BOOM!
The plaza, hundreds of meters wide, shook violently.
The tremors rippled outward like waves, cracking and shattering the ground across a full kilometer.
Pirates who couldn't escape in time were swallowed by the rupturing earth.
Ain and Isuka retreated again and again.
Even Kalifa and the others backed off.
For a moment, they considered fleeing.
But no matter how much Kaku and Kalifa urged them, Gabra, Owl, and Kumadori refused to run.
As time passed, a massive shadow loomed over the plaza.
Pica had fully transformed—his stone giant form towering dozens of meters high.
Faces turned pale.
"Pica really is the Donquixote Family's strongest fighter. With this move alone, he can probably hold out for five minutes."
Spandain's eyes gleamed with hope.
"Iga, Iha—Lucci's still unconscious. The rest are nothing. Let's strike now. We don't need five minutes to take them down!"
Iga hesitated.
But Iha glanced at the lone figure standing amid the shattered earth.
Still calm. Still sipping his drink.
And Iha's heart clenched.
"Iha, what are you staring at? If we don't act now, when will we?" Spandain barked.
Pica, now a towering stone colossus, roared.
"A mere rookie dares to mock a Warlord? Let's see your Conqueror's Haki stop this!"
His massive stone arm swung down like a mountain falling from the sky.
The air screamed with pressure.
Ain and Isuka went pale.
Luoyu hadn't moved.
Not a step.
Was he really going to block that with Haki?
"This kid… he's overestimating himself," Rayleigh muttered from afar, stunned.
"Even if his Haki has substance, that's still a giant."
But just as that thought crossed Rayleigh's mind—
A terrifying aura erupted from Luoyu like a volcanic blast.
The air froze.
Luoyu looked up.
His Conqueror's Haki surged outward—no longer just pressure, but form.
Blood-red lightning crackled around him.
The Haki condensed into a massive crimson figure, shooting skyward.
Pica's descending stone hand shattered midair.
Debris rained down like a storm.
Pica froze.
He looked up.
He'd seen it—just for a moment.
A monstrous silhouette, born of Haki.
Like a beast made of thunder.
Everyone looked up.
And gasped.
The clouds above had turned blood-red.
A colossal figure—over a hundred meters tall—pierced the sky.
A crimson Qilin, fangs bared, loomed over the earth.
A primal fear gripped every soul.
They felt small.
Insignificant.
Luoyu stared up, stunned himself.
When he'd received the Intermediate Mutation Card, he'd considered many uses.
Armament Haki. Observation. Martial arts.
All could be trained.
But Conqueror's Haki?
That was different.
He'd hoped for a slight boost.
Maybe a trick to bluff his way through fights.
He hadn't expected… this.
A blood-colored Qilin, born of Haki.
Towering. Divine. Terrifying.
"This feels like Er Gouzi's ultimate move," Luoyu muttered.
"But I like the vibe."
And best of all?
He still hadn't moved.
"Descend, Qilin."
Luoyu raised his head and took a sip.
The Qilin roared.
Its massive, shifting form dove from the sky, howling toward Pica.
The speed. The force.
Pica's spine turned to ice.
"What the hell is that?! That's not Haki—it's a monster!"
BOOM!
The explosion was volcanic.
Lightning erupted.
Winds howled.
Even those a kilometer away were swallowed by the shockwave.
Dust and thunder rolled across the sky.
No one knew how long it lasted.
When the dust finally settled—
Everyone staggered to their feet.
Even Rayleigh.
They looked toward the center of the blast.
And paled.
The plaza was gone.
A massive crater remained.
Pica's stone giant?
Gone.
At the bottom of the pit, a mangled figure was wedged between rocks.
Half his body charred black.
An arm and a leg—gone.
In that final moment, Pica had tried to escape.
He'd abandoned defense, using his Devil Fruit to flee underground.
But it hadn't mattered.
The Qilin had found him.
And crushed him.