Chapter 81: Eden Breaks Through to 'Heavenly King' Level! And Rob Lucci: The Head of a Fifth Emperor is Worth Taking!

"I've truly had it."

When Sengoku heard that Erza had gone to subjugate Eden, his vision went black. He wasn't worried about the safety of Erza, Garp's top student; he was worried that the government's Enies Lobby would be demolished by these bastards.

The government only allocates so much money each year. If more is given to the CP agents, the Marines will have less. Sengoku didn't want to spend even more money renovating Enies Lobby again...

Meanwhile, at Enies Lobby.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong."

Currently, the Commander-in-Chief of CP9, Spandam, was being held by countless arms manifested by Robin's Hana Hana no Mi, dangling outside the tallest tower of Enies Lobby. Below the tower, a giant black shadow, the colossal Sea King known as Little Black, stared up at Spandam, drooling incessantly.

"Nico Robin, you've really wronged me."

"The one who ordered your capture wasn't me at all..."

"It was all my dad, Spandine, who made me do it."

"The Ohara incident had nothing to do with me either; that bastard Spandine was responsible for that too."

"If you let me go now, I'll immediately take you to go after my dad, how about it?!"

Spandam pleaded and begged Robin, who was inside the room. He was truly terrified, okay?!

In fact, CP9 currently had eight members, including a probationary one.

Excluding Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno, who were on a mission in Water 7, the island originally had Jabra, Kumadori, Fukurou, and Nero.

Originally, in Spandam's view, having these four as his bodyguards was more than enough. Besides them, there were also the giant brothers and countless soldiers and agents.

But all of them, before 'Sea Emperor' Eden, were wiped out without even lasting a single exchange.

"BOOM!!"

Just as Spandam was outside reminiscing about the moment Eden landed on Enies Lobby—a scene of fierce winds and roaring waves, like a natural disaster or the end of the world—the magic power within Eden, who was inside the room, suddenly rose to another level.

This level was a qualitative difference.

Eden called this realm the 'Inhuman' domain.

It was a step closer to the abyss of one's respective magical path. Mages at this stage could hardly be called human anymore.

This was the realm inhabited by the Heavenly Kings, the foremost among the Ten Wizard Saints, who stood at the pinnacle of the continent of Ishgar.

Only after entering this realm...

Did Eden truly possess the confidence to challenge the top-tier powers of this world, like the 'Four Emperors' and the 'Admirals'.

Otherwise?!

The thought of his opponents being monsters like 'Fujitora' Issho—who could use True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema, a move that a veteran Wizard Saint or even a Jellal from seven years later (who was no slouch against Jura) would use as an ultimate, trump-card-level attack, as a basic attack—made Eden's scalp tingle.

Good thing this place is all sea.

Now, the tables were gradually turning.

At the same energy level, no one understands combat better than a Slayer-type mage.

Just as Eden had this unremarkable breakthrough and his magic power surged, the atmosphere among the others in the room was one of perfect harmony.

"Happy, eat some fish~"

Juvia handed the fish she had prepared to Happy.

"Thank you~"

Happy first thanked Juvia softly, then picked up the sashimi platter, which had been cut with a water knife, and began to feast.

"CRUNCH~ CRUNCH~"

"This sword tastes a bit weird, ha!"

Natsu was trying to eat Spandam's sword, which could turn into an elephant. In the face of a dragon's teeth, the Elephant Sword was being bitten and was constantly crying and wailing...

Even though it was an inanimate object, after eating a Zoan-type Devil Fruit using one of Vegapunk's items, it seemed to have gained life. How incredible.

"GULP GULP GULP~"

As for Nami, she was chugging Spandam's collection of fine liquor.

"Don't eat my Elephant Sword!"

"Do you know how much money I spent on that sword?"

"No, lady! How could you turn the Arowana I was raising in my bathtub into a sashimi platter? Do you know how much that fish cost?"

"My god!! Fifty-year-old whiskey, and you drink it in one go! What a wanton waste of precious things, you're all wasting precious things!!"

Outside, Spandam watched as his precious collection was ruined by this group of 'country bumpkins' who knew nothing, and he felt as if his heart was bleeding. Blood slowly seeped from his eyes as he roared.

Unfortunately, his own life was now in the hands of these 'country bumpkins' he usually looked down on, which made Spandam's suffering even worse...

"Shut up!"

Eden, annoyed by Spandam's incessant chatter, directly formed a ball of water and stuffed it in his mouth.

Meanwhile.

Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and a now-awake Blueno had arrived outside Enies Lobby. Seeing the disastrous state of the island, they couldn't help but shiver.

"Lucci, I think we should just forget it!"

"Just let Spandam die."

Kaku stared at the devastated island before him, his eye twitching. "Are you telling me this is a power a human can control?!"

As expected, those who bear the title of Emperor of the Sea are all monsters.

"..."

Hearing this, Lucci stood silently for a long time before finally breaking into a grin and saying in a deep voice, "Don't you think? The head of a 'Fifth Emperor' is worth taking, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

Kaku was dumbfounded. He thought Lucci had gone mad.

"Buru buru buru..."

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Lucci's pocket rang again, and he silently answered it.

"Lucci, listen to me!"

"You must rescue my son from Enies Lobby."

"I have already 'persuaded' that 'Hero' Garp's student, the youngest Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, Erza Scarlet, to help you."

"Also, I've found out that the one who defeated Kuzan back then wasn't actually Eden, but two of his top commanders..."

"Coincidentally, those two commanders are not with him right now. You can attack with confidence."

Spandine relayed the intelligence he had worked hard to obtain to Rob Lucci.

"Hahaha..."

"I understand."

Hearing this, Lucci chuckled, a brutal killing intent flashing in his eyes. He said in a low voice, "Just Erza and I are enough to eliminate Eden's entire crew."

"We move out immediately!"

With that, Lucci gave the order.

"Alright!"

Although Kaku was still worried, since Lucci had said so, he had no choice but to risk his life alongside his comrade.

"Let's go."

Although Blueno didn't know the specifics of what was happening, he just felt fired up.

"Is it really okay to be teaming up with these guys?!"

Kalifa was deeply skeptical about this.

"Oh?"

Inside the room, Eden, while eating an apple, casually flipped through the magazines Spandam had collected. He had to admit, Spandam's taste was truly awful; these magazines were of such low quality.

Then, as if sensing something, Eden suddenly smiled at Spandam outside the window. "Hey, Spandam, your subordinates are here to save you."

"What took them so long?"

"A bunch of useless subordinates," Spandam roared.

"CRASH!"

The moment Spandam's words fell, the glass next to Eden was suddenly shattered, as Kaku, with his long nose, leaped through, heading straight for Eden.

"BAM!"

Seeing this, Eden, still slowly munching on his apple with one hand, casually caught Kaku's kick with the other.

"Hey, hey, hey? Are you serious...?"

"I used Rankyaku, you know?"

"And he caught it with his bare hand?"

Kaku was stunned. His Rankyaku could slice through concrete, yet it couldn't cut Eden's palm. Was this the power of an Emperor of the Sea?

Completely on another level...

"Off you go!"

Without hesitation, Eden gripped Kaku's leg with one hand and, with the brute force of a dragon, flung him straight into the ceiling.

"BOOM!"

Amidst the shattering ceiling and flying dust...

Kaku was knocked out cold just like that.

"Eden, you've let your guard down!"

Just as Eden dealt with Kaku, Rob Lucci's figure had already appeared behind him. He had already activated his Human-Beast form, transforming into a leopard-man, and thrust his fists forward, roaring, "Rokuogan!!"

"BAM!"

Before Lucci's Rokuogan could land, Natsu, wreathed in flames, had already blocked the attack behind Eden, taking the full force of the blow.

"That hurt!"

Natsu was knocked back several steps by Lucci's attack and said excitedly, "In terms of close-quarters combat ability, you're the strongest person I've met since coming to this world."

"Are you a monster?"

Lucci stared at Natsu in shock. This was Rokuogan! The ultimate technique of the Rokushiki! And this man took it to the chest and only felt a tightness in his chest and took a few steps back?!

"Now it's my turn..."

"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode! Lightning Flame Dragon's Breakdown Fist!!"

As Lucci stood in shock, Natsu lunged forward, activating his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode and swinging his fist forcefully at Lucci.

"BOOM!!"

This time, it was Lucci's turn to block Natsu's fist. He crossed his arms in front of him and shouted, "Tekkai."

"BOOM!!"

The next second, Natsu's fist landed...

After taking this hit, Lucci saw stars, his eyes trembling. He roared, "Damn it, this power is unbelievable! It knocked me dizzy."

Yes, if it weren't for the powerful recovery ability of a Zoan user, Lucci would have already collapsed.

"I'll take it from here..."

While Natsu and Lucci were fighting—or more accurately, while Natsu was toying with him—Kalifa took the opportunity to sneak to the window, preparing to rescue Spandam outside.

"Seis Fleur~"

In response, a prepared Nico Robin used Seis Fleur to instantly restrain Kalifa on the spot, preventing her from escaping.

"Don't underestimate me~"

Robin said with a smile, looking at the subdued Kalifa.

"Next, it's my turn..."

"Alright, Master Spandam, quickly take this chance to leave with me."

Outside the window, after using a decoy tactic to attract the attention of Eden's group, Blueno finally used his Doa Doa no Mi, opening a large hole in the wall to rescue Spandam.

"Idiots, you're finally here!"

Spandam cursed, swinging with all his might towards Blueno. The moment they touched, they immediately vanished into the space of the Doa Doa no Mi.

Yes, the reason the CP9 members believed they could succeed in this rescue mission was their reliance on the special space of Blueno's Doa Doa no Mi. As long as they had that space, victory was, in theory, theirs.

But...

"Huh?!"

When Blueno brought Spandam into that space, what he saw was a naked pervert.

"How did you get into my space?"

Blueno was dumbfounded, questioning the pervert before him.

"Eden sent me in."

That pervert... or more accurately, Gray, who had entered his battle mode by taking off his clothes, answered truthfully.

"I see, so that's how you were able to take Robin away in front of me earlier today?"

"I never thought there was a space-ability user among you!"

"The unfortunate thing is, we have the strongest space mage on our side."

As Gray spoke, a cold aura erupted from his body. He said coldly to Blueno, "Prepare yourself! I'm going to settle the score from this morning, all at once! Ice-Make: Holy Sword!!"

"Heh..."

Blueno watched Gray charge at him, sneered, and roared, "Tekkai!!"

"BOOM!!"

With a fierce collision, Gray and Blueno were locked in a 'fierce battle'.

One minute later.

"I'm done over here."

Gray emerged from the Doa Doa no Mi's space, dragging Blueno and Spandam, who were now frozen solid.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!!"

As half the building was incinerated by Natsu's Exploding Flame Blade...

Rob Lucci, who had boasted that he was incredibly strong and could defeat Eden's entire crew with Erza's help, finally rolled his eyes back and fainted.

As for Kalifa and Kaku, one was easily subdued by Robin, and the other was still unconscious~

In an instant, CP9 was completely wiped out.

"What? Do you all want to live too?"

Eden asked, sitting on the sofa and looking at the unconscious CP9 members.

"Buru buru buru..."

With that thought, Eden dialed the Marines.

"Hello!"

"CP9 has been completely wiped out..." Eden was the first to report the situation.

"Those idiots, why did they act on their own?!"

"You think you can handle someone that even Kuzan couldn't take down?"

The person speaking was still Sengoku. He first cursed them out, then asked Eden, "What? Eden, are you not planning to return Enies Lobby to us?"

"You misunderstand."

"What I mean is... you have to pay extra!"