CHAPTER 93-“Blood Kirin Descends”

BOOM!

The massive plaza—stretching several hundred meters across—began to shake violently.

The seismic shockwaves rippled outward like crashing waves.

As the shock spread, the ground within a kilometer radius fractured and collapsed.

Some unlucky pirates, unable to escape in time, were swallowed by the tearing earth below.

Ain and Isuka quickly retreated, step by step, away from the danger.

Even Kalifa and the others followed suit, their faces pale.

In that moment, the thought of fleeing did cross their minds.

But no matter how much Kalifa and Kaku tried to persuade them, Jabra, Fukurou, and Kumadori refused to seize the opportunity to run.

As time passed, a looming shadow finally engulfed the entire square.

Rising before them stood a towering stone colossus—Pica's full transformation—easily tens of meters tall.

Many present turned ghostly pale at the sight.

"Pica truly is the strongest combatant in the Donquixote Family," someone muttered.

"Just this one move alone should be enough to stall five minutes."

Spandine's eyes flashed with a trace of joy as he spoke urgently.

"Iga, Iher—Lucci's still unconscious. The rest are nothing to fear. Let's move in now! We don't even need five minutes to take them all!"

Iga hesitated, clearly tempted.

But Iher instinctively glanced at the lone figure standing amidst the shattered earth.

That calm expression... That casual posture, still sipping sake...

It sent a chill straight through his chest.

"Iher, what are you looking at?! If we don't strike now, when will we?!" Spandine couldn't hold back any longer and shouted.

Pica, now a monstrous stone titan, let out a piercing roar.

"A mere rookie admiral dares mock the might of the Seven Warlords? I'll see how you plan to block this with your so-called Conqueror's Haki!"

His massive stone arm, more than ten meters thick, swept down toward Luo Yu like a mountain crashing from the sky.

The sheer pressure split the air with a thunderous howl.

Ain and Isuka's faces turned white as sheets as they watched Luo Yu remain motionless, not even flinching.

A single ridiculous thought echoed in their minds—

Was he seriously going to use Conqueror's Haki to tank that strike head-on?

"Is this kid getting too cocky? His Haki may be physicalized... but taking on a giant like that? He's pushing it," Rayleigh muttered from a distance, stunned.

Pica's technique wasn't on the level of the old monsters Rayleigh once sailed with, true...

But even so, the sheer mass behind this attack would've crushed most high-ranking officers.

And even if Luo Yu could block it—could he break it?

But just as that doubt flickered in Rayleigh's mind...

A terrifying force—something primordial and violent—erupted from within Luo Yu like a dormant volcano awakening.

The very air around him seemed to halt.

As Luo Yu lifted his head, a tidal wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from his body—no longer just invisible pressure, but something more.

Blood-red lightning crackled wildly.

The Conqueror's Haki surged upward, as if forming a tangible entity—a monstrous, scarlet silhouette tearing into the sky above.

Pica's massive stone hand, descending like divine wrath, was ripped apart midair.

Shattered rubble rained down like a storm.

Pica, stunned by the abrupt reversal, could only look up in panic.

In that split second, he had felt it—an unnatural mutation in that Haki. Something beyond the ordinary.

He hadn't seen wrong.

A beast had risen from the storm.

Everyone else, stunned and disoriented, instinctively looked to the sky—

—and what they saw made their pupils contract in horror.

The clouds above had turned crimson.

From the blood-drenched heavens, a massive shape—over a hundred meters tall—pierced through the clouds like a celestial demon.

Its form was still shifting, caught between illusion and reality, like a divine beast birthed from thunder and fury.

It loomed overhead, fangs bared, claws stretched wide...

...a Blood Kirin, glaring down at the world like a predator surveying prey.

A primal fear rooted itself in every onlooker's heart.

That overwhelming sense of insignificance, like staring up at the gods themselves, magnified with every breath.

Even Luo Yu looked up, eyes wide with rare surprise.

He'd considered many ways to use the Intermediate Mutation Card.

Whether it was enhancing Armament, Observation, or refining his physical techniques, there were paths available...

But among all powers—only Conqueror's Haki remained the one thing no amount of hard work could unlock or enhance by will alone.

So he used the card on it, hoping to boost its impact—just a little.

He never expected... a mythical Kirin to rise from it.

And that posture—watching the world from above—it was reminiscent of Er Gouzi's signature move.

(That damn mutt would be proud…)

Still, Luo Yu found the result quite... appealing.

Especially since, as always—he hadn't needed to lift a single finger.

"Descend… Kirin."

Luo Yu took another swig of sake and calmly looked to the sky.

The blood-red Kirin overhead let out a silent roar, its massive body flickering between illusion and flesh.

Then it plunged like a bolt from the heavens, crashing down on Pica with world-shattering force.

Its speed was so fast, the very air cried in protest.

Pica's spine turned cold in an instant.

What... what IS that thing?!

"Is this really just Conqueror's Haki?! His Haki is charging at me like a living monster!!"

BOOMMMMM!!!

A cataclysmic explosion erupted like a volcanic eruption.

Blinding crimson lightning ripped through the sky. The ensuing shockwave tore the air apart.

Even those standing a kilometer away—still dazed—were overtaken by the blast before they could react.

The deafening thunder roared for what felt like an eternity.

Sand and dust blanketed the world. Lightning danced through the heavens.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Finally... the storm stilled.

Those who'd been knocked off their feet by the blast clambered up, coughing and bloodied, too shaken to care about injuries.

Even Rayleigh, the Dark King himself, stood in awe.

When their eyes turned toward the epicenter of the blast, every breath caught in their throats.

The entire plaza had been leveled, leaving behind a massive crater.

The once-mighty stone colossus that was Pica... was gone.

At the bottom of that crater, crushed between shattered rock layers, lay a blood-soaked figure.

One arm, one leg—gone.

Half of his body blackened beyond recognition.

In that instant of utter annihilation, Pica had abandoned all defense and fled into the earth using his Devil Fruit powers...

But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape the wrath of that sky-splitting Blood Kirin.

Everything he'd relied on—his strength, his transformation, even his lineage—had meant nothing.