The pirates sat and forgot, and they really believed the nine truths and one lie.

Nassuro Seina's question, delivered with a death sentence, was like a cold shackle, binding everyone's heart.

All eyes, whether filled with fear, solemnity, or despair, were focused on the straw-hatted boy who was still struggling to swallow his food. He was the center of the storm, the sole reason why the Five Elders had come to this place.

Luffy tilted his head, looking at the murderous old man in front of him. There was no fear on his face, only pure disdain for how rude this person was.

His limited brain capacity simply couldn't contain the complex concept of the Five Elders. To him, they were just grumpy old men who would shout and fight the moment they met. It was too much of a challenge for Luffy to get to know someone he'd never met before.

Knowing he couldn't rely on anyone else, Kid suppressed his fear of the Five Elders and growled at Luffy, "Hey, Straw Hat, that old man said you're Nika, so are you or aren't you?!"

He pinned his hopes on Luffy, since only monsters can fight monsters. Among the people present, Kid could only rely on Luffy; the other allies were not strong enough and would be a burden in a real fight.

Upon hearing this, Luffy turned to look at Kid. In his simple logic, Kid had saved him, healed his wounds, and given him meat to eat, so he was a friend.

He answered his friend's question seriously, swallowed the last bite of food, patted his stomach, and his body, which had been bloated from overeating, quickly returned to normal.

He stood up and stretched his limbs, his gaze sweeping across the entire area, including the ready-to-fight Nasujuro, the tense CP9, and his pirate friends.

"You should have said so earlier! So he wanted to see Nika!"

Luffy patted his straw hat as if he had just realized something, and said in a relaxed tone as if he were introducing an old friend, "Sure, I'll let him come out and meet you all, so it won't be so troublesome to come one by one."

Kidd was overjoyed and shouted, "That's right, let him see what we're made of, beat him up with Nika, and then we'll go to Marineford to rescue Ace."

What happened next completely overturned everyone's understanding and imagination.

Luffy did not transform as everyone expected, with white steam rising from his body or his hair turning white, nor did he burst into unrestrained laughter.

Instead, he made a move that left everyone speechless. He lowered his head slightly, as if listening intently or speaking to his own heart, his tone even carrying a hint of negotiation and politeness: "Hey, Nika, there's a very fierce old man outside, and a lot of people say they want to meet you."

He paused as if waiting for a response, then continued speaking to the air, "Do you agree? Why don't you come out and meet them? They keep bothering me and disturbing my meals."

Who is Monkey D. Luffy talking to?

Does Nika need permission to appear?

What's going on? Has the Devil Fruit's self-awareness reached this level?!

A bizarre and eerie feeling instantly gripped everyone present. It was completely beyond their comprehension of Devil Fruits. Even Nasujuro Sei's usually calm face showed a slight ripple for the first time, and his gaze behind his glasses was sharp as a knife, fixed on Luffy.

What was even more chilling was what happened before their eyes: a voice completely different from Luffy's, carrying a certain ethereal, distant, and endlessly joyful aura.

As if it came directly from the depths of Luffy's chest, or rather, from the depths of his soul, it responded to Luffy's question: "Alright~ Since everyone wants to see me... then please invite everyone in!"

"Please come in?" Before everyone could recover from this bizarre conversation, whoosh—!

Luffy suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a pure white aura, as thick as milk and as solid as liquid, gushed out of his mouth like a flood bursting its banks.

The white mist spread faster than anyone could imagine, almost instantly sweeping across the entire block like a white tsunami before anyone could even react.

Whether it was Nasu-shou-sei who was on high alert, the terrified CP9 members, the tense and vigilant Kid, Bege, Hawkins, Ada who was protected by Luffy, or the silent Eren... everyone, without exception, was completely engulfed by this sudden, warm and strange white aura.

Sight was taken away and senses were cut off. It felt like an instant, yet also like eternity. When everyone's vision was restored, the scene before them had undergone a complete transformation.

Ruins, streets, rain, sky... everything familiar has vanished.

Instead, there was a boundless world, pure white in all directions, with no sky, no earth, no direction, and not even the feeling of gravity. Everything was an empty white, so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat.

"Where...is this place?!"

"Illusion? Or some kind of spatial ability?!"

"My abilities... seem to be suppressed?"

Pirates and CP9 members were horrified. They tried to activate their Devil Fruit abilities or Haki, but found that their connection with power had become extremely weak and sluggish, as if they had become ordinary people at the mercy of others.

The first person to react and realize the seriousness of the problem was Nassou Sei.

He sensed the rules of this pure white space, which were completely different from those of the real world. It must be an idealistic world dominated by consciousness!

In the real world, the pure white fog came and went quickly, receding rapidly and revealing the ruins of the chaotic neighborhood once again. The rain had long since stopped, but the scene was still chilling.

The battlefield, which had been tense and rife with murderous intent, was now plunged into a deathly silence.

Centered on the original location where Straw Hat Luffy was standing, everyone within a radius of several hundred meters, including the Five Elders Nasujuro, who was wearing a white kimono and holding a greatsword.

CP9's Lucci and Kaku, who were posing for battle on the rooftop, as well as Kid, Becky, Hawkins, Ada, Eren, and others caught up in the chaos, all stood frozen in place, as if under a spell.

Their eyes were vacant, their pupils unfocused, and their faces retained the expression from the last moment before the white mist enveloped them. All these expressions were frozen on their faces like masks.

They were like lifelike sculptures, yet devoid of all soul, forever frozen in these ruins. The sunlight cast long, stiff shadows on them, adding to the eeriness.

"What...what happened?!"

"Five Elders, Lord Nasujuro Sei has encountered an accident!"

The CP0 agents responsible for blocking and monitoring from afar witnessed this unbelievable scene through their masks, and were all horrified. Even those who were rigorously trained and had hearts of stone felt a chill run down their spines.

What exactly is that white mist? Is it some kind of mental attack or soul stripping?

Or is it the even more terrifying time freeze? Why is it that even Nasujuro-sama, one of the world's top combatants, is powerless to resist and falls victim to it!

Nika's abilities were too bizarre and illogical; no CP0 member dared to approach that area easily.