In the depths of Infinite Hell, cannon fire roared and explosions shook the air.
Yet Katarina Devon—separated from Storm by only a single layer of bars—heard every word he spoke with perfect clarity.
"Want my Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit? Fufufu…"
Katarina Devon let out a witch-like laugh.
"You can take it."
The moment her voice faded, white clay snakes surged into the cell.
Katarina Devon sprang upward, twisting her body midair with the agility of a seasoned beast. She flipped several times in succession, evading the biting clay with ease—like a circus acrobat dancing across invisible wires.
Her wrists were clearly bound by seastone shackles.
Yet those shackles barely hindered her movements at all.
Storm was not surprised.
Seastone was indeed the natural enemy of Devil Fruit users—but its suppressive effect varied greatly.
Some collapsed the instant they touched it, reduced to helpless sludge.
Others could still fight, leap, and kill—only barred from using their abilities.
As a Mythical Zoan user, Katarina Devon possessed an abnormally powerful physique.
That she could still move freely, even while shackled, was well within reason.
But that changed nothing.
Storm had no intention of playing games with her.
Under his control, the clay snakes abruptly converged.
They fused together, compressing into a massive clay sphere that filled the center of the cell.
The instant Katarina Devon landed, her pupils shrank.
Her instincts screamed a single warning—
Danger.
Crack—crack—!
Fine fractures spread across the smooth surface of the clay sphere.
If the clay bullets outside were equivalent to Death Blink,
then this—
This was closer to Hell Wink.
A familiar saying surfaced in Storm's mind:
All fear is born from insufficient firepower.
The next instant—
BOOM!!
A violent shockwave detonated from inside the clay sphere, tearing it apart in a thunderous explosion.
The blast swallowed the entire cell.
Katarina Devon could dodge attacks—but she could not escape an omnidirectional explosion.
She was slammed bodily into the cell wall, carving a deep, human-shaped crater into stone that had endured for centuries.
"Cough—ugh!"
Blood sprayed from her mouth, staining her torn prison clothes crimson.
"You bastard…!"
Katarina Devon glared at Storm, fury and terror intertwined.
"You're trying to kill me!
In Impel Down, only the Chief Warden has the authority to execute prisoners!
Not even Shiryu of the Rain!"
For the first time, true fear surfaced in her voice.
Infinite Hell was cruel—but it was not an execution ground.
Once imprisoned here, inmates were meant to rot away slowly… not be slaughtered outright.
Storm was unmoved.
If anything, her resilience impressed him.
Even tougher than Shiryu, he noted.
Truly worthy of a Mythical Zoan.
White clay surged again.
One massive clay bomb after another was hurled into the cell.
Storm carefully observed the structure as the explosions raged.
The conclusion was clear—
The cells of Infinite Hell were sturdier than the prisoners inside them.
That was enough.
He unleashed a relentless bombardment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions drowned out the howls echoing from within—the screams of a beast cornered, driven mad by pain.
Gradually… those roars weakened.
Storm continued until his Observation Haki sensed her presence fading to a fragile ember.
Only then did he step forward, flowing into the cell like liquid.
A hand suddenly clamped around his ankle.
"You… bastard…"
Storm looked down.
Katarina Devon—blood-soaked, broken, barely conscious—stared up at him with hatred and despair.
"Even if I go to hell—"
Crack!
Storm's fist came down without hesitation.
Bone shattered.
The light vanished from her eyes.
Crescent Moon Hunter, Katarina Devon—dead.
"This," Storm said calmly, "is hell."
A new trophy manifested before him.
[Diamond Trophy: Katarina Devon]
[Star Rating: ★★★★★★]
Unlike ordinary Diamond Trophies, this one gleamed blood-red.
A Blood Diamond Trophy.
A Death Trophy.
Storm did not linger.
Clay sealed the cell.
He retrieved a prepared fruit and raised the Devil Ring.
This time, he directly extracted the Devil Fruit power from Katarina Devon's heart—no need to sacrifice his own abilities.
The fruit in his hand transformed.
Golden-yellow skin.
Nine tail-like extensions.
A shape unmistakable.
[Inu Inu Fruit, Mythical Zoan — Nine-Tailed Fox Model]
Storm exhaled softly.
At last.
The little white dragon coiled around his shoulder, absorbing the fruit into its body—joining the Chameleon Fruit already stored within.
Two Zoan fruits secured.
Storm turned.
The Den Den Mushi crackled.
"Storm! Magellan and Shiryu dealt with the imposter!
They've noticed something's wrong in Infinite Hell!
They're coming—now!"
Storm smiled faintly.
"Then begin your operation."
"Iva—"
The transmission cut.
Storm stepped forward.
The hunt had only just begun.
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