In the desert outside Alubarna, the capital city of Alabasta Kingdom, a heaven-shaking battle was erupting.
Many people in the city climbed to high vantage points, wanting to see what was happening.
Outside the city, Oden and Lucci's battleground saw Oden, fighting one against three, locked in an inseparable struggle with Lucci and his two companions.
Lucci bore the primary burden of offense and damage absorption for his trio, while Kaku and Jabra could only launch flanking attacks, preventing Oden from focusing his full attention on Lucci.
Every time Oden attempted to defeat one of them individually, Lucci would intervene in time, causing the situation to reach an impasse.
Through his ability to hear the voice of all things, Oden already knew the battle situation on Pain's side.
Although he didn't fully understand Pain's abilities, he had great confidence in him, and it seemed there was no need to worry about that front.
However, the problem before Oden was that both sides were still fighting rationally, not yet at full strength.
What Lucci and his group wanted was a living Kozuki Oden.
Although they knew Kozuki Oden was powerful, they hadn't expected him to be this strong, fighting one against three with Lucci's group and still having plenty of leeway, not yet using his full power.
Lucci understood that capturing him alive was impossible, but letting him escape or allowing other forces to obtain Kozuki Oden was a situation Lucci and the World Government behind him did not want to see.
With this thought, Lucci no longer held back; regardless of whether Oden lived or died, he could not be allowed to escape today.
After reaching this realization, Lucci immediately instructed Kaku and Jabra.
"Go all out! …No matter if he lives or dies!…"
Upon receiving the order, the two unleashed their trump cards without reservation.
Kaku's trump card, "Evolutionary Extreme: Nose Pistol: Qilin Myriad Shots Tower," had been used against Oden before.
Last time, Oden easily shattered this move, leaving Kaku severely injured.
This time, however, was different; with Lucci and others providing restraint, Kaku believed that even if he couldn't win, he would certainly cause trouble for Kozuki Oden.
Jabra's ultimate trump card two years ago was "Finger Pistol: Gekko Ten Finger Pistol," but Jabra had made significant progress in these two years, and his Haki was now at an Elementary level.
The trump card Jabra was now unleashing was an enhanced version of "Gekko Ten Finger Pistol," with Haki-infused, Iron Mass-hardened hands that made Jabra's hands indestructible.
The power brought by Haki, the hardness added by Iron Mass, and the agility of his Dog-Dog Fruit wolf form allowed Jabra to move at extreme speeds while easily piercing steel plates fifty centimeters thick; the impact on a human body was unimaginable.
Lucci, on the other hand, directly transformed into his leopard form, covering his hands, feet, and tail with black-purple "Intermediate" Armament Haki and unleashing his strongest attack, the Six Styles Profound Truth, "Great Wheel: Six King Gun."
Two years ago, Lucci had not mastered Haki, let alone the Intermediate Armament Haki he now possessed.
After being defeated by Luffy two years ago, he was severely injured and was even hunted by the Marine for a period due to Spandam's blame-shifting and false accusations, with Kaku scrambling to raise money for his treatment.
After recovering, he devoted himself to Cultivate, achieving his current accomplishments.
Rob Lucci was a battle Genius by nature; in terms of both ability and comprehension, he was one of the best in this world, so it was normal for Lucci to make such progress in over a year with time to Cultivate.
The Six Styles Profound Truth, "Great Wheel: Six King Gun," he was now using was imbued with Intermediate Armament Haki, making its attack power many times stronger than it was two years ago.
If it were Luffy, it is estimated that only his Gear Four could contend with it.
Oden felt a dangerous aura from the trump cards each of the three unleashed and knew it was not the time to be overconfident or hold back.
Oden's entire body, except for his head, turned black, with "King-tier" Armament Haki covering him completely, and his demonic Qi constantly spread.
Oden held "ame no habakiri" horizontally in his left hand, and "Enma" pointed directly at Lucci and his group in his right hand.
A powerful airflow, sweeping across the entire battlefield, emerged from Oden, affecting even Pain's battleground.
This airflow carried a vast demonic Qi, and Oden let out a soul-shaking roar.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Super: Demonic Mimicry!…"
As soon as his words fell, a demonic shadow, even larger than when he fought Pain last time, rose behind Oden, adopting the same combat stance as Oden.
With a swing of his hands, holding a countless times enlarged "ame no habakiri" and "Enma," a light blade spanning the entire battlefield instantly slashed out from Oden, extending in all directions.
This attack was originally centered on Lucci and his two companions, but due to its immense power, it formed an indiscriminate attack that crossed the entire battlefield.
This meant that Pain and others were also within the attack range, and anyone hit would surely be severely injured, if not killed.
In a flash, both Oden and Lucci's groups launched their attacks simultaneously, and a massive energy collision light wave erupted from the center of Oden and Lucci's groups.
The light wave rapidly spread across the entire battlefield, expanding from small to large, causing most of the desert sand to vaporize and disappear.
Lucci and his group, being at the forefront, were blasted a great distance before landing.
Pain had felt a strong sense of crisis as soon as Oden unleashed this move, and instantly defended in the same manner, activating the Preta Path's "Sealing Technique Absorption Seal" and summoning a Summoned Beast to envelop himself within its belly, allowing the Summoned Beast to bear the damage.
However, Pain clearly underestimated the power of Oden's attack this time; the "Sealing Technique Absorption Seal" was instantly shattered, the Preta Path's hands were directly severed, and his body was nearly torn to shreds.
In the nick of time, Pain controlled the Summoned Beast to envelop the Preta Path within its belly, and with a 'boom,' the Summoned Beast exploded into a pile of blood, revealing a disheveled Pain and the Preta Path with mutilated hands.
The reason this energy light wave was so powerful was due to Oden's inherent attack power combined with the energy collision resulting from the clash between strong individuals.
Although Oden's attack was primarily aimed at Lucci and his group, its coverage area was still too vast, causing everyone on the battlefield to be affected before they could escape.
Nero and Fukurou were already in a precarious situation, constantly facing danger under the attacks of the Preta Path controlled by Pain and the "Kumadori" controlled by the Elephant Transformation Technique, due to Nero intentionally holding back.
Nero and Fukurou had also sensed the demonic Qi that swept across the entire battlefield before the energy wave erupted.
When the energy wave burst forth, Nero's instinctive, strong sense of crisis made him realize he couldn't hold back; his Devil Fruit, the "Space Fruit," instantly teleported Nero's main body.
Nero directly hid in a spatial rift, escaping disaster.
Yes, the "Space Fruit" was Nero's hidden power, a very rare Devil Fruit, even more precious than the Ope Ope no Mi.
The "Space Fruit" allowed Nero to easily enter spatial rifts or create a spatial cage, trapping enemies forever within it, unable to escape.
The abilities of the "Space Fruit" were far more than these; these were just what Nero had temporarily mastered, as Nero had obtained the Space Fruit by chance only a year ago.
After gaining the ability, Nero had never used it in front of anyone, constantly researching it in secret.
Nero was aware of the preciousness of the "Space Fruit" and knew it could easily attract unwanted attention and bring about a deadly disaster, so Nero had always kept this ability hidden.
Nero escaped, but Fukurou was not so lucky; after being hit by this energy wave, he vanished without a trace, disappearing before he could even use Iron Mass.
He was neither seen alive nor found dead, seemingly vaporized directly by the energy wave.
Looking at Lucci and his two companions again, Lucci was relatively fine; although severely injured, he could still move.
Kaku and Jabra were not so fortunate.
Kaku's nose was broken, his originally long nose gone, his face a bloody mess.
Kaku had attacked with his head and neck, and despite being in an Iron Mass state, he was still severely injured to the point of death, spitting out large amounts of blood, barely clinging to life.
Jabra's hands were directly severed, and his body suffered various degrees of impact in multiple places, with blood flowing freely, also barely clinging to life.
If Lucci and his two companions hadn't entered full-body Iron Mass at the crucial moment, their fate would have been the same as Fukurou's, instantly vaporized.
That they were still alive was a miracle; Lucci struggled to his feet and looked at Kozuki Oden.
Oden was also not well; being at the center of the energy explosion combined with the attacks from the three, although his "King-tier" Armament Haki bore the brunt of most attacks, he still sustained internal injuries.
A trickle of blood escaped Oden's mouth; outwardly he seemed fine, but his internal injuries were likely not light.
Pain, bringing the Preta Path, quickly came to Oden's side and asked with concern.
"Are you okay?…"
Through their time together, Pain had come to regard Oden as family.
Pain saw Jiraiya's shadow in Oden, and involuntarily transferred his debt to Jiraiya onto Oden; the old Pain would never have cared for anyone.
"I'm fine… Hahaha… *cough cough*… Haha… They're much worse off than me…" Oden laughed happily.
Oden had a reason to be happy; the originally ice-like Pain had become less cold and more warm after Konan came to his side, and now he was even concerned for him, which greatly comforted Oden.
Lucci looked at Kozuki Oden and his group, then at the fallen Kaku and Jabra, and knew that if Akainu hadn't had a backup plan, this mission would have failed again.
Lucci's gaze swept towards Kozuki Oden, and he murmured, "It's your turn to act…"
To be continued…