One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 274: Saturn Descends!

Chapter 274: Saturn Descends!

Silently, the Snake Head Mask covered the Sword God’s face.

No — at this moment, perhaps a different title was needed.

He was not the "Sword God."

He was...

"The Zodiac... Hebi?"

Lying on the ground, his consciousness blurred from blood loss and exhaustion, Hawkeye struggled to open his eyes.

He looked at the figure standing with a sword, a subtle arc seemingly tugging at the corner of his mouth. "This is quite a coincidence..."

He seemed to want to say something more, but couldn’t get the words out — because a moment later, he passed out completely.

And time across the entire sea area seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

On the World Economic Journal’s news ship, the ace commentator’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out.

The microphone in his hand clattered to the deck.

But immediately after, the noise was drowned out by his horrified roar: "In— Incredible! A shocking truth has been revealed!"

"The Sea Beast Mask — there’s no mistake... the Sword God is actually one of the top executives of The Zodiac: Hebi!"

"The newly crowned ’World’s Strongest Swordsman’ is also a member of The Zodiac — this will definitely be tomorrow’s headline — no, this news will spread across the whole world today!"

His roaring voice carried across the world through the broadcast Den Den Mushi.

The entire sea was like a lake into which a boulder had been dropped.

Monstrous waves surged up in an instant.

Alabasta, inside the tavern.

"The Zodiac again?"

Usopp, drenched in sweat from shock, muttered instinctively.

"Eh? The Zodiac? In other words — he’s a crewmate from the same pirate crew as that monkey old man from before?"

Luffy’s eyes widened.

"Luffy, I told you before — they are not a pirate crew! They’re not pirates!"

Nami glared in exasperation at her common-sense-lacking captain, then sighed. "I knew it. How could a monster like this just pop out of nowhere?"

"Yohohoho, speaking of which, I seem to recall as well."

Brook said, thinking back.

"When I handed over Ryuma’s corpse to Mr. Tatsu at Thriller Bark, I heard him mention that there was a swordsman among the organization’s top executives. Looking at it now, that must have been Lord Hebi."

He murmured.

Yes — he knew that Shimotsuki Ryuma’s corpse was in the hands of The Zodiac.

And now Hebi had displayed swordsmanship from the very same lineage as Shimotsuki Ryuma.

This made Brook’s imagination run wild. Could it be that the reason Tatsu took Ryuma’s corpse back then was to let Hebi master his swordsmanship?

"Indeed. Toratora also took some research equipment from Germa before, which was reportedly going to be used for the swordsman in the organization."

Reiju nodded as well.

Clearly, these two members of the Straw Hat crew who had a deep understanding of The Zodiac had both heard something about Hebi’s situation.

But for Zoro — the only swordsman present — he couldn’t fully take in his companions’ conversation.

"Hebi..."

He stared unblinking at the figure on the live broadcast screen.

Inoshi, Saru, and now Hebi. From before he set sail until now, The Zodiac had seemed like an unavoidable link on his journey, bringing him shock time and time again, making him increasingly realize the vastness of the sea.

And until this moment, his greatest ambition and dream were finally connected to this organization.

"The new... World’s Strongest Swordsman!"

He murmured softly, as if once again firming his resolve — and truly seeing the goal he needed to pursue.

Apart from the Straw Hat crew, similar discussions were erupting wildly in every corner of the world.

No one could have imagined that at the end of this clash, such shocking news would surface.

But on Instein Island itself, the thoughts of the several CP0 members were clearly different from everyone else’s.

"Hebi?"

As agents directly under the World Government, they knew very well what the words "The Zodiac" meant.

It represented the highest priority. Once their traces were discovered, they had to be investigated and captured at all costs, and immediately reported to the Five Elders — a priority even higher than any mission CP0 originally carried out.

So after their brief shock, these CP0 members made a choice immediately.

"Abandon Hawkeye — capture him first!"

Capturing "Hawkeye" Mihawk was certainly important, but no one’s importance could surpass "The Zodiac."

What’s more—

"Such an opportunity is one in a million!"

They looked at the clearly heavily injured Hebi.

The next moment—

"Soru!"

The CP0 members did not hesitate to employ Rokushiki.

Their figures vanished from their spots, attacking Hebi from all directions.

"Shigan: Chaos Flower Barrage!"

"Shigan: Six Pulse Spear!"

"Shigan: Blade!"

Although they hadn’t formulated a coordinated plan, the several CP0 members moved with great tacit understanding — quickly surrounding Hebi but choosing not to close in, instead opting for long-range Shigan attacks.

The reason was simple.

"The news here must have already spread. Marine reinforcements will arrive soon — we don’t need to catch him directly. We just need to stall him and prevent him from leaving. That will be enough!"

This was their plan.

Hebi clearly saw through it.

And at the same time—

[Sufficient Wish Power has been collected]

[Wish Cognition: World’s Strongest Swordsman]

[Wish Cognition: Strongest Swordsman]

[Wish Cognition: Shimotsuki Ryuma]

At the bottom of his eyes, the text on the Fruit Encyclopedia was constantly jumping.

Yes.

Accompanied by his defeat of Hawkeye under the attention of the entire world — "Hebi is the World’s Strongest Swordsman," "The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Shimotsuki Ryuma might truly exist" — such cognitions had already filled every part of the sea.

And the continuous gathering of countless wishes had already allowed him to complete the goal of this journey.

In other words, the conditions to execute the next "experiment" were already met.

Now, all that was missing was—

"An experimental subject."

Amidst a low murmur, Hebi had already made his decision.

So he was seen "wearily" raising Shusui.

Slash!

A slash appearing out of thin air flew forth, accompanied by pitch-black Haki.

Blood spurted as two CP0 members were instantly cut in half, their mutilated corpses falling to the ground.

The other CP0 members froze mid-step.

But as agents who had undergone countless rounds of training, they quickly and calmly noticed—

"His slashes have gotten weaker!"

Although it still possessed powerful might, they could clearly judge — compared to his duel with Hawkeye, Hebi’s slash just now had obviously weakened.

And beyond that, they noticed something more. After swinging his sword, Hebi’s arm had an imperceptible tremble, and the hideous wounds on his body spilled even more blood.

"His injuries are getting worse — he can’t hold on much longer!"

The CP0s reached this conclusion and unhesitatingly launched another attack.

Even though they had just witnessed comrades die moments ago — as members of CP0, they had long been prepared for death.

Thus, a strange spectacle unfolded across Instein Island.

The white figures of the CP0s flashed and reappeared constantly in the air, launching attacks at Hebi.

And Hebi swung his sword again and again.

With every swing, at least one CP0 fell.

But with each successive slash, his movements grew slower, more exhausted.

At the same time, people noticed — during the fighting, Hebi even took the time to casually toss the unconscious Hawkeye behind a shattered boulder, clearly to protect him.

"Are they trying to drag Hebi to his death?"

"This..."

"To use such despicable methods against a swordsman like him?"

Even the viewers watching the live broadcast could see the CP0s’ intentions.

For a moment, their feelings were complex.

This was inevitable.

Although for a long time, due to the World Government’s propaganda, The Zodiac’s reputation on the sea had been extremely poor — many things could not be completely hidden.

For example, some perceptive people on the sea had already noticed: although the Government kept promoting The Zodiac as a truly evil faction, if one looked closely, there seemed to be no evidence of them ever oppressing common people or committing atrocities like other pirates and criminal organizations.

Especially after the recent events in Dressrosa.

Rumors had always circulated on the sea — that the one who truly wanted to destroy Dressrosa was not The Zodiac, but the World Government itself.

There was also the miracle personally experienced by many citizens of Alabasta — "Tatsu," one of The Zodiac, had brought rain to the country.

Although that matter was now "history" that could not be mentioned, those who experienced that miracle would never forget it.

So in truth, public perception of The Zodiac was deeply complex. Some believed they were an evil faction. Others believed they might not be committing evil at all — merely opposing the Government.

Especially after having just watched a head-on duel between the world’s strongest swordsmen, the CP0s’ current conduct — which could only be called sneaky and rat-like — made most people feel a subtle sense of displeasure rising in their hearts.

But exactly then— 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

VMMM!

The sky, which had brightened considerably after the duel, became gloomy once again.

Pitch-black lightning exploded overhead, and the rubble on Instein Island silently crumbled to fine powder under this coercion.

The next moment, a magic circle engraved with the number "5" appeared out of thin air on the ground.

A massive malice surged over the ruins of Instein Island.

And at the same time, the Fruit Encyclopedia at the bottom of Hebi’s eyes popped out corresponding words:

[Detected "Source Energy of Lineage Factor" Creation — Abyssal Sea Contract · Abyssal Magic Circle · Short-Distance Teleportation]

[The contract holder can perform teleportation within a short distance spanning a single sea area, limited to one teleportation within a short period]

RUMBLE!

The ground — already on the verge of collapse — trembled violently. The island’s wreckage looked as if it would fall apart once more.

Amidst spreading dust and smoke, the figure of a massive behemoth emerged from the magic circle.

That figure wearing a flat hat and holding a walking stick was none other than Saint Saturn.

But the difference was stark.

Saturn at this moment had a completely different posture from before.

His lower body bore spider-like appendages, and ox-like horns grew from the top of his head.

That was precisely—

[Lineage Factor · Wish · Abyssal Essence]

[Evil Phantom Beast · Gyūki]

(End of Chapter)

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