Joy Boy's speed was astonishing—far beyond what Garp and Rocks could keep up with. Naturally, Carl wouldn't pass up such a golden opportunity to beat a drowning dog. The flame behind his neck whooshed out, switching into the speed form of the Lunarian race. His figure turned into a streak of black light as he shot forward, sticking close behind Joy Boy.
With the boost from his speed form, the distance between Carl and Joy Boy closed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Realizing Carl was catching up, Joy Boy furrowed his brow and muttered through clenched teeth,
"Lunarian racial abilities? Damn it... what the hell is with this guy's body?!"
Having been gone from the world for eight hundred years, Joy Boy was completely unfamiliar with modern science and technology. He still hadn't figured out how Carl could possess multiple Devil Fruit powers, or how he could simultaneously wield the powerful innate abilities of both the Mink and Lunarian tribes.
But there was no time to dwell on it now—Carl had already surged ahead of him. That simple move alone was a silent taunt to Joy Boy.
Frustrated though he was, Joy Boy could only grit his teeth in helpless rage.
He came to a stop. By now, his head had mostly regenerated—barely enough to resemble a proper human face.
Ordinary attacks wouldn't have been a problem—his Nika body could recover almost instantly. But this time was different. The blows came from Rocks and Garp, two pure physical combat monsters. Their Haki had reached the absolute pinnacle. Even for Joy Boy, shaking off the lingering effects of their Haki took real effort.
Carl slowly turned in midair and said flatly,
"So ugly..."
Joy Boy's fists clenched tightly. Through gritted teeth, he growled,
"Celestial... Dragon!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Haki surged over his fists, poised to strike—but Carl was a step faster.
The moment Joy Boy lifted his fist, an intense wave of darkness suddenly surged around him. His pupils shrank. Before he could react, the darkness compressed and wrapped around him, forming a floating black coffin.
Carl clenched his hand, and the coffin trembled violently. Cracks spread across its surface, releasing blinding white light.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The black coffin exploded with a thunderous boom. Joy Boy burst out, battered and riddled with craters. The instant he emerged, his arm extended like a whip, a long white lash shooting toward Carl—but Carl snatched it out of the air.
With a powerful yank, Carl dragged Joy Boy in and drove a punch into his half-healed face. The impact was stronger than even Rocks and Garp combined, sending Joy Boy hurtling downward like a meteor.
...
Below, Garp and Rocks had long since prepared. They didn't need words—both struck simultaneously, slamming their fists into Joy Boy's lower back.
Hit by blow after blow, Joy Boy's eyes bulged wide. A great gust of white breath burst from his mouth, and the thunderous Drums of Liberation echoed once more from his chest.
He gritted his teeth, twisted his body, and landed a punch that sent Rocks reeling. Ignoring Garp's next swing, Joy Boy rebounded like a spring, shooting upward at an incredible speed—back to Carl.
Carl's wrist rotated, and swirling darkness gathered in his palm like a vortex. Joy Boy plunged straight into the dark force, his body engulfed again—but this time, he didn't resist. He let the darkness consume him.
In just seconds, the darkness wrapped his body like a cloak. Only his golden eyes remained visible, reflecting Carl's silhouette.
Carl raised the demon blade Muramasa and slashed down, releasing a massive black wave that split the sky.
Just as Joy Boy was about to be cleaved in two, a flash of light streaked through his eyes. He roared:
"Limit Break!"
Buzz!!!
Blinding white light erupted from Joy Boy's body, disintegrating the surrounding darkness in an instant. Even the night sky above was blasted open with a gaping hole.
From below, it looked like a blazing white sun had pierced through the heavens—at its center stood a black silhouette.
That silhouette danced, limbs waving in an odd, almost comical rhythm. Yet as he moved, the entire world seemed to pulse with the beat. The dark sea below became a giant drumhead, trembling in sync, the sound of the drum booming across the world.
The tidal wave of darkness began to collapse. Looking around, the white light from Joy Boy had engulfed half the world's sky. Below, the Black Sea faded into a deep ocean blue.
Joy Boy's dancing continued.
Carl narrowed his eyes, lifting Muramasa high. Deep purple gravity rings spiraled up the blade, and a dark vortex expanded from its tip.
Gravity and attraction intertwined on Muramasa, the air twisting and ripping apart. The darkness once dispersed now surged back, forming a furious tide that swept toward Joy Boy's "sun" to consume it completely.
The white light flickered within the black waves, no longer as radiant as before.
...
As the darkness compressed and collapsed inward, Joy Boy—still at the center of that "sun"—felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him. He stopped dancing. Arms outstretched, he drew the light back into his body. In the next instant, he burst forth from the dark tide and floated before Carl.
His entire body was now a glowing humanoid figure of pure white light, save for his hair, which still burned like white flame. His face was devoid of features—he was truly expressionless.
He looked up at Carl, fingers curling inward slowly.
Carl's body suddenly shuddered.
His brow furrowed—he could feel an invisible hand gripping him with terrifying force. Even his otherwise indestructible body let out a series of sharp cracking sounds, like beans being stir-fried.
Worse, this invisible hand carried a strange energy that disrupted his ability to enter shadow form.
Yet Carl's face remained calm. He let the crushing grip tighten around him.
Looking Joy Boy in the eye, he said slowly,
"So this is the so-called power of rules?"
Joy Boy made no reply. Perhaps it was because his mouth was gone—or maybe, he simply chose silence.
...
At that moment, Garp flew in using Geppo. Joy Boy didn't even glance his way. With a casual flick of his other hand, Garp slammed into an invisible, elastic wall of air and was sent flying backward—straight into the oncoming Rocks.
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg