The silence only made Spandam more tense.
As the figure and face became clear, he nearly lost his breath. "Pirate Ro… Rodin! It's you!" he stammered, trembling. "You can't kill me, I'm a government official!"
It wasn't a ghost, but a man with an ability that was far more terrifying. This extremely evil pirate's power had already exceeded the government's imagination.
"Since you call me a pirate, then…"
"You… what are you going to do?" Spandam's pupils shrank.
"Zi... Zizi!"
Blue lightning flashed, and Spandam was instantly turned into a charred corpse, falling to the ground.
"I thought I'd clean you up later, but you were so eager to escape." Rodin retracted the arc from his fingertips. He had intended to test the synergy between his abilities—invisibility and lightning—but the fight was over before it began.
Rodin shook his head and suddenly focused his mind. He vanished in a flash of blue light.
Hundreds of meters away, a leopard shadow carrying Blueno was a blur on the rooftops, moving at a speed that was impossible for an ordinary person.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo…"
Despite the strong wind, sweat beaded on Rob Lucci's forehead.
"Strange ability," he whispered. He had pushed his speed to the limit, but the fool Spandam's antics, combined with the instant defeat of two of his comrades, had shaken his calm. How could he fight an enemy he couldn't even see?
Suddenly, a voice spoke from right above him. "Where… are you going?"
"Damn it!" Lucci's scalp tingled. He kicked off the wall, his powerful body turning sharply and fleeing at a ninety-degree angle.
"Too slow."
He felt his head grabbed, followed by a numbing sensation.
Z… Boom!
Thunder roared. Before Lucci could feel the burning sensation fully, he was sent hurtling downward like a cannonball, smashing into the street below and creating a scorched crater. Blueno's charred body was flung into a public toilet, causing an old woman to scream.
"A pervert!"
On the street, residents, already overwhelmed by the sight of the Birdcage, were shocked by the sudden turn of events.
"What is happening today?"
"That kind of destructive power! Is it a cannonball?"
"Look up at the sky!"
They all looked up and, upon seeing the face in the sky, froze.
"It's the Warlord Hunter! Rodin!"
"Is that the pirate with the bounty from the government?"
"How did he get here?"
Mouths fell open. Some saw a chance for the huge bounty. But most were terrified. The government had painted Rodin as a villainous pirate who destroyed peace, a figure so notorious he could stop a child from crying. He had become one of the most feared men in the first half of the Grand Line.
Rodin floated down lightly, ignoring the crowd and heading toward the deep crater.
"Ahem…" A coughing sound came from the pit, and a yellowish figure jumped out. It was Lucci, back in his human form.
"I didn't expect you to catch up, even with me running at full speed," he said, wiping blood from his mouth. His leopard-form was the fastest in nature, but it had been no match. Lucci felt his title as the strongest CP9 agent in 800 years looked incredibly hollow.
"Captain Rodin," Lucci said, forcing himself to calm down. "Whatever you want, I won't interfere with you in the Birdcage."
"That's Lucci one of the five foremen worker!"
"Lucci, go! Don't let him get away!"
"That's right, aren't you strong? Subdue him!"
"Come on, big shirt-less brother, defeat the bad guy! I'll introduce you to my wife!"
The residents were in a frenzy. Some offered Lucci a wife, a testament to his local reputation. But most used the commotion to try and slip away. Lucci, trying to find an opportunity to escape, was annoyed by their stupid voices. If he had the chance, he would have killed them all in the name of justice.
"There's no reason for us to fight; I have no hostility toward you," Lucci said, despite his tattered clothes.
But as he finished his sentence, his body bulged, transforming into his half-beast form. He vanished and reappeared behind Rodin.
"Absolute Truth Six Kings Gun!" Lucci's fists came together as he unleashed his strongest move.
Boom!
A shockwave ripped through Rodin's body. Lucci had blasted a hole in his back, but there was no blood or organs.
"Logia…" Lucci's eyes narrowed. He hardened his Haki and kicked again, but his leg passed right through.
"Impossible!"
"You're too slow." Rodin materialized in front of Lucci's forehead, an arc of lightning crackling between his fingers.
"Sixty Million Volt Discharge!"
"Zip!"
A blinding blue light filled the area, and for a moment, everything was bathed in lightning. As the light faded, Lucci stood, smoking and shaking. His fur and skin were scorched, and blood ran from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
But he was still standing. He had blocked the attack.
Rodin didn't even look back as he vanished. He had let Lucci go, but the residents were a different story.
"Brother, you're amazing! You can transform!" a little girl shouted, running up and hugging his leg. "Even though you lost ugly, you protected everyone!"
Lucci winced at the pain in his leg, more blood spilling from his mouth. He wanted her to leave, but he had no energy. A powerful current was still surging through his body.
"Good job, Lucci! You really are our foreman!" a strong man yelled, hugging Lucci like a vice.
"Puh!" Lucci spat blood, his face even paler. With a trembling mouth, he gasped, "Leave me…"
Soon, a crowd of people piled on top of him.
"Great Lucci!"
"You can even take such a brutal move! You're really tough!"
"Wait, I think I heard him say…"
"I know! He wants to go to heaven!" a hooded man grinned.
Everyone suddenly understood and began to drag Lucci's body, tossing him into the air, over and over again.
"Puh…" Lucci coughed up more blood, his chest heaving, his eyes rolling back in his head. A moment later, a trace of blood spattered down from the sky, and everyone finally stopped.
Boom!
Lucci's electrocuted body, shriveled and rigid, fell back to the ground. His eyes were wide open, as if in disbelief.
In a far corner, a man put on his hat and left, unnoticed.
After dealing with the city's immediate problems, Rodin returned to the brightly lit Dock No. 1. Iceburg had provided a large amount of wood, but Tashigi, the Ship Spirit, had been selective. Only after they found the precious Adam Wood did she begin the process of absorbing and strengthening the ark. Now, all they had to do was wait.
The next morning, Iceburg and Kalifa walked back to the dock. Iceburg's eyes were complicated.
"Kalifa, you're really…"
"Mr. Iceburg, you don't believe me?" Kalifa asked, her eyes sad as she held her notebook. "I've been with you for five years… I don't know anything about drawings or blueprints."
Her secretary's uniform hugged her delicate figure, and her sad, pitiful posture was almost convincing. Iceburg felt a pang of guilt.
"I believe you, Kalifa," he said quickly. He had no basis for trusting Rodin, but why would Rodin lie about Kalifa? Could it be… that he wanted to kidnap her?
Kalifa's eyes flickered, wondering what he was thinking.
Just then, Rodin appeared, dropping a rope-bound group of familiar people like trash.
Kalifa's composure completely shattered.
Meanwhile, tens of nautical miles from Water 7, dozens of warships were approaching. On the deck of one ship, a Marine officer stood with a serious expression. On the prow of another, stood different group.