c9: Entering Gaocheng, Reincarnation of Starving Ghosts
After approaching the city, Lu Kai no longer used Geppo to travel, but chose to scale the wall and proceed using his Kenbunshoku Haki to move cautiously through the shadows like an elite CP9 assassin.
Although Lu Kai was burning with the desire for revenge, he was not impulsive.
Over the years, countless insurrections against the World Nobles had broken out across the Red Line and the Blues, but the Celestial Dragons always remained unshaken—the core reason being the presence of formidable military strength stationed in their strongholds, just like the Sacred Guard of Mary Geoise, Gaocheng had its own feared military unit: the Gaocheng Guard.
Even someone as powerful as Tara, who once single-handedly toppled a Marine base on the Grand Line, dared not clash head-on with this elite force, let alone someone like Lu Kai.
Moving openly in the sky was too conspicuous, just as the Cipher Pol agents avoid the skies when infiltrating enemy nations, so Lu Kai chose the stealthiest path to minimize exposure—if he were spotted, everything he'd planned would be exposed to the World Government's eyes.
Lu Kai had come to exact vengeance on Luside without informing Tara, because as a division leader of the local Revolutionary Army cell, Tara bore the burden of protecting thousands of oppressed civilians under her command.
Perhaps she would offer aid to Lu Kai out of personal loyalty or gratitude, but involving her would risk compromising the entire Revolutionary network within West Blue, and that would be irresponsible.
Besides, this vengeance was Lu Kai's own war to fight, rooted in trauma the World Government couldn't wash away, and he refused to let anyone else stain their hands for his sake.
Half an hour later, Lu Kai successfully bypassed the lower city's checkpoints and entered the heart of Gaocheng's aristocratic zone.
After confirming the direction using Kenbunshoku Haki, Lu Kai swiftly advanced from rooftop to rooftop, exploiting the architectural gaps and ornamental trees to dash toward Luside's estate with the precision of a trained Revolutionary assassin.
However, upon arriving at the Luside residence, Lu Kai was met with bitter disappointment—his Haki could detect neither Luside nor Olive's presence, meaning they weren't home or were expertly concealing themselves.
But Lu Kai had resolved to eliminate both Luside and Olive before the night ended, and so he adjusted his approach—he would infiltrate and extract information by force.
As a marquis connected to the Celestial Dragon bloodline, Luside lived in a grand estate spanning over half a block, with more than a dozen guards patrolling the outer courtyard alone.
Yet these guards were not affiliated with the Gaocheng military force; they were private security, likely bought from the black market or hired mercenaries with no haki training or Rokushiki combat foundation.
Though their physical prowess surpassed that of common citizens, they posed no true threat compared to trained World Government agents or Revolutionary commanders.
At this moment, the guards' dispersed positions created critical gaps in their defense net, and Lu Kai saw an opening.
Lu Kai's demeanor shifted—his gaze lost its humanity. In his mind, these men were no longer people, but mere obstacles like the Pacifistas standing between Luffy and Ace at Marineford and Lu Kai was a beast long starved for blood, baring his fangs in the dark.
As a mixture of primal fury and bloodlust surged from deep within, Lu Kai's sclera turned bloodshot, echoing the madness of the Buster Call survivors.
Executing Soru one of the six techniques of Rokushiki Lu Kai vanished from view and reappeared behind an unsuspecting guard like a specter of death.
Before the man could even turn, Lu Kai gripped his head tightly with both hands and snapped it with a sickening twist—the guard crumpled to the ground without a sound.
Lu Kai retrieved the dagger from the fallen guard's belt and disappeared once more into the dense shadows that danced under the moonlight.
Three seconds later, Lu Kai emerged silently beside another guard.
This time, the guard's instincts flared just a second too late—his eyes widened in shock as Lu Kai materialized. But before he could scream, Lu Kai's left hand clamped over his mouth.
Simultaneously, the razor-sharp dagger plunged into the man's throat, puncturing both his windpipe and jugular with expert precision—a technique akin to what Rob Lucci used during his undercover years.
Blood erupted in a violent spurt, spraying across Lu Kai's cloak and cheek, a warm, crimson confirmation of a silent kill.
Some of it splashed into Lu Kai's mouth, and the metallic tang that should have been revolting was instead sweet and delicious, as though he were biting into the rich flavor of a Sky Island's Eternal Meat Fruit—the guard collapsed slowly with terror and unwillingness frozen on his face.
About ten meters from the corpse, two guards were whispering near a pillar engraved with the World Government's emblem, glancing around nervously as if they feared a Cipher Pol agent might catch them slacking.
Lu Kai reappeared behind them like a shadow from Enies Lobby—two small hands shot out, gripping their jaws and twisting violently upward.
Their necks cracked like shattered sea shells, turning 180 degrees until their eyes met one last time in death—no longer capable of conversation, only silence.
Then Lu Kai began moving with ghostly speed, flickering from target to target like a master of Soru from CP9, eliminating the remaining guards with clinical precision.
A minute later, all the guards lay strewn across the manor's courtyard like discarded puppets of Doflamingo's Parasite String.
Not a single pulse remained in the darkened yard—only an oppressive silence and the overwhelming stench of blood tainted the wind, suffocating everything in its path.
This was only Lu Kai's second kill in his life.
But not only did he feel no fear from the act—he was overcome by a savage joy, a perverse satisfaction that coursed through every muscle fiber like the thrill a Fish-Man Karate master feels when crushing stone with bare fists.
He stepped across corpses without remorse, eyes cold and glassy, as though his rampage were no more significant than cleaning his blade after slicing through seaweed.
After completing his silent massacre, Lu Kai leapt effortlessly through an open second-floor window, like a cat burglar trained by the Revolutionary Army's elite stealth corps.
In the long, lamp-lit hallway above, a fat figure tiptoed nervously away from Luside's study, clutching something under his robes and looking over his shoulder every few steps.
The moment the figure believed he was in the clear, he sighed in relief and began waddling toward the staircase with exaggerated care.
Lu Kai, peering from behind the hall's other end, curled his lips into a cruel grin a grin that mirrored the one Rob Lucci wore before executing a target.
Because he knew that man well.
It was Luke—the chief butler and the Luside family's most sycophantic servant.
Lu Kai had loathed this man for years.
He had been Luside's shadow, not just obeying but enthusiastically facilitating every cruelty the family had inflicted on the people of Gaocheng he was the kind of man who would cheerfully catalog torture devices in a ledger, all while sipping aged wine.
But now, in Luside's absence, this "loyal dog" had crept into the master's study to steal how fitting, how loyal indeed.
Still, Lu Kai cared little for the irony.
In the next heartbeat, he exploded into motion, no longer suppressing his volcanic rage—his right fist coiled with tension and willpower, and he shot toward the butler with all the fury of two years' worth of pain and humiliation.
In that instant, Lu Kai wasn't a man.
He was a storm compressed into flesh.
When the punch landed squarely on the butler's temple, it was as if an Impact Dial had been unleashed at point-blank range.
There was no scream only the wet, visceral crack of a skull erupting under pressure.
The butler's head burst like a ripe watermelon smashed under Vice Admiral Garp's fist blood, bone, and brain sprayed across the corridor walls, staining half the hallway crimson with death.
Gazing at the fresh corpse and the silent chaos he had unleashed, Lu Kai felt a bizarre lightness spread through his chest a strange and giddy calm that slowly dissolved the disappointment of not finding Luside or Olive.
But just as he was basking in the afterglow of bloodshed, a peculiar aroma snaked through the coppery stench of death and clung to his nostrils it was sweet, alluring, and completely out of place.
Startled by the scent, Lu Kai bolted down the stairs, moving like a mad hound that had caught the trail of meat through the thick jungle of Sabaody Archipelago.
He charged into the kitchen headfirst, homing in on the only room that still had light pouring from within.
Inside, the chef was diligently preparing meals for the manor's absent nobility, humming a tune from the North Blue as he stirred a steaming pot.
Lu Kai's sudden intrusion froze the chef mid-melody.
Before he could scream, the chef's eyes locked with Lu Kai's crimson orbs eyes laced with the madness of Impel Down's Level 6 prisoners and he instinctively clamped a hand over his own mouth.
Frozen in place, the chef dared not move.
Lu Kai ignored the man entirely.
His attention was consumed by the steaming dishes on the kitchen table the scent of roasted meat, soft bread, and fresh vegetables overwhelmed his senses like Sanji's cooking after days at sea.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
He lunged forward, grabbing a handful of meat and shoving it into his mouth.
Before he could even savor the bite, he was already grabbing more, eating with the abandon of someone who had been starving in Tequila Wolf for a year.
He ignored the frightened chef beside him and simply devoured everything within reach, his hands greasy, his eyes glazed, his breath ragged.
When he choked, he reached for water and downed it quickly but never stopped eating.
Despite having just committed murder with ruthless precision, Lu Kai made no move to harm the chef.
This man had always remained neutral, confined to the kitchen and his culinary duties he had never been involved in the Luside family's atrocities, at least not to anyone's knowledge.
And even though Lu Kai's mind was clouded with bloodlust and his moral compass was warped by suffering, he still retained enough clarity to distinguish guilt from innocence and in moments like this, he could suppress the urge to kill.
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