"This... this is..."
Cold sweat poured down Diamante's forehead. He could not help taking several steps back.
What kind of monster was this?
The most important thing was not even that terrifying aura.
It was his appearance.
Wasn't this...
"So what truly stands above time and space is rules?"
Ignoring the countless pained, suffocating cries around him, the tall figure walked up to Diamante.
"Ozz... Mr. Ozz, no, Lord Ozz!"
Looking at the being before him, who looked almost exactly like Ozz, Diamante's pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Under that absolute pressure from a superior lifeform, and under the suppression of that Haki, he could not even resist. He could only watch as a large hand grabbed his head.
A scarlet light flashed through those eyes.
The tall, black-haired figure froze for a moment.
Then his eyes widened.
"Two years after the Summit War? Dressrosa?"
"So it really is you... the me who ate the Warp-Warp Fruit."
As light from outside gradually shone into the dark passage, a somewhat weary young man appeared before Kuina.
"You are... Teacher Ozz?!"
Kuina's mouth fell open. Her face was filled with uncontrollable shock.
"No... I'm not that guy. Though I suppose I'm also that guy."
Under the light, the black-haired young man in a black military uniform helplessly held his forehead.
He was still muttering to himself.
"What kind of reason is this? Probably because prime Golden Lion was too overpowered, so after thinking about it, he swapped me in instead..."
Through the thoughts he had just read from Diamante, "Ozz" had already learned everything.
And in an instant, he understood everything.
This was probably the "himself" who had appeared before he was born, the one who had dug a pit for him.
He could even rely on his understanding of himself to figure out why he had been summoned here.
A few traces of helplessness appeared in his scarlet vertical pupils.
It could be said that if Black Spear had never interfered, his original life trajectory should have been the same as Black Spear's.
But because that man had planted a bomb for him during God Valley, he had been forced to enter the sights of monsters ahead of time.
And Linlin too...
Even with his absolute stats, before reaching his peak, dealing with all of that had been extremely troublesome.
Fortunately, for some unknown reason, whether it was the World Government or those great pirates, they seemed to have concerns about attacking him, allowing him to grow all the way to this point.
They had even given him the title of "World's Strongest Creature."
"Although I do have some complaints toward another me, no matter what..."
The young man in black sighed.
He thought of Old Gick's excited and yearning face every time he mentioned "Ozz."
He also thought of Ozz's legendary deeds at God Valley, stories he had heard so many times that his ears had nearly grown calluses.
"Since he took good care of the old man back at God Valley, I'll give you this face."
For Old Gick's sake...
Youth Form Ozz, Azure Dragon Fruit user, stepped out from the arena entrance.
Beside him were Kuina and a deeply shaken Lucci.
The three of them were the final defenders of this match.
A pink dragon on the left, a yellow leopard on the right.
Although his lineup was not as powerful as the "Azure Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right" that Rocks had in Old Gick's stories, it was still more than enough.
After all, he was only facing a group of rookies.
Tap.
The moment that noble, towering figure stepped onto the arena stage...
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A power mixed with Conqueror's Haki, along with a terrifying aura like that of a superior being, instantly pressed down on everyone's hearts.
Even at eighteen or nineteen years old, he was still a true "superior lifeform."
"Uncle Ozz?!"
Under that terrifying pressure, Luffy cried out in shock, gritting his teeth as he resisted it.
"What is this aura?"
"And those eyes!"
Kuina felt that aura and sensed a familiar power, as if it came from the same source. Her body trembled with excitement.
"I'm going in!"
In the next instant, she dashed forward, drawing Wado Ichimonji, which was wrapped in Armament Haki, and slashed straight toward Zoro.
Zoro shook off his shattered sunglasses and hurriedly drew Nethercrow to block.
The two immediately entered a stalemate. Black-red lightning scraped through the air, weaving a net of Conqueror's Haki that faintly clashed with Azure Ozz's aura.
"Is this the Haki stored by the me of this world?"
Azure Ozz narrowed his eyes. He felt both familiarity and pressure from it.
That was the strength he would only possess at his peak.
In the timeline of the young Ozz, Zoro and Kuina should not even have been born yet.
Everything before him felt fresh.
While the two sword racks of Ozz clashed with each other in swordsmanship, Rob Lucci, standing beside Azure Ozz, looked at Luffy with excitement.
This was an old opponent.
And now, he would wash away his shame.
"Prepare yourself, Straw Hat."
Lucci slowly transformed into his leopard hybrid form. A faint outline of smoke-like clouds appeared around his body.
"As long as I and Saint Ozz are here, you have no chance of winning!"
Then he rushed out, engaging Luffy in battle.
Azure Ozz's scarlet vertical pupils shifted slightly toward Lucci.
King of Tough Talk, huh?
To think he would see him here.
Just how badly had Black Spear messed up this world?
Ace and Sabo, who were facing Azure Ozz directly, were under tremendous pressure.
"What is going on here..."
"I don't really understand it, but it looks like we have to fight Uncle Ozz!"
Zoro crossed blades with Kuina, gritted his teeth, and looked toward them.
"That looks like Master when he was young. I saw him like that on Sabaody."
"Though he didn't have dragon traits then, the overall appearance is very similar!"
Zoro remembered what happened two years ago, when Ozz had been hit by Bonney's fruit ability and briefly returned to his youthful form.
"That's right..."
Azure Ozz curled his lips.
Rarely, he gave the kind of self-introduction from the pirate world that he had never really understood before.
"I am the one who ate the Azure Dragon Fruit. I'm not the Ozz you're familiar with, but I'm more or less the same."
If there was any specific difference, it would be their styles.
Azure Ozz possessed an absolutely powerful body, overwhelming Haki, and a pride that looked down on everything.
Unlike Space Ozz, who had absolute mechanics, Azure Ozz possessed absolute stats.
That was why he feared nothing.
He could punch through everything.
Though young, he still did not take the three brothers, who were around his age, seriously.
"Come at me together. I'm in a hurry."
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