"Master!"
Under Monet's service, Lucien Graves finished dressing and stepped out of the bedroom. Diamante and the others had already prepared breakfast.
Lucien took his seat at the head of the long dining table and calmly cut into a thick slice of Sea King steak with a knife and fork. For ingredients of this level, no complicated seasoning was needed. The natural flavor alone was already perfection.
One word described it.
Superb.
"All of you, sit."
Lucien waved his hand lazily. Baby-5 stood beside him and began pouring red wine into a tall crystal glass.
This was one of Doflamingo's private collections, a rare treasure meant to be savored slowly, just like a woman.
Lucien lifted the glass and glanced at the man sitting near Diamanti.
"Caesar, can you make more powerful gas bombs? The kind that wipes out life completely. Viruses, biochemical weapons, anything with maximum lethality."
He spoke casually, as if discussing the weather.
Caesar's grotesque face twisted into a grin.
"Shurororo~ Master, please rest assured. I am the world's number one scientist."
Confidence dripped from his voice. Weapons of mass murder were his specialty.
"Can the bombs you make right now erase a small island?"
Lucien asked while chewing his steak.
Caesar hesitated.
"Well… not yet. My research mainly focuses on gas-based weapons. I haven't reached that scale of destruction."
Lucien's amethyst eyes narrowed slightly.
"I heard you're already working on artificial Devil Fruits."
"Yes."
"Stop that project."
Lucien took another sip of wine, his tone calm but final.
"Focus entirely on large-scale destructive weapons. Gas bombs, biological plagues, anything that can turn entire islands into graveyards. Also, shut down all those giantization experiments."
Caesar froze.
"I'll give you half a year."
Lucien leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.
"In my eyes, artificial Devil Fruits and giant soldiers are useless. No matter how strong someone is, how many of them can survive a true island-level explosion?"
He smiled faintly.
"What I want is mushroom clouds. When I fight my enemies, I want the sky to light up. If one isn't enough, I'll use two. If two aren't enough, I'll use ten."
He imagined it and felt a thrill run through his spine.
This world was rotten.
And he was going to cleanse it with fire.
"Yes!"
Caesar swallowed hard and nodded.
Lucien then turned his gaze toward Doflamingo.
"Give him whatever resources he needs. Money, materials, test subjects. I want results as fast as possible."
Doflamingo's grin widened behind his sunglasses.
"Fufufufu… as you wish."
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, a week went by.
During this week, the entire sea was thrown into chaos by the revelation of Fire Fist Ace's true identity. The Marines were dragged into the storm, and even Monkey D. Garp, the so-called Hero of the Marines, had been thrown into Impel Down by Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Of course, everyone with a brain knew it was just for show.
Garp was basically on vacation inside the world's most terrifying prison.
It was said that just last night, he got drunk and dragged Magellan into having hot pot with him, nearly poisoning the prison warden to death.
When Sengoku heard about it, he almost stormed into Impel Down himself to beat Garp senseless.
While the Marines were struggling to maintain their reputation, Garp was eating hot pot and drinking himself stupid.
The contrast was humiliating.
Meanwhile, Ace spent the entire week searching for Lucien.
But the sea was too vast.
He even started hunting for a Reverse-Reverse Fruit user, hoping to trace Lucien through that, but in the end, he found nothing.
The Straw Hat Pirates were still hidden inside the Calm Belt, training relentlessly under Rayleigh's guidance.
During that time, Luffy and Hancock met.
However, Hancock didn't fall madly in love with him like in the original timeline. Perhaps they hadn't spent enough time together, or perhaps Luffy had matured too much.
There was no room for romance anyway.
Every member of the crew trained until their bodies collapsed. They fell asleep the moment they touched the ground, woke up, and repeated the cycle again.
No rest.
No distractions.
Only survival.
Buruburuburu…
A Den Den Mushi rang.
"Hello."
New World.
Cake Island.
A vast sea of flowers stretched endlessly under the sky, filling the air with a sweet fragrance. Colorful petals drifted gently in the wind.
Lucien lay beneath a massive tree, his chest rising and falling as sweat soaked his body. He had been training intensely when the call interrupted him.
He had returned to the New World.
"Master, Bartholomew Kuma, the Tyrant, has been located."
Stussy's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Where."
"Saiken Island."
Lucien's eyes sharpened.
"And the Straw Hats?"
"Just as you predicted, they still haven't left the Calm Belt."
"Good."
The call ended.
Lucien sat up. The wind brushed through his spiky purple hair, which shimmered faintly like burning flames under the sunlight. Sweat rolled down his well-defined abs.
After resting for days, it was finally time to move.
Saiken Island was famous for its hot springs. The island sat on top of an active volcano, and the locals used geothermal energy to create natural hot spring lakes, turning the entire place into a tourist paradise.
It was also known as Hot Spring Village.
But very few people knew how dangerous its location truly was.
In the original timeline, Zephyr planned to destroy three islands to trigger an underwater volcanic eruption that would wipe out the New World.
Saiken Island was one of those three.
Kuma was currently here on a mission.
A shipment of Revolutionary Army weapons had gone wrong, and he was ordered to erase all traces before the World Government noticed.
That night, the island glowed with lanterns.
Young men and women walked the streets in yukatas, laughing and drinking. Hotels were packed with tourists.
No one noticed that over a hundred people had already died quietly.
Their blood seeped into the ground, washed away by hot spring water and hidden by steam.
The night grew deeper.
Under the endless starry sky, a bolt of golden lightning tore through the clouds and froze in midair.
Lucien hovered above the city.
His body shifted, transforming into the appearance of a scruffy middle-aged man. He opened the book in his hand and released his Observation Haki.
His perception expanded.
In his vision, countless light spots appeared across the city like glowing fireflies.
Some were small.
Some were bright.
But one presence stood out.
A massive light, as large as a villa, burning like a miniature sun in the darkness.
So strong that it almost blinded him.
"That must be Kuma."
Lucien smiled slowly.
"My luck isn't bad."
His body dissolved into lightning once more.
In an instant, he reappeared above a luxury hotel's open-air hot spring.
Steam rose into the air.
Below, Bartholomew Kuma had already stepped out of the water, his massive body dripping, his expression empty and lifeless as always.
Lucien didn't bother with greetings.
He opened the book in his hand.
Five figures fell from the sky like gods descending from heaven.
Katakuri.
Cracker.
Smoothie.
Daifuku.
Oven.
They landed around Kuma, completely surrounding him.
The air turned suffocating.
Kuma's expression finally changed.
For the first time, something close to fear flickered in his eyes.
"Sweet Commanders…"
Lucien stepped forward, golden lightning crackling around his body. Light flames burned along his skin, and his killing intent flooded the area like a tidal wave.
"Kuma," Lucien said calmly, "are you going to struggle?"
The ground beneath them began to transform into sticky mochi.
Massive Biscuit Soldiers rose from the earth.
Smoothie raised her long sword, releasing a towering slash of compressed energy that split the steam-filled sky.
Oven's body heated up until the air around him distorted like molten glass.
Daifuku's lamp erupted in dark smoke as a massive demon emerged, roaring with murderous intent.
They went all out from the very first second.
If Kuma resisted even slightly…
He wouldn't just die.
He would be torn apart, crushed, burned, and erased until not even his mechanical corpse remained.
Lucien watched with a cruel grin, his amethyst eyes glowing with anticipation.
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