Lucci's breathing was slow.
He stared at the group ahead without moving his feet. His right shoulder bled steadily, but his eyes didn't waver.
Franky still grinned behind, oblivious to the collapse unfolding.
Alvida repositioned her mace. The shadows around her legs grew denser.
Zala stayed low, shadow blades flickering around her hands. Her gaze locked on Lucci's joints.
Mikita stopped twirling her umbrella. Her feet shifted slightly, center of gravity adjusted. Ready.
Kaya stepped back three paces. Her bow lowered. Her chest heaved.
Lucci inhaled deeply.
His body began to change.
Muscles cracked under his skin. His spine elongated. His hands turned to claws.
His skin gained black spots. His face contorted. His jaw widened, teeth growing.
Feline eyes gleamed under the dim light.
Hybrid form. Instinct activated.
"Alright then."
Alvida tightened her grip on the mace's handle. The shadows thickened around her.
"Hold him."
Zala leaped first.
Lucci exploded into motion.
The ground vanished beneath his feet.
Mikita's shadow rose in a defensive arc, trying to halt his advance. Lucci tore through. His claws slashed the ground. Rankyaku in a curve.
Kaya jumped aside, an arrow slipping from her hand and embedding in a container.
"Stay back, Kaya!"
Zala emerged from the side, shadow blades spinning in her hands.
Lucci pivoted with his shoulder, dodging, and countered with Shigan to her ribs.
The shadow around Zala's body hardened. She recoiled, grinding her teeth.
Alvida charged.
Her mace swung down.
Lucci blocked with his forearm. The impact cleared a circle of fog and cracked the metal platform beneath them.
"No openings!"
Mikita sank into the ground.
Her body's weight surged abruptly. The floor split where she landed.
Lucci leaped, Geppo.
His claws descended like scythes. Alvida blocked with her mace again, but was dragged two meters back.
Zala appeared behind him.
Her blades struck the base of his spine. They tore fabric, scratched skin.
Lucci snarled. He spun forcefully, sweeping the air with his leg. Mikita's shadow pulled Zala away at the last second.
"These damned shadows…"
He dug his fingers into the ground. Rankyaku shot horizontally, aimed at the group.
Kaya rolled behind a container.
Alvida vaulted over the wind blade. Mikita dropped to the ground, weight nullified.
Zala was grazed. The cut opened the side of her left shoulder. She bit her lip and held her guard.
"Don't let him breathe."
Mikita slammed her umbrella into the ground. The shadow spawned concrete spikes. Lucci dodged two, evaded the third with Kami-e, but the fourth tore his coat across the stomach.
He exhaled sharply.
His left hand clutched the wound.
"You…"
His body spun in another Soru.
He appeared behind Alvida. Claws lunged.
Alvida shifted, her slick skin slipping against the attack. Her mace swung in a short arc, striking Lucci's chin.
The impact sounded dull.
He flew three meters back, landing on all fours. His face marked. Blood dripped.
"He's still standing…"
Zala breathed harder. Her shadow trembled with effort.
Kaya approached, her eyes serious.
"I can't keep up. But I can cover you from a distance."
She climbed onto a container. Black arrows returned to her hands.
Franky, finally alert, stepped back twice.
"What's going on…?"
His voice sounded lost amid the creaking containers.
Kaya drew an arrow.
Her arm steady. Her gaze steadier.
Franky took another step back.
"You guys fighting each other, supeeer?"
He laughed awkwardly.
Kaya didn't answer.
The dark arrow fired.
Franky saw the glint too late.
The projectile hit the ground half a meter from him, kicking up metal shards.
He jumped aside, his face tense.
"Hey, easy! I don't even know you!"
Kaya was already drawing another arrow.
Franky turned, sprinting toward the Franky House.
The heavy sound of his iron boots echoed on the wet ground.
Kaya leaped off the container.
Her body landed lightly among the shadows.
She fired two more arrows.
Franky deflected the first with his cannon arm, striking the ground.
The second grazed his left leg.
He cursed under his breath and picked up speed.
'He's fast.'
Kaya adjusted her aim.
Her bow stretched again.
Franky turned a corner between two rusted containers.
He aimed for the back gate of the Franky House.
Sweat dripped down his temples.
"This girl's crazy!?"
Kaya advanced without hesitation.
Her footsteps muffled by the fog.
Her bow hummed.
Her gaze didn't let Franky escape her sight.
'The original job was to eliminate him.'
'The support came later.'
'But now…'
Kaya fired another arrow.
The steel ricocheted off the Franky House structure, cutting off Franky's path.
He stepped back, arms raised.
"Super, super! Hold on! I'm not even fighting!"
Kaya narrowed her eyes.
The next arrow was ready.
Franky growled.
His legs flexed.
His right arm reconfigured.
"Fine then."
The hidden cannon opened in his wrist.
"You asked for it!"
Franky aimed.
His cannon arm fired.
The projectile roared through the air.
Kaya bent her knees. Her body spun in a spiral, dodging at the last second.
The explosion lit up the fog.
Metal shards flew like cutting rain.
Franky charged through the smoke. His left fist clenched. His legs propelled him in a heavy leap.
Kaya stepped back three paces, her bow still firm.
Another arrow fired.
Franky blocked with his metal bracer. The impact made his arm vibrate, but he kept his momentum.
His boots resounded on the wet ground.
Kaya drew another arrow, but Franky was already on her.
His left fist sliced the air.
Kaya leaped back, the punch grazing inches from her chin.
Her body slid on the slick ground. Her boots scraped the rusted metal.
Franky stopped.
His chest heaved.
His eyes, once relaxed, now locked on her.
"I don't want to hurt you."
Kaya kept the arrow aimed at his chest.
"You're not leaving here."
Franky narrowed his eyes.
His right hand adjusted the cannon's angle.
"Final warning."
Kaya moved her left hand.
The shadows on the ground rippled.
Franky felt something grip his ankles.
He tried to step back.
His legs didn't obey.
"What the…?"
The shadows climbed fast, like living chains, binding his legs and arms up to his shoulders.
His metallic body strained against the restraints.
The sound of grinding metal cut the silence.
Nothing gave.
Franky snarled.
The pressure of his cybernetic muscles made the shadows quiver, but they hardened further, reinforced with a density he couldn't explain.
His gaze returned to Kaya.
Confused.
Betrayed.
"Girl… what are you doing?"
Kaya pulled her bow to its limit.
Haki flowed through the arrow, tinting the wood and steel deep black.
The tip vibrated, slicing the still air.
Franky strained his neck, trying to break free, but his muscles didn't respond.
The shadow drained his body's vitality, sapping every attempt at resistance.
He stopped.
His chest heaved.
His eyes fixed on the black arrow.
His right arm, still bound, tried to angle the cannon, but it was useless.
His voice trembled.
"I'm not… done yet…"
Kaya didn't blink.
"If you were done, you'd still be alive."
Franky opened his mouth to reply.
But the arrow's sound cut through the space.
The projectile pierced the center of his metallic chest.
The sound wasn't shattering. Nor explosive.
It was dry. Raw.
Franky choked.
His body swayed in the shadows.
His right arm tried to rise once more, but faltered.
The cannon lowered, useless.
The slow smile he forced was sad.
"My ship…"
His body slumped in the dark bindings.
His eyes fixed on the horizon hidden by the fog.
"…will never sail…"
The blue glow in his artificial lenses faded slowly.
The metal hissed one last time.
Then, silence.
The shadows released the body.
Franky fell to his knees.
The impact echoed hollowly in the docks.
The chest pierced by the black arrow still smoked.
Kaya lowered her bow.
Her gaze remained steady.
Her breathing was heavy, but controlled.
Her hands gripped the bow's wood for a few seconds.
No tears.
No regrets.
Just the weight of a mission fulfilled.
The wind carried the scent of rust and burnt oil.
Kaya turned.
The battle between Lucci, Alvida, Mikita, and Zala still roared among the containers.
But in that forgotten corner of Water 7…
A dream had died.
And the new world Riser Phenex was shaping moved forward without looking back.
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