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"Bang! Bang!"
As the underground rocks continued to shatter, the relentless sounds of slashing had now almost become Zishu's signature.
Drug Peclo's body was constantly being cut apart by the attacks, only to reconnect again and again. The dazzling sunlight radiating from his body had almost never faded.
But at this moment… The King of Hitmen actually wore a distorted smile on his face.
"This sensation of pain… and the taste of blood… truly wonderful. Even better than crushing the heart inside a corpse."
He licked the blood that continuously splattered from his body.
But in the next moment…
"Shhk!"
His tongue was severed, yet it reattached itself instantly under the sunlight. The interruption broke the Hitman King's enjoyment, causing a cold crimson gleam to flash once more in his eyes.
"Zishu." His low murmur echoed loudly through the quiet underground cavern.
"It's useless."
Ignoring the wounds on his body, he laughed.
"I am the Major Undertaker. Others may not have information about you… But I have quite a bit."
"Your abilities, moving through the air, creating slashes, and that technique that enlarges your body… truly incredible abilities. I can't even understand what kind of Devil Fruit you've eaten."
He spoke softly.
Yes.
As the king of the hitmen, Major Undertaker was someone who almost always knew the detailed information behind each assassination mission carried out by the hitmen under his command. Those subordinates would also confirm the completion of their missions as quickly as possible.
Because of this, he had access to many details and had roughly figured out Zishu's abilities.
But the most important thing was…
"Your abilities are ineffective against me."
He spread his arms wide, freely welcoming the incoming slashes.
"Don't you understand yet? I'm different from the rest of you…"
Blood splattered as he let out a low laugh. While speaking, he tightened his grip on the scythe in his hand.
The next moment…
"Buzz!!"
The blade of the scythe was coated in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki). At the same time, brilliant sunlight burst from his body and it was precisely at that moment…
"!!!"
Beneath Zishu's mask, his pupils contracted in shock for the first time.
Because at that moment, his body sensed danger.
So…
"Bang!"
The slashes abruptly stopped, and nearly all of the "arms" transformed into petals and dissipated.
A moment later…
"Bang!"
Drug Peclo swung his scythe.
"Sunlight Funeral - Bone Cleaver!"
The scythe danced through the air. A fierce slash accompanied by blazing sunlight illuminated the entire dark underground cavern.
"Baaang…!"
Under the sudden brightness, it became visible that everything in the slash's path, thick rock walls and the island's solid foundation, was cut apart as easily as tofu.
In the next instant…
"Bang!"
The completely severed rock wall collapsed, falling into the deep darkness below.
"…."
At this moment, Zishu slowly raised his hand. He could clearly judge that the power of that slash was no weaker than the strike Inoshi once witnessed from the great swordsman Shimotsuki Kōshirō in Shimotsuki Village.
But Drug Peclo was not even a swordsman.
If Zishu hadn't canceled the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) ability just now, even if the "flower arms" he created had the hardness of refined steel, they would definitely have been destroyed.
"This guy…" Zishu's gaze fell on the Hitman King, and his low voice carried an unusual seriousness. "…is strangely strong."
Meanwhile…
"Do you understand now?" The Hitman King continued speaking. "Hitmen are insects that crawl in the darkness. But I'm different… I am the only hitman who stands beneath the sunlight! The Dark Emperors climbed onto their thrones through power and wealth. But I'm not the same as them… I don't need those things."
Yes.
Among the Six Emperors of the Underground World, Drug Peclo was the most unique one. The other five emperors all possessed overwhelming advantages that allowed them to control vast resources and earn the title of "Emperor."
The "God of Fortune" held immense influence in the financial world.
"Big News" controlled the mouthpiece of public opinion through his news agency.
The "Queen of the Pleasure District" possessed mysterious connections with the government.
The "Deep Sea Current" had inherited generations of Log-based sea current charts used for navigation.
The "King of Warehousing" controlled massive underground warehouse resources passed down through generations.
Even the most mysterious figure of the Underground World, "JOKER," possessed an extremely special identity.
But "Major Undertaker" Drug Peclo was the only exception.
He was the King of Hitmen. Hitmen never cared about power, influence, or connections, those were things they were fundamentally opposed to.
What hitmen respected… Was only strength.
"Major Undertaker" Drug Peclo rose step by step from an ordinary hitman until he reached the throne.
Within the hierarchy of hitmen, he was also the only "Seastone-level" hitman.
The terrifying power he possessed was precisely the reason he became king. Because of this, rumors had long circulated in the Underground World that among the Six Emperors, Drug Peclo possessed the strongest individual combat power, without exception.
And precisely because of that…
"Come out!"
At this moment, he was filled with rage.
"Stop hiding! Attacks like this are meaningless, this kind of boring assault can't kill me. Continuously using your abilities will only accelerate your stamina consumption. You dragged us underground for exactly this reason, didn't you? So, come out!"
He roared.
Clearly, he had seen through the truth faster than Hanafuda and Cracker. The strange ability previously displayed by Inu, and the fact that Zishu brought them underground,
Drug Peclo couldn't be sure what the exact plan was.
But he was certain of one thing. Zishu would never allow them to leave here alive.
Therefore, this elusive hitman would not escape this time.
This was no longer an assassination.
This was a fight to the death.
"If you want to challenge my throne… then come and take it yourself!"
Haoshoku Haki burst forth, not overwhelmingly powerful, but enough to prove the spirit he once possessed.
"These are the rules!"
His teeth shattered at that moment, yet instantly healed again.
And then…
"I'm not really interested in your throne." A voice sounded from behind him.
He turned around and saw Zishu stepping out of the air behind him.
Zishu spoke calmly.
"I'm just curious about one thing right now, how long has it been since you last fought?"
His words fell, causing Drug Peclo to freeze for a moment.
Then, he grinned widely, the grotesque face beneath the clown mask smiling even more wildly.
"…You actually figured it out? The information-gathering ability of the Twelve Zodiac has become this powerful?"
As he spoke, the golden patterns beneath his skin shone even more brilliantly.
"It doesn't matter if I tell you." He spoke in a low voice. "Every day, I bask in the sun for ten full hours. Every day, I crush nine hearts just to suppress the urge to kill. Every day, I drink milk from the South Blue, milk that has been warmed by sunlight, to ensure proper sleep. And up until now… it has already been…"
Before he could finish speaking, light erupted.
His figure vanished from where he stood and in the blink of an eye, his voice came from behind Zishu.
"Nine years."
The ferocious smile on his lips was like death itself singing.
Yes, nine years.
Nine years of constantly accumulating light energy. Nine years of suppressing his killing intent.
All that endurance existed for this moment,
For this sweet…
Death.
"Funeral Esoterics - Flower of Death!"
At that moment, the immense light energy stored within his cells was violently compressed and released.
His scythe erupted with tremendous power and slashed downward.
But in the next instant…
"Hmm!?"
As the scythe fell, Zishu's figure had already disappeared.
"Thirtyfold Speed - Soru!"
A moment later, the sound of a door opening in the air reached his ears, followed by an unbelievably swift slash.
"So fast… this isn't what the information said!?"
At that moment, amid the madness of Drug Peclo's killing intent, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. As mentioned earlier, he was perhaps the person on the seas who understood Zishu's abilities the best. According to the intelligence provided by Miss Spider, Zishu's strength lay in his ghostlike mobility and omnipresent slashes.
But his speed had never been reported to be this fast.
"It's not just the speed… the power of his slashes is also far greater than what the information described. Has he… grown stronger?" Drug Peclo pondered this inwardly.
However, he still had no intention of dodging the incoming slash.
Just as he had said before, after accumulating power for nine full years, every single cell in his body was filled with light energy. With such power, even if he were facing a Yonko of the sea, he was confident that, well, at the very least, he could hold out for a while.
But in the next moment…
"Hmm!?"
Drug Peclo suddenly felt something strange. He was certain that at that moment his skin and muscles had not been struck by any slash, he had not felt the sensation of being cut.
But…
"Shhk!"
His body suddenly tore apart. Blood scattered as his head flew into the air, and the cells filled with light energy within his body scattered across the ground.
Then…
"Buzz!!"
Beneath his severed head, sunlight surged like vines, reconstructing his neck.
His body returned to normal once again.
But…
"What… is this?"
For the first time, Drug Peclo's expression changed drastically. It was an expression of complete disbelief. But clearly, Zishu had no intention of giving him time to react.
His figure appeared behind Drug Peclo once more.
"Thirtyfold Speed - Swift Slash!"
He raised his hand and unleashed another slash. Just like before, Drug Peclo still felt no sensation of being cut, yet his entire right arm fell off instantly.
"Buzz!!"
Only a moment later, his right arm regenerated again. But now, Drug Peclo's expression was no longer disbelief. It had turned into genuine fear. Because this time, he could clearly determine what had happened.
"My cells' stored light energy… is gone!?"
Yes.
Drug Peclo had developed his Devil Fruit to a very deep level and understood its mechanisms perfectly. Every time his body was cut apart, he could consume the light energy stored inside his cells to reconstruct himself.
It was practically an unreasonable form of immortality, even more absurd than ordinary Logia-type abilities. However, when his body was shattered, some cells containing stored light energy would inevitably be separated from his body.
Normally, when he reconstructed himself, his body would retrieve those light-energy cells and reabsorb them.
But the problem was, after Zishu's two slashes just now, although his body successfully reconstructed, he could clearly tell that the cells forming his regenerated body were not the original light-energy cells.
They were brand-new cells created from scratch.
As a result, those two recoveries had caused him to lose an enormous amount of stored light energy.
And even more terrifying was the fact that he couldn't understand how Zishu had done it.
"You…" He clenched his teeth, his expression turning extremely grim.
But Zishu's tone remained calm.
"You didn't think I really came out just because of a few words from you and decided to duel you, did you?"
He slowly raised his hand.
Ryuo (Flowing Sakura) flowed around it, and an invisible force seemed to emanate from his palm.
"There's only one reason I appeared in front of you. And that's the one thing you were actually right about… You must die here."
As those words fell, a door suddenly opened in the air in front of Zishu.
He stepped inside.
Then…
"Click."
Before Drug Peclo could react, he heard the sound of a door opening beside him.
"Shhk!"
Another slash struck, severing his right leg. Even the Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) coating his body was meaningless against this strike.
Yet again, he felt no sensation of being cut.
"You…!"
After instantly regenerating his right leg, Drug Peclo swung his scythe toward the direction of the door's sound.
But he struck empty air as the door in the air had already closed.
"Click!"
In the next instant, another door opened and this time, his left leg was severed.
"Shhk!"
"Shhk!"
"Shhk!"
"Shhk!"
With every door opening, every slash, and every limb being severed and regenerated, something else was growing as well.
Drug Peclo's mind was finally beginning to lose control.
"This isn't right… something about his slashes is wrong."
For the first time, he truly smelled the scent of death.
And so… He could no longer endure it.
"Bang!"
The golden patterns beneath his skin flashed brightly. His legs suddenly exploded with tremendous power as he leapt upward toward the surface.
At the same time, the scythe in his hand slashed upward repeatedly.
"The sun!"
His goal was extremely clear.
"As long as I can leave this place… as long as I can reach sunlight… Even if his slashes can erase my light-energy cells, it won't matter anymore!" He roared inwardly.
As he continued leaping upward, the layers of rock above him were rapidly split apart by countless slashes. This allowed him to almost see the sunlight shining through the cracks in the rocks above.
'As long as I can reach there…'
The thought roared inside his mind. But at that moment, he suddenly realized something, It seemed that Zishu's slashes had stopped for a while.
"He…"
Drug Peclo instinctively lowered his head.
And then he saw it.
Not far below him, a Space Gate was slowly opening.
And inside that gate… Was a massive figure.
It was still Zishu, the enormous rat-shaped mask and those cold eyes made that clear. But the posture he displayed now looked unmistakably like that of a giant from the Giant Tribe.
"You've been out of battle for too long, Drug Peclo." The giant's voice carried the weight of his massive body, exploding like thunder in Drug Peclo's ears.
"You think that even though you sit upon a throne, you're still the greatest hitman. But look at yourself." He spoke calmly. "When danger arrives, you lose your composure so easily… How could someone like that be worthy of the title 'King of Hitmen'?"
As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand.
Drug Peclo hung in the air, with nowhere left to dodge.
Only now did he realize the greatest mistake he had made. A hitman should never reveal his true objective so early.
The next moment…
"Bang!"
Zishu swung his hand.
And because Zishu's body was now so enormous, Drug Peclo could finally see the true form of that strange slash for the first time.
Where Zishu's hand passed, space Gates appeared one after another.
But those doors were never opened. Instead, they were cut apart by the blade formed from his hand.
[Severing Devil Fruit]
[Annihilation - Devil Fruit Awakening Effect]
[Allows the user to cut non-physical objects and energy while completely destroying their internal structure. Using it consumes enormous stamina.]
Yes.
The awakened ability of the Severing Devil Fruit could cut even non-material objects and energies, completely destroying their internal structure. The Space Gates created by the Door-Door Fruit were doors opened within the air itself.
They too could be severed. And once severed, the internal structure inside them,
The pocket dimension, would be destroyed in that instant.
Which raised a question.
When a pocket dimension is destroyed… What would happen?
In the next moment, Drug Peclo saw the answer.
Before him, along the path where Zishu's hand had cut…
"Buzz!!"
Silently, space itself began to collapse.
The surrounding rock walls disappeared without a sound, as though the entire world had been sliced apart with that single strike.
"Void Slash - Grand Esoterics - World Severance!"
That was the reason why the cells containing his stored light energy had vanished. They had truly disappeared from this space.
"You…"
Drug Peclo seemed as if he wanted to say something.
Perhaps words of surrender.
Perhaps threats.
Perhaps some final remark.
But in the end, both his words and his body were swallowed by the collapsing space.
Only a moment later, the miraculous scene of the "severed world" vanished completely.
"Haa… haa…"
Zishu's heavy breathing echoed as he struggled to catch his breath. Sunlight finally shone down through the cracks in the rocks above.
"Clink."
A broken clown mask fell through the fragments of sunlight and dropped into the darkness below,
Disappearing without a trace.
(Author Note- Some readers were confused about the ability slots, so here's a quick explanation:
Currently, there are five slots total:
4 normal slots
1 fusion slot
Zishu's current Devil Fruit configuration:
Slice Fruit (Normal Slot 1 – currently unusable)
Severing Fruit (Fusion Slot)
Multiplication Fruit (Normal Slot 2)
Flower-Flower Fruit (Normal Slot 3)
Door-Door Fruit (Normal Slot 4)
The Giant transformation comes from equipment (gloves), so it does not occupy a slot, but it also cannot be developed further and is currently limited to Level 3.
Ryuo (Flowing Sakura) is now a built-in ability for all clones, granted through the Level 4 effect of the Munch-Munch Fruit.
(I didn't write it separately, otherwise I'd have to write an entire chapter where the protagonist eats each clone and spits them out again one by one, which would just be pointless filler.)
Ryuo itself does not occupy a slot, but the clones' strength is generally lower than the main body's.
This is because the protagonist can freely switch Devil Fruits to enhance different bodily functions, and when combined with the Black Body Style, it allows him to unleash extremely powerful Ryuo.)
(End of Chapter)