Moria's battlefield was far more bizarre. A spear formed of shadows pierced through the chest of a CP0 agent. Yet the figure suddenly split into two, flanking Moria from both sides. "A Devil Fruit ability?" Moria grinned wide, the shadow beneath his feet spreading like a pool of ink. "Shadow Servant: Strangulation!" Before the two split figures could close in, their own shadows coiled around their throats, tightening until the crack of bone echoed in the air. In this crew, Laboon had inherited Ritter's old role from the Roger Pirates clearing out the fodder. The Marines froze in terror as the ground beneath them began to tremble. From within the blood mist, a massive blue whale charged forward. It wasn't as large as in the open sea, but still enormous enough to inspire dread. Laboon's eyes burned with battle spirit. With a guttural roar, his tail slammed into the ground, sending shards of stone flying toward his enemies. "Woooooo!" (Translation: Crush them!) A Marine Rear Admiral brandished his blade and shouted, "Open fire! Focus all firepower on that whale!" Bullets rained down like a storm, but the instant they touched Laboon's hide, they ricocheted away. Tezoro had already coated his skin in a golden armor. Unscathed, Laboon only accelerated, his massive body charging like a runaway war chariot. Mist wrapped around his frame, lifting him from the ground. Floating Fortress Laboon. Within the crimson haze, there had to be a terror to match the atmosphere. A Mist-Beast. Laboon. Heheheh. Could a whale that large really float? With Ritter's awakened Mist-Mist Fruit, yes. Just as Aokiji could freeze giants solid, Ritter could suspend Laboon in midair. Beneath Laboon's belly, a dense pocket of blood mist formed, acting like a balloon to lift him. His tail fin worked like a giant rudder, letting him swim through the sky. To onlookers, it looked as though he was swimming through air. It eliminated Laboon's greatest weakness: being stranded when enlarged on land. Make no mistake. This battlefield was Ritter's domain. Laboon's attack rose by 2000, his defense by 2000, agility maxed out. Laboon declared himself through battle. The front line of Marines scattered like bowling pins, bones shattering with every impact. With a single tail swipe, Laboon sent more than a dozen soldiers crashing into a wall, collapsing the masonry in a cloud of dust. The Marines tried to counterattack, but Laboon was far faster. He leapt high into the air, his massive body blotting out the moon. The shadow he cast drowned the entire plaza. His fins blurred into afterimages, every strike carrying the force of a Sea King, sparks bursting like artillery shells with each blow. Soldiers were swatted away like ragdolls, some embedded into walls, others knocked unconscious outright. A CP0 agent roared and drew his blade, coating it in Armament Haki. He slashed down at Laboon's back. Without even looking back, Laboon's tail lashed out. The CP0's sword shattered, and his body was hurled dozens of meters through the air, smashing through three walls before crumpling to the ground. Laboon flicked his tail dismissively, releasing a jet of mist from his blowhole. "Woooo." (Translation: Too weak.) Ritter: "???? Since when did Laboon learn to taunt? Don't tell me I taught him that… right??" Ritter walked forward slowly, blood mist swirling around him. Five CP0 elites stepped into his path, their masked voices sharp and resolute. "Blood Dawn, your ambitions end here." Ritter smirked, the mist surging violently. "Mist God Style: Thousand Needles." The blood fog condensed into countless crimson needles, falling like a torrential rain. The CP0 agents used Soru to dodge, only to realize Ritter's figure had already vanished. One turned, only for a massive blood-formed hand to slam him into the ground. Another tried to harden his body with Tekkai, but the mist corroded his armor, stripping flesh from bone. A reminder: never rely blindly on Tekkai. Overconfidence in steel leaves loved ones in tears. The remaining three stood back-to-back, Haki sharpened to its limits, but still they couldn't sense Ritter's presence. "Mist God Style: Hidden Slash." The cold voice drifted from the fog, followed by three heads flying skyward. The battle was nothing less than a massacre. Ritter's crew advanced leisurely through Punk Hazard. Truth be told, the Marines here were strong, but compared to the true naval HQ, their quality and power were leagues apart. Still, as Ritter often said, unless the three Admirals and Garp joined forces, in this place and time Super Ritter was invincible. He blasted open a reinforced steel gate, blood mist corroding the defenses along the way. Inside the lab, scientists in white coats staggered back in panic. One of them trembled, shouting, "Who are you?! This is a World Government facility—" "Too much talking." Ritter flicked his hand. The blood mist wrapped around the man's throat, lifting him into the air. "H-he left long ago! This is just a storage site for abandoned projects!" Ritter narrowed his eyes, the mist surging. "Then you're useless." With a clench of his fist, the lab walls crumbled, instruments dissolving into rust under the blood fog's touch. He couldn't make sense of the data, but those big red words on the screen—"Deletion Successful" he understood perfectly. Behind him, Tezoro let golden liquid spread across the floor, consuming the structure. His powers had grown to the point he could now detect traces of gold beneath the earth, like a prospector scanning the land. No longer bound to environments filled with gold, he had freed himself from his old weakness. "Should we destroy everything completely?" "Of course," Ritter sneered. "But before that…" He didn't believe for a second that Vegapunk had already fled. The island was shrouded in his mist. There was nowhere to run. And then his eyes gleamed coldly. "Found you. Our little scientist." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵 "Come on. This place has no more value." Talent? If there's one thing the world of One Piece never lacks, it's talent. On the shoreline, Vegapunk was desperately fleeing when a chain of blood mist coiled around his ankle, halting his escape. "Now, now, Dr. Vegapunk, why run? We mean you no harm." Ritter emerged from the mist, deliberately slow. He knew Vegapunk's frail body couldn't withstand carelessness. "We can provide the same resources the World Government offers. Why not consider our side?" Suddenly Ritter looked skyward, instinctively veiling himself in mist. His body had entered battle mode, responding before his mind. A flash of golden light split the heavens. Kizaru descended from the sky, his light blade severing the blood chain around Vegapunk's ankle with precision. "My, my… frightening, isn't it?" he drawled. "Blood Dawn, picking on an old man …" Ritter emerged again from the fog, a sharp grin curving his lips. "So the Navy sends an Admiral as an escort? How'd you get here so fast?" "Now, now, can't you give me a little face?" Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses lazily. "This man is very important to the World Government." ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Hooked already? Let me know what grabbed you leave a review and fuel the journey forward! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops! Things are just heating up. Read ahead in Unbound Evolution and stay ahead of the crowd. [email protected]/_tey