Chapter 348: The End?

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Syrup Village.

The sky was vast and entirely cloudless, bathed in radiant azure sunlight. The dark fog that had blanketed the island had vanished in the blink of an eye, as though it had never descended in the first place.

A gentle sea breeze carried the salty tang of the ocean across the hills, soothing the minds and spirits of all who felt it.

Up on the hillside, inside Kaya's estate.

The Dragon Flag Pirates and those wounded in the catastrophe had all taken shelter within the mansion.

Among the casualties, the most severely injured was Miss Kaya herself. Her body was covered from head to toe in brutal lacerations and trauma, without a single patch of unblemished skin remaining.

Every inch of flesh and vital point had sustained varying degrees of catastrophic damage.

Just how much unspeakable agony had she been forced to endure?

Drake had struggled to comprehend why Im would subject Kaya to such sadistic torture. After a thorough inquiry within his sea of consciousness, the System provided the answer.

Eight centuries ago, Im had obtained the most terrifying primordial power in the entire One Piece world: the World Core!

The Devil Fruits were also physical manifestations condensed from the ambient power radiating from that very World Core: the Tree of Devil Fruits.

Drake had asked at the time: What is the World Core, and what does all of this mean?

The World Core was the foundational power sustaining the eternal existence of this world. It could never detach from the world itself, yet it altered its manifested form to guide the world's historical evolution.

One Yin, One Yang—divided into two opposing polarities.

The Yin polarity was the current Im, while the Yang polarity was the Tree of Devil Fruits.

Among the countless Devil Fruits, one singular fruit inherited the absolute apex of the Yang power. It possessed the blazing radiance of the sun, bringing joy, freedom, and laughter to humanity.

That was the Devil Fruit ability wielded by Joy Boy eight hundred years ago: Nika.

The name "Nika" was derived from Joy Boy's true, original name.

Passed down through the generations, whichever user achieved true awakening and unlocked the full capabilities of the Nika form was hailed as the new Joy Boy.

"Joy Boy" was not a personal name, but a legendary mantle given to the one who brought boundless joy and liberation to people's hearts.

Eight centuries ago, the original Joy Boy's true name had been Nika.

Having pieced all of this together, Drake's heart remained turbulent for a long time.

Without question, this generation's Joy Boy was Luffy.

"Drake, the two children are stable, but Miss Kaya... her condition is extremely critical!" Ain walked over to Drake, her tone heavy with concern.

"Judging by her physiological state, she was first subjected to severe psychological torment... a systematic torture where her consciousness was brought to the brink of death over and over again."

"After that, she endured inhuman physical brutality—every wound across her body is proof of it! Why on earth would that monster Im treat a frail girl like Miss Kaya with such horrific cruelty?!"

"If she weren't already dead, I'd want to make her taste what a living hell truly feels like!" Ain's expression turned as cold as glacial frost.

She found such atrocities utterly intolerable.

Aside from her face, Kaya's entire body was covered in devastating injuries. Inflicting this upon an innocent girl was lower than the act of a wild beast!

"Uh..." Drake started to speak, but chose to hold his tongue.

At a time like this, explaining the mechanics would accomplish little. Since Im was already dead, letting Ain vent was harmless.

After all, words changed nothing now.

According to what the System had revealed, the physical host Im sought had to belong to the legendary Clan of D.

Because members of the Clan of D inherited the Will of D, each of them possessed an unyielding determination to charge onward to the absolute summit, far surpassing ordinary mortals.

Yet aside from the Clan of D, another category of individuals could serve as her host: those with pure, unblemished souls.

As long as a soul of absolute purity developed an unbreakable, unyielding will that refused to surrender, Im would succeed in anchoring her parasitic soul.

That hellish torture had been designed specifically to temper and forge Kaya's fragile will to its absolute, hardened peak.

It was undeniably an act of unspeakable savagery.

Drake let out a quiet sigh. Kaya was a delicate, sheltered young lady of a wealthy estate, yet she had been forced to endure such an ordeal.

"Ain, I'm leaving her treatment in your hands," Drake said.

"Leave it to me, Captain!"

"Yeah." Drake nodded, walking slowly out into the open courtyard.

Outside, the terrain was scarred and pitted. The battle between them and Im had reshaped the surrounding landscape, altering the local topography through sheer collateral energy alone.

Fortunately, the village below had been spared from destruction.

Looking out across the scenery, Drake's thoughts drifted into the distance.

For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he felt as though this victory had come a little too easily. A faint, persistent sense of unease lingered at the back of his mind.

"Lord Drake!" A cheerful shout rang out from the side as Xiao Kai waved his arms vigorously, running up to him.

"Ah, Xiao Kai," Drake greeted him.

After the battle concluded, he had received the debrief from Brother Hu and learned the names of the five Dark Clan operatives stationed here.

He held a strong impression of Xiao Kai; the boy was genuinely endearing and spirited.

"Hehe, Lord Drake... um, is it alright if I call you Drake-aniki?" Xiao Kai scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

Drake smiled warmly. "You can call me whatever you like. The Dark Clan is a place dedicated to pursuing freedom."

"Besides, I've never personally managed the clan's day-to-day operations, nor do I hold a formal title within its ranks."

And that was the truth. Ever since the Dark Clan had pledged allegiance beneath the banner of the Dragon Flag Pirates, Drake had never interfered with their internal affairs.

Not that his intervention was ever necessary.

With Bernice at the helm, every matter was handled with flawless precision.

"Awesome!" Xiao Kai beamed, cheering enthusiastically. "Drake-aniki! Drake-aniki...!"

"Haha..." Drake chuckled, momentarily taken aback before bursting into hearty laughter.

Brother Hu and the rest of the cell walked over as well. As operatives of the Dark Clan, standing face-to-face with their true supreme master filled their chests with uncontrollable pride and excitement.

Nearby, Kenshin and the others sat leisurely, gazing at the surrounding scenery with relaxed expressions.

Tranquility settled over the hillside...

Inside the bedroom, having just finished dressing Kaya's wounds, Ain pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed, gently dabbing away the fine beads of sweat from Kaya's forehead with a damp cloth.

Though Kaya's injuries were severe, her vitals had stabilized and she was out of life-threatening danger, allowing Ain to breathe a long sigh of relief.

Still, what weighed heavily on Ain's heart was that nearly every inch of Kaya's skin had been lacerated. Under normal circumstances, every wound would leave varying degrees of permanent scarring.

For a young woman, such disfigurement was an agonizing fate.

Especially for a fair, radiant beauty like Kaya, waking up to discover her body covered in scars could easily shatter her spirit entirely.

Right at that moment, Ain froze, staring dumbfounded at a wound along Kaya's neck.

The deep, clearly visible laceration was fading before her very eyes, becoming shallower by the second until it vanished completely, leaving the flesh as smooth and unblemished as if it had never been harmed.

Her porcelain skin was once again radiant and flawless as polished jade.

"What is happening?!" Ain gasped, leaping to her feet to perform an immediate, frantic examination.

To her utter shock, every single wound across Kaya's entire body was rapidly knitting shut, vanishing without leaving a single trace of scar tissue behind.

It was as though she had never suffered a scratch in her life.

Just then, Kaya's eyelids snapped open, her pupils glowing with an eerie, dark-crimson light.

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