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As a Great Pirate who had survived from the era of the Rocks Pirates until the present day, Ochoku was undoubtedly one of the top powerhouses on the seas.
His three forms of Haki and his five senses were extraordinarily powerful.
His combat experience was even more extensive; he had experienced virtually every type of battle imaginable.
And yet...
The battle he was experiencing now was still a completely unique experience in his life.
Bang!
'Oven's' flaming fist smashed toward him. Ochoku nimbly sidestepped to avoid it, but in the very next instant, the smoke genie created by 'Daifuku' and the slash from 'Smoothie' descended upon him together.
[Paramecia · Heat-Heat Fruit (Pseudo)]
[Paramecia · Wring-Wring Fruit (Pseudo)]
As a result, Ochoku had no choice but to throw a punch to meet the attack.
Yet moments later, he discovered that Oven, Daifuku, and Smoothie were all illusory phantoms. But before he could spare any thought for it, three identical figures appeared beside him once again.
The difference was…
BOOM!
This time, all three attacks were real!
Ochoku was instantly blasted away.
Even while flying backward, however, he still managed to carve words into the ground.
[Pierce]
[Pierce]
[Pierce]
The string of "Pierce" characters instantly transformed the ground into countless sharp spikes, blocking the three figures' advance.
Immediately afterward, Ochoku casually wrote the character [Staff] onto a nearby wall.
In the next moment, the wall transformed into a long staff that fell into his hand.
"Wind and Cloud Sweeping Staff - Horizontal Sweep!"
With a single swing of the staff, he unleashed a powerful gust of force. Yet at that very moment, the three figures dissolved into nothingness once more.
At some unknown point, they had become illusions again.
"What exactly is this ability?"
Even for Ochoku, this nauseating battle experience was a first. He had already more or less determined the nature of his opponent's power.
The man named Inu seemed capable of creating tangible illusions that were almost impossible to distinguish from reality.
Before an attack actually landed, even Observation Haki couldn't tell whether it was real or fake.
If that were all, it would have been manageable.
After all, illusions were just illusions. Aside from confusing the enemy and creating psychological pressure, they weren't especially dangerous.
The real problem was,
Among Inu's illusions, some of them seemed to be genuine.
Ochoku couldn't yet determine the exact number, but there were at least seven or eight.
And the most terrifying part was that those illusions somehow appeared capable of replicating the target's Devil Fruit abilities as well.
The only difference was that their strength and power seemed somewhat weaker than the original.
Even so...
"Inu... this guy is a complete monster."
Despite how disgusted he was by the battle, Ochoku could only make that assessment.
Because yes…
Even based solely on the abilities Inu had displayed so far, he was already a genuine monster.
Truth and falsehood.
Reality and illusion.
Ochoku couldn't tell them apart at all.
As a result, whether an incoming attack was real or fake, he had to respond as though it were real.
This had left him completely suppressed throughout the battle. He had almost no opportunities to counterattack.
All he could do now was defend... and observe.
"Looks like he's figured out my ability."
On the other side, Inu silently observed Ochoku's movements. From his reactions, Inu could tell that his opponent had already grasped some of the fundamentals of his power.
[Bebe Fruit · Mirage Form LV5: Can generate Mirage Energy, freely alter its color and form, and create nearly real illusions anywhere within the area covered by Mirage Energy.]
[Fusion Fruit · Dog-Dog Fruit, Thousand-Faced Nine-Tailed Form LV5: Can create nine independent fox-tail incarnations that possess weakened versions of all the copied target's abilities.]
That's right.
What Inu was using at this moment was the combination of these two Mythical Beast abilities.
In fact…
The entire "Mirror World (Pseudo)" was currently filled with invisible Mirage Energy.
Ochoku simply hadn't noticed it.
Within that Mirage Energy, Inu could freely create all kinds of false illusions while coordinating attacks from the clones generated by the Thousand-Faced Nine-Tailed Fruit.
The constant shifting between truth and falsehood perfectly matched Inu's role among the Twelve Zodiac:
The Trickster.
However...
"There's something wrong with Ochoku."
At that moment, Inu frowned slightly.
His gaze fell upon Ochoku, who was below, wielding his staff while continuously transforming it into different weapons and battling against the illusions and clones.
Instinctively, Inu sensed that something wasn't right.
"He's too weak."
Inu came to that realization.
In fact, ever since deciding to go to war against Big Mom, he had secretly traveled near Totto Land through Zishu and quietly copied members of the Big Mom Pirates.
At present, among his nine fox-tail clones, aside from Hanafuda, who remained in Wano Country, the rest were all members of the Charlotte Family.
Katakuri.
Oven.
Daifuku.
Smoothie.
Cracker.
And, aside from Brûlée, whose Mirror-Mirror Fruit held unique strategic value, these were essentially all among the strongest combatants of the Big Mom Pirates.
Even so,
"A pirate of Ochoku's caliber shouldn't be getting suppressed like this by a bunch of weakened clones."
Inu understood this very clearly.
As one of the last surviving members of the Rocks Pirates, even if Ochoku was weaker than a Yonko, the gap certainly wouldn't be very large.
Based on personal strength alone, there was no reason for him to be pushed into such a disadvantageous position.
And beyond that, there was another issue.
Compared to the strength he had displayed, Ochoku's vitality was far too great.
Since the battle began, Inu was certain that his clones and illusions had inflicted numerous injuries upon Ochoku.
Yet up until now, although Ochoku had coughed up blood when he should have and suffered injuries when he should have, his life force and aura had not weakened in the slightest.
Abnormal vitality.
Abnormal strength.
Either one would have been strange enough on its own.
Together, they were more than enough to raise suspicion.
And if those two reasons still weren't sufficient,
Then Inu had a third and most crucial reason.
[Devil Fruit User "Ochoku" Detected]
[Confirmed Devil Fruit: Paramecia-Type · Write-Write Fruit. Currently being analyzed and recorded into the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.]
[Devil Fruit Ability: The user can imagine the characters and corresponding images they desire within their mind, then write them into existence.]
[Ability Levels]
[LV3: Gains access to all basic Devil Fruit effects. Can write words onto physical matter and alter its form and properties through imagination. For example, if the user imagines the ground becoming a shield and writes the character "Shield," the ground will transform into a shield. Requires 1.8 billion Beli to unlock.]
[Words created through the Devil Fruit consume Willpower. The upper limit of an effect is determined by the user's imagination, but writing can only be performed on objects and cannot be used on living beings other than the user.]
[The greater the scale and intensity of the imagined effect written through words, the stronger the result and the greater the stamina consumption.]
[LV4: Deep Devil Fruit development. Allows writing upon non-physical substances and enables the use of broader concepts and contents. Consumes significantly more Willpower and stamina. Requires 3.7 billion Beli to unlock.]
[LV5: Devil Fruit Awakening · Words Become Reality. The ability can influence the surrounding environment, producing far stronger effects. The user can freely write words anywhere within a 100-meter radius through thought alone. Requires 12.5 billion Beli to unlock permanently.]
[Analysis Progress: 100%]
That's right.
The moment he first saw Ochoku, Inu had already learned the details of his Devil Fruit through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
The Paramecia-Type Write-Write Fruit.
Even Inu, who had already seen countless bizarre and overpowered Devil Fruits, had to admit that this fruit was exceptionally powerful.
All one had to do was imagine something and then write the corresponding words.
That imagined concept would then become reality.
Although it possessed the limitation of being unable to write directly upon living creatures other than the user, the ability to turn imagination into reality was unquestionably among the highest tiers of Devil Fruits.
Yet up to this point, every Devil Fruit ability Ochoku had displayed remained limited to the LV3 stage.
And that was the biggest problem.
According to the available information, Ochoku had seized control of Hachinosu (Beehive Island) not long after the God Valley Incident.
At that time, he was already a Devil Fruit user.
More than thirty years had passed since then.
With that amount of time, a Great Pirate like Ochoku should never have remained completely undeveloped in his Devil Fruit mastery.
So...
"I don't have time to keep dragging this out with you."
"Let me see what exactly you're hiding!"
As Inu muttered softly to himself,
On the battlefield,
Bang!
Ochoku, having once again been sent flying by one of Cracker's Biscuit Soldiers, immediately saw countless illusions emerging from the surrounding air.
Oven.
Katakuri.
Daifuku.
Smoothie.
Among the countless apparitions of these figures, Ochoku had no way of determining which were real and which were fake.
As a result, he gritted his teeth and reached down toward the ground.
"Word Manifestation..."
[Wall of a Hundred Shields]
The words materialized.
In the next moment, enormous shields appeared one after another, lining up and merging together into a massive defensive wall.
But only moments later,
!!!
Ochoku was horrified to discover that the attacks from the countless illusions passed directly through the towering shield wall.
And the seemingly indestructible wall itself began to turn translucent and unreal.
"..."
His gaze shot downward in disbelief.
The patch of "ground" he had just grabbed was slowly disappearing.
It hadn't been ground at all.
It was a cliff.
"Even the surrounding environment's illusions are tangible!?"
Ochoku instantly understood.
His ability only worked when writing upon physical objects.
But if that "physical object" itself was merely a tangible illusion created by Inu's power, then naturally it would disappear the moment Inu canceled the ability.
"This ability is disgusting!" Ochoku cursed inwardly.
At the same time, he had already realized the danger.
His body was... special. But even so, taking this attack head-on would not be pleasant.
...And if things continued like this,
"I'll lose."
At this moment, Ochoku clearly understood that fact.
Dragging the battle out was not a solution.
So...
"I have to 'release' a portion of it."
Gritting his teeth,
Click!
Visible to the naked eye, part of the close-fitting armor covering his body seemed to sink inward.
Ochoku's complexion instantly turned somewhat pale, and both his aura and Haki appeared to weaken at that moment.
But only a few seconds later, he raised his hand.
Then,
Words appeared out of thin air before him.
[Thunder]
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning erupted in front of him with a deafening roar.
The brilliant flash instantly annihilated countless illusions rushing toward him.
At the same time,
"Found you!"
The few fox-tail clones that had not been instantly destroyed immediately appeared within Ochoku's field of vision.
"As long as I deal with the clones that can actually attack, dealing with that guy will become much easier!"
Having already realized this, Ochoku did not hesitate.
He raised his hand and wrote once more.
[Lock]
A gigantic chain formed entirely from air materialized out of nowhere and shot toward the fox-tail clones.
Clank!
The chain accurately bound every single clone.
Then,
[Speed]
Without hesitation, Ochoku wrote the character onto his own body.
The next instant,
Bang!
His figure exploded forward at a speed far beyond anything he had displayed previously.
While rushing ahead, he casually waved his hand again.
[Blade]
A long saber instantly appeared in his grasp.
Holding the weapon in his right hand, he charged toward the bound clones.
And then,
His left hand wrote another character onto his right arm.
[Strength]
"Strength King Style, Great Wheel Slash!"
The saber in his hand came crashing down.
Black-red Conqueror's Haki and jet-black Armament Haki exploded simultaneously as the slash mercilessly smashed into the ground of the Mirror World.
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave erupted instantly.
The ground of the Mirror World split apart from the point of impact.
Even the structure of the entire space seemed to become unstable as countless rays of light refracted endlessly across the mirrored surfaces.
As dust and debris filled the air, Ochoku slowly lowered his saber.
"It's over, Inu. I've already seen through your ability!"
His gaze stretched toward Inu in the distance.
"Once your clones are destroyed, your ability becomes meaningless!"
He extended his forked tongue and raised the saber in his hand.
"Next, it's your turn!"
He sounded completely certain of his victory.
And it was at that very moment,
"Destroyed?"
The Inu who had been quietly watching from afar finally stood up.
Under Ochoku's incredulous gaze, that figure gradually faded away.
That's right.
Even the Inu who had supposedly been observing the battle from a distance… Was an illusion.
And simultaneously,
"When exactly did you come to the misconception that you destroyed my clones?"
Inu's familiar voice echoed from within the dust cloud before him.
"..."
Ochoku looked toward the smoke.
Then he saw,
Buzz!
Fluttering Flame Clouds swirled around Inu's body. Fine golden fur had already begun growing across his skin. A pair of fox ears protruded from the canine mask covering his face.
His eight clones stood assembled behind him.
And surrounding them,
Nine pitch-black shadows had formed an enormous wall.
At this moment, the foremost shadow bore a horrifying wound. Its body had nearly been split in half. Yet even now, the grotesque injury was rapidly healing.
Clearly, it was these shadow walls that had blocked Ochoku's slash.
[Shadow Mage Art · Nine Shadows Protective Wall]
And at that very moment,
Buzz!
The defensive wall formed by the nine shadows dispersed.
Each shadow moved to stand beside Inu and one of his eight clones.
The sight left Ochoku almost stunned.
What the hell is that now?
"And another thing..."
But clearly, Inu had no interest in answering questions.
"You think you've seen through my ability?"
His gaze remained fixed on Ochoku.
"Then all I can say is this, "
"You know absolutely nothing about my ability."
(End of Chapter)