Joy Boy's speed was truly overwhelming. Even Garp and Rocks were unable to catch him.
Lloyd naturally had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip away. The flames burning behind his neck vanished with a sudden burst, switching from the Lunarian defense form to the speed form.
In an instant, his figure transformed into a streak of black light, cutting through the sky as he chased after Joy Boy.
Under the enhancement of the Lunarian speed form, the distance between them rapidly shortened. Joy Boy sensed Lloyd approaching from behind, causing his expression to darken. He gritted his teeth and muttered,
"Is this the innate ability of the Lunarian race? Damn it, what exactly is happening with this man's body?"
Joy Boy had vanished from the world for eight hundred years. Because of that, he had no knowledge of many developments that had occurred during that time, including certain advancements and discoveries made throughout the world.
Even now, he still could not understand how Lloyd possessed multiple Devil Fruit abilities while also having the powerful natural abilities of both the Mink Tribe and the Lunarian race.
However, this was not the time to think about those questions.
Lloyd had already caught up.
He appeared in front of Joy Boy in midair, his actions carrying an obvious sense of provocation.
Joy Boy felt frustrated and humiliated, but there was nothing he could do about the situation.
He stopped moving.
At this moment, his head had mostly recovered and had returned to a form that was barely recognizable as human.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary attacks would be unable to harm his Nika form for long. His body could recover almost instantly.
However, the attacks he had endured came from Rocks and Garp, two monsters who specialized in pure physical combat.
Both of their Haki had reached the highest level, and even Joy Boy needed time and effort to completely remove the lingering effects of their Haki.
Lloyd slowly turned around in the air and looked at Joy Boy with an indifferent expression.
"Truly hideous..."
Those words caused Joy Boy's fists to tighten.
His voice was forced out between clenched teeth.
"Celestial Dragon!"
The moment his words fell, Joy Boy covered his fist with powerful Haki and prepared to strike toward Lloyd.
However, Lloyd's movements were far faster.
Before Joy Boy could even swing his fist, dense Dark Power suddenly appeared around his body.
Joy Boy's pupils contracted.
Before he could react, the Dark Power rapidly condensed, surrounding him completely and forming a massive floating black coffin.
Lloyd closed his hand.
The black coffin immediately shook violently.
Cracks spread across its surface, and dazzling white light leaked through the gaps.
Crack, crack, crack!
The black coffin exploded apart.
Joy Boy burst out from within, his body covered in injuries.
The instant he escaped, he stretched out his arm. It transformed into a white whip that twisted through the air and shot toward Lloyd.
Lloyd reached out and grabbed it.
Using the force of Joy Boy's own attack, Lloyd pulled him directly toward himself.
Before Joy Boy could react, Lloyd's fist struck his face.
The force behind the punch surpassed even the combined power of Garp and Rocks' previous attacks.
Joy Boy was sent crashing downward like a meteor.
Below, Garp and Rocks had already been waiting.
Without needing any communication, the two attacked at the same moment.
Their fists struck Joy Boy's lower back with overwhelming force.
After suffering repeated heavy blows, Joy Boy's eyes widened.
A large amount of white steam erupted from his mouth, and the sound of the Drums of Liberation once again echoed from within his chest.
The thunderous rhythm spread through the battlefield.
Joy Boy gritted his teeth and turned around.
His first punch forced Rocks backward.
Then, ignoring Garp, who was preparing another attack, Joy Boy launched himself upward like a spring releasing its stored power.
His speed erupted instantly.
In the blink of an eye, he returned before Lloyd.
Lloyd raised his wrist.
Dark Power gathered within his palm, forming a swirling vortex.
The moment Joy Boy charged forward, the terrifying Dark Power completely enveloped him.
However, this time Joy Boy did not attempt to avoid it.
He allowed the Dark Power to spread across his body, continuously corroding him.
In only a short moment, his entire body was covered by darkness.
Only his eyes remained visible.
Within those golden pupils, Lloyd's figure was reflected.
Lloyd raised his Demon Blade Muramasa.
The blade descended.
A black slash tore through the sky, splitting everything in its path.
As Joy Boy was about to be cut apart, a sharp light flashed within his eyes.
His deep voice echoed.
"Limit Break, Nika's Light!"
Boom!
Dazzling white light erupted from Joy Boy's body.
The Dark Power covering him was instantly erased.
Even the darkness that had covered the sky was forcefully pushed away, creating a massive opening above.
From the ground, everyone could only see what appeared to be a white-hot sun hanging in the center of the sky.
Within that sun stood a black silhouette.
Joy Boy moved his arms and legs, performing a strange yet powerful dance.
With every movement, the entire world began to shake in rhythm.
The Black Sea below seemed to transform into a massive drum surface, rising and falling with each beat.
The sound of drums echoed across the battlefield.
The Dark Power that covered the world began rapidly shrinking.
Looking around, half of the space between heaven and earth had already been filled with the white light radiating from Joy Boy's body.
The Black Sea below gradually returned to its original deep blue color.
Joy Boy continued his dance.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
He raised the Demon Blade Muramasa above his head.
Deep purple gravity rings appeared around the blade, and a constantly expanding dark vortex emerged from its tip.
"Dark Moon Tide."
Gravity and attraction intertwined around the Demon Blade Muramasa.
The surrounding air distorted and tore apart.
The darkness above, which had been pushed away by Joy Boy's light, gathered once again.
It transformed into a massive dark tide that surged toward the white sun.
The darkness swallowed Joy Boy's form completely.
The white light flickered within the darkness, no longer as overwhelming as before.
The darkness continued compressing.
Inside the darkness, Joy Boy felt the terrifying pressure surrounding him.
His dance stopped.
He suddenly spread open his arms.
The light surrounding him gathered back into his body.
The next second, Joy Boy broke free from the darkness and appeared before Lloyd once again.
At this moment, aside from his white hair that continued burning like flames, his entire body had transformed into a humanoid form made entirely of white light.
His facial features had disappeared.
He looked completely expressionless.
Joy Boy stared at Lloyd.
Slowly, he closed his fingers.
Lloyd's body suddenly trembled.
He frowned as he felt an invisible force gripping him.
The pressure was so powerful that even his near-indestructible body began producing cracking sounds.
Not only that, but the strange force also prevented him from smoothly entering his shadow form.
Despite this, Lloyd's expression did not change.
He allowed the invisible force to continue compressing his body.
He raised his eyes toward Joy Boy and spoke slowly.
"Is this the so-called power of rules?"
Joy Boy did not answer.
Without a mouth, he remained silent.
At that moment, Garp rushed upward using Moonwalk.
Joy Boy did not even turn his head.
He casually waved his other hand.
Garp immediately collided with an invisible barrier, as if he had struck an enormous wall of elastic air.
His body was sent flying backward and crashed heavily into Rocks, who had also arrived.
^_________^
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