Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

Chapter 468: Kuina, your... how did it turn black?

"This lunatic..."

Standing on the coast of Green Bit, Doflamingo looked at that towering, sky-piercing giant figure, and his expression became rather unpleasant. Facing that enormous fist, he instinctively wove a vast web of threads in front of himself, but the moment it touched that several-meters-wide pitch-black Armament Haki fist, it shattered instantly, almost smashing him into a meat patty.

Green Bull coldly stared at Sadgeo.

"After all, he’s a man who can, by his own power alone, break through the blockade of a Buster Call. I won’t be careless at all!!!"

With just a lift of his hand, his body instantly transformed into a gigantic wooden giant. Countless trees surged and grew madly, rushing to strangle Sadgeo’s enormous body.

On the Straw Hat side, they were exhausted just dealing with the crew of the Dark Sun Pirates.

"What is with Sadgeo’s crew!!!"

Nami raised her Clima-Tact, narrowly fending off the attack of a female Mink dog.

"Yeah!!! Why are there also Giants!!!"

Chopper rolled and scrambled as he fled, giant fists smashing into the ground, leaving one fist-shaped crater after another.

"Gathering so many races like this is basically the same as one of the Yonko, Big Mom..."

Law, panting, grabbed Caesar and still handled the Fish-men’s siege with some ease.

Sanji, stepping on air, joined the team of Green Bull and Doflamingo to deal with Sadgeo.

"Although I don’t want to side with the Marines and the Shichibukai, if the opponent is this guy, then there’s no helping it!!!"

"Diable Jambe!!!"

"Spectrum Kick!!!"

A flurry of scratch-like kicks couldn’t inflict any real damage on the "pseudo–Joy Boy."

Facing the siege of several people, Sadgeo didn’t show the slightest fear. At once, Armament Haki surged over his whole body, tearing apart the trees that kept growing and shrinking, and black-red light flashed in his eyes. After a period of travel, receiving the allegiance—or rather, expectations—of various races, Sadgeo’s destiny similar to Joy Boy’s was quietly increasing, and the Conqueror’s Haki that represented his spirit rose as his crew expanded. Roaring black-red lightning seemed to turn tangible, rampaging outward in all directions.

The three attackers all looked grim.

"Conqueror’s Haki like this is about to reach that threshold!!!"

Among them, Green Bull had the broadest knowledge and strongest strength; he could clearly feel the ferocity of this Conqueror’s Haki.

Suddenly, in the next instant, it was as if he saw something terrifying; his pupils shrank sharply.

He saw that the figure raging with Conqueror’s Haki now slowly had strange darkness surfacing over his body, beginning to spread outward.

"That is!!!"

Cold sweat appeared on Doflamingo’s face, but he still forced out his characteristic laugh.

"Fufufufufufu!!!"

"So it’s appeared? The other powerful ability of the test subject!!!"

"The ability of the world’s most vicious fruit, the Dark-Dark Fruit!!!"

As the darkness spread, the trees that had been wrapped around the giant body were all swallowed by the darkness. The moment they touched the black smoke, Green Bull and Doflamingo instantly felt a change in their bodies; the Devil Fruit powers that had been as natural as instinct disappeared without a trace.

"Hahahahaha!!!!"

Sadgeo’s body was wrapped in darkness, his big white teeth bared in a grin.

"Taking out a Marine Admiral and a Shichibukai colluding with the government here counts as an unexpected gain!!!"

As for Sanji, the current Sanji would even suffer fractures fighting Vergo; Sadgeo hadn’t put him in his eyes yet and only regarded him as incidental.

Facing the three whose Devil Fruit abilities had vanished and whose strength had greatly dropped, Sadgeo chose a heavy blow. He immediately inflated the giant fist again to island-like size, wrapped it in flowing Armament Haki, and raised it high into the sky.

"Gomu Gomu—Gigantic Island Cannon!!!"

For this sky-covering, gigantic Armament Haki fist, Green Bull, Doflamingo—now left with only Haki and physical techniques—and the not-very-helpful Sanji all broke into cold sweat.

"Hey, hey, hey!!! Are you kidding!!!?"

"Damn...!!!"

As for Nami and the others, seeing this scene, their eyeballs were about to pop out, snot and tears streaming. The opponents they had defeated had already been dragged back to Noah early by the Fish-men left to guard the ship.

"Lord Sadgeo’s strength isn’t something these people can possibly resist!!!"

After pulling their companions back from the island, the Fish-men returned to Shirahoshi’s side to continue protecting her, while Shirahoshi anxiously watched from the ship’s edge.

Just as the giant fist capable of destroying half an island was about to come crashing down, a black figure appeared at some unknown time on Noah’s prow. Legs crossed, pupils slowly lifted.

"You really are impressive, Sadgeo~"

...

"The duel in Block C has been decided; the winner is..."

"Lucy!!!"

"About to begin is our tense and thrilling final match—Block D’s match!!!"

With the Donquixote Family’s attention drawn to Green Bit, many things had changed. The lost Zoro had finally been found; wearing a black suit and sporting a beard, he stepped onto the ring. Rebecca, wearing only a few pieces of clothing, weight concentrated in her boots and helmet, not quite sure what she was here for, also stepped onto the stage with nervous apprehension. At the same entry passage, there was another female swordsman’s figure—walking even faster than her, with firmer steps.

"That is..."

Before she could think more, she carried an unsharpened sword, wearing something like a swimsuit, and entered the colosseum.

"Zoro, do your best!!!"

As soon as she entered, she heard excited voices from the spectator seats nearby. Zoro, suddenly hearing his own name, gritted his teeth; he almost choked himself on his own spit.

That idiot!!!

But soon, he no longer had the mind to pay attention to Luffy outside the arena, because a familiar figure walked into the colosseum.

"Long time no see, Zoro."

Hearing that voice, Zoro turned his head in disbelief toward the black-haired woman holding a sword.

"...Kuina!!!"

"Why are you here!!!"

Zoro was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected to meet her here, and moreover...

"I remember that sword you treated like your life should be white, right? How did it turn black?"

Kuina looked down and smiled knowingly.

"I don’t know why it turned black either; maybe Orin-sensei used it too many times."

Kuina looked at the Wado Ichimonji at her waist, whose blade had been repeatedly soaked in Orin’s Haki, its slightly exposed blade showing a hint of black.

"Through Orin-sensei’s training and instruction, I’m no longer who I used to be, Zoro!!!"

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