"Hey... that guy looks completely enraged after what the boss said!"
Having already withdrawn from the battlefield, the Marines from the Detention Unit looked back toward the distant sea, clicking their tongues in amazement.
The reason was obvious: the ocean behind them had gone completely berserk.
"I'll kill you, insect!"
"How dare you... toy with me!"
Aboard the 'North Blue Cross', Saint Pierre's pitch-black armor seemed to crack apart as more openings appeared along its fractured plates.
Then,
'Bang! Bang! Bang!'
White projectiles burst from the openings at speeds far too fast for the naked eye to follow.
But even more terrifying than the barrage itself...
...was what happened to the sea.
The entire ocean suddenly seemed to come alive.
Violent winds screamed across the battlefield, whipping the waves into a frenzy. Like awakened beasts, the wind and sea surged toward Roy. In the blink of an eye, the gale had reached storm force, while the towering tsunami racing toward him climbed well over a hundred meters high.
"What kind of ability is that...?"
"The destructive power is insane!"
The Detention Unit soldiers couldn't hide their shock. They had followed Roy for a long time, seeing countless battles between top-tier monsters and even standing against the Golden Lion himself. At least with Shiki, they could tell he was making things float. But this Celestial Dragon... none of them could understand what he was doing.
"Why isn't the boss fighting back?"
"Idiot! Didn't you see earlier? That guy can reflect attacks!"
"Then how are we supposed to beat him?"
"Should we go help?"
As the Marines continued arguing among themselves, Fal finally spoke up. "Enough."
He and Hans were also watching the distant battle, but unlike the others, both of them remained remarkably calm.
"The boss's orders were to assist the Pirate Guerrilla Force in restoring order on the island and report the battle situation," Fal said. "Everything else... isn't our concern."
He glanced across the gathered Marines. "Or what? Do you actually think the boss is going to lose?"
The soldiers fell silent. Then, to a man, every one of them shook their heads.
"Boss losing? No way."
Their faith in Roy bordered on blind devotion. They had watched him grow step by step, from defeating a Warlord, to the Three Forces Military Exercise, to bringing down the Golden Lion. They had witnessed every battle.
To them, Roy Amos simply did not lose. It was as fundamental and unquestionable as the sun rising in the east.
As for why he seemed to be on the defensive now...
They had no idea. But they believed there had to be a reason.
And there was.
---
'This guy's ability... really is strange.'
As he evaded and blocked Saint Pierre's relentless attacks, Roy calmly analyzed the situation.
The moment he had first laid eyes on his opponent, he had already learned the nature of his Devil Fruit.
> 'Devil Fruit user detected: Saint Pierre'
> 'Devil Fruit confirmed: Paramecia – Vector Fruit'
> 'Analyzing and recording in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia...'
> 'Ability:' Manipulate the vectors of anything touched by both hands, as long as it possesses a direction.
> 'Level 3'
> Gain full access to the Devil Fruit's abilities.
> Can manipulate the vector properties of any object touched with both hands, freely changing, weakening, or strengthening its speed, direction, and kinetic energy.
> Can reflect and amplify attacks.
> Cannot directly affect living beings other than the user.
> 'Unlock Cost:' 1.9 billion Beli.
> 'Objects remain under Vector Control for only three minutes. After that, they must be touched again to renew the effect.'
> 'Level 4'
> Advanced Devil Fruit mastery.
> The range of controllable targets expands to include non-solid phenomena such as light, flames, and energy.
> 'Unlock Cost:' 3.8 billion Beli.
> 'Level 5 – Devil Fruit Awakening: Vector of All Things'
> No reaction time is required to use the ability.
> Any attack approaching the user is passively reflected.
> Any attack launched by the user is automatically enhanced.
> Touch is no longer limited to the hands, any part of the body can apply Vector Control.
> 'Unlock Cost:' 10.1 billion Beli.
> 'The greater the vector enhancement, the greater the stamina consumption.'
Like the other members of the God's Knights, Saint Pierre possessed an exceptionally powerful Devil Fruit.
A vector was anything with a direction, which made the ability incredibly broad in scope. The flow of seawater, the movement of the wind, even the force carried by a punch or energy attack, in theory, anything with direction could have its vector manipulated and reflected. Likewise, every attack Saint Pierre launched could have its power amplified, drastically increasing its destructive force.
In that sense, his earlier boast hadn't been entirely empty. It really was an ability that bordered on invincible.
But its weakness was just as obvious.
Even after awakening, the Devil Fruit still had one absolute requirement: 'contact'. It had to touch its target first. To gain control over an object's vector, he first had to make physical contact with it.
That raised an obvious question. Roy was certain that none of his attacks had ever touched Saint Pierre's body. So why had they still been reflected?
'The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia doesn't make mistakes,' Roy thought. 'If that's true... then the problem has to be with him.'
Roy had realized that much from the start. That was why he had spent the entire fight dodging and observing instead of launching a full offensive.
Now, he was almost certain.
'"Those bullets he fires... and that crimson 'smoke' surrounding him... they're both parts of his body. That's why my attacks are taken over the moment they touch either the bullets or the red mist. The same principle explains how he's controlling the sea and the wind. Anywhere his bullets travel, or his crimson mist spreads, counts as an extension of his body."'
It was the only explanation that fit.
But another question remained: 'how was he doing it?'
Roy already had a theory. He just needed to confirm it.
"Perfect..." he muttered to himself, casually shattering another incoming tidal wave with a slap. "I'll test that move while I'm at it."
Then,
'Brain-Brain Fruit Lv.4 – Brain Control: Enhanced Perception'
'Lightning-Lightning Fruit Lv.5 – Heart Network'
'Devil Fruit Combination – Five Senses Enhancement'
In an instant, his perception skyrocketed again. His brain began processing every detail at terrifying speed. He could clearly sense every droplet splashing from the crashing waves, and even his sense of smell became unnaturally sharp.
With all of his senses pushed to their limit, he finally "saw" what had been flying toward him this entire time.
They weren't bullets. They were fragments of white bone.
At the same time, the scent carried on the wind revealed the true nature of the crimson "smoke" surrounding Saint Pierre: it smelled of blood.
Just as Roy had suspected. The "bullets" were bone, and the "smoke" was blood, both literally parts of Saint Pierre's body.
As for how he was able to use them...
"...That armor."
Roy's gaze settled on Saint Pierre's black suit of armor.
Back on the Sabaody Archipelago, during his battle with Enel, Roy had seen similar equipment. According to Enel, it had been bestowed upon him by Saint Saturn of the Five Elders, a product of ancient technology.
And clearly, as a full-fledged member of the God's Knights, Saint Pierre possessed something similar.
The armor extracted his bones and fired them as projectiles; wherever those bone bullets traveled, his Devil Fruit power could reach. The armor also vaporized his blood into a crimson barrier; wherever the blood mist spread, attacks could be reflected.
There was one more crucial piece that completed the cycle: 'He's one of the God's Knights. Broken bones regenerate instantly, and lost blood is replenished immediately.'
Roy had already noticed the God's Knights' terrifying regenerative abilities. That healing factor was the key that made this entire fighting style possible. The armor had almost completely erased the Vector Fruit's weakness while pushing its strengths to the absolute limit.
'So this... is the foundation of a government that has ruled the world for eight hundred years.'
Roy couldn't help feeling both impressed and wary.
Individually, the God's Knights might not rival naturally gifted monsters like the Emperors. But the World Government's immense resources, combined with Imu's contract, more than made up for that difference. From Shamrock's Mythical Zoan sword in the original story, to Enel's equipment, and now Saint Pierre's armor... everything pointed to just how terrifying that foundation truly was.
'If only I could someday equip all Twelve Zodiac members with gear like this...'
The thought had barely crossed his mind,
"When you're distracted in the middle of a fight... you're asking to die!" Saint Pierre roared.
'Buzz!'
A bone projectile shot toward Roy, who reacted immediately as black-and-red lightning burst into life around his fist.
But only moments later...
'Buzz!'
The lightning dissipated once again.
Roy frowned and sidestepped the attack. "Still wrong... So this isn't the right way to coat it either. It's a lot harder than I expected."
After dodging, he lowered his head and looked at his fist.
Yes, from the very beginning of the battle, he had been experimenting. Experimenting with 'Conqueror's Haki Infusion', a supreme combat technique that only those with truly overwhelming Conqueror's Haki could master.
After seeing the World Government's hidden strength, his desire to master it had only grown stronger. Because he understood one thing better than anyone: Conqueror's Haki Infusion was the only known method capable of overcoming the God's Knights' seemingly immortal bodies.
'Once I completely master Haki Infusion... my strength will take another huge leap.'
With that thought, Roy looked back toward Saint Pierre.
'This guy makes a pretty good whetstone. I'll use him for a little more practice.'
Just then,
"...!!"
Roy's expression suddenly shifted as he whipped his head toward Mont Blanc Island. His Heart Network and enhanced senses picked up a sudden change: the two people fighting on the island... their auras were shifting.
"...What?"
Seeing Roy abruptly turn his attention elsewhere, Saint Pierre's rage reached its absolute breaking point.
"...You dare ignore me?!"
Saint Pierre had finally had enough. In truth, he had already realized what Roy was doing. This lowly human was using 'him' as a training dummy to practice 'Conqueror's Haki Infusion'.
The thought reminded him of the person he hated and feared more than anyone else.
'"Pierre... you're weak."'
The speaker had been 'Saint Figarland Shamrock'.
'"To be honest, if a number of God's Knights hadn't died at God Valley, and if your useless younger brother hadn't left the Holy Land... you never would have qualified to enter Shangri-La as one of the God's Knights."'
Back then, Pierre had refused to accept those words and had even challenged Shamrock. The result? Had it not been for the 'Deep Sea Covenant' shared by every God's Knight, he wouldn't have survived a single move.
'"You don't have the talent to become truly strong. Fighting you is boring."'
After defeating him, Shamrock hadn't looked pleased in the slightest, he had seemed utterly uninterested.
Just like Roy now. Even while fighting, Roy's attention was clearly somewhere else.
"Shamrock is one thing... but who do you think you are to ignore me, you filthy lowborn?!" Saint Pierre roared.
'Crack! Crack!'
The black armor covering his body split wide open, revealing the gruesome reality beneath.
Just as Roy had guessed, Saint Pierre's body was covered in countless wounds. Inside the armor, innumerable blades worked in perfect coordination, continuously carving into his flesh. Pieces of bone were sliced from his body one after another to be fed into the armor's mechanisms and turned into ammunition, while his blood was drained and vaporized into the crimson mist surrounding him.
Almost every inch of his body was being systematically cut apart, leaving only the area around the mysterious mark on his left arm untouched. Meanwhile, an eerie, invisible energy gathered within the armor. Naturally, thanks to the God's Knights' regenerative abilities, every wound healed almost as soon as it was inflicted.
'Buzz!'
As the armor opened wider, the internal mechanisms accelerated to a terrifying speed, violently tearing at Saint Pierre's body.
'Crack!'
His entire spine was ripped out.
"RAAAAH!"
The agony forced a beastlike howl from his throat. Moments later, a brand-new spine regenerated inside his body, while the unbearable pain itself seemed to transform into tangible energy, flowing directly into the armor.
'Click.'
His massive spinal column was loaded into the armor's main barrel as the invisible energy gathered around it.
'Vector Control , God-Slaying Spear: Spear of Suffering'
The instant those words were spoken, the spine, now transformed into a gleaming white spear, shot straight toward Roy.
The moment it left the armor, the surrounding air groaned under the strain.
'BOOM!'
Everything in its path was dragged along by its manipulated vectors. Nearby warships were swept into its wake along with the wind, ocean currents, and thermal energy. Every vector in the area was seized and folded into the attack, creating a blazing trail behind the spear. Its speed far surpassed anything Saint Pierre had launched before.
Watching it fly, Saint Pierre's face twisted into a savage grin.
This was exactly why he had begged the Five Elders to forge this armor for him after his humiliating defeat at Shamrock's hands. Ever since putting it on, he had lived in constant agony, his flesh and bones stripped away every moment of every day, keeping him from even sleeping. But through the power of ancient technology, that endless pain became strength.
Power to prove to that bastard Shamrock that he deserved to be one of the God's Knights. That he was a true warrior.
"Die, insect!" he roared.
Then... his grin froze.
Because Roy didn't dodge. Not this time.
Instead, Roy slowly raised one hand toward the incoming spear.
'Smack.'
'BOOM!'
The resulting shockwave split the sea apart, carving an enormous trench across the ocean floor that stretched far into the distance.
But at the center of it all, Roy stood completely still. Right before Saint Pierre's disbelieving eyes, Roy caught the white spear with a single hand.
Saint Pierre watched in horror as his strongest attack stopped just inches from Roy's palm, unable to move another millimeter.
Because,
'Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!'
Something now surrounded Roy's hand.
The black-and-red lightning, the overwhelming pressure, neither was unfamiliar to Saint Pierre. But this time, it was different.
The lightning didn't collapse. It didn't disperse.
Instead, it solidified, wrapping firmly around Roy's arm like armor forged from pure Conqueror's Haki.
Then,
'Crack.'
Roy gently closed his hand.
'Bang!'
The white bone spear shattered into countless fragments.
Saint Pierre's eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"Conqueror's Haki... Infusion?!"
'(End of Chapter)'
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