https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-693-How-Can-You-Win-in-This-Mess-/13487750/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-695-Beidou-s-Lamenting-Fist-of-Regret/13487752/
Chapter 694: The True Test
Chapter 694: The True Test
The gathering crowd consisted entirely of towering figures, though their numbers were few and their power far from matching that of Tee's first-generation giant captains. Nevertheless, they all wore confident grins.
It was unclear what they were so confident about.
"Hey, Worldslider!"
One of the giants casually greeted Sagel, "We've met before. When you were thrown into the cell, I was in the next one over. I really admire you, you know. You were the first one to single-handedly tear through Impel Down."
As he spoke, he clenched his fist with a wicked smile. "But that's exactly why I'm pissed off! Why should it be you? You're the one who gets all the fame, the one who wields the most power, and the one with the largest influence. I'm pissed, really pissed! But that's what makes it worth taking you down!"
Pfft!
Before he could finish, a hole appeared in his head.
Without a word, Sagel extended a finger and unleashed a Tengahu Rupture, blasting a hole through the giant's skull, turning him to ash.
Sagel rubbed his ear, looking impatient. "Is your buddy always this brave? Does he not know I can kill him instantly? Who the hell knows him, and what does it matter if he's pissed? So what? Try to kill me?"
"Ha ha ha! Killing you early won't change a thing!"
Tee suddenly extended his hand, revealing a dark spiral. In the darkness, something seemed to be drawn towards him.
"Van Oka!"
At that moment, Tee called out. Van Oka, who was battling Renee, instantly appeared near Tee, bringing another giant from the rear with him.
Bang!
Tee slapped the dark force onto the giant and commanded, "Attack!"
He moved first, one hand displaying Dark Gravitation aimed at Sagel, while the other emitted a white light of vibration, also directed at Sagel.
"Dark Water!"
Sometimes, ability is absolute.
It was undeniable that Sagel had a Devil Fruit inside him. When Dark-Dark Fruit activated Dark Water, it created an irresistible gravitational pull for a Power Holder, unlike the mere suction it would exert on a regular person.
Under this gravitational pull, Sagel's body involuntarily flew towards Tee.
"Are you insane?"
Sagel didn't even try to resist, but instead accelerated, flashing forward and striking Tee's wrist with a single blow. The impact made Tee's hand crackle with a loud snap, causing him to pale and sweat profusely.
Under normal circumstances, Tee's arm should have exploded, and even Haki Infusion would have caused his body to burst.
However, for someone with Tee's Devil Fruit ability, it only inflicted several times the pain of an explosion.
This guy was indeed a tough opponent. Normal compressed Haki attacks, like Tengahu Rupture, could be absorbed by his fruit's ability. Only by using Tengahu Enhell in rapid succession could Sagel overwhelm his defenses and reduce him to ashes with excruciating pain.
"If you didn't have this near-immortality, you'd be dead by now. But this pain is enough to make you suffer. Knowing this, you still chose to engage me in close combat."
Sagel looked at Tee, whose movements were restrained by Haki but still using Dark Gravitation to hold him in place. He sneered, "Trying to delay my actions? It seems your preparations aren't as certain as you thought."
Tee wasn't afraid of a prolonged battle, but the problem was that this wasn't a battle of attrition. By actively drawing his power, Tee was only prolonging his own suffering, and the only thing he could achieve was to delay Sagel's advance.
"Ha ha ha, the pain is so intense I want to die, but it doesn't matter. This is just the prelude to future glory! It's all just a prelude!"
Tee bared his teeth, missing a few, and laughed. "Let's begin!"
With his call, the surrounding giants moved quickly.
A bald giant raised his hands and released a bright light, which enveloped the area. Under the light, the flying debris became clearly visible, and the fragments froze in mid-air.
"Hmm? Stasis."
Sagel glanced up and sneered, "Because of your strength, you managed to develop your ability to some extent?"
As he spoke, he raised his other arm and struck Tee again, causing another loud crack on his shoulder. Tee's already pale face turned even more ghastly, and he was drenched in sweat.
But at this moment, he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to maintain his resolve. He slammed his vibrating fist down, but not at Sagel. Instead, it hit the air in front of him.
Bang!
The air shattered, and the combination of the dark gravitational pull and the vibration force caused Sagel's movements to slow.
"Can't affect me? As expected, but there's more!"
At the same time, the giant who had been struck by Tee's blow suddenly grinned and glared at Sagel, releasing a dark purple light that descended upon him.
In that instant, it was obvious that Sagel's movements had slowed.
"This thing..." Sagel started to speak, but Tee's voice interrupted him.
"It's not over yet!"
Another giant made a gesture as if firing a light wave, and indeed, a light wave shot out and struck Sagel.
"This thing..."
Under the light wave, Sagel repeated his words, but as he finished, he froze, furrowing his brow.
He tried to raise the arm that had struck Tee's shoulder, but after lifting it slightly, it fell back down, and he made another attempt to lift it.
Seeing this, the red in Sagel's eyes intensified, and something shattered around him.
His raised arm no longer repeated the motion, but its speed was clearly suppressed.
Tee laughed, "Stasis Fruit! Slow Fruit! Rewind Fruit! Stasis can't stop your speed, and a single fruit ability can be nullified by your Haki, but what about three? The Rewind Fruit can revert your actions to three seconds ago. Even if you nullify them, it's within my expectations."
"Even you... can't be completely unaffected. Your speed... has slowed!"
"Ha ha ha, to find the right combination, I experimented with many people. The ones fighting you are my carefully selected choices! Again!"
Another giant suddenly placed his hands on the ground, summoning numerous vines around Sagel's feet. The vines didn't entangle Sagel but formed a glowing green circle around him.
Surrounded by the green glow, Sagel frowned and looked at Tee. His voice, though slow, was resonant. "Absorbing power? The more power I use, the more it's absorbed?"
"Exactly! Parasitic Spores!"
Tee smiled, "It's the Parasite Fruit! Your body and the surrounding green glow are all traps. The more power you use, the more it's absorbed. Abilities are miracles, Sagel, and that's what you said. And there's more!"
Another giant grinned and extended a hand, revealing a light ring that immersed into Sagel's body.
"Inertia Fruit!"
Tee shouted, "All your movements will lose their inertia! Sagel, without inertia, the damage will be reduced to a certain extent! And then!"
From the crowd, a frail, almost skeletal man stepped forward, so thin that even a slight breeze could knock him over. He was even thinner than the Poison Q that Sagel had killed.
He took a few steps, clearly gasping for breath, and then extended a trembling hand, stuttering, "S-Sorry, I-I'm going to curse you."
As he spoke, his movements suddenly became exaggerated, as if performing a ritual, and then he mimicked Sagel's posture.
The combination of the gravitational pull, vibration, and the slowing of his speed created a double effect, truly affecting Sagel's movements and making him unable to move.
But the same was true for Tee.
As for the surrounding giants, none of them dared to attack. The presence was too overwhelming, causing them to tremble and believe that any attack would be futile. The risk of death was too high, and they lacked the courage to act.
Except for these Power Holders.
After a moment of stillness, the frail man suddenly shouted and coughed violently. At that moment, Sagel's body visibly became thinner.
Bang!
The vibration force overpowered Sagel, causing his steady arm to tremble.
"And, the Wait Fruit! It's an Equivalence Link! It's a bit complicated and requires a ritual to work, and the cursed person must maintain the same posture. Under normal circumstances, you could ignore it, but not now. By equalizing everything, the curse will bring the cursed person to the same level as the Power Holder."
Tee called out, "Sagel! Your body has changed! Your strength is decreasing!"
Another giant stepped forward as Tee finished speaking, his hand moving like flowing water and enveloping Sagel in a soft, malleable form.
"Mass Fruit!"
"Besides increasing an object's mass, it can also decrease it. Sagel, this is your inferior Devil Fruit! But it's not entirely useless. It can be used to counter your ability! As a fellow ability, there's no resistance. All your mass changes will return to their original state!"
As he spoke, another giant stepped forward, opening a field similar to Law's Room.
"Most importantly, the Direction Fruit!"
Tee's grin stretched to his ears, "Within this field, all directions will change. Forward can become backward, left can become right. Any ability you throw will be disrupted by the changing directions!"
"Body! Speed! Strength! Mass! Direction! Sagel! Your abilities and your pride in your body are all weakened by these powers! And with these powers, I'm the most important one!"
Tee's vibrating fist clenched tighter, pulling back.
"You're not immortal. Here! No matter how much damage you take, you're just a mortal. Enough damage, and I win! You will be killed by me, ha ha ha!"
The fist, enveloped in white light, merged with darkness, becoming a chaotic force.
"Dark Vibration!!"
"Sagel!!"
Lily, who had already entered the battlefield, sensed something was wrong. She swiftly cut through the enemies in front of her and was about to rush over, but her Observation Haki detected danger. She quickly jumped up as she sensed the threat.
The spot where she had been standing was covered in ice.
"Two-Pronged Ice Spear!"
As she rose into the air, Lily instinctively swung her sword, shattering the approaching ice spears.
The air grew colder, and more ice spears formed, forcing Lily to quickly descend. She then swung her sword upward, creating a flurry of bird-like slashes that shattered the ice crystals raining down.
As the sparkling ice crystals fell, Lily gripped her sword tightly, staring at the despondent man who had been idling but now exuded a strong cold aura, adjusting his glove and wearing glasses that glinted, obscuring his expression.
"Kuzan, step aside!" Lily said coldly.
"Ah, I can't do that."
Kuzan pulled on his glove and said calmly, "After all, I'm one of Tee's captains. If there's a battle, I can't just sit it out. Besides, let their fight be their own."
"Are you so loyal to Blackbeard? I thought you were just in a partnership."
Lily asked, "What do you want from him that makes you so dedicated?"
"The truth of the world",
Kuzan replied, "Or rather, the truth of other dimensions. I know a lot, but it's all from the Marine's perspective. Now, seeing things from a different angle is quite refreshing."
"It's not that Tee has given me anything, but there are things only he can do. After all, he's not the same type as Sagel. However, I agree with what you said to Shiryu."
Kuzan glanced at Sagel's direction, "If Sagel wins, I can join him. But if he loses, I won't let that stop me from seeking the truth from another angle, finding what I seek."
"This is also a test. Since Sagel claims to rule the entire New World and be the strongest on the seas, he must prove he can win against multiple opponents, no matter the adversity. Otherwise, he's just a bigger version of Rocks. The World Government's power is immense, and such a setup can be easily assembled."
"Only by proving he is the true first, surpassing all other strong individuals, can he truly act on the seas according to his will."
Kuzan's hand began to emit a white mist, "I'm grateful to Sagel for his attack on Honeycomb Island, as Mr. Garp was handed over instead of being killed by me. But now, I won't step aside."
"Understood."
Lily loosened her grip, no longer pressing the issue.
"Already giving up?" Kuzan asked, puzzled.
"Just instinct. Now..."
Lily looked behind Kuzan and smiled, "I don't think Sagel will lose."
The chaotic fist was almost upon Sagel's face, but his expression showed no negative reaction. Instead, he smiled confidently and with a hint of amusement.
She had overthought it.
Lily was certain Sagel would win!
(End of Chapter)
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