WebNovels

Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: Invitation

With a beast's low growl, 'Lion' Ross's body continued to expand. His already wild and untamed black hair floated skyward like flames.

Victor, hands in his pockets, patiently waited for Ross to complete his transformation.

Finally, Ross's body swelled to a colossal 5 meters. His thick black hair transformed into a magnificent, flame-like mane, merging with the surging beard on his jawline, and the upper half of his face directly became that of a majestic lion king. His palms, unlike Lucci's leopard form, were not sharp and Ferocious Chains, but rather imbued with a weighty, kingly presence. His muscles bulged almost to the point of tearing his suit and shirt, and a thick lion's tail casually swished behind him.

Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit—Lion Form!

"Hmph... Apologies for the wait." Ross twisted his neck twice, making cracking sounds: "Let me state upfront, against a master like you, I will not hold back. If you don't want to die, unleash your full power, the power that defeated a 'Warlord of the Sea'."

Victor's palm produced a long, sheathed sword with a blue pattern, and he smiled slightly: "Just what I wanted."

The battle began!

Ross's figure blurred, instantly vanishing from his spot! Victor sharply turned his head, seeing that Ross had covered at least twenty meters in less than half a second, appearing behind him!

So fast! Stronger burst power than Rob Lucci! Even Victor just barely managed to adjust his stance and raise his long sword, when he saw the ground beneath Ross explode. Using the immense recoil, Ross lunged at Victor with even greater speed than before. His thick left palm, claws extended, revealed black, barbed nails, reaching directly for Victor's head!

"Finger Pistol: King's Claw!"

Just as Victor was about to raise his sword to block, a slightly blurry image suddenly flashed through his mind! In a momentary trance, the long sword in his hand suddenly shattered piece by piece, revealing the tough zippers connecting them. Then he rapidly shot backward, and at the same time, the entire long sword whipped out like a long whip, fiercely lashing at Ross!

Sparks erupted the moment the chain whip collided with the nails. Ross's entire hand was covered in pitch-black Armament Haki. Ignoring the sparks caused by the violently fluctuating chain blades grinding against his hand, he grabbed the chain whip and fiercely pulled it towards himself!

Victor, leveraging the force, raised his right hand backward, the tips of his five fingers shimmering with metallic light. Then he let out a roar, swinging his arm towards the rapidly approaching Ross. Five chain blades shot out and quickly twisted together into a multi-ring spiral whip, slamming down fiercely onto Ross's head!

And Ross's attack also arrived. After pulling Victor, man and sword, towards him, the muscles of his right arm suddenly swelled and bulged, veins popping on the surface. His five fingers slightly splayed, sharp, barbed claws extended from his fingertips. Twisting his entire body's power, he slammed his fist fiercely towards Victor, who was flying towards him!

"Metal Zipper: Five-String Biwa: Shimenawa!!"

"Finger Pistol Secret Art: Lion King's Roar!!"

Neither side wanted to pay the price of their lives for such a trivial mission. Two immensely powerful and destructive blows, with perfect synchronicity, struck each other!

The ear-splitting grinding sound was deafening! Sparks flew from the point of contact, dazzling the onlookers.

BANG————!!!

With a thunderous crash, both were simultaneously blasted backward! The spiral whip formed by Victor's fingertips shattered surface by surface, sparks flying. The countless rings that constructed the whip could no longer rotate, shooting out scattered sparks like a malfunctioning machine.

On the other side, Ross wasn't in much better condition. All the pitch-black, barbed nails on his right paw were broken, and his entire hand trembled slightly, clearly having been badly struck by Victor's spiral whip.

Ross forced a grin, his voice slightly shaky: "Good kid... I'm starting to believe Gecko Moria really did lose to you." His right arm quickly stopped trembling, the broken nails completely fell off, and new ones slowly grew from his fingertips.

Such strong recovery... Zoan Awakening?

Seeing this, Victor frowned slightly. He shook his right wrist; the damaged and shattered outer rings of the spiral whip automatically detached and disappeared, then reformed into five chain blades that retracted to his fingertips.

Just as both sides prepared to resume battle, the Dan-Dan-Mushi in 'Pinocchio' Kaku's arms, who was supporting Rob Lucci and watching, began to ring 'doo-doo, doo-doo'.

He handed Lucci over to 'Big Bad Wolf' Jabra, then quickly ran to Ross's side, holding up the Dan-Dan-Mushi.

Seeing this, Victor flicked his finger, an

d a zipper shot out, hooking onto the renowned sword 'Rai Gyoza' which had fallen in the distance, retrieving it into his palm's zipper space.

Ross reverted to his human form, dusted off his clothes, and answered the Dan-Dan-Mushi:

"Sir, this is Ross."

The Dan-Dan-Mushi's expression turned into the face of a dignified old man, who slowly asked: "How is it?"

Ross glanced at Victor, then respectfully said to the Dan-Dan-Mushi: "Very strong. The possibility of him defeating Gecko Moria exceeds 60%."

"...I want to speak with him."

"Yes, sir." Ross took the Dan-Dan-Mushi from Kaku's hand, walked over to Victor, and held the Dan-Dan-Mushi at eye level with Victor.

"Victor, you've certainly given us a big problem." The voice on the other end of the Dan-Dan-Mushi carried a hint of displeasure.

"Respected Elders, I was on the defensive the whole time, you know." Victor waved to Robin in the distance, then said with a smile to the Dan-Dan-Mushi: "You see, Gecko Moria came looking for trouble with me, how could I, as a boss (Master), not respond?"

The Dan-Dan-Mushi said coldly: "Then you should have honestly stayed in West Blue! You defeated Gecko Moria and then immediately ran to the Grand Line, trying to challenge the World Government's authority?"

Victor feigned innocence: "I came to the Grand Line purely for relaxation and travel! Challenging the World Government is an undeserved accusation, I cannot agree."

Ross, holding the Dan-Dan-Mushi, listened to this conversation with a grimace. This kid was truly bold, daring to be so glib with the Five Elders, who held the highest power in this world...

The other end of the Dan-Dan-Mushi let out two cold sneers, then spoke: "I said you gave us a big problem, not because you defeated Gecko Moria... but because you defeated him without completely eliminating him! Now he's disappeared without a trace, and the last Warlord of the Sea position is unsettled. You bear the primary responsibility!"

Victor scoffed: "Hah! I thought the World Government would be more lenient with its own 'Warlord of the Sea'?"

The old man's face on the Dan-Dan-Mushi was filled with cold indifference: "Let's not waste words between intelligent people, Victor. Nico Robin is with you, isn't she? Hand her over!"

Robin gasped, instinctively grabbing Victor's arm. Victor gently patted her cold, sweaty hand, his expression towards the Dan-Dan-Mushi turning icy: "I said this once to Gecko Moria, and now I'll say it again. If a boss can't protect his subordinates, how can he lead? Five Elders, if you really want to take Robin, then try it! If you dare to send people, I dare to kill them all! No matter how many you send, I'll kill them all!"

Ross, closest to Victor, suddenly shivered. As a Zoan Devil Fruit user, a carnivore type, he possessed extremely keen instincts. This kid was genuinely murderous!

Robin trembled slightly, her eyes red-rimmed, but she bravely held back her tears.

The other end of the Dan-Dan-Mushi was silent for a moment, then let out a cold laugh: "Hmph... What a sentimental fool. Since you're an intelligent person, you should know what you can touch and what you can't... The matter of Nico Robin will temporarily end here. Now, for the main topic, we, representing the World Government, formally invite you..."

"We invite you to join the 'Warlords of the Sea'!"

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