Chapter 527: Golden Spirit and Black Will?
Chapter 527: Golden Spirit and Black Will?
Her ability was no longer limited to using tangible power to petrify others. As a renowned powerhouse on the Great Sea, she could unleash her power with a mere frown, smile, or movement.
The power of Tenacity was undoubtedly formidable, but the mastery of one's ability and Tenacity were not mutually exclusive.
The strength of will could only be resisted, not suppressed, or else the ability wouldn't be called the miracle of the sea.
Hancock's mastery of her ability had reached its peak. Unless one had no desire for her, even the slightest flutter of desire would trigger her ability.
The previous attack should have been enough to petrify Sage.
"Captive Arrow!"
Hancock kissed her hand, creating a pink heart that quickly transformed into a bow and arrow.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The bowstring vibrated, and a barrage of pink arrows rained down on Sage.
Sage grinned, his hands becoming afterimages as he waved them in front of him, forming a circular shield that blocked and shattered the incoming pink arrows, which then dissipated in the air.
"Oh? Are you trying to petrify me directly now? It seems you've awakened."
Sage flicked his hand and said to Hancock, "But it's no match for my Tenacity."
He could sense that these arrows didn't possess penetrating power but were imbued with her ability. Upon contact, he even felt a tingling sensation in his hands, but his deep Tenacity resisted the ability's invasion.
"Why?"
Hancock bit her thumb and said, "Even if I can see your desire, I'm not affected by it at all."
"That kind of ability..."
Sage chuckled softly and glanced at the others, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "That ability is truly remarkable, especially for someone like me with such intense desires, unlike others."
Among those present, most were unaffected by Hancock's ability.
Even Bakki could be counted among them.
He pointed at these individuals and said, "These guys can't be said to have unwavering hearts, nor are they completely immune to beauty. But in their hearts, there's undoubtedly a thought that surpasses the flutter of desire. Beauty? Lust? Those are just general terms, but they can transcend them."
"You too."
"Not me."
Sage interrupted Hancock and spread his arms, laughing heartily.
"My desire is even stronger! If it were the me from when I first started out, your ability would have been useful. But people grow and change with their environment and achievements!"
"Those who have nothing yearn for a beautiful woman and some wealth. Those who have these things desire several beautiful women and more wealth."
"As for me, my pirate rank is completely different from yours! Even among the 'Emperors' at the pinnacle of the pirate world, I have the largest territory, the strongest influence, and a record that even Kaido can't match!"
Sage clenched his fist tightly. "I dominate half of the New World! My desire is far beyond that of ordinary people!"
He didn't hide his desire, smiling at Hancock.
"Perhaps if you ripped your cheongsam, revealing your breasts and buttocks, and danced before me, the number one beauty of the Great Sea might be able to petrify me! At least partially, for sure!"
Desire was similar to the power of the Devil Fruit.
The collection of wishes was also a collection of desires, and those who consumed the fruit would gradually be influenced by its nature.
However, Lily had always suspected that Sage's intense desire wasn't solely due to the Momo Fruit.
Before and after obtaining the fruit, Sage's style hadn't changed much; it had mostly expanded based on his own achievements.
Instead, the fruit had blossomed in his hands.
There wasn't much information about the Momo Fruit, but the intelligence on the previous ability user, Bondi Wald, had also been collected, as it pertained to Sage's ability and required a comprehensive understanding.
This ability was most effective in influencing objects, but whether it could affect the ability user in all aspects was yet to be determined.
Bondi Wald's strongest ability was only accelerating his own body to a hundred times its normal speed, but in terms of power, it was still inferior to the ability used on external objects.
Sage was different. He had mastered the ability to use three abilities on himself and had even compressed them through his powerful body technique.
Could body technique also influence ability?
Or, to put it bluntly, was Sage's desire so perfectly aligned with the Momo Fruit that he had completely conquered it?
With maximum compatibility, as Sage would say, a perfect Human Pillar.
With the fruit under his control, Sage's desire was so intense that it couldn't be affected by a mere flutter of lust.
Not enough!
"Are you trying to humiliate me? I understand now."
A chill entered Hancock's eyes as she said, "I know who you are now."
Luffy hadn't done anything, but after arriving at Amazon Lily, he had actively shielded her sister's back from the mark, winning her heart with his innocent actions.
As the first person in recent years to openly execute a Celestial Dragon, Sage should have earned Hancock's goodwill. Strangely, she remained neutral towards him, which was better than her feelings towards those detestable men.
But now, upon meeting him, her neutrality had shifted towards a sense of disgust.
In her eyes, Sage was filled with desire, and in that moment, he was no different from the Celestial Dragons in her memory—those who wore evil smiles and fed them fruits to fuel their depravity.
He wasn't the kind of person who overthrew a powerful regime, liberating others in the process.
Instead, he was the type to overthrow a powerful regime and then take its place himself!
"A dragon, huh?"
Sage, exuding a powerful desire, caught Mihawk's attention, who narrowed his eyes and gripped his sword hilt, "He's worth hunting!"
Having witnessed countless people and events, Mihawk yearned for stability and peace more than ever. Sage wasn't some young man who had slain a dragon, transforming into a dragon himself.
Instead, he was a dragon from birth!
Even in his youth, he was a young dragon, born to devour humans!
Sage grinned at him, baring his teeth, "Hehehe. Your sword might not be as hard as my fist."
Among them, the strongest was Mihawk.
Sage twisted his neck and looked at the crowd, "Who's first this time?"
"Roar!"
A roar erupted from the crowd as Barrett ripped off his military uniform, revealing his muscular body covered in deep blue aura. Even the braid tied around his head was swept up by the aura, dancing behind him.
"Your life belongs to me!"
Boom!
As Barrett charged forward, he slammed his hand onto the ground. With the pixelated arm's explosion and rhythm, a deep ravine was carved out wherever he passed, and his arm merged with the ground, transforming into another massive rock hand covered in aura patterns, which smashed forward.
In terms of body technique, it seemed Barrett couldn't handle Sage. Every attack was deflected, so he opted for a larger-scale assault.
"A smart choice."
Sage nodded, "Enlarging a specific area to launch a wide-range attack, while the aura wrapping around his body provides timely defense. Hmm, he's already subconsciously cooperating."
"Very good. When facing a stronger opponent, cooperation is always better than fighting alone. It's a biological instinct; no matter how unwilling you are, your subconscious will act accordingly."
Regardless of Barrett's thoughts or intentions, Sage saw these massive attacks as feints and restraints, creating openings and opportunities for others.
In a pirate crew, on a pirate ship, they were a group, not individuals. There was no shame in coordinated attacks.
"Don't joke around. Only individual strength matters on the high seas. Don't make random guesses!" Barrett shouted, his pupils dilated.
Sage shook his head with a smile and extended a hand, "I'm not incapable of wide-range attacks either."
His right fist swung out, and in that moment, his normally human-sized arm suddenly swelled. It wasn't like inflating a balloon; it was as if a restriction had been lifted, and he abandoned his disguise, transforming his arm into a towering pillar that rivaled the giant warship 'Saint Juan - Wolf' from the Summit War two years ago.
Boom!!
With a single punch, Sage's fist crushed the rock arm against the ground, and without slowing down, he repeatedly hammered the rock arm's wrist, causing it to shatter and spray fragments in all directions.
Barrett grunted, covering his normal arm that was exposed after the rock arm shattered. The arm even trembled slightly, and his wrist was swollen and bruised.
"But with a larger range, the aura's intensity is lower. The hardness of the rocks can't compare to my secret hole strikes."
In Sage's eyes, everything had secret holes, and the massive size brought immense strength and pressure, but they were of no use to him.
Sage effortlessly lifted the giant arm and smiled, "Guess how many people this arm can handle?"
Sand, flames, and smoke had already assaulted Barrett as he launched his attack.
Whoosh!
Sage swung his giant arm, effortlessly dispersing and extinguishing the elements.
Just as a human would extinguish a small flame with a finger, with a single sweep, three elements were extinguished. The vast area, infused with aura, left the elementalized people with no chance to dodge, and they were forcefully struck by the arm, slamming them into the ground.
Whoosh!
Tig Hu and Luffy approached, one after the other, as Sage swung his arm. One swung his blade for a frontal assault, while the other launched a surprise attack from behind.
"Gravity Blade - Tiger!"
"Six Kings Spear!"
The direction of their attack was precisely where Sage wielded his massive arm, controlling such a gigantic weapon, his reflexes would surely be...
"The answer is..."
The heavy arm pressed down, and Sage, using this force, soared into the air. His legs stretched out in a straight line, one foot kicking Luffy's claws, while the other blocked Tig Hu's blade.
Luffy's eyes turned cold. He placed a hand on Sage's leg, ready to pounce, but just then, the leg he kicked suddenly expanded, becoming larger than the giant arm, transforming into a mountain-like object that forcefully pushed Luffy down.
Tig Hu, beneath the gigantic leg, was sent flying by the powerful impact, shooting out of the island's boundary like a meteor.
"Two hundred meters!!!" Sage burst into laughter.
This Full Form stance was 100% of 100%, enhancing the Momo Fruit's body tenfold. The compressed form had reached its limit.
But the original body...
At forty times, Sage's original body had reached two hundred meters!
Just as he laughed, Hancock suddenly dashed forward, taking advantage of Sage's monster-like body's inability to retract. With a swift leap, she reached his enormous leg and, with agile movements, kicked Sage's head like a sword.
"Grand Aroma Kick!!"
The violent motion caused Hancock's chest to heave, and her pale, almost reflective thighs, were about to reach Sage when he revealed a sinister smile.
"Correct action, but you've underestimated our strength gap!"
Sage's legs and arms quickly shrank back to their normal size. After dodging Hancock's attack by tilting his head, he grabbed her ankle with one hand and swung it like a club towards Mihawk.
Several flying slashes appeared.
Mihawk!
Hancock gritted her teeth, and as she was swung around, she performed a grand split with one leg, enveloping it in aura. With several swift kicks, she deflected the incoming slashes. Without any hesitation, she forcefully slammed her body downwards.
Sage violently shook his hand, slamming Hancock into the ground, then kicked her in the chest, sending her flying away.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As Sage kicked out with his leg, he sidestepped to block, his hands blazing with black flame aura. He clashed with Mihawk's sword, and sparks flew from the point of impact.
After several exchanges, Sage took a step forward, his punch shaking Mihawk's blade. As he moved to the side, his other hand cunningly slashed towards Mihawk's neck.
The latter, Eyes of the Eagle, quickly retreated, blocking with his Black Blade horizontally to create the widest possible defense, preventing Sage's limbs from breaking through.
"Not enough!"
Bang!!
A headbutt slammed into Mihawk's face, sending him flying backwards.
Sage shook his neck and said, "The head can also be used to kill!"
"How violent!"
In the air, Tig Hu leaped off a massive rock and returned. Ignoring the blood on his mouth, he spoke in a low voice, "Is this Lord Catastrophe's true strength? It seems I've seen something different. Beneath this body lies a more savage power?"
When he was sent flying earlier, he had slashed with his blade in mid-air, cutting through the edge of the island and soared upwards, using it as a buffer before returning.
Sage chuckled, "Is a blind man's senses always this sharp? I'd say we each have our uses."
Luffy broke through the ground, wiping the blood from his head, and gasped, "It's like free combat, Sage. You're not the Sun God, are you?"
As a member of CP0, he had access to the Sun God's secrets. Although he didn't know the full picture, he was aware that the fruit seemed to grant freedom in combat.
"Sun God..."
Sage was taken aback and burst into laughter, "I look forward to fighting him. The collision of absolute freedom and absolute dominion! Can the Golden Spirit truly surpass the Black Will?! Whoa-hahahaha!"
Sun God...
He knew what it was, and if his memory served him right, it should appear soon.
After Sage defeated Kaido, he had to challenge that thing.
He didn't believe in fate!
(End of Chapter)
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