Oguro spun around instantly, the Zanpakuto in his hand slashing down hard!
Clang!
The blade struck something solid—but there was nothing in front of him.
That's not right.
Oguro tightened his Observation Haki.
Instead of a wide, rough scan, he compressed it into a small, ultra-precise search.
The moment the intensity crossed a threshold, the scene before his eyes abruptly changed.
Perov stood right in front of him, holding a long blade, locked in a deadlock with Oguro's Zanpakuto.
As for the body that had been smashed into the wall earlier—it was gone.
Even the dent in the wall had vanished without a trace.
There was no sign at all that a fight had just taken place.
"An illusion, huh?" Oguro said coldly. "Looks like your Devil Fruit is even stronger than I thought."
Perov chuckled smugly.
"Ever heard of the Dream-Dream Fruit? It allows me to invade other people's dreams and interfere directly with their consciousness."
"You thought you hit me just now, but that was only because I wanted you to see yourself hitting me."
"As long as enough time passes, all consciousness falls under my control. Even memories can be rewritten into whatever I want."
"At that point, people become nothing more than my believers… and my puppets."
Oguro frowned slightly.
The Dream-Dream Fruit…
The name really did fit.
He'd been using Observation Haki the entire time, yet still failed to notice anything wrong.
Its only real weakness was probably the time required to fully control someone.
Perov laughed triumphantly.
"So-called Observation Haki is nothing more than enhanced and extended senses and awareness. It still can't escape my ability!"
Oguro's expression remained calm.
"It is a terrifying ability. But beating me with just that? You're still far from it."
Perov's gaze turned icy.
"Hah! You're only putting on a brave face now! I've dealt with plenty of people who mastered both types of Haki. None of them escaped my grasp!"
As his voice fell, Perov's figure vanished again.
Even with highly focused Observation Haki, Oguro couldn't accurately pinpoint his position.
"How about we make a deal?"
Perov's voice echoed from all directions, flawless, revealing no hint of his location.
"You leave now and stay out of this. We go our separate ways. Wouldn't that be perfect?"
Oguro actually laughed in anger.
You ambushed me first, and now you want me to leave like nothing happened?
Where do you get that kind of nerve?
"Marineford couldn't make me back down. What makes you think you can?"
"Been messing with dreams for so long that you can't wake up anymore?"
Whoosh!
A blade wave suddenly appeared. By the time Oguro's Observation Haki detected it, it was already a step away!
Shunpo!
Oguro flashed aside, barely dodging the attack. The wall behind him exploded into fragments.
"If your Devil Fruit alone isn't enough," Perov said smugly,
"then how about adding a swordsman into the mix?"
"You're forcing your Observation Haki like this. How long do you think you can keep it up?"
"Once your stamina runs dry and your Observation Haki fails, you'll be nothing but a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!"
"Say… if I bring your head to the World Government, do you think they'd waive a few years of Heavenly Tribute?"
So now you want to sell me for money too?
Oguro's lips curled into a savage grin.
"Your ability really is impressive."
"But who told you I can't break it?"
A white light burst from Oguro's eyes.
Boom—!
Captain-class spiritual pressure erupted for the first time without restraint.
This overwhelming power born from the soul itself instantly elevated Oguro's mental state, completing a full transformation.
His consciousness was refined to absolute perfection.
Under Perov's horrified gaze, everything in Oguro's vision became crystal clear.
"Playing cheap mind control tricks in front of a Shinigami who stands on the foundation of the soul…"
"Is downright laughable."
Cold light flashed in Oguro's eyes as he slightly raised his Zanpakuto.
"Found you."
What?!
Perov's eyes widened as his mind went blank.
What kind of power was this?
It actually nullified his Devil Fruit ability?!
Oguro swung his blade, releasing a wave of sword pressure.
With captain-class spiritual pressure behind it, even space itself trembled and screamed.
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
Perov raised his long blade, Armament Haki coating it in pitch-black armor.
"One-Sword Style · Mad Lion!"
The slash erupted, sword energy forming a roaring lion several meters tall as it charged head-on into Oguro's attack.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward.
The lion let out an unwilling roar before being crushed apart by Oguro's sword pressure.
Sensing danger, Perov dodged sideways a moment in advance.
The sword pressure flashed past him—and his lavish mansion instantly lost one-third of its structure.
Cold sweat poured down Perov's forehead.
No wonder this man could rampage through Marineford and walk away alive.
This was not someone he could contend with head-on.
But that didn't mean he had no way to fight back.
"Hmph! Even if you can resist my ability—what about your subordinates?"
A dangerous smile crept across Perov's face.
"Standing this close… is very dangerous."
In the next instant, countless streams of gray energy surged in from all directions, surrounding Soifon and the others.
Soifon reacted instantly, using Shunpo to break free.
But Rangiku and Rukia were a step too slow.
The gray energy wrapped around them, forcibly drilling into their minds.
"You bastard—what did you do?!" Oguro roared, Zanpakuto pointed straight at Perov.
Perov sneered.
"When the distance is far, I need physical contact to fully influence someone's dreams."
"But up close? That's unnecessary."
"I should really thank you for this."
"You brought them right to me."
As massive amounts of gray energy flooded into Rangiku and Rukia's minds, their eyes turned completely vacant.
Whoosh!
Rangiku and Rukia vanished with Shunpo.
Slash—slash!
Two Zanpakuto swung simultaneously toward Oguro!
Oguro retreated in panic, shouting,
"Rangiku! Rukia! Wake up!"
They didn't respond.
Instead, they launched attack after attack, relentless and merciless.
"Useless! Useless!" Perov laughed wildly.
"They can't hear you anymore!"
"This method only controls people temporarily—but it's more than enough to deal with you!"
"Unless… you're willing to personally kill your own subordinates!"
Soifon tried to rush in, but was tangled up by waves of gray energy, completely unable to get close.
"Dance… Sode no Shirayuki!"
"Second Dance · White Ripple!"
Rukia directly unleashed her killing move.
Oguro still couldn't bring himself to strike back, and could only dodge in disarray.
"Got you!"
Perov's figure suddenly appeared behind Oguro.
A long blade coated in Armament Haki slashed straight down onto Oguro's back!
Oguro died
The End
***
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