Lucci rushed into the battlefield.
His eyes were fixed on Oboro, who despite the fierce coordinated assault from Dom and Yurivich, moved as though taking a leisurely stroll through a garden. The casual elegance with which he evaded their combined attacks spoke to capabilities that transcended normal combat understanding.
The God Slayer... Lucci needed to experience Oboro's methods firsthand, to properly assess his true strength.
Government intelligence regarding the God Slayer remained frustratingly incomplete. This man was shrouded in mystery and uncertainty, his abilities, motivations, and ultimate objectives remained largely unknown to even the highest levels of World Government analysis. Therefore, if Lucci could uncover the God Slayer's true nature through direct observation, it would represent a genuinely significant intelligence coup.
This was a rare opportunity that might not present itself again.
Since arriving on the island, Oboro, as captain, hadn't granted him sparring privileges like those enjoyed by Dom and Yurivich. Instead, he'd assigned Lucci to train alongside the lower-tier members like Dolan and the others, hunting the island's wolf packs.
Such training proved effortless for someone of Lucci's caliber, it barely qualified as exercise, much less serious conditioning.
He had to take decisive action.
Furthermore, it was undeniable that he relished challenging the strong. Those "legendary figures" renowned across the seas held a magnetic appeal for someone who considered himself a weapon of ultimate destruction. Despite his fearsome reputation and documented achievements, Lucci had always felt he'd never truly fought a formidable opponent worthy of his capabilities. His supposed record and intimidating aura were nothing but carefully cultivated illusions built upon victories over inferior prey.
Even though Oboro wasn't yet recognized as one of the ocean's true giants, his fame stemming primarily from his audacious assassination of a Celestial Dragon, this display of overwhelming combat prowess still ignited Lucci's competitive spirit. After learning of Oboro's true identity, Lucci couldn't stop himself from fantasizing about whether he could defeat the God Slayer in single combat.
Ahead of him, Dom's razor-sharp blade and Yurivich's devastating cleaves intertwined in mid-air, their coordinated assault striking the man at the center of their formation with supernatural precision.
Lucci's accelerating form distorted through speed across the white hillside drew attention from all three combatants, but the fight didn't cease. It seemed they had tacitly accepted his intervention, or perhaps they simply didn't consider him a significant enough factor to warrant tactical adjustment.
"Now!"
Seizing what appeared to be the perfect opening, Lucci exploited Dom and Yurivich's positioning to launch himself directly at Oboro. His fist cut through the frigid air with lethal intent, aimed at the God Slayer's exposed flank.
However, before he could even close half the distance, his target vanished from the intersection point where blade and sword should have met.
Lucci's expression shifted to alarm as combat instincts screamed warnings.
Where?
Thud.
Sharp agony exploding through his abdomen provided the answer.
Oboro's leg materialized like a striking whip, carrying explosive force as it connected with Rob Lucci's midsection. The impact drove every molecule of air from his lungs while sending shockwaves through his enhanced physiology.
"Challenging me...?"
Lucci doubled over as blood erupted from his mouth, his mind going blank from the devastating blow.
He had assumed that Oboro would prioritize Dom and Yurivich, after all, their combined might should have demanded his complete attention. The fact that the God Slayer had targeted him instead revealed a disturbing truth: Dom and Yurivich's assault still couldn't generate meaningful pressure. Oboro possessed enough excess capacity to selectively engage additional opponents rather than being forced into defensive reactions.
The God Slayer... was fighting casually.
"Don't be too impatient," Oboro observed with mild amusement, studying Lucci at close range while increasing the force behind his strike.
Lucci's distinctive hat tumbled to the ground as his body launched skyward with even greater velocity than his approach. He became a straight black streak hurtling down the hillside, finally crashing into the snow bank not far behind Dolan and the other observers. The impact sent up a tidal wave of displaced snow that painted the landscape white.
"Hey... Captain, weren't you a little too harsh?" Kaka glanced back toward where Lucci had landed, scratching his head with an awkward smile. "Though he did rush over on his own initiative. I warned him..."
Yingge remained unmoved, her focus never leaving the ongoing battle.
Dolan, however, shook his head with a soft sigh and began walking toward Lucci's crash site.
After a few moments, he reached the sprawled form of the "newcomer," blood staining the pristine snow around his motionless body. Dolan extended his hand toward the fallen agent with unexpected courtesy.
"Are you alright?"
Lucci's eyes were glassy, and he coughed weakly. His gaze remained unfocused as he stared at the falling snowflakes drifting past his vision.
One kick.
A single kick had nearly killed him!
Fortunately, he'd managed to deploy Iron Body at the last instant, but the defensive technique had barely mitigated the devastating impact. The sheer force and explosive power were completely different from the sensation of observing from the sidelines.
Most importantly, that kick hadn't been delivered with killing intent, it represented only a fraction of the God Slayer's true capabilities.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
After several harsh coughs that brought up more blood, Lucci struggled to sit upright in the snow. Ignoring Dolan's outstretched hand entirely, he staggered to his feet with grim determination and began walking back toward the hillside where the "fierce battle" continued.
Seeing this display of stubborn persistence, Dolan said nothing, though he privately considered Hadori to be somewhat overconfident for his own good.
"That's enough, isn't it? No need to get involved again... If he takes another hit like that, he might actually die," Kaka advised as he watched Lucci's determined approach.
But the CP9 agent clearly ignored the warning, swerving past the concerned pirate and continuing his ascent up the slope.
"Heh," swordsman Yingge scoffed, studying the newcomer's retreating figure with obvious disdain.
Shortly afterward, as if the scene were replaying itself with mechanical precision, Lucci's body plummeted from the heights like a discarded doll, landing in almost precisely the same crater he'd created moments before.
"..." Kaka and the other two exchanged wordless glances.
"Um... why do I get the feeling the Captain is doing this deliberately?" Kaka muttered under his breath. "Twice in a row, this guy tried to intervene, only to be knocked down before he could even engage properly... And it seems like his punishment was even harsher than what Dom-senpai and Yurivich-senpai received."
"The Captain is demonstrating that he's not qualified yet," Yingge stated with flat finality.
At that moment, Dolan approached Lucci's prone form once again. After examining the motionless figure, he turned back to address Kaka and the others.
"He's unconscious."
In the snow, Lucci's hair lay disheveled around his head, his eyes rolled back as his body surrendered to the accumulated trauma.
After what felt like an eternity, Lucci slowly regained consciousness.
Throbbing pain radiated through every muscle and bone in his body, jolting him fully awake as he sat up with obvious effort. Looking around, he discovered a group of people gathered around a crackling campfire, the Hell Pirates' core members, led by Oboro himself.
He found himself wrapped in animal furs with his wounds professionally bandaged, evidence that someone had taken care of his injuries during his extended unconsciousness.
The battle was clearly over.
"He's awake," Oboro smiled from his position near the fire.
"Yeah," Lucci nodded curtly. Though his expression remained characteristically stoic, the way he regarded Oboro had fundamentally changed.
Now he understood with crystalline clarity that even deploying his Devil Fruit powers and the complete Rokushiki arsenal, he would still face instant annihilation. The gap between their capabilities transcended simple power scaling, it represented entirely different categories of existence.
Such a person must not be allowed to reach the Grand Line.
The threat to the World Government's stability would prove incalculable if the God Slayer succeeded in establishing himself among the ocean's true powers.
Lucci had to gather comprehensive intelligence about Oboro's abilities, then find an opportunity to transmit that information to his handlers.
"Is there anything you want to say?" Oboro inquired with casual interest.
Lucci remained silent for several moments, his analytical mind processing the strategic implications of his situation. Finally, he looked at the assembled pirates surrounding the fire.
"I want to become stronger... I want to receive 'divine power'!"
The blessing of divine enhancement represented one of the World Government's primary intelligence objectives. Additionally, almost everyone present displayed the distinctive characteristics of evolved demon physiology, while he remained the only exception, a fact that made him conspicuously out of place among the group.
He had already spent considerable time integrated within the Hell Pirates' organization. Moreover, Lucci understood that his baseline capabilities exceeded those of Dolan and the other secondary members by substantial margins.
To achieve complete integration within this group and gain access to their most sensitive secrets, he would need to make this "sacrifice."
"Of course... no problem," Oboro agreed with predatory satisfaction.
The God Slayer's casual acceptance carried implications that would soon reshape Rob Lucci's understanding of power, loyalty, and the true nature of the forces reshaping the world's balance.