"May I ask which lord you are?"
Lucci descended from the air and addressed Karl with respect.
"CP0."
Karl said evenly, "For this evaluation I'll suppress my strength to your level. When the fight is over, I'll tell you everything."
"Now, attack with your full power."
"Forgive me, sir—Life Return: Kami-e Bushin!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lucci unleashed the Zoan—Neko Neko no Mi, Leopard Model—entering hybrid form while pouring his will into his body. He controlled muscle, hair, and even his organs, tightening his frame, trading raw power for speed.
Swoosh—
An instant later, Lucci's figure vanished.
Only after he appeared in front of Karl did the sonic snap of Soru arrive late.
That ghostly speed nearly matched Karl's first-evolution tempo.
But before Karl, now in his second evolution, such speed wasn't enough.
For Karl—whose talent is maxed in speed—facing a speed type is a delight.
He didn't even need Observation Haki to predict; his naked eye tracked Lucci's path.
At the same time, he learned the last two—Kami-e and Life Return.
With a single glance…
Absolute Comprehension is absurdly unreasonable.
With Rokushiki and Life Return in hand, a deeply satisfied look returned beneath Karl's mask.
He decided to humor Lucci for a while.
"Life Return: Kami-e Bushin."
As Lucci attacked, Karl used the very technique Lucci knew best. Will flooded his body; the hard-packed physique beneath his clothes tightened further, dialing back his beast-rending strength and pushing his already unmatched speed to the limit.
Lucci's Shigan pressed to within centimeters of Karl.
Yet before Karl seemed to move at all, the strike slid through a lingering afterimage.
"Continue."
Karl's cool voice sounded behind him.
Lucci's beast eyes narrowed behind the mask, and he vanished again on the spot.
"Rankyaku: Leopard Tail!"
Rocketing skyward with Soru, Lucci scythed his leg downward, kicking out a spiral slash like a beast's tail, drilling toward Karl.
"Rankyaku: Leopard Tail!"
The next second, Karl kicked an identical spiral slash. The two met midair and burst into a blaze of azure sparks.
"...Monster."
Hanging in the air, Lucci fell silent.
Several seconds later, he voiced the same verdict as Rayleigh.
There are Mimic Fruits that let one copy appearances, Copy-Copy Fruits that steal abilities…
And there are prodigies whose physical gifts let them learn Rokushiki quickly—feats only superhumans manage.
But Lucci had never seen this:
Someone mastering another's Rokushiki and Life Return combo at a glance.
Rokushiki–Life Return combinations are tailored to the user's physique and mastery; copying them should be far harder, and even when forced, always feels off.
But this "CP0" lord?
Not only did he learn the combo in one look—there wasn't a hint of dissonance.
What did it mean?
It meant this lord truly had suppressed himself to the same tier with Life Return, then learned Lucci's technique in a glance, and was now using the same mechanics against him—repaying him in kind.
It's fortunate Lucci wasn't from a wuxia world.
Otherwise he'd have shouted: "Reversal of the Stars!"
Yes—Karl was using Absolute Comprehension like an upgraded star-reversing art.
You use a technique, I'll answer with that technique.
As promised, he lowered himself to Lucci's level—
And would steal every skill polished over more than ten years.
Karl wanted more than Rokushiki and Life Return; he wanted the myriad combos, extensions, and ultimate moves.
Had Lucci known Karl's true aim, he'd be spitting blood, cursing him shameless.
Seeing Leopard Tail fail—and tasting the "CP0" lord's depth—Lucci stopped holding back. He chose to end this destined-to-lose evaluation as fast as possible.
"Shigan: Spots!"
Blitzing in with Razor, Lucci's hands blurred, unleashing a rainstorm of finger-gun thrusts.
If single strikes get mirrored, then drown him in multitudes.
Indeed…
Facing the "bullet storm," Karl didn't mirror the move. His hands also blurred, but his palms, like unbreakable steel, caught and smothered every Shigan.
Clang-clang-clang—
Sparks sprayed as fingers hammered his palms.
Karl didn't use Tekkai, nor Armament Haki—only his bulletproof body—to stop every thrust.
Such is Karl's second-evolution defense.
Ordinary "steel-cutting" won't even scratch him.
Only true great swordsmen—or those using Armament Haki—can hurt Karl.
Once he completes a third evolution, his defense may approach Charlotte Linlin's—ignoring the attacks of the weak, with only a tiny handful able to injure him.
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