Mid-air, Lucci hovered using Moonwalk, still feeling a lingering sense of dread. Had his reactions not been sharp enough to leap into the sky instantly, he would have likely been caught in the blast. His expression grew significantly more solemn.
The lightning on the ground didn't last long, dissipating after about ten seconds. Only then did Lucci descend. After all, maintaining Moonwalk was taxing on one's stamina. While the drain wasn't substantial for Lucci, the youth before him radiated a power. He decided to conserve every bit of energy he could. Furthermore, while Moonwalk was useful for temporary evasion, it was hardly suitable for high-intensity combat; it lacked both convenience and precision.
"I didn't want to use this power—after all, I've only had it for a short time," Lucci said, his eyes locked on Sean. As he spoke, his body began to shift.
His frame expanded, and leopard spots emerged across his skin. Eventually, even his head transformed, leaving only the area below his nose in human form.
Zoan-type: Cat-Cat Fruit, Leopard Model. Hybrid Form!
In truth, Lucci's Devil Fruit was neither particularly unique nor overpowered, but it was perfectly suited to him. Lucci's primary expertise lay in the Six Powers, and this fruit provided a massive boost to his physical constitution, strength, and speed, amplifying the lethality of his techniques. When it came to speed specifically, this fruit offered far more enhancement than most others.
Now in his hybrid form, Lucci exuded a raw sense of power.
"Tobu Shigan: "Bachi""
Despite the distance between them, Lucci launched a Shigan from where he stood. The onlookers were baffled. Shigan was a close-quarters technique—how had he turned it into a long-range attack?
Sengoku was equally surprised. He knew far more about the Six Powers than the others, given that the style had been created by Garp. Indeed, Shigan could be used for ranged attacks, but it required an extraordinary physique and a level of technical mastery that defied standard specifications. Even among the Marine's top combatants, almost no one could achieve this besides Garp.
He hadn't expected the twenty-three-year-old Lucci to have already mastered it. In other words, Lucci's mastery of the Six Powers had reached a terrifying level.
Without waiting to see the result of the three launched Shigan projectiles, Lucci moved.
"Soru!"
His speed was far greater than before, so fast that several Vice Admirals couldn't even track his movement with their eyes.
Facing the incoming Shigan, Sean simply shifted his weight, dodging them with ease. However, a blur suddenly appeared behind him.
"Got you!"
"Rankyaku "Hyobi"!"
A spiral-shaped vacuum slash tore through the air, manifesting barely a meter away from Sean. To any observer, the attack was unavoidable.
However...
Lucci's pupils contracted. Sean, with his back turned, gripped Hekireki in a strange manner and angled the blade behind him, using the sword to forcibly parry the Rankyaku. Though he blocked the attack, the sheer impact sent Sean flying back several meters.
He wasn't injured, however; Sean had intentionally allowed himself to be knocked back to bleed off the force of the blow.
Giving Sean no room to breathe, Lucci used Soru again to chase him down, intent on striking before the boy could recover his stance.
"Shigan "Madara"!"
Lucci's hands became a blur, unleashing a relentless barrage of Shigan strikes like a machine gun. He pressed his advantage, determined to completely neutralize Sean with this continuous assault.
But just as he was about to close the gap, Lucci suddenly stumbled and slammed face-first into the ground.
He had been on the verge of victory—what on earth happened?
The surrounding Marines were bewildered. While they were happy Sean had escaped defeat, the scene before them made no sense.
As the Marines stood in confusion, Sean regained his balance and spoke.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
Only then did the Marines notice a streak of golden energy, like a rope, binding Lucci's ankles. To be restrained while moving at full speed meant Lucci had no choice but to crash.
'Is that lightning too? It can actually take a tangible form to bind an opponent?' Sengoku mused.
It was an understandable mistake; the rope was golden and flickered like an electric current. Mistaking it for a lightning-based ability was only natural.
Unfortunately, Sean still couldn't cast Bakudō spells above level twenty without chanting. Otherwise, following up with a level thirty "Shitotsu Sansen" would have been a perfect combination. As for chanting? In a real fight, there was no way he'd have time to recite a long incantation. It might work if someone was distracting the enemy or if he were launching a sneak attack, but in a one-on-one duel, it was impossible.
'Come to think of it, I haven't practiced my Kidō in six months. I need to get back to it. Being able to cast Hadō and Bakudō below level twenty without chanting just isn't enough when facing top-tier opponents.'
'Boom!!!'
With a muffled explosion, the golden energy rope binding Lucci's legs shattered into shimmering particles of light.
"As expected, that rope wasn't enough to hold you. In that case!!"
"Strike him down, Hekireki!"
'CRASH!'
A bolt of azure lightning, over a meter in diameter, roared down from the sky. There was no warning, no buildup—the terrifying bolt simply appeared. It was strikingly similar to Enel's Divine Punishment.
"Tekkai: Steel!"
Wait, Tekkai?
Lucci, were you serious?
If he had dodged, he might have survived. But trying to tank this with Tekkai was pure delusion. By Enel's standards, a bolt like that could exceed a hundred million degrees. Did he really think Tekkai could withstand that? Besides, Tekkai was for blocking physical attacks.
Was this a physical attack? Clearly not!
The pillar of lightning swallowed Lucci whole. It took several seconds for the light to fade, leaving a deep crater in the earth.
'Whoosh...'
Just as everyone assumed the match was over, the sound of cutting air erupted. A leopard's tail suddenly whipped around Sean's waist, hoisting him into the air.
"Six Powers Secret Technique: Rokuogan!"
He thrust both fists forward, slamming them directly into Sean's back.
An immense shockwave was on the verge of erupting. If this blow connected, even someone like Sean would likely be severely injured. After all, he didn't possess Luffy's "protagonist armor"—that uncanny ability to grow stronger the more he was beaten down.
While Lucci's maneuver had deceived the majority of the Marines, it was far too transparent for the high-ranking officers—and for Sean.
"Hekireki!"
In an instant, a bolt of lightning erupted from the ground beneath Lucci's feet, engulfing him completely.
A moment later, the leopard tail coiled around Sean slowly loosened. As Sean turned around, he saw Lucci with his eyes rolled back in his head and black smoke curling from his mouth.
"He used the commotion of the falling lightning to mask his movements, evading at the very last second to hide his repositioning," Sean noted. "He even feigned a Tekkai stance beforehand to mislead his opponent. Then, while everyone was distracted by the crater left by the blast, he moved with blinding speed to my back to launch a surprise attack."
Sean looked down at the unconscious Lucci, who remained frozen in a Six Powers combat stance.
"Impressive," Sean said. "Honestly, it's a waste for you to be working for Spandam..."