Kuma's fur stood on end, and a drop of cold sweat slowly slid down his forehead.
Facing such a tight encirclement, anyone else would have had no chance of escape. But for Kuma, it was only extremely difficult, not impossible. As long as he was fast enough, at worst he would only be seriously injured.
Surrender was never an option.
"Whoosh!"
Leaving behind an afterimage, Kuma vanished from his original position and reappeared more than a hundred meters away. However, before his body could fully stabilize, a violent whip kick tore through the air with a deafening sonic boom, smashing straight into him and forcing him out of his acceleration.
Kuma's movement was not true teleportation. It was the compression of surrounding air using his Devil Fruit, wrapping his body in high-density pressure to reduce friction and achieve extreme speed. It looked like instant movement, but in reality, it was still bound by physical limits.
"Rumble…"
Several buildings collapsed in succession, exploding into rubble and dust. Kuma crashed into the ruins, his mouth overflowing with blood as he stared in disbelief at Lucien, who stood wrapped in burning light.
The atmosphere turned suffocating.
Terrifying sword light descended from above.
Smoothie, Daifuku, Oven, and Cracker attacked at the same time, their combined pressure shaking the entire island. Kuma once again activated his speed and barely escaped, but just like before, his movement was intercepted.
This time, a trident forced him out of his trajectory.
A red glow flickered in Katakuri's eyes.
With his Observation Haki, Kuma's future position had already been predicted.
"Pfft!"
A blazing sun slammed into Kuma's back.
The scorching heat erupted through his body, and a shockwave burst out from his chest, tearing through layers of rubble and shattered stone. Almost at the same time, Cracker's blades, Smoothie's sword, and Daifuku's demonic strike all landed on him.
The explosion was catastrophic.
Kuma's seven orifices bled violently as his body was blasted into the side of a volcano, forming a crater over a hundred meters wide and even pulling magma to the surface.
Suppressing the pain with sheer willpower, Kuma struggled to flee again.
In this situation, escape was his only option.
But his greatest advantage, his speed, had already been completely countered.
A crimson light flashed in Lucien's amethyst eyes.
Behind him, a divine dragon over a thousand meters long manifested, coiling through the sky like a god of destruction. From a distance, it looked as if Kuma was running straight into it.
Lucien casually raised his hand and slapped forward.
Kuma's chest appeared right in front of him.
Crack.
Bone shattered instantly.
The divine dragon pierced straight through Kuma's body and vanished into the horizon. The collision of extreme light triggered a massive explosion, forming a mushroom cloud that stirred violent storms and sent a ten-meter tsunami crashing across the coastline. Mountains collapsed, and the ground split open like broken glass.
Kuma's body was completely limp now.
Blood poured endlessly from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His presence dropped to the lowest point, barely clinging to life.
Lucien grabbed him by the neck with one hand and lifted him into the air.
Katakuri and the others immediately retreated into the book space.
Lucien transformed into golden lightning and disappeared into the night, carrying Kuma with him.
The entire island had been awakened.
But most people only saw a divine dragon in the sky.
Nothing else.
Rocks rolled down the mountainside, magma erupted from cracked terrain, and thick dust clouds covered everything. Because the battle ended too quickly, countless rumors spread among the locals.
Some said a divine dragon was sleeping beneath the island and had been awakened.
Others claimed it was the wrath of the sea itself.
Volcanoes, tsunamis, storms.
No one knew the truth.
On Cake Island, Lucien was calmly eating lunch.
Not far away, Kuma sat silently on a chair, his injuries already fully healed.
Mansherry and Law were seated nearby, eating slowly as well. The three support members were all present.
Lucien's next objective was simple.
Increase his combat power.
To ensure absolute safety, Katakuri and the others would also need to be brought along.
This time, the target was Kaido of the Beasts.
If Lucien did not rely on Prometheus, Zeus, Napoleon, or any external combat assistance, and only used his own strength, Kaido should be able to beat him until he was on the verge of death.
If he had overestimated Kaido, then with the three calamities joining in, he should still get beaten half to death.
At that point, Katakuri and the others would step in to stall the fight, while Law, Kuma, and Mansherry would fully heal him.
Then his combat power would surge again.
Perfect.
Lucien licked the corner of his lips.
He realized he might actually be a masochist.
But for the sake of becoming stronger, everything was worth it.
He hoped Kaido would not disappoint him.
Otherwise, he would just have to fight the entire crew together to pressure himself.
He was already walking a path of self-destruction with no turning back.
Two days later, the Big Mom Pirates were fully prepared.
Almost all of their top combat forces entered Mondor's Book-Book space.
Doflamingo and his group were also inside.
Everything happened silently.
A bolt of golden lightning tore across the sky, heading straight toward Onigashima, the territory of the Beasts Pirates.
On the Grand Line, at Baldigo, a white island covered in sand and barren rock, the hidden headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
More than ten meters underground, inside a sealed office, the atmosphere was heavy.
"Still no news of Kuma?"
Dragon's voice was low as he sat at the head of the table.
"No. He vanished on Saiken Island."
The intelligence officer, Terry Gildaeo, shook his head while smoking.
"Are you certain that divine dragon wasn't Kaido?"
Dragon flipped through the reports in his hand, all based on eyewitness accounts from Saiken Island.
"No."
"Keep investigating. Someone deliberately targeted Kuma, maybe even the Revolutionary Army itself."
Dragon's eyes turned cold.
With Kuma's abilities, it should have been impossible for him to disappear so completely.
Something was very wrong.
Onigashima.
The terrifying base of the Four Emperors Beasts Pirates.
The island resembled a massive skull with bull-like horns. Even from a distance, it radiated a sense of dread that made weaker pirates tremble.
On this day, a golden lightning bolt shot down from the distant sky.
The moment it entered Onigashima's airspace, it was detected.
Lucien hovered in midair, staring down at the monstrous island.
He raised his right leg and kicked forward violently.
The next second, the air was torn apart.
A crimson Arashiashi, over five hundred meters wide, descended from the sky like a falling blade of destruction, aimed directly at the most magnificent building on the island.
Several pirates who were too slow to react were instantly torn into bloody mist. Their screams echoed before being swallowed by the shockwave.
But just as the Arashiashi was about to strike, a massive ancient mammoth charged out, its thick limbs slamming into the ground and forcibly neutralizing the attack.
"Who dares!"
Figures rushed out from the building.
At the front stood King and Queen, the two of the three calamities. Behind them were Ulti, Black Maria, Who's-Who, and the rest of the Tobi Roppo.
Dozens of elite pirates surrounded them, weapons aimed at Lucien from every direction.
One wrong move, and the sky would turn into a battlefield.
Kaido himself had not yet appeared.
"Are you here to die?"
King spoke coldly.
He wore a full black outfit, mask, goggles, helmet, and black wings spread behind his back. Flames burned around his head, and a sword hung at his waist.
Just standing there, his presence alone felt overwhelming.
Lucien said nothing.
Behind him, the thousand-meter divine dragon appeared once more, coiling through the clouds and charging straight toward the building behind King's group.
The aura there was unmistakable.
Kaido.
Lucien's attack came far too fast.
King and the others had not expected him to be this insane, attacking directly in Onigashima, the heart of the Beasts Pirates.
Not only did he strike once.
He struck again, right in front of them.
Completely ignoring their existence.
"You're courting death!"
They tried to stop it, but it was already too late.
The divine dragon crashed into the building.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
That entire section of Onigashima was erased, leaving behind a bottomless abyss.
When the dust finally settled, King and the others stood frozen, staring at the destroyed area.
Their expressions were no longer calm.
An enemy they had never seen before.
And someone who dared to challenge Kaido directly on his own territory.
King clenched his fist.
If his guess was correct…
The Governor's drunken slumber had just been forcibly interrupted.