radicalducati Chapter 275 Shock, Roger's Second Noble Phantasm
Chapter 275 Shock, Roger's Second Noble Phantasm
Chapter 275 Shock, Roger's Second Noble Phantasm
Time beneath the deep sea is a slowly flowing darkness.
When King Hassan led Luffy and his crew through the twisted coral jungle to the entrance of the Shipwreck Canyon, Zoro took his hand off the hilt of his sword for the first time.
It's not because of laxity.
It was because my intuition was screaming that something was wrong.
"Grandpa," Luffy craned his neck to look into the depths of the canyon.
"It's so dark here. Is this really the place you were talking about for the final battle?"
Wang Hassan did not turn around; his black robe blurred like ink in the seawater.
His voice was still deep, but it lacked a certain familiar quality.
That is the weight that has settled after experiencing countless life and death events and witnessing countless endings.
"The aura is strongest here," said King Hassan. "Follow me."
He stepped into the canyon.
On the rock face, layers of shipwrecks from hundreds of years ago are piled up. The wooden hulls have long been corroded by seawater into grotesque skeletons, while the ironclad ships are covered with dark red rust spots, like congealed blood scabs.
Every shipwreck is a grave, and every grave holds unfulfilled obsessions.
Robin unleashed his power, and dozens of eyes opened on the rock wall, scanning the desolate graveyard.
"There's no sign of life," she said. "Even deep-sea fish aren't coming near here."
"Because this is a death trap," Roger said, his brow furrowing in a rare gesture.
"The concept of death is so deeply ingrained here that living things will instinctively avoid it."
Sanji's cigarette went out quickly in the seawater, and he clicked his tongue.
"That feels a bit strange, doesn't it? In a place like this. Brook's Devil Fruit ability involves the underworld, but isn't its essence still the power of the living?"
Wang Hassan stopped in his tracks.
Ahead, at the deepest part of the canyon, lies a relatively open sandy area.
In the center of the sandy land stands an altar made of shipwreck debris.
A jet-black crystal floats on the altar.
It's about the size of a fist, with a viscous, dark sheen flowing across its surface, like a frozen night sky.
Around the crystal, three figures were kneeling.
Tranquility, cursed wrist, a hundred faces.
The three Hassan figures, with their hands in mudras and heads bowed, appeared to be performing some ancient ritual.
"All three of them are here! Let's take them down!" Luffy shouted.
The three Hassans looked up at the same time.
The eyes beneath the skull mask stared blankly at the intruder.
"It doesn't matter that we're here," Bai Mao in the middle spoke, his voice eerily calm. "Your presence is enough."
The moment the words left his mouth, the black crystal on the altar came to life.
It began to pulsate, beating like a heart, each beat releasing a ring of black ripples. The ripples swept across the canyon, across the shipwreck, across every skeleton.
Then, the skeletons opened their eyes.
It wasn't a real eye, but a ghostly fire burning within its socket, awakening a death that had been dormant for hundreds of years.
"A trap!" Zoro instantly drew his swords, all three simultaneously. "Old man, this is a trap!"
Wang Hassan slowly turned around.
The red light from beneath the skull mask swept over each member of the Straw Hat crew.
"I know," he said.
Then, he took off his mask.
It's not King Hassan.
The face beneath the mask was young, pale, and almost eerily handsome, with a pair of gray-white eyes reflecting the endless void.
Yazlar.
"I'm sorry I lied to you." The young Grim Reaper bowed slightly, his movements as elegant as a nobleman's.
"But if not, how could the old man in the mountains have left the gatekeeper of the underworld he guarded?"
Luffy's eyes widened: "You are—that Grim Reaper?!"
"Exactly." Azrael raised his hand, pointing to the jet-black crystal. "This is the core of the Death Ring, forged from the accumulated resentment of death in the Shipwreck Canyon over three hundred years. Its function is simple—"
He paused, a cold glint flashing in his gray eyes.
"To temporarily imprison death itself."
Beyond the canyon, in the deep sea.
The dragon project never left Brook's true king Hassan, and he felt an instinctive tremor.
The next instant, he stood on the coral reef outside the Dragon Palace, his black robe motionless in the seawater, but the broadsword in his hand trembled slightly—not from fear, but from a sense of unease.
"Grandpa?" Brooke frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"
Jinbe also noticed the anomaly: "This aura—something has been awakened in the direction of Shipwreck Canyon."
King Hassan slowly raised his head, turning his skull mask toward the canyon.
"Azrael—" he whispered, "are you using resentment as bait to lure me into a trap?"
"What do you mean?"
"The deaths accumulated in the Shipwreck Canyon are of the same origin as my commandment of death," Wang Hassan explained.
"If I step into its area, the core of the Death Ring will resonate with me, forcibly solidifying me temporarily, like a flying insect trapped in amber. However, it seems I have no choice but to go, since your companions are already inside."
"9
Brook's expression changed: "Luffy and the others!!!"
"We've fallen into a trap." King Hassan gripped his greatsword tightly. "But—"
He turned to Brook. "You're still here. The gatekeeper of the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit) is Azrael's true target."
Brook, unusually loud, roared, "I don't care about this! I'm going to save Luffy!"
"How about we split into two groups?" Jinbe said in a deep voice. "I'll go with the old man to rescue Luffy, while you and Kojiro stay behind to guard Ryugu Castle."
Wang Hassan remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"I cannot hold on—if I am imprisoned, at this moment no one but Noah can stop me from dying."
"What do we do then?" Kojiro exclaimed anxiously. "We can't just watch that kid die!"
"—He won't die." Wang Hassan spoke slowly after a long silence.
"Because of him, and those he summons, are the ones who break the deadlock."
He could almost see through the thick palace walls and into the man with his arms crossed, laughing like a fool.
"Gol D. Roger," Wang Hassan said softly, "the man who should never be underestimated in this era."
"I will go there immediately; you all stay here."
Shipwreck Canyon.
Black ripples have spread throughout the entire canyon.
Every skeleton stood up, every shipwreck began to tremble, and the resentment of three hundred years of death surged towards the altar from all directions, pouring into the jet-black crystal.
The crystal's light grew brighter and brighter, gradually transforming into a semi-transparent black cage that sealed off the entire canyon.
Yazral stood on the altar, with three Hassans standing behind him.
"Don't struggle." Death's voice echoed in the cage.
"This cage is not meant to imprison or kill, but merely to delay. Once I obtain the Gate to the Underworld and reshape the cycle of life and death, you may leave."
"Who wants to wait for you?!" Luffy roared, his rubber arm instantly extending, "Gum-Gum King Kong Gun!"
The fist, brimming with domineering power, slammed towards the altar, but the moment it touched the black cage, the power within it was stripped away layer by layer.
Dissolving, ultimately like being inserted into cotton, happens silently and without a trace.
Zoro's Three-Sword Style Slash, Sanji's Diable Jambe, and Franky's Laser Cannon.
All attacks were absorbed by the cage without even causing a ripple.
"Don't waste your energy," Azrael said calmly. "This cage is the embodiment of the concept of death; no force related to life can break through it."
He turned and looked towards the entrance of the canyon.
"The old man in the mountains should be arriving soon."
Before he could finish speaking...
A black sword light slashed in from outside the canyon.
It's not about cutting into the cage, it's about cutting into the concept of the cage.
Wherever the sword light passed, the resentment of death melted away like snow meeting boiling water, the black cage trembled violently, and countless cracks appeared on its surface.
King Hassan stepped into the canyon.
His black robes fluttered, a greatsword was in his hand, and the red light beneath his skull mask was like lava from hell.
"Azrael," his voice was deep and thunderous, "you have crossed the line by blaspheming death with resentment."
"Crossing the line?" The young Grim Reaper laughed.
"We are the boundary itself. How can you claim to have crossed it?"
He raised his hand and pointed to the black crystal on the altar.
"This thing is of the same origin as you, Old Man of the Mountain. Once you touch it, your death commandment will resonate with it, and you will be frozen here like a statue for at least twelve hours."
Wang Hassan stared silently at the crystal.
He could feel the resentment within the crystal calling to him, like a lost child calling for his father.
Those were deaths that had been left to settle for three hundred years, deaths that had not been extradited, and deaths that longed to be accepted, purified, and ended by true death.
If he forcibly breaks through, he himself will become a vessel to purify these resentments.
The purification process is essentially a solidification process.
"Grandpa, don't come any closer!" Luffy shouted, "This guy's trying to provoke you!"
Wang Hassan did not respond.
He simply took a step forward.
Azrael shook his head. "Knowing it's a trap, why walk into it?"
"For I am death," said King Hassan, his voice eerily calm.
"It is my duty to extradite the lost souls who have died."
The second step.
The cracks in the black cage began to heal, not through self-repair, but because the aura of death emanating from King Hassan resonated with the cage, completing this incomplete realm of death.
A glint of light flashed in Yazlar's eyes.
third step.
Wang Hassan stepped into the cage.
Instantly, the jet-black crystal burst forth with a blinding black light!
Countless resentments transformed into jet-black chains, bursting forth from the crystal and binding King Hassan's hands, feet, waist, abdomen, and neck!
Every chain was frantically extracting his concept of death, attempting to assimilate him into this realm of death!
King Hassan's body began to become transparent, his black robe gradually blended into the darkness, and even the greatsword in his hand began to dissipate.
"Old man!" the Straw Hat crew exclaimed.
But King Hassan simply stood there quietly, letting the chains bind him.
"It's done." Azrael smiled.
"For twelve hours, you will become one with this place. And during this time, I will have enough time to do many things."
He turned and looked at the three Hassans.
"Silence, cursed wrists, a hundred faces, guard this place. If anyone attempts to damage the crystal—"
"Kill without mercy."
The three Hassans bowed: "Yes, sir."
Azrael's figure began to fade, as if it were about to merge into the void.
He intends to return to the Dragon Palace and seize Brook while King Hassan is in power.
But in that very instant...
A voice rang out.
"Hey, Death."
It's not Luffy, not Zoro, not any member of the Straw Hat crew.
That's Roger.
Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, has somehow found himself standing on the edge of the altar.
He leaned against the mast of the half-sunken ship, arms crossed, a fearless smile on his face.
"Have you forgotten?" Roger said, "there's still someone here?"
Luffy's eager gaze was instantly drawn to Roger, as was everyone else's.
"Uncle Roger————"
One Piece —
Azrael's figure solidified again, his grey eyes looking at Roger.
"You—should be locked in a cage."
"Ah, that," Roger pointed to the surrounding black cages, "These things seal off the power of life, right?"
He took a step forward.
The cage did not respond.
"Because my power—" Roger took another step, "was never simply life."
third step.
He stood directly beneath the black crystal.
He looked up at the pulsating core, a repository of three hundred years of resentment from death.
"Your plan is brilliant, Death," Roger said.
"Use the same resentment of death to trap the old man, preventing him from making a move. Within this realm of death, the power of all living beings will be suppressed."
"Theoretically, he is indeed invincible."
Azrael frowned: "Theoretically?"
"Because things beyond theory always exist."
Roger smiled, and there was something in that smile that Azrael couldn't understand—not courage, not fearlessness, but some kind of ancient certainty.
"For example, a person who has already died once."
"7
Roger raised his hand and pressed it to Luffy's chest to the left.
There, there is a glowing mark. The mark of Noah's Ark.
A portion of the Ark Power that Luffy obtained was shared with him through the Master-Servant contract.
"The power of Noah—" For the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared in Azrael's grey eyes.
"But even so, what can you do? Your Noble Phantasm is for opening up sea routes, which is useless against the rules of life and death."
"Is that so?" Roger laughed. "Who told you—I only have one Noble Phantasm?"
Luffy's expression suddenly became extremely serious. He then shielded all his crewmates behind him and stood side by side with Roger.
Roger and he exchanged a smile.
"That's right, Luffy, you understand me."
The next instant, they took a step forward.
With just one step, the atmosphere of the entire seabed changed.
That wasn't a suppression of power; it was something more fundamental.
It is the possibility itself that is expanding.
"My first Noble Phantasm, Roar of the Skybreaker, is the aura of a conqueror who opens up new sea routes and creates new eras," Roger said.
"But my second Noble Phantasm is 6"
He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and placed it in front of his chest.
"But that era itself."
Light emanated from his body.
It is not the light of magic, nor the light of energy, but the light of will.
It is the light that guides countless navigators through storms and the light that propels countless adventurers to set sail in uncharted waters.
It is the light that makes countless dreamers laugh out loud in desperate situations, and the light that makes countless inheritors vow to go further before their tombstones.
The light converged behind Roger, forming a huge phantom.
It wasn't Roger himself, but an ocean.
A sea that moves ever forward, without end, carrying countless dreams and legacies.
All of this is a microcosm of an era.
That was the Age of Exploration.
"The true name of the Noble Phantasm————"
Roger's voice echoed through the deep sea, each word seemingly striking the very foundation of the world.
"Our Sea, Never Ends!"
A burst of light erupted.
That's not an attack, that's coverage.
The concepts of pioneering and freedom in an era are used to overshadow the concepts of stillness and death.
The jet-black crystal trembled violently in the light, and the resentment of death on its surface melted away like ice and snow exposed to sunlight!
The chains binding King Hassan broke inch by inch, and countless cracks appeared in the walls of the black cage!
Death? Death? The End?
Where is the true end on this ever-moving, endless sea?
Yazlar retreated for the first time.
"Impossible—" he whispered.
"How can humanity's fleeting will possibly contend with eternal rules?"
"Because the will of humanity is passed down," Roger said. "I am dead, but my will lives on in the hearts of countless people."
"Ace inherited it, Luffy inherited it, Sabo inherited it, and countless others who set sail inherited it."
97
He walked forward, and with each step, the light shone even brighter.
"Death, death can take away life, but it cannot take away the will."
"An era may end, but a new era will rise. Don't you understand? That's humanity, that's us."
Roger stood in front of Yazlar.
The two looked at each other.
On one side is the eternal god of death.
On one side is the short-lived yet brilliant King of Humanity.
"Now," Roger said, "from our seas—"
He raised his fist, a fist that embodied the light of an entire era.
"Get the hell out of here!!!"
He threw a punch.
It didn't hit the body, it hit the concept.
The concept of death, the concept of being pioneered, was directly defeated.
Azrael's figure gradually became illusory, turning into specks of light starting from his feet.
But his final expression was neither anger nor despair.
Instead, it was confusion.
"Inheritance—will—" he murmured.
"So that's how it is—this is the Star Pioneer—"
Before he finished speaking, he had completely vanished.
Death has temporarily withdrawn from the stage.