"Alright."
Lucien spread his hands, his playful demeanor disappearing as his expression turned serious, sharp, and unusually stern.
"Can we talk?"
"What do you think?!"
Emma's gaze was icy, Luffy's face burned with fury, and among them all, only Rayleigh remained composed and calm.
"So there's nothing to talk about after all."
Lucien narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze cutting like a blade. At the same time, he could sense the other battlefields nearby, their distances uncomfortably close.
"How terrifying, isn't it?"
Kizaru appeared in mid-air, his body covered in blood as he glanced between Lucien and Emma. He had witnessed everything that had just occurred.
But at that moment, everyone present, including Momousagi and her group fighting elsewhere, instinctively looked toward the same direction.
Before anything arrived, the temperature across the entire Sabaody Archipelago began to rise sharply. The turbulent sea split apart as a massive trench formed, seawater evaporating rapidly as it collapsed inward.
"A far more terrifying fellow has arrived."
Kizaru's expression turned grim. He could already sense that this mission was spiraling toward failure.
Lucien watched expressionlessly as a blazing light descended from the sky, growing larger and brighter before crashing down like a meteor onto the archipelago. A vast sea of flames erupted outward. The ground at the center melted into liquid as scorching heat devoured everything nearby.
From within the flames, a figure walked forward.
"Yo, long time no see."
"Luffy."
The voice was warm, familiar, and unmistakable.
Luffy's eyes widened as he stared at the black-haired, shirtless young man emerging from the fire.
"Ace."
Luffy had thought he could hold back his tears.
He failed.
Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
Ace was alive.
"My foolish little brother," Ace said with a grin. "After all these years, you're still such a crybaby."
Then his gaze shifted to Kizaru and Lucien.
"You two look like you're having a rough time."
"How terrifying," Kizaru said lightly, spreading his hands. "Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace."
Though his tone remained casual, the pressure bearing down on him was immense.
"You look pretty beaten up," Ace remarked, scanning Kizaru from head to toe.
That usually relaxed face was smeared with blood, his entire body in miserable condition.
Ace was genuinely surprised.
Out of the corner of his eye, he briefly glanced at Emma, then at the clearly hostile Lucien.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A series of sonic booms tore across the horizon.
A streak of light crashed down nearby, triggering a violent explosion as lightning gathered and condensed in the air.
"Another troublesome one has arrived," someone muttered.
All eyes turned upward.
Floating in mid-air was Silver Dragon.
He looked disheveled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, his hair in complete disarray. His azure eyes narrowed as lightning flickered around him, staring down at Ace and the others below.
From the ruins below, Ethan roared.
Dragging a massive wolf-tooth club behind him, his body reeked of scorched flesh. He emerged like a primordial beast, eyes filled with savage malice.
All the powerhouses had officially gathered.
No one spoke.
The atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive.
"Let's stop wasting time," Lucien said suddenly. "This is getting boring. I'll introduce myself first."
He cleared his throat.
"My name is Lucien Graves. I'm from Earth. I jumped off a building and transmigrated here."
For a brief moment, all eyes focused on him.
Silver Dragon and Ace showed clear surprise.
Emma and Ethan remained expressionless.
"So we're fellow townsmen," Silver Dragon said, then swept an icy glance at Emma and Ethan. "At least you're more polite than those two."
His irritation was obvious.
He had initially wanted to talk, but Emma and Ethan had attacked without a word, fighting with lethal intent. That alone had completely ruined his impression of them.
First impressions mattered.
"Vince," Silver Dragon continued. "Earth. Same country. Same province."
"Nice to meet you," Lucien said, cupping his hands with visible enthusiasm. "I never expected to meet a fellow townsman in another world. It almost feels like home."
"Likewise."
Silver Dragon returned the gesture, a faint smile appearing on his battered face.
"Brother, you've really made it," Lucien said sincerely. "You transmigrated as Enel and even became the Marine's strongest Admiral. I thought it would take much longer before we met. Honestly, I'm envious."
"Oh, no, no," Silver Dragon waved his hand modestly. "Just luck, really."
Despite his words, a hint of pride lingered in his eyes.
"Please take care of me in the future," Lucien sighed. "When I first arrived, I nearly died. I almost disgraced every transmigrator that came before me."
"Why not join the Marines with me?" Silver Dragon suggested casually.
Lucien's eyes lit up instantly.
"That's an option!"
"Haha, don't worry," Silver Dragon laughed. "If you come, just look for me."
"That's great," Lucien said brightly, then turned his gaze toward Ace. "Brother, aren't you going to introduce yourself? You transmigrated as Fire Fist Ace, and you're doing just as well."
Ace remained silent.
"It seems this brother and those two don't think much of us," Lucien said, shrugging toward Silver Dragon.
"They're arrogant," Silver Dragon said coldly. "They started shouting and fighting the moment we met. That earned my hatred instantly."
Lucien nodded, then continued calmly.
"These two are likely Reincarnators, something like the Main God system from novels. They called me the Darkness the moment we met and were extremely hostile. My guess is they're here to wipe us out."
He glanced from Ace to Emma and Ethan, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Just like you, I noticed it too," Silver Dragon replied. "It's obvious."
"Now they refuse to talk," Lucien continued, sighing. "Judging by their stance, they want to team up and kill us. What should we do?"
"I was hoping we could all sit down, drink coffee, chat, maybe play games," Lucien added wistfully. "Living in a foreign world gets lonely."
Emma remained cold and silent.
Ethan's killing intent grew heavier.
Ace's mouth twitched slightly, his emotions clearly unsettled.
Meanwhile, Kizaru, Luffy, and Rayleigh were completely confused.
Transmigrators.
Reincarnators.
Darkness.
None of it made any sense to them.
"Enough nonsense," Emma said coldly. "You won't escape today."
Her hands transformed into diamond as she prepared to attack.
There was no reason to let Lucien leave.
If Ethan blocked Silver Dragon, Rayleigh restrained Kizaru, and she joined Luffy to take down Lucien, the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor. Ace was clearly not hostile toward them.
"We're fellow townsmen," Lucien said sharply. "There's no conflict of interest. Don't push things too far."
His face darkened.
"Attack," Emma said calmly.
But just as she moved, she stopped abruptly.
"Pushing your luck?" Lucien roared suddenly. "Brother Vince, take the Marines and leave. Today, I'm blowing up the Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone here is dying!"
As he spoke, a missile the size of a villa appeared beside him out of thin air.
Its metallic surface gleamed ominously.
Ace, Silver Dragon, Emma, and Ethan all felt their hearts tighten.
This thing looked dangerously familiar.
"Brother Lucien, this is…" Silver Dragon said instinctively, sensing extreme danger.
"Tsar Bomba," Lucien said calmly, patting the metal casing with a dull, terrifying clang. "Also known as Big Ivan. Its power is 3,864 times that of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
"You've heard of it."
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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