One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 275 The Arrival of Satan!

Without a sound, the snake-head mask covered the face of the sword god.

No, perhaps it should be called something else by now.

He is not the 'God of Swords'.

he is
"The Twelve Zodiac Signs. Snake?"

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

He looked at the figure standing there with the knife, a subtle smile playing on his lips: "What a coincidence."

He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't utter a word—because a moment later, he completely fainted.

Time seemed to freeze for several seconds across the entire sea area.

On the news ship of the World Economic News Agency, the ace commentator's eyes were almost bulging out.

The microphone in his hand fell onto the deck with a clatter.

But immediately, the noise of the microphone being smashed was drowned out by his horrified shout: "Unbelievable! The shocking truth has emerged!"

"The head of the sea beasts, there's no mistake, the Blade God is actually one of the highest-ranking officials of the Twelve Constellations, the Snake!"

"The newly crowned 'world's strongest swordsman' is also a member of the Twelve Constellations—this will definitely be tomorrow's headline, no, this news will spread all over the world today!"

His roar was transmitted around the world via the live Den Den Mushi.

The entire sea resembles a lake tossed with giant stones.

A colossal wave rose up in an instant.

Alabasta, inside a tavern.

"The twelve constellations again?"

Usopp, sweating profusely in shock, muttered to himself.

"Huh? The twelve constellations? So—he's a member of the same pirate crew as that monkey uncle from before?"

Luffy's eyes widened.

"Luffy, I told you before that they're not a pirate crew—they're not pirates!"

Nami glared at her captain, who seemed to lack common sense, but then exclaimed, "I knew it! How could such a monster just appear out of thin air?"

"Yo ho ho ho, now that you mention it, I think I remember too."

As Brooke spoke, he also reminisced.

"When we handed over Ryoma's body to Mr. Chenlong on the Thriller Bark, he mentioned that one of the organization's top executives was a swordsman—now it seems that this 'Snake' is the one."

He muttered to himself.

Yes, he knew that Shimotsuki Ryoma's corpse was in the hands of the Twelve Constellations.

Now, the Snake is displaying swordsmanship that is inherited from the Frost Moon Dragon Horse.

This made Brooke's mind wander—could it be that when Chenlong took away Shimotsuki Ryoma's corpse, it was so that Sishe could master the other's swordsmanship?
"Indeed, Yin Hu had previously taken some research equipment from Germa, supposedly for use by the organization's swordsmen."

Reiju nodded as well.

Clearly, these two Straw Hat crew members, who were quite knowledgeable about the twelve zodiac signs, had both heard something about the Snake.

But at this moment, for Zoro, the only swordsman present...

He couldn't fully hear his companions' conversation.

"Snake (巳)".

At that moment, he stared intently at the figure on the live stream screen.

The twelve zodiac signs—the Pig, the Monkey, and now the Snake—have been an inescapable part of his journey from before he set sail until now, repeatedly shocking him and making him increasingly aware of the vastness of the sea.

And until this moment.
His greatest ambition and dream were finally connected with this organization.

"The new...world's greatest swordsman!"

He murmured to himself, as if he had once again reaffirmed and truly understood the goal he wanted to pursue.

Besides the Straw Hat crew...
At this moment, similar discussions are growing wildly in every corner of the world.

No one could have imagined that such shocking news would emerge at the end of this confrontation.

But at the same time, on Instein Island.

However, the ideas of several CP0 members were clearly different from those of the others.

"Snake?"

As agents directly under the World Government, they naturally understood what the term "Twelve Constellations" meant to the current World Government.

That represents the highest priority. Once its whereabouts are discovered, it must be investigated and captured at all costs, and reported to the Five Elders immediately—this priority is even higher than any mission originally carried out by CP0.

So at that moment, after a brief moment of shock, these CP0 members immediately made their choice.

"Forget Hawkeye, capture him first!"

While the capture of 'Hawkeye' Mihawk was important, no one was more important than the 'Twelve Constellations'.

not to mention.
"Such an opportunity is once in a lifetime!"

They looked at the snake, which was clearly badly injured.

The next moment.
"shave!"

The members of CP0 did not hesitate to choose to use the Six Powers.

Their figures vanished instantly, attacking the snake from all directions.

"Finger gun and flower shooting!"

"Finger Gun - Six Meridian Gun!"

"Finger Gun - Blade!"

Although no specific plan was actually formulated, the CP0 members were in perfect unison—they quickly surrounded the Serpent, but instead of approaching him, they chose to use their 'finger guns' for a ranged attack.

The reason they made this choice is quite simple.

"The news must have spread by now, and naval support will be here soon—we don't need to capture him directly, just keep him occupied and prevent him from leaving!"

That was their plan.

At this moment, the Snake (巳蛇) had clearly seen through their plan.

Meanwhile...
Sufficient amounts of willpower have been collected.

[Wish Perception: World's Greatest Swordsman] [Wish Perception: Strongest Swordsman]

【Desire and Understanding: Frost Moon Dragon Horse】

But in his eyes, the words on the Fruit Encyclopedia kept jumping around.

Yes.

He defeated Hawkeye under the watchful eyes of the entire world.

The Snake (巳) is the world's greatest swordsman.

'The Human-Human Fruit, Frost Moon Ryoma form, may actually exist.'

This kind of understanding has permeated every part of this ocean.

And the convergence of countless wishes has enabled him to achieve his goal for this journey.

In other words, the conditions for him to carry out the next 'experiment' have been met.

What's missing now is just...
"Experiment."

With a low murmur, the Snake had already made its decision.

Then, he 'tiredly' raised the Autumn Water in his hand.

"laugh!"

The next moment, a slash that appeared out of thin air flew out accompanied by a dark and domineering aura.

Blood spurted out, and the two CP0 members were instantly cleaved in two, their mangled bodies falling to the ground.

The other CP0 members also paused.

But as highly trained agents, they quickly and calmly realized...
"His slashing attacks have weakened!"

Although it still possessed great power, they could clearly tell that compared to when they fought Hawkeye, the attack from the Serpent had been significantly weakened.

Besides that.
They also noticed that after slashing the blade, the snake's arm trembled almost imperceptibly, and its hideous wounds bled even more blood.

"His injuries are getting worse and he won't be able to hold on for much longer!"

The CP0 members reached this conclusion, and then they launched another attack without hesitation.

Despite having recently witnessed the death of their comrade, as members of CP0, they were already prepared to die.

Thus, a strange sight began to appear on the entire island of Einstein.

The white figures of the CP0 members flashed and appeared in the air as they attacked the Serpent.

Meanwhile, the snake (巳) kept wielding its blade.

With every swing of his sword, at least one CP0 would fall.

But as he continued to swing the knife, his movements seemed to slow down and he became more and more tired.

At the same time, people also noticed that during the battle, the Snake even took the time to casually throw the unconscious Eagle Eye behind a broken boulder, obviously as a form of protection.

"Are they trying to drag the snake out of existence?"

"This"

"How could you use such despicable means against a swordsman like that?"

At this moment, even the viewers in the live stream could see what the CP0 members were thinking.

For a moment, their feelings were somewhat complicated.

This is inevitable.

Although for a long time in the past, due to propaganda from the World Government, the twelve constellations had a very bad reputation on the high seas.

However, many things cannot be completely hidden.

For example, some wise people on the high seas have already noticed this.

Although the government has always claimed that the Twelve Constellations are the real evil party, a closer examination reveals that there seems to be no evidence that the Twelve Constellations oppressed the people or committed evil deeds like other pirates and criminal organizations.

Especially after the recent events in Dressrosa.

There have always been rumors on the high seas that the one who truly wants to destroy Dressrosa is not the Twelve Constellations, but the 'World Government' itself.

There is also a fact that many people in 'Alabasta' have personally experienced—'Chenlong,' one of the twelve constellations, brings rain to the country.

Although that event is now considered 'history' and cannot be mentioned, those who experienced that miracle will never forget it.

So, to be honest, the understanding of the twelve constellations among the people living on the high seas today is actually quite complex.

Some people think they are an evil party, while others think they may not have done anything wrong and are just 'opposing the government'.

Especially after just watching a head-on duel between the world's strongest swordsmen.

CP0's current shifty and cunning behavior will likely make most people feel a subtle sense of unease.

But it was precisely at this moment.
"Buzz!"

The sky, which had brightened after the duel between Hawkeye and Snake, darkened again.

Dark lightning flashed across the sky, and the rubble on Einstein Island was silently reduced to dust under this oppressive force.

The next moment.
A magic circle inscribed with the number '5' appeared out of thin air on the ground.

A tremendous malice rose from the ruins of Instein Island.

At the same time, the corresponding words popped up in the fruit encyclopedia under the eyes of the snake.

[A creation of 'Bloodline Factor Source Energy' has been detected - Abyss Contract - Abyss Magic Array - Near-Range Teleportation]

The holder of the contract can teleport within a short distance of a sea area, and can only teleport once per period of time.

"Boom!"

The already crumbling ground trembled violently, and the remnants of the island seemed poised to disintegrate once more.

Amidst the spreading smoke and dust, the colossal figure emerged from the magic array.

The figure wearing a flat cap and holding a cane was none other than Saint Satan!
But the difference lies in...

At this moment, Satan Saint's appearance was completely different from before.

Its lower body has spider-like appendages, and its head has two horns like those of a bull.

That was indeed it.
[Bloodline Factor, Wish, Abyss Essence]

【Evil Phantom Beast - Ox-Demon】

(End of this chapter)