Joy Boy panted heavily, his face dark as he spoke.
"Why? Why are you stopping me? We were supposed to be allies..."
He couldn't understand. Ever since he regained consciousness, nothing—neither the people he encountered nor the events unfolding—aligned with his expectations.
Yet, more than all that, the biggest thorn in his side was Carl.
Restricted by Luffy's body, Joy Boy was never able to unleash his full strength. In truth, with the awakened Nika Fruit, as long as Imu didn't step in, there shouldn't have been anyone capable of posing a real threat to him.
And yet, Carl appeared.
The mere thought of it filled Joy Boy with frustration.
Carl's figure emerged atop a massive blade. Looking down at Joy Boy, he smirked slightly and said,
"How rare, Joy Boy. From the moment this fight began, I haven't seen you smile. Aren't you always laughing? What happened? Got something on your mind?"
How could he possibly smile now?
Pressing his lips together, he spoke coldly,
"Celestial Dragon, don't get ahead of yourself. If my power wasn't restricted, not even your ancestor, Cassilius, would be a match for me!"
Carl's smile didn't waver as he responded,
"Winners rule, losers fall. You're nothing more than a complete failure. Saying things like that just makes you sound pathetic. You should pick up a copy of Celestial Dragon: Genesis and give it a read."
"Celestial Dragon: Genesis? What nonsense is that?"
Carl didn't answer. With a mere thought, several black swords separated from the massive blade beneath him. These swords continued splitting, multiplying into a rain of endless black blades filling the sky.
Joy Boy's scalp tingled as he stared at the looming black downpour above. The power he had gathered with the Dance of Nika had already been largely depleted—he wasn't confident he could withstand this assault.
Carl's smirk deepened as he spread his palm toward Joy Boy below and said,
"Joy Boy, how about I grant you a grave of swords?"
Hearing this, Joy Boy snapped, his voice filled with defiance,
"You can't kill me! I carry the Will of D—"
Before he could finish, Carl's eyes narrowed. With a snap of his fingers, the space around Joy Boy was instantly engulfed in darkness. The black void condensed, forming a massive rectangular shape—like a coffin.
Carl whispered,
"Dark Coffin."
Hummmm—!
The coffin trembled violently as a torrential black storm rained down, swallowing it whole. The oppressive force shattered the coffin, splitting it in two.
One half dissolved into black mist, while the other fractured, releasing blinding white light through countless cracks before finally shattering apart.
Joy Boy reemerged, his body encased in a flickering white energy sphere. A long crack marred its surface. His abdomen bore a deep wound, white mist spilling from it continuously.
Swish!
Carl appeared before him in an instant, chuckling softly.
"You're looking pretty rough, Joy Boy."
With that, he swung the cursed blade, Muramasa, straight for Joy Boy's neck. Despite his injuries, Joy Boy forced his feet against the air, stepping rapidly to create ripples of compressed energy, using the recoil to propel himself away.
As he shot backward, he removed the straw hat from his head and inspected it. A hole had been torn through the top.
Seeing it, his face froze in shock.
"No! Impossible!!"
Carl, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. His blade hummed with an aura of dense, dark purple gravitational rings as he pursued.
Hummm! Hummm! Hummm!
The force of gravity slammed into Joy Boy, sending him plummeting like a white comet into the ground below.
The impact cratered the elastic terrain beneath him. Clutching his straw hat tightly, Joy Boy gritted his teeth and growled,
"Damn it..."
He struggled, but the gravitational rings continued to suppress him, driving the ground even deeper until it reached a breaking point. The moment the gravitational pressure lifted, the pent-up elasticity rebounded, launching Joy Boy skyward once more.
Above, Carl stood poised, Muramasa aimed directly at the airborne Joy Boy.
Joy Boy couldn't stop his momentum. He was on a direct collision course with the black blade. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his damaged straw hat in front of him.
With a whoosh, the hat expanded, forming a shield like a massive umbrella between him and the blade, stopping Muramasa's tip in its tracks.
Even with the hole, the straw hat's defensive power remained formidable, momentarily holding back the cursed blade.
Joy Boy let out a small sigh of relief, but the battle wasn't over yet.
Carl narrowed his eyes at the hat, confirming the familiar aura it exuded. It was the same presence he had once sensed from Imu amidst the flowers.
Reversing his grip, he let black, flame-like darkness flare from his palm before pressing it against the straw hat, forming a swirling vortex of shadows.
Darkness devoured the hat, twisting it violently, trying to pull it into oblivion.
Pain flashed across Joy Boy's face. Even when his stomach had been pierced earlier, he hadn't felt this level of torment.
After all, this body wasn't truly his. But the straw hat... the straw hat was different. It was part of him.
Carl felt the rapid decline in Joy Boy's energy and increased the pressure. The dark vortex expanded, its force distorting the very space around them.
Joy Boy struggled bitterly. The white clouds of flame around his body faded, and the straw hat emitted a strained, cracking sound.
White mist gushed from his mouth and nostrils, his body shriveling slightly, as though he were losing air.
At the brink of death, his expression suddenly calmed.
He stared at the straw hat in his hands, his glowing white eyes sharpening with resolve.
Carl sensed something and frowned slightly.
Joy Boy whispered,
"Limit Break—Transcendence."
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+200 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg