091. No Solution: The Golden Crow Seal

At Judicial Island, in Xuanye’s residence, there was a garden where he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, working hard to refine the heat of his flames.

He had been here for three days already. Spandine had thrown every intelligence asset he had into the search, yet the news that came back offered nothing of value. Since the battle at Water Sea, the Golden Lion had vanished as though he had been erased from the world, leaving no trace at all.

Like a stone sinking into the ocean, Xuanye’s mood had shifted over those three days from irritation to calm, and now to disappointment.

He had never expected much to begin with, and even so, he still tried his best to seize any faint clue he could find, because it would make his heart feel a little better.

“Ah...”

Opening his eyes, he rose to his feet. No matter what he did, he could not settle down, because his mind was in turmoil.

He took a few steps forward and rested his hands on the balcony railing, gazing out at the magnificent waterfall and the black abyss beyond, his expression tangled with complicated thoughts.

“Chitter... Little Kalifa, go get some juice and snacks.” Beneath a great tree, on a wide reclining chair, the monkey lazily crossed his legs and briskly ordered Kalifa, who was waiting nearby.

“Yes...” Kalifa, only twelve or thirteen years old, hurriedly nodded and flusteredly moved to carry out the old fellow’s demand.

“Wait. Bring Lucci over while you’re at it!”

Without turning around, Xuanye gave the order in a flat voice.

“Yes, Vice Admiral.” Kalifa shivered a little, then quickly vanished into the garden.

Feeling Kalifa leave, Xuanye turned and lay back down on the recliner, closing his eyes as his fingers slowly tapped against the armrest.

“Chitter... Why do you want that guy?”

The monkey opened its golden eyes, somewhat curious.

“He’s decent enough. Worth cultivating.” Still with his eyes closed, Xuanye did not hide his thoughts, because he already had an idea in mind.

“Chitter... Hmph... Boring!”

The monkey curled its lip, clearly unimpressed.

A moment later, a man and a woman stood quietly before Xuanye.

“V-Vice Admiral... Lucci has arrived.” Kalifa swallowed, then placed the juice on the table and said to the monkey, “Lord Jin, here is the juice and snacks you wanted.”

“Chitter... Very good!”

The monkey wagged its tail and immediately began eating and drinking with great relish.

“You may leave for now. Without my permission, no one is allowed in.”

Xuanye opened his eyes and gave Kalifa a faint glance.

“Yes, Vice Admiral.” Kalifa bowed and slowly withdrew.

After watching her leave, Xuanye turned his gaze to the young man before him.

A black formal suit, with white bandages faintly visible at the shoulders, short hair a little disheveled, his whole appearance that of a boy of thirteen or fourteen.

And yet this young boy was a silent executioner who lived in darkness.

“I wonder why the Vice Admiral summoned me.”

Calm and composed, the boy showed no fear at all and even lifted his head to meet Xuanye’s eyes.

“Not bad. Excellent courage, excellent aptitude. Just what I was looking for.”

Rising, Xuanye walked to Lucci’s side. There was only a meter between them.

“I heard that a year ago, you nearly destroyed an entire country?”

Xuanye looked at Lucci with great interest.

Lucci remained silent.

“To you, weakness is a sin. Then what do you think strength is?”

“Strength is power. It is rule. This world is not one where the weak can survive.”

With a cold expression, Lucci spoke his true thoughts without hesitation.

“How many years have you been in CP9?”

Crossing his arms, Xuanye frowned slightly.

“One year.”

Lucci stared at Xuanye in silence, confusion flickering in his eyes.

“One year. Not too much, not too little.”

Xuanye fell into thought, uncertain for the moment.

“So, what do you think of your own power?”

After a brief pause, Xuanye asked.

“I thought it was strong. But now... I was nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well.”

Lucci gritted his teeth, unwilling.

“How far have you gotten with the Six Styles?”

“I’m close to grasping Return of Life.”

Lucci answered truthfully. He felt there was no need to hide it, because the strength of the man before him was not something he could ever compare to.

“Do you want even greater power?”

Xuanye took a deep breath, his eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

“What does the Vice Admiral mean?”

Lucci’s entire body tensed, the hairs on his skin standing on end, because he felt a scent of death, cold and sharp, closing in around him.

“Become my subordinate, and I’ll give you power.”

His eyes gradually turned gold and red, his voice as calm as still water.

“I don’t understand the Vice Admiral’s meaning.”

Lucci lowered his head, not daring to meet Xuanye’s gaze.

“I value your potential. From now on, you need only swear loyalty to me. As for the World Government, abandon it. Do you understand?”

The temperature around Xuanye began to rise, and faint wisps of flame started to coil in the air.

“Do I have any choice?”

Lucci’s face darkened.

“What do you think?”

Xuanye let out a faint, wicked smile and said with serene composure, “Following me is far better than being in CP9. Water flows downward; man strives upward. What do you think righteousness means in your heart?”

The entire garden seemed to freeze. Sunlight fell upon Lucci, and he felt unbearably cold.

“I can submit to you. But if one day I kill you, don’t blame me.”

Lucci’s gaze was icy as rain as he stared at Xuanye with a chill menace.

“Remember this. You will never get that chance.”

With a contemptuous laugh, Xuanye’s expression shifted slightly, and a violent aura, like a boundless sea overturning heaven and earth, surged toward Lucci.

High above him, like an insurmountable mountain, Lucci could only feel a savage will crushing down on his mind, leaving him unable to resist.

Sweat poured down as though from rain. His face turned deathly pale, and he staggered back several steps, gasping for breath.

Seeing that Lucci was about to collapse, Xuanye calmly withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki.

“What is that... could it be... Conqueror’s Haki?”

Sweat drenched him as Lucci lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot.

“You may think of it that way.”

“This is the method for cultivating Armament Haki and Observation Haki. I was originally supposed to stay here for seven days, but now it seems I’ll be delayed a little. Half a month. You have only half a month.”

Xuanye took two sheets of paper from his sleeve. The ink on them was still not fully dry, clearly meaning they had been written very recently.

“Armament Haki? Observation Haki?”

Lucci was astonished.

“If you want to become a strong man, these are indispensable powers.”

With that, Xuanye suddenly moved.

Pfft... pfft...

Flames danced, and a storm of fierce power burst forth.

Overwhelmed by violent energy, sweat gathered at Xuanye’s temples. His whole body shone in gold and red. In a flash of light, he transformed directly into his divine form, his entire being steeped in a sinister, otherworldly aura.

“This power... this power...”

Lucci kept retreating, his heart surging with endless excitement.

“Inescapable Golden Crow Seal.”

His right hand stood upright, his left hand covering it, his fingers shifting up and down. In Xuanye’s palm appeared a golden divine bird of exquisite beauty.

Whoosh...

In an instant he vanished, and Xuanye appeared before Lucci. Under the latter’s stunned gaze, with a cold face, he directly pressed the golden divine bird, no more than an inch long, into Lucci’s right chest.

“Aaah...”

Lucci let out repeated screams and fell to the ground, clutching his chest. His whole body flushed red, as though being fried in boiling oil, an eerily grotesque sight.

Two minutes later, Lucci lay on the ground drenched in sweat, utterly spent.

“What did you do to me?”

Shakily getting to his feet, Lucci’s face was ashen. For those two minutes, he had been tormented beyond endurance, as though consumed by blazing fire.

“Nothing much. Just a mark. Lift your collar and take a look.”

“Hiss...”

Lucci tore off his shirt at once. On his right chest, there was now a golden divine bird with outstretched wings.

“What is this?”

Lowering his head, Lucci stared at the gold-and-white tattoo on his chest. With the naked eye, one could see streams of red energy flowing within it. He could feel that this divine bird tattoo contained an extremely powerful force.

...