyd remained completely unbothered.
Soon, he stopped paying attention to Joy Boy altogether.
Instead, his gaze shifted downward toward Nami and the others below.
Lindbergh immediately sensed danger.
His expression changed drastically as he flashed in front of the group and shouted,
"This is bad! He's targeting us! Hurry and escape!"
The moment his words fell, Lindbergh's pupils violently contracted.
Because Lloyd, who had still been high in the sky moments earlier, had suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
No movement.
No sound.
No warning whatsoever.
Lloyd merely stared quietly into Lindbergh's eyes.
Yet that alone was enough to drench Lindbergh's body in cold sweat.
A faint smile appeared on Lloyd's face.
"As expected of Dragon's subordinates. Your sweat glands are quite impressive."
Lindbergh bit the tip of his tongue hard, forcing himself to suppress the instinctive fear consuming his body.
With a roar, he raised his claw and stabbed toward Lloyd's neck.
Lloyd casually lifted one hand and effortlessly grabbed Lindbergh's arm mid-strike.
The claw capable of tearing through steel was completely immobilized within Lloyd's grasp.
Lindbergh used nearly all his strength, yet he could not break free even slightly.
His eyes narrowed sharply.
Silver electrical sparks suddenly erupted across his arm.
The electricity rapidly spread onto Lloyd's body.
However, to Lindbergh's horror, Lloyd did not even frown.
It was as though the Mink Tribe's electricity had absolutely no effect on him.
Lloyd glanced at the silver arcs dancing across his body and chuckled softly.
"Using lightning against me? And Mink Tribe lightning at that."
"Heh…"
"Night Bright Song: Straight Pierce!!"
"Pain Finger!!"
Swish!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Brook instantly flashed behind Lloyd with his cane sword while Franky simultaneously unleashed a barrage of bullets from his fingers.
However, Brook's slash merely cut open a small tear in Lloyd's clothing.
Black energy rose from the damaged fabric before intertwining together and restoring the clothes to their original state almost instantly.
Meanwhile, the bullets striking Lloyd's face failed to even penetrate the surface of his corneas.
Franky stared in complete disbelief at the smoking barrel of his hand.
"How is that possible?! Is this guy some kind of cyborg too?!"
Ignoring Franky's shock, Lloyd slowly looked toward Emet.
A deep-purple gravitational field instantly enveloped Emit's gigantic body.
An overwhelming force crashed down upon it like a massive mountain.
Boom!!!
Emet slammed violently into the ground once again.
Immediately afterward, Lloyd extended a single finger.
A silver lightning bolt shot out instantly from his fingertip.
An explosion erupted moments later.
Then Nami's horrified scream echoed across the battlefield.
"Franky!!!"
===
Read 100+ chapters ahead on Patreon, with every chapter organized into collections.
Subscribing a membership gives you access to "ALL" fanfictions,
Or you can buy only the collection you want, to gain access to chapters ahead.
P-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/_Zeph.