Chapter 319: Luke's Death
Luke was incredibly strong.
His physical strength, martial arts skills, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities were all top-tier, and he'd even achieved a certain level of mastery in his Busoshoku Haki advancement.
His Metsu Busō, a fusion of Busoshoku Haki and mysterious black flames, was more than enough to elevate Luke's strength to a higher level, and should have been able to suppress Kuzan for a short time.
Unfortunately, he encountered Rhodes, whose physique, Haki, and swordsmanship were all nearing their peak.
Since defeating Sakazuki, Rhodes had used all the Faith Power he gained to strengthen his Busoshoku Haki, and his overall strength had gradually surpassed Sakazuki's level, approaching Yonko level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Admiral Issho despite being countered by Issho's abilities.
While Luke's Metsu Busō allowed him to unleash even greater power, it was ultimately ineffective against Rhodes's raw strength, and with Kuzan nearby providing support, he didn't even have a chance to escape.
"..."
Noticing the two sharp swords aimed at his vitals, Luke's eyebrows, frozen white, trembled slightly. His Kenbunshoku Haki, pushed to its limits in the face of death, allowed him to accurately predict the swords' landing points. However, his severe injuries and the effects of the freezing temperatures slowed his reaction by a fraction of a second. He could only barely parry the sword aimed at his heart, tilting his head back slightly.
Sizzle!
Blood splattered.
Rhodes had used all his strength in this strike, and Luke's condition had plummeted to its limit. With this shift in power, Rhodes almost instantly shattered the Metsu Busō, severing Luke's skull and revealing his hideous, defenseless brain.
"Heh heh..."
Despite such severe injuries, Luke didn't show the panic and despair of an ordinary person. His blood-soaked face remained expressionless, utterly indifferent.
"I'm going to die anyway..."
As if having seen through something, Luke murmured softly.
Someone like him had long been prepared for death.
Given the chance, he would certainly fight with all his might to struggle and survive...
but if death was inevitable, he wouldn't panic, but would face it calmly, displaying his final glory in battle.
That's what a true warrior is.
Luke slowly loosened his fist, his gaze lowered, his aura reduced to an extreme, like an ordinary person.
But Rhodes showed no carelessness or contempt, instead taking a slight step back, holding his sword in both hands, watching Luke intently.
A severely wounded and dying beast is often at its most dangerous moment!
And a severely wounded and dying peak-level expert is even more terrifying.
Rhodes's previous sword practice with Luke was perhaps to further wear down Luke's strength, implementing a slow and steady approach.
"Whoosh!"
Before Rhodes could wait long, Luke flapped his wings, creating a gale, and instantly charged forward, launching a desperate attack on Rhodes.
"..."
Rhodes's decision not to rush in and fight Luke head-on was extremely rational.
Luke's injuries were now at their worst.
The only reason he survived was due to the tenacious vitality of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users. Any peak-level Paramecia or Logia-type user would have perished on the spot. But even the strongest vitality has its limits.
The more one unleashes, the faster one dies.
Besides, Rhodes had already done enough in this battle—it was time for Kuzan to reciprocate.
Swoosh!
A flash of silver light appeared, and Rhodes vanished in an instant, reappearing not far behind Kuzan.
"..."
Kuzan was slightly taken aback, but seeing Luke charging toward him from a different direction, he quickly realized what was happening, almost wanting to curse.
He didn't want to fight Luke head-on in his death throes, but his speed was inferior, and he was quickly caught up by Luke, leading to a final showdown.
BOOM!
Ice shards and energy splattered everywhere as Kuzan cleaved Luke's chest with his sword, nearly severing half of his heart, but Luke also struck Kuzan's chest.
The fused Busoshoku Haki was simply too ferocious.
Even though Kuzan used his elemental transformation to mitigate some of the damage, he was still left with two dark, bloody holes.
Cough.
Kuzan coughed up blood continuously, feeling his internal organs being injured by the violent energy. The injuries from his previous battle with Sakazuki, which hadn't yet healed, flared up again, causing sharp pain.
He endured the pain, spreading his fingers and releasing a large amount of cold air.
Ice Time!
The close-range release of cold air instantly froze Luke into an ice sculpture.
Luke's Busoshoku Haki trembled slightly, trying to break free.
But in that instant, a bolt of lightning tore through the void, dazzlingly bright, and vanished in a flash.
After the lightning, space seemed to freeze.
Rhodes stopped, his back to Luke, and Luke's struggling movements also stopped in place.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Reiju clenched her fists tightly, even forgetting her initial reason for wanting to escape. Her eyes widened. Luke—was he dead?
He was one of the veteran kings of the underworld. Mercenary organizations like Germa 66, top assassin groups, and underground families all knew Luke's name well and feared him deeply.
He was a mountain in the underworld, a symbol of power, equivalent to the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters, his status as weighty as a mountain.
After a long while, a gentle breeze blew by.
Rhodes finally moved. He sheathed his sword, turned around, and looked at Luke with a calm gaze.
"Heh heh..."
At this moment, Luke's throat moved, as if he wanted to say something, but the strain on his muscles aggravated his wound, and Luke's head was severed from his neck, with only a small part connecting it.
Large spurts of blood gushed out.
Shockingly, even with such severe injuries, Luke didn't die immediately—the eyeballs on his nearly severed head were still slightly moving.
"Kurman Luke..."
Kuzan murmured softly, a hint of disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Before this trip, he had never imagined such a scene. His plan was merely to disrupt Kurman's operations—even after encountering Rhodes, he hadn't intended to capture Luke, only to severely injure him.
He hadn't expected Rhodes and his cooperation to be so unexpectedly powerful, actually managing to forcibly kill Luke, a veteran peak-level expert.
On the outskirts.
Those from the underworld who'd come from all directions of the New World stood frozen in place.
"Kurman Luke, dead?"
someone stammered.
"Kurman Luke, dead."
An underworld boss who'd come through connections nodded slowly, his gaze solemn.
Everyone present looked at the white-clad youth standing in the center of the arena with utmost reverence, as if looking at a deity.
To everyone's astonishment and disbelief, after a fierce battle in which a peak-level expert had perished, the young man's clothes remained impeccable, and he appeared completely unharmed.
In every sense, it was a complete victory!
A sword slaying the peak!
The words Rhodes had spoken not long ago still seemed to echo in their ears—people knew that the world was about to undergo upheaval.
The fall of a peak-level expert would inevitably trigger a series of changes.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 320: Undercurrents
"I'm leaving first."
Kuzan, severely injured by Luke's dying counterattack, dared not linger. He glanced warily at Rhodes before flashing away.
His cooperation with Rhodes was merely a mutually beneficial arrangement, far from based on trust.
Whoosh!
Kuzan was fast—in two or three flashes, he disappeared from sight.
If Rhodes wasn't mistaken, Kuzan would likely head out to sea. With his freezing power, the open ocean would be the best place to heal.
"Good riddance."
Rhodes had no intention of stopping Kuzan—he was quite satisfied with this cooperation.
Without Kuzan's freezing power, he might be able to defeat Luke, but he couldn't kill him.
Without the ability to kill, the deterrent effect would naturally be greatly reduced.
"I underestimated the power a peak-level expert can unleash in the face of death."
Recalling the ferocity of Luke's final act, forcibly leaving two marks on Kuzan, Rhodes shook his head slightly, ceasing his thoughts.
"It's better to complete the established goal as soon as possible and harvest a wave of Faith Power.
Strengthening myself is the key."
"It's over, this is terrible..."
"I'm so stupid, really!"
Reiju's expression changed drastically as she watched Rhodes, who'd just killed Luke, walk step by step through the sky.
She realized that due to the shock of Luke's death, she'd forgotten to escape.
"Ugh..."
At this moment, Yonji, who'd been stunned by Rhodes's Haoshoku Haki, finally regained consciousness.
His eyes were dim, his head was fuzzy, and the scenery in front of him was blurry.
"What's going on?"
Yonji shook his head, confused as to why he was like this.
After a while, he recovered a little, then looked around, and froze on the spot, his face full of question marks.
What happened?
Where is the venue?
Where did such a huge venue go?
Yonji was completely dumbfounded.
Seeing this, Reiju sighed softly, resigned to her fate, and hoped that Rhodes would spare her for the sake of the Germa family.
At this moment.
Rhodes strode across heaven and earth, his white robes spotless, seemingly floating in mid-air, causing everyone to bow their heads.
Whether underworld tycoons, bosses, or even the kings of the shadows, all bowed to this invincible powerhouse.
"I believe Dressrosa can become the ruler of the underworld."
He glanced at the spontaneously gathered crowd below, paused, and said calmly,
"Does anyone have any objections?"
"No objections."
Without the slightest hesitation, everyone bowed their heads.
Stepping on the corpse of a peak-level expert to declare his sovereignty—with such power, who dared utter a word of dissent?
Everyone felt a sense of unease.
Kurman Luke had attempted to use this conference to rule the underworld, but in the end, he'd only paved the way for the Thunder God Swordsman.
On the shore.
Gazing at the center of the island, Kuzan seemed to sense what was happening there.
He coughed lightly, blood appearing, but he paid no heed, his eyes flashing.
Although this cooperation had achieved his expected goals, it had also made him deeply understand Rhodes's formidable strength.
That young, supreme powerhouse had already displayed his unique, invincible aura.
"This is probably not good news for the Marines."
With that, Kuzan sighed softly and walked step by step toward the sea.
Whether it was good or bad, it didn't concern him much at the moment, and the World Government was too large and powerful for him to worry about.
Kurman Luke is dead!
This news swept through the entire underworld like a hurricane and spread rapidly throughout the New World.
As a peak-level powerhouse who'd dominated the seas for decades, Kurman Luke's prestige extended far beyond the underworld—he enjoyed a high reputation in both the legitimate and illegitimate worlds, and even Doflamingo had held him in high regard during his lifetime.
Such a super-powerful expert was dead.
So suddenly, without any warning.
Many people had just heard news of the Kurman family's attempt to unify the underworld and were still marveling at Kurman Luke's ambition—they never expected that the next news would be Kurman Luke's sudden death.
The Thunder God Swordsman! Kuzan!
Although two top-tier experts made their moves, it was clear to everyone that only the Thunder God Swordsman truly fought—Kuzan was merely responsible for preventing Luke from escaping.
"Defeating the Fleet Admiral wasn't enough—that young monster has now climbed to the top by stepping on the corpse of a top-tier expert."
Marine Headquarters.
"His eagerness to prove himself means he's not confident enough to deal with us,"
Issho calmly analyzed, unfazed by Rhodes's achievements.
Given Rhodes's strength in defeating him, cooperating with Kuzan to kill Luke wasn't unacceptable.
"..."
Sakazuki understood this, though his expression was somewhat unpleasant.
Seeing his nemesis's prestige steadily rise while he could only eliminate less important pirates was truly frustrating.
Issho seemed to sense Sakazuki's emotional fluctuations but didn't expose him, only saying,
"Rhodes has almost wiped out the core members of the Kurman family, leaving many of their peripheral businesses ownerless. This will be good news for our advance."
The Kurman family was one of the giants of the underworld, and also an obstacle to the Marines' advance in the New World.
Sakazuki nodded slightly, suppressing his emotions, and after a long pause said,
"Perhaps we can instigate a conflict between the Thunder God Swordsman and the Yonko."
"In that case, we can simply reap the benefits."
Squard's assassination attempt during the Paramount War had failed, a regret Sakazuki had always held, and now a similar scheme had arisen.
With this thought in mind, Sakazuki's mind immediately became active.
"Red-Haired Shanks won't work—that guy isn't one to cause trouble, and it's unlikely he'll clash with Rhodes."
"Big Mom is holed up on Whole Cake Island. Unless it involves her own interests, she rarely shows herself. It's possible, but unlikely."
"Blackbeard has been keeping a very low profile recently, so that's probably out of the question too. That leaves only Kaido of the Beasts..."
Sakazuki analyzed point by point.
Issho didn't dislike Sakazuki's schemes at all. For the Marines, pirates were targets to be eliminated, regardless of the methods used, as long as the result was good.
Besides, planning and strategy were also forms of strength.
Otherwise, former Fleet Admiral Sengoku wouldn't have been known as "The Resourceful General."
"I've heard that Dressrosa has dealings with the Beasts Pirates, seemingly some trade,"
Issho said in a deep voice. "I'm afraid the two won't easily clash."
"No,"
Sakazuki shook his head. "You haven't been in the Marines long, haven't had contact with Kaido of the Beasts, and don't understand that monster."
Sakazuki pondered for a moment before saying,
"That guy is a true madman."
"Economics and interests are completely outside his realm of thought. We just need to create an opportunity for battle, or rather, pique that madman's interest in Rhodes, and he'll rush over to cause trouble for Rhodes without hesitation."
"Whether it's a full-scale war or a decisive battle between captains, it's all good."
(End of Chapter)
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