The group of CP9 agents originally thought that Rob Lucci would be able to take down the boy in no time. But what was unfolding before them completely overturned their worldview.
"How is this possible! Lucci was actually stopped by a little brat!"
"If the intelligence is correct, this kid is only seven years old!"
"When I was seven, I was still playing in the mud. This kid has this kind of skill already? Either I'm crazy, or the world is!"
Jabra crawled out of the rubble in a disheveled state. His desire for revenge was greatly dampened as he watched the fierce exchange between Damon and Rob Lucci. A chill spread up his spine; could he really take revenge on a monster of this caliber?
Rob Lucci became increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed. At first, Damon seemed somewhat overwhelmed by his relentless onslaught. However, the boy's growth rate was astonishing. Like a raw gemstone being polished, Damon revealed extraordinary qualities under pressure.
As luck would have it, Rob Lucci was the one serving as the whetstone!
Yet, Lucci was not unhappy; on the contrary, he felt a rare fire burning within him. Having spent years in the dark side of the world witnessing carnage, his nature was ruthless. He felt a dark desire to tear this genius to pieces.
Damon sensed the shift in the cold aura. He saw Lucci retract his leg and instead flick his finger with rhythmic precision. Rob Lucci was a true genius who had elevated the Six Powers (Rokushiki) to the level of an art.
"Finger Pistol: Yellow Lotus!" (Shigan: Huanglian)
Damon's pupils contracted to the size of needles. Even with his Single Tomoe Sharingan, the speed was staggering—twenty strikes per second in close combat. Even seeing it didn't mean he could dodge it all.
"Iron Body!" (Tekkai)
"Dragon Scales!"
"Dragon's Roar!"
With triple protection, Damon withstood the onslaught. His defensive capabilities, bolstered by his bloodline, were now comparable to Armament Haki. He stood like a reef on a stormy beach, unmoved by the crashing waves.
When Lucci's fingers nearly cramped from the effort, he looked at the unmoving figure. Shock betrayed his expressionless face.
"Are you a monster?"
Quiet! Silence!
The sound of a pin dropping could be heard as all eyes fixed on the boy in the center. Damon's upper clothes were tattered, revealing a muscular torso covered in faint, thumb-sized scales. Dull finger marks dented his chest, but he remained standing.
Damon wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips. "It's so exciting! Come again!"
Despite his triple defense, Lucci's specialized Finger Pistol had a piercing power that reached his internal organs. With each breath of Flame Breathing, Damon felt a scorching pain inside.
However, under the combined influence of his breathing technique and the Gourmet Cells, the Kryptonian Cells were stimulated to their maximum, forcefully activating the potential of his Dragon Bloodline. His blood roared through his veins like a raging river.
Under Lucci's bewildered gaze, Damon's red pupils spun rapidly. A second tomoe appeared in each eye.
[Double Tomoe Sharingan]: An enhanced version with stronger dynamic vision, allowing the user to see the flow of energy within a foe and copy their physical techniques (Taijutsu).
The thrill of dancing on a tightrope caused the Sharingan to evolve at a breakneck pace. As Luccistubbornly launched another Finger Pistol, Damon perceived the exact flow of power within the agent's body.
He saw how the strength concentrated from the body into the index finger, hardening it into a bullet. He saw the precision of the meridians being targeted.
Amidst the shocked gasps of the CP9, Damon raised his own finger and launched a fierce counter-attack.
"Finger Pistol: Yellow Lotus!"
His index finger pierced the air with a series of sharp whistles. As his finger poked Lucci, the agent's expressionless face showed genuine astonishment for the first time. How could a boy learn a secret, high-level physical technique just by glancing at it?
Lucci dared not delay. His clothes strained as he flexed every muscle into a special state.
"Iron Body: Empty Wood!" (Tekkai: Rinbu)
While others used Iron Body conventionally, Lucci had created a variant that reflected attacks back at the opponent. The stronger the strike, the harsher the counter.
The moment Damon's finger touched him, a massive counter-force surged back into Damon's arm.
"Want to see who falls first?" Damon smiled at Lucci. To the onlookers, it was the smile of a devil.
The tide turned. Damon launched a relentless barrage, his Finger Pistol repeatedly striking Lucci. Even in his Empty Wood form, Lucci's mortal body had to endure the storm before he could reflect it. Without a Zoan fruit's durability (yet), Lucci quickly realized he couldn't take the punishment. He retreated repeatedly.
Hattori, the pigeon, returned to Lucci's shoulder, cooing worriedly at his blood-stained master. Luccispat a mouthful of bloody phlegm and tore off his ruined suit jacket, revealing a white vest covered in bloodstained fingerprints.
His chest heaved like a broken bellows. He looked at Damon's left hand, which hung in a twisted, swollen position. The continuous counter-shocks had rendered Damon's finger useless for now.
"You really are a madman!" Lucci wiped his mouth, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Damon's left arm twitched limply. An ordinary person would be permanently disabled by such shattered meridians. However, his Dragon Bloodline provided a powerful recovery ability. A warm current flowed through his arm, stitching his tissues back together in real-time.
Damon grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth. "We're all in the same boat."
Smoker, watching from the sidelines with a cigar dangling, muttered: "Those two guys... they're both completely crazy."