Spandam had been thrown face-first to the ground by the quake, eating dirt like a dog. Now, as the light faded and the tremors subsided, he scrambled back to his feet, storming over to the window to see what the hell had just happened.
But the moment he looked outside, his rage choked into silence.
It was like someone had grabbed him by the throat. His eyes bulged wider than ping-pong balls. His mouth hung open, and sheer terror overtook his face.
"Director Spandam, what's wrong? What are you looking at that—"
Jabra and the others stopped mid-sentence as they followed Spandam to the window… and just like him, their voices cut off, eyes frozen wide in disbelief.
The Gate of Justice... was gone.
No—more accurately, the entirety of Enies Lobby had vanished.
Everything was gone—everything except the solitary Judicial Tower they were standing in.
"This… this can't be…"
The bustling town, the courthouse complex, the legendary Gate of Justice suspended over the ocean abyss—Enies Lobby, one of the World Government's three great powers, had been completely erased.
And in the sky above, bound in white threads, were three familiar figures.
"Lucci!"
"Kaku!"
"Kalifa!"
They recognized them instantly—CP9's top agents, embedded as undercover operatives in Water 7.
But when their eyes moved to the man at the center of it all, their terror deepened.
"B–Whiteflame?!"
Annihilating CP9!
That young face… those cold, knife-like eyes… that overwhelming, imperial aura—
It was the same pirate who had allegedly fought the Navy's elite expeditionary force for a whole day and night before fleeing, wounded… the man the World Government had just slapped with a 1.568 billion Berries bounty!
What the hell was he doing here?!
But the ones most horrified weren't Spandam and his crew—it was the three people bound by Whiteflame's strings.
They had witnessed it up close: an enormous column of thunder-wreathed energy descending from the heavens like divine punishment. A blinding pillar of light that felt like a god had carelessly stomped down from above. In an instant, the land vanished.
And when the light faded…
Enies Lobby was gone.
The island had been wiped off the face of the earth right before their eyes.
Terror crept into their expressions.
Was that… divine power?
How could any human possess such destructive force?
Rob Lucci's pupils shrank to pinpricks. His mouth hung open as he stared blankly at the abyss below—an empty crater where the island once stood.
The waterfall of sea currents still poured endlessly into the depths below, as it always had… but now, the massive island that had once stood atop that abyss was simply gone.
"What a grand structure…" Whiteflame muttered coldly, lowering his hand, arcs of electricity still flickering across his fingertips. "But in the end… it crumbled like paper."
The attack he had just unleashed was a new invention: the Electromagnetic Laser Cannon—recently improved and evolved into the devastating Orbital-Class Electromagnetic Beam.
It might've sounded like a simple name change, but the difference in power and area-of-effect was massive.
Now, with just one shot, Whiteflame could wipe out an entire island—or even an entire city.
A few more of those, and even a nation wouldn't survive.
Enies Lobby? Just another footnote.
"It's really him…"
Spandam shuddered violently. Had he not been gripping the window frame, his legs would've buckled on the spot.
But how?! The World Government said Whiteflame was gravely wounded and on the run!
It had only been a few days—how was he not only standing here, but in perfect condition?
And why wasn't he clashing with the Four Emperors in the New World? What was he doing here?!
"Damn it… it's really him…"
Even Jabra and the others couldn't hide their fear anymore.
If all they had heard was a name and a bounty, maybe they wouldn't have felt so shaken. But now that they had seen it for themselves—Whiteflame reducing Enies Lobby to rubble with a single gesture—how could anyone stay calm?
BOOM! BOOM!
With a flick of his fingers, Whiteflame flung Lucci and Kaku down onto the Judicial Tower's stone corridor.
"Whiteflame, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Lucci growled, already back on his feet in his leopard hybrid form, eyes like a wild beast's.
"Why didn't you let Kalifa go?" Kaku demanded, glancing toward the still-bound Kalifa.
"Sengoku the Buddha used my name to trick the whole world like they were fools. Of course I need to repay the favor."
Whiteflame glanced at Kalifa. "As for her… I need someone to deliver a message to the World Government."
At that moment, Rob Lucci's eyes narrowed.
"Now's my chance!"
[Rokushiki Reinforced: Soru Blade]
In a flash, Lucci's body blurred—his motion carving a sharp arc through the air. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Whiteflame.
[Tempest Kick: Sky Bird Slash!]
He lashed out with a slicing kick, launching a bird-shaped blade of compressed air straight at Whiteflame's face!
Lucci was certain—if this strike hit, Whiteflame would be seriously wounded, no matter how strong he was.
He was already supposed to be injured from the Navy battle just days ago—how could he have recovered so fast?
If he could land a solid hit, he could escape. Or better yet—kill him.
SWOOSH!
But Lucci's attack hit nothing. Whiteflame, who had just been in front of him, was gone—vanished like mist.
"!!?"
Lucci's heart sank.
Then—
"Rob Lucci," came Whiteflame's calm, emotionless voice—from behind him.
"Ever felt what it's like to be kicked at the speed of light?"
"If not… allow me to show you."
In the next instant, a glowing foot slammed into Lucci's face.
BOOM!!!
His body shot like a cannonball, blasting upward through the roof of the tower, tearing a massive hole through its dome.
"Let's try that again."
As Lucci hurtled through the air, Whiteflame flashed into existence—his form shimmering in a burst of photons—and struck again.
CRASH!!!
His second kick slammed into Lucci's back, knocking him back down. A violent explosion of light erupted as his body plummeted like a meteor.
The shockwave was so massive that the Judicial Tower itself began to collapse, reduced from a symbol of the World Government's pride to smoldering ruins in seconds.
"AAARGHH!!"
When the smoke finally cleared, Rob Lucci coughed up blood. He could no longer maintain his hybrid form, reverting to human, pale as a ghost and barely breathing.
He couldn't feel his body anymore—it was like he'd been completely shattered.
He couldn't even lift a finger.
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA—!"
A wild, crazed laugh echoed from the rubble nearby.
All eyes turned.
Crawling from the debris, Spandam emerged, raising a golden Den Den Mushi high above his head.
"You know what this is?!"
"This is the Buster Call, you bastard!"
"Don't think just because you've got a 1.5 billion bounty, you're untouchable! Even you… will DIE!!"
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