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"Run!!"
Zoya screamed, tears streaking down her face as she scrambled and crawled across the field in a desperate attempt to escape.
Everyone else bolted in panic, scattering in all directions.
Koala, caught off guard by the chaos, instinctively took off running, even though she didn't understand what was going on.
"You freaky little brat, d-don't run!!"
Koala's body shifted between gas and solid form, drifting like a breeze through the tall grass, darting aimlessly.
Chasing behind her were swordsmen from the outer seas, shouting and swinging blades.
Behind them, a wild pack of Okama thundered after the group, their footsteps clattering comically loud, but they made sure to keep just enough distance to seem like they were almost catching up… but not quite.
Koala, the swordsmen, the Okama…
The whole chaotic parade rampaged across the grassy field, loud and absurd, while fifty meters away, Liam and Robin sat calmly, facing opposite directions, speaking through a Den Den Mushi.
"The reason 'Taka Jizai' couldn't copy Hancock's clone boils down to a few things," Liam said, raising one finger as he spoke into the Den Den Mushi.
"First possibility, something happened on Hancock's end, and your power no longer affects her. But that's unlikely…"
Meanwhile, on the field, the swordsmen caught up to Koala and struck, swords slicing through the air, but none of their attacks landed. Their blades passed clean through her, like swinging at mist.
"Second…" Liam raised another finger. "Your ability might not work over such long distances."
Fifty meters away, Robin sat on the strange, pink-tinted grass, frowning as she considered the theory.
"No…" she said slowly, her voice firming with certainty. "That's not how range works, Liam. I'm the one activating the power, not Hancock. Once Taka Jizai logs someone like Hancock and creates a clone, the range depends on me, not the target, just like with my normal clone abilities…"
Kuja Island was far away. But that shouldn't affect a clone she was personally sustaining.
She, Nico Robin, wielder of the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi), was the one maintaining and controlling the clone. Not Hancock.
Screams and commotion continued nearby. The exhausted swordsmen had been overtaken by the Okama, who were now drowning them in "loving" embraces…
"What in the seas is this place?!"
Zoya was losing her mind. That girl, Koala, was like a ghost: visible, but untouchable. And those Okama? Terrifying beyond belief. Just glancing at them made you want to pluck out your own eyes.
"Which brings us to the last possible reason it failed…" Liam raised a third finger, voice steady through the Den Den Mushi. "Time."
Zoya took advantage of the chaos to slip away, catching sight of the woman calmly sitting in the grass, still chatting into the Den Den Mushi, it was her! The one who had known the Okama from before! How was she not reacting to any of this madness? Was she deaf?!
Either way, better to face her than that ghostly monster!
Zoya charged in, raising his sword and swinging it down at Robin's unguarded back.
"Time?" Robin repeated, speaking into the Den Den Mushi. The snail's face mimicked Liam's as it answered: "It's been the time since you last made contact with Hancock!"
Just then—
Clang!
The sword stopped dead, suspended inches from Robin's neck.
"…?!" Zoya gritted his teeth, using all his strength to press down, but the blade didn't budge. Not even a fraction.
His face contorted in disbelief. "What the hell… is happening?!"
The sword was frozen mid-air. It refused to move!
Across the field, Liam held the Den Den Mushi in one hand. With the other, he controlled the metal blade using magnetic force.
"Taka Jizai only works if your power touches the target first," Liam explained coolly. With a casual wave of his hand, manipulating magnetic energy, he added, "But people change. When the current state of the target differs too much from when you first copied them…"
Clang!
The sword ripped from Zoya's grasp, wrenched away by an invisible force.
It sliced across his cheek as it flew, opening a deep gash that ran down to the bone.
At the same time, invisible arms wrapped tightly around Zoya's neck.
Robin's Body in Bloom (B.I.B.) technique hurled him through the air.
Koala, still fleeing in a panic, yelped and narrowly dodged him mid-flight.
BAM!
Zoya crashed into the stampede of Okama.
He hit the ground hard, dazed. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard the sound of horrified screams, followed by the unmistakable shlick of blades slicing flesh…
He winced. Lifted his head, and froze in horror.
The swordsmen were being shredded by flashes of cold steel flying through the air.
Their own weapons, now stained with blood, were moving on their own, gliding through the sky like creatures with a will of their own.
"This has gotta be a joke…"
"Am I… still dreaming…?"
The remaining swordsmen stared, dumbfounded.
They couldn't comprehend what they were seeing.
The swords… had come alive.
It wasn't just the swordsmen, the Okama were equally stunned, their heavily painted faces frozen in disbelief as they stared at the surreal spectacle before them.
In the very next moment, the swarm of airborne blades twisted together like a raging current, whirling with deadly grace in a single direction.
Whizz whizz whizz whizz whizz!
The sound of blades slicing through the air rang out like a storm.
One by one, the swords embedded themselves precisely into the pink grass, forming a perfect line between Robin and Liam.
Liam raised a hand and gave the air a casual flick of his wrist.
Shhhrrkkk...
The swords responded instantly.
Each blade began to spin in place, carving deep arcs into the earth. Within seconds, a clearly-defined circle, fifty meters in diameter, was etched into the ground.
"Anyone who crosses this line, dies."
Liam said it simply, like he was discussing the weather. Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued speaking to Robin through the Den Den Mushi:
"The Taka Jizai clone has to maintain linked sensory feedback with the original. If the states between the original and the clone differ too much, physically or mentally, the feedback becomes unstable… maybe even catastrophic."
"This is… insane!"
Zoya stood there, dumbfounded, trying to comprehend what he was seeing.
He looked around. The others were equally shaken. The Okama glanced nervously at one another. And that ghost-like girl floated above the field, her half-gas form shimmering in the sunlight, her face frozen in awe.
What the hell is going on here?!
Was it that woman who did all this?
But… she hadn't even moved! Not once!
I almost cut her down just moments ago, she didn't even flinch!
Is this some kind of ghost curse?
B.I.B., Robin's clone, observed silently from the shadows, its mind racing.
The main body's too far away... This idiot probably didn't even hear the warning just now.
…I barely heard it myself.
And then, just as B.I.B. finished that thought—
Zoya broke into a sprint.
He charged straight for the circle of swords, reaching out to grab one of the hilts.
The moment his fingers brushed the handle—
A flash of cold light cut across his vision.
His thoughts ended.
Gū lū…
A small device, a Pose, tumbled from his coat pocket and rolled across the blood-spattered grass.
A dark, flame-patterned mechanical hand reached down and picked it up.
The hand turned it over, revealing the front.
Glowing white eyes scanned the name inscribed on the device:
"Resort Island."
(End of Chapter)