On the outer edge of Grove 53.
"You should've stayed down. I was willing to let you crawl away with your life, but no, you just had to get back up. What now? Want me to beat you to death?" Aeridar tilted his head, letting out a soft, almost lazy chuckle.
He cast a glance at Jig, who looked like he'd been through hell. Even if the man hadn't completely lost the will to fight, his remaining strength couldn't amount to much.
"You bastard... You think I'm someone who needs your mercy?" Jig bared his teeth in fury. "You're just another rookie pirate. I should be asking you if you want me to let you off. Don't push your luck!"
"Ohh~ You've got quite the mouth on you, don't you?" Aeridar didn't lose his cool. He just sneered, then turned his head toward Lucci. "Hey, I'll leave this guy to you. Don't tell me you can't handle someone who's already on death's door."
Lucci frowned slightly, replying coolly, "I'm not your cleanup crew."
"Troublesome as always," Aeridar muttered, rolling his eyes. "Then what about the one coming this way?"
Lucci blinked, confused at first. But when he followed Aeridar's gaze, he noticed something... no, someone, fast approaching from the horizon. It was a man in a bloodstained, silver-gray suit, polished black dress shoes clicking against the ground as he strode in. His skin was slightly tanned, and his expression darkened as he neared the battered Jig.
"Puda. You're here," Jig grunted without turning his head.
"What a mess you've made of yourself," the man, Puda, replied. His lips were cracked, but his gaze was sharp, falling immediately on Jig's right arm. "How's the arm?"
"Gone," Jig said through clenched teeth, sweat dripping from his brow.
"Bounty: 280 million berries. Puda the Pillager," Lucci murmured gravely, eyes narrowing.
Hearing Lucci's mutter, Puda turned his head slightly. "A World Government agent, huh?"
Then his gaze landed on Aeridar. His brows furrowed.
"That's right," Jig rasped. "The new Warlord of the Sea, Golden Ring Aeridar. Be careful. The guy's no joke. His strength is monstrous."
"I figured," Puda nodded, though his expression tightened. The fact that Jig, First Mate of their crew, had been brought down so quickly meant this was no ordinary opponent. Aeridar was a monster.
"Another big name, huh?" Aeridar eyed Puda with interest.
At that moment, Lucci slipped off his black overcoat, letting it fall to the ground as he stepped forward.
"Two officers of the Demon Mask Pirates, both confirmed to have landed on the Sabaody Archipelago. That means you get Jig," he said.
In the original storyline, Rob Lucci was someone capable of apprehending pirates with bounties over 100 million. He was only overwhelmed by the main character, Luffy, an unusual loss for someone of his caliber. Even now, though younger, he still possessed the power to contend with pirates in that range. As the coldest, most lethal weapon ever produced by CP9, the strongest in Enies Lobby's 800-year history, Lucci was no pushover.
Even if he couldn't defeat someone like Puda outright, he'd make it a brutal fight.
"I thought you'd prefer watching from the sidelines again," Aeridar sneered.
Lucci ignored him. He focused instead on Jig, eyes cold as steel. "In the name of Absolute Justice... I will eliminate you right here, Jig."
At that cue, the white dove on his shoulder took flight, flapping up to perch on a nearby tree branch, like it instinctively knew the fight was about to begin.
"So that's a World Government enforcer, huh?" Jig's expression was dark. He turned to Puda. "Aeridar's yours. Just stall him if you can. Don't try anything reckless."
"I know," Puda replied.
Suddenly, Puda threw back his head and howled. His muscles bulged, twitching unnaturally beneath his skin. Then it began—jet-black fur sprouting all over his body, his frame stretching and distorting. His eyes turned blood-red, his jaws extended into a lupine snout, baring vicious fangs. His entire body grew in size until he stood nearly four meters tall.
What stood before them now... was a towering black werewolf.
"A Zoan-type?" Aeridar narrowed his eyes. "Is that a regular animal-type... or an Ancient Zoan? Or could it be a Mythical Beast?"
Puda growled, now fully transformed. "I'm a Zoan-type, Dog-Dog Fruit: Model—Black Wolf. First time facing off against a Warlord. Let's see how I do."
"Dog-Dog Fruit—Black Wolf Model... Not bad." Aeridar's grin widened. "I'm a Paramecia-type. Impact-Impact Fruit user. Let's see if you can last."
As soon as the words left Aeridar's mouth, Puda bent low, claws bared, left paw forward, right paw pulled back. Then he sprang forward with explosive force, covering dozens of meters in a blink. His right claw darkened, coated in Armament Haki, and swiped forward with blinding speed.
Armament Hardening—Wolf Pounce Claw!
"So fast... an assault technique?!" Aeridar's eyes narrowed. The speed was beyond what he expected. But he wasn't caught off guard for long. In an instant, his muscles coiled, and his right fist turned jet black.
Fist Style: Impact Fist!!
Fist and claw collided in a brutal shockwave. The sheer force cracked the air between them, distorting the atmosphere with visible ripples. A gale of raw energy burst outward, blasting away dust and debris. The impact was strong enough to make bystanders squint against the wind.
Both fighters leapt back, eyes locked in mutual recognition, then lunged again.
They clashed midair, again and again. With each blow, air detonated around them, shockwaves rippling outward like pebbles dropped in still water. Roaring bursts of force shredded the ground beneath their feet.
Meanwhile, Lucci and Jig faced each other, unmoving.
"Ordinarily, I'd find it dishonorable to exploit a wounded opponent," Lucci said coldly. "But for a pirate as vile as you, such courtesy doesn't apply. Prepare to be erased."
Lucci crossed his legs slightly, crouched just enough to shift his weight forward, and raised both hands in front of his chest—his stance fluid, precise. He was ready to strike.
"Heh... you agents of the World Government really love your hypocrisy," Jig sneered, exhaling a heavy breath. "Let's see if you've actually got what it takes."
A low chuckle followed as he hardened his left arm and both legs with Armament Haki, the black sheen crawling across his limbs like coiled steel.
"Haki, huh... troublesome ability," Lucci muttered, frowning slightly. He knew well enough what Haki was, but despite his mastery of the Rokushiki, he had yet to attain it himself.
After all, techniques like Tekkai and Kami-e were developed by mimicking the effects of Armament and Observation Haki. Facing someone who wielded the real thing without possessing it himself put him at a stark disadvantage.
Lucci wasn't inexperienced, he'd clashed with pirates worth over a hundred million berries. But this was the first time he was going up against one with a bounty exceeding 300 million. Even injured, Jig couldn't be underestimated.
Lucci's feet moved in a blur, slamming into the ground over a dozen times in the span of a breath. His body vanished from sight.
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