Magellan's terrifying strength had far exceeded Yujin's expectations.
The man truly lived up to his reputation of being comparable to a Marine Admiral.
In this cramped terrain, Magellan could fight any Admiral or even a Yonko head-on.
Yujin struggled, using both hands to push himself up from the poisonous pool.
The veins on his arms bulged, and every movement looked painfully difficult.
With trembling fingers, he pulled out antidote injectors from his pocket one after another, stabbing them straight into his body without hesitation.
The moment each needle pierced his skin, his brows tightened, and pain twisted across his face.
But Magellan did not give him even a second to breathe.
The Poison Giant Soldier behind him raised its massive fist again and smashed down toward Yujin.
A thunderous boom echoed as the fist struck him.
The force sent Yujin flying like a rag doll.
Poison surged like a raging tide, drowning him instantly.
Toxic liquid filled his mouth and nose, cutting off his breath.
He struggled desperately, but his body felt like it was bound by thousands of invisible ropes, completely unable to move.
His Sharingan — the three-tomoe — rolled back, turning white as violent spasms overtook him.
"Water Release…"
He didn't even have time to form hand seals before Magellan force-fed him another wave of venom.
Even the two Earth Grudge Fear masks twisted into expressions of pure agony, their eyes rolling white as well.
His kagune — both the Ukaku wings and Bikaku tails — sizzled under the corrosive poison.
The once beautiful feathers had melted away, leaving only bare bone-like structures behind.
They looked pitiful, like a bird stripped of all its feathers, trembling in the storm on the brink of death.
With a sharp crack, the Water Release Earth Grudge Fear mask shattered first.
Right after it, the Wind Release Earth Grudge Fear mask broke apart as well.
The poisonous dragon's lingering damage was even more devastating than the original Wind Release: Rasenshuriken that killed Kakuzu, its effect perfectly restraining multiple hearts at once.
Yujin had already reached the end of his life.
His consciousness was fading.
The world before his eyes grew darker and darker.
The shadow of death slowly crept toward him step by step.
Yet deep inside, his desire for freedom and his unwillingness to submit still burned stubbornly.
Magellan stepped forward and, venting his anger, kicked Yujin hard!
Yujin's body flew through the air.
The blood he spat out was actually a dark red poison.
The antidotes that were supposed to save his life scattered everywhere because of Magellan's kick.
"Overestimating yourself… The one who started this prison break will be locked in Eternal Hell forever, never to be reborn!"
After delivering his verdict, Magellan turned to leave.
But at that moment— Yujin's aura suddenly erupted!
Magellan snapped his head back, disbelief filling his face.
In the next instant, he saw a fist wrapped in Armament Haki hurtling toward him!
Yujin's entire body emitted white smoke.
Antidote needles were still pierced into his flesh.
A ferocious, twisted smile hung on his lips.
Because the poison had corroded his skin, exposing bone underneath, he looked like a demon clawing its way out of hell.
At the same time— Uchiha Yujin, waiting at Konoha's main gate for assembly…
Marvel Yujin, strengthening his abilities at X Academy…
And the Lord God Yujin, standing inside the police station waiting for Chu Xuan's next orders…
All clutched their spasming, swelling hearts at the exact same moment!
Second-stage Genetic Lock…
Open!
Gene Lock—a product of rules modified at a great cost.
A First-Level Gene Lock could give an ordinary person the strength to take down three special forces soldiers with their bare hands.
If the person was already a special forces soldier, they could dominate unrestricted combat for decades.
It could even allow someone with no surgical knowledge to perform delicate and precise operations.
However, a First-Level Gene Lock could only enhance the bloodline within the Lord God Space to a level of one to thirty.
It was far from enough to establish a stable position in the Lord God Space.
But once a Second-Level Gene Lock was activated, it meant a ticket to the hall of human genes!
Even bloodlines could reach fifty percent of their potential!
Simply activating a Second-Level Gene Lock could make human muscles hard enough to resist rifle bullets.
The nerves, muscles, and senses would all receive massive enhancements. Even the energy within the body could be fully controlled and utilized.
Previously, the energy within Yujin's body was like a divided hotpot.
One side held chakra, and the other contained the blue bar of Asgardian magic.
After activating the Second-Level Gene Lock, the chakra that had run dry in Pirate Yujin's body began to draw upon the energy from the magic side.
The dividing "board" in the middle of the hotpot lifted slightly, allowing the abundant magical energy to flow into the "plain soup" of chakra.
It was like switching to a hybrid mode—electricity gone, now running on a mix of gasoline and electricity.
Yujin felt the change in his body's energy, but his expression remained calm.
Because his outward transformation was even more astonishing.
With the First-Level Gene Lock, his one-eyed ghoul bloodline was only a low-level, anime-style manifestation.
But reaching the Second-Level Gene Lock, the first obvious change was in Yujin's Ukaku Feather!
Originally, there were twenty feathers, but after the enhancement, ten more appeared on one side.
The width and length of each feather also increased.
Feathers that had once been palm-sized now measured twenty centimeters, far longer than an ordinary kunai, and hard enough to be used as melee weapons.
Though coated in a sticky red poison, the hairs on the Ukaku Feather had turned purple.
If the First-Level Gene Lock made Yujin look like a demon, the Second-Level Gene Lock made him resemble an archangel.
No… even that wasn't accurate.
The real shock came from the transformation of his Tail Kagune (Bikaku).
The long tail Kagune were like connected segments of bone. Every time Yujin moved, the tail rattled like a rattlesnake.
The sharp tail hook emitted a sound in perfect sync with his movements.
A chilling green gleamed at the tip, as if the tail itself were introducing itself: "I'm poisonous!"
After activating the Second-Level Gene Lock, Yujin's cursed seal ghoul state looked more like a fallen angel—half devil, half angel—tainted and tempted by Satan himself.
His height had surpassed two meters and fifty centimeters.
Veins rippled across his muscles, radiating raw power.
In this state, Yujin felt an endless well of strength surging through him.
As Magellan's fist came crashing down, Yujin raised his own and clashed with it!
Magellan's expression shifted subtly.
He seemed to foresee a future where this brat would be poisoned and sent flying by his attack.
But the next moment, as the successive blows rained down, Magellan felt a strange numbness in his hands and a hint of confusion.
Clearly, the purity of this kid's Armament Haki wasn't that high.
So how…?
Magellan's eyes widened in disbelief.
He finally understood.
This brat in front of him was using his Armament Haki like gold—stretching, adjusting, and controlling it with incredible precision.
He thinned the thickness of his Haki, optimizing it to cover exactly the area where each poisonous strike would inflict the most damage.
What looked like ordinary Armament Haki was, in fact, his strongest defensive point perfectly aligned with every attack Magellan threw.
It was as if he had a target with 359 weak points—but that one degree of invincibility alone was enough to block every attack.
Even the poison on Magellan's fists was nullified this way.
The Second-Level Gene Lock didn't just alter Yujin's ghoul appearance—it also enhanced his Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Sharingan.
With the dual aid of Sharingan and Observation Haki, Magellan's attacks appeared to Yujin like choreographed moves in a movie.
They weren't just slow—each punch was predictable, like a scripted scene.
Facing this version of Yujin, Magellan, the master of poison, reached an unexpected but undeniable conclusion.
He had just awakened his Devil Fruit during the battle.
****
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