Chapter 294 - 294: Gunko's Mutation

White flames swirled around Luffy. His hair and clothes had turned white; his hair resembled a ball of burning flames, and his eyebrows curled like a Devil Fruit.

His pupils had also turned red. The bulkiness of his Fourth Gear form was gone; instead, he looked just like his normal self.

A violent heartbeat resonated from the chest of the Fifth Gear Luffy, echoing throughout the entire Onigashima.

"That appearance, could it be..."

Robin looked at Luffy's Fifth Gear form, and her mind involuntarily conjured the image from the murals recording ancient texts—the figure leading everyone forward.

"Is this the form of the legendary Sun God, Nika? Isn't Luffy's Devil Fruit the Rubber-Rubber Fruit? How could it turn into this?"

In the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Imu was watering flowers in the Flower Room, waiting for its God's Knights to bring Hera there. The moment Luffy's heartbeat resonated, it suddenly realized something.

The sound of the watering can hitting the floor echoed through the Flower Room: "Impossible. Joy Boy, he cannot return."

Then, red light flared in Imu's eyes, and a pitch-black pentagram rose from beneath its feet. Its gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of obstacles in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, reflecting into Gunko's eyes.

Gunko, who had been flying the whole way, arrived in Wano Country. At first glance, she saw the white giant in the midst of the battle, fighting fiercely with Big Mom.

Marco, who had been following close behind, was shocked by the scene before him: "Isn't that kid Ace's brother? What is the situation with this form?"

"And Big Mom, why has she changed like this? Why has she become young again? And Kaido? Where did Kaido disappear to?"

Gunko, flying in the air, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. Her whole body began to convulse in mid-air, and a black pentagram drifted out from beneath her feet.

A plume of black mist seeped out from behind Gunko's cloak, enveloping her figure.

Marco watched Gunko, who had paused in the air. His instinct told him he should take this opportunity to capture Gunko, but a sense of oppression from his soul forced him to stop.

His instinct told him that if he entered that black mist, something terrible would happen.

Marco landed beside Hera, looking with confusion at Hera, who was constantly eating various foods between Reiju and Sanji.

He asked with a grave expression: "What is that thing? What on earth has happened here?"

Hera glanced at Marco and asked in confusion: "What thing? Wasn't she brought here by you?"

As she spoke, she turned to look at Gunko, who was gradually changing in the sky. The chicken leg in her hand dropped to the ground.

"No way, how did this person get here? So fast."

Marco looked gravely at the sky, which was gradually turning black: "So, you know what she is?"

Hera wiped the grease off her hands and stood up, taking out 'saikū': "Of course I do. By the way, from which direction did you come?"

Hearing Hera's question, Marco pointed in the direction he had flown from: "From there. I chased this person all the way here; she was flying very fast, stepping on arrows beneath her feet."

Hera waved 'saikū' in her hand as if confirming something, then held the military saber horizontally and struck Marco with a blow from bottom to top.

"Hurry back. Just tell Shanks about what's happening here; leave the rest to me."

Armament Haki enveloped 'saikū', making the military saber in her hand like a large baseball bat. She struck Marco with it, sending him flying back at an even faster speed.

Confused, Marco didn't even have time to defend before he was sent flying by the immense force. Just as he tried to control his body, a portal appeared behind him.

He fell straight into the portal. Just as he wanted to go back, the portal in the sky closed. He looked around and found he had returned to the vicinity of Ace and Shanks.

There was a note on him that read: "I will send Luffy and the others to Elbaf; leave the matters there to you."

By the time Marco flew back to the Spade Pirates, the battle between Ace, Shanks, and the God's Knights had already ended.

Shanks looked toward Wano Country with a serious expression; a pentagram had just teleported away the three people who had been fighting them fiercely.

Marco handed the note Hera had left on him to Shanks and recounted what he had seen in Wano Country.

After hearing Marco's description, Shanks laughed: "So he has already awakened, has he? As expected of the man actively chosen by the Devil Fruit. I knew you could do it."

Ace, however, looked worried: "Is it alright? The three people fighting us should also be in the pentagram, right? It might not be good for Luffy to face those guys."

Shanks said: "It's no use worrying now. Hera is also in Wano Country; she should have her own plan."

"Let's trust them. Let's go, to Elbaf. After that, it should be the final battle."

Although Shanks did not know Hera's plan, judging from her various actions, her ultimate goal should be to overthrow the World Government.

Moreover, the various truths she knew might not be inferior to the intelligence he possessed. It was just unclear how she planned to deal with the true king on that throne.

Recovered, Hera flashed and intercepted between Luffy and Big Mom, slashing out a terrifying sword aura that blocked both their attacks and separated the two.

Luffy looked at the recovered Hera and jumped up on the ground that had turned into rubber: "Hera, look at me now. This feeling is so free; I feel like I can do anything."

Hera nodded, watching Luffy who had entered Fifth Gear. The City of Devouring Time, combined with Hera's Observation Haki, scanned Luffy's figure.

Discovering that another soul had not awakened within him, and that it was merely the more lively part of his personality taking the upper hand, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning her gaze to Big Mom on the other side, she found that, unlike Luffy, there were truly two souls within Big Mom's body.

However, the other soul appeared somewhat weak under the current burst of Big Mom's Haoshoku.

"So the legend was actually true? When Big Mom's eating disorder first broke out as a child, she ate that nun who trafficked children."

"It seems that because of the special nature of the Soul-Soul Fruit, the nun's soul actually attached itself to the Soul-Soul Fruit, entered Big Mom's body, and influenced Big Mom thereafter."

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