The crew froze. One of their own had just vanished before their eyes snatched from the ground and dropped lifelessly like trash. Panic spread like wildfire.
"Damn it! He's not just flying he can make others fly too?!"
"How do we fight something like that? We can't even touch him!"
"Why the hell did we have to run into a monster like this in the East Blue of all places!?"
The pirates were in disarray, fear twisting their faces. Some began inching backward, trying to slip away toward the ship without being noticed.
Bang!
A sharp gunshot ripped through the noise, silencing the mob. Smoke curled from the pistol of one of the officers an older pirate with a scarred face and a commander's glare.
"Get yourselves together!" he barked. "You bunch of cowards how many Devil Fruit users have we seen on the Grand Line? You think one guy who can fly is unbeatable? Don't forget, our captain's a Devil Fruit user too! He'll deal with this!"
The crew exchanged uneasy looks. His words steadied them a little, enough to rebuild a shred of morale.
"Yeah! The captain's been to the Grand Line!"
"Right! He's Captain Brand the Phantom Door, with a bounty of a hundred million!"
"He'll show this flying brat what a real pirate looks like!"
"Wait… where is the captain?"
The brief calm shattered. All eyes turned toward the ship only to find the bow empty. The spot where Captain Brand had been standing moments ago was vacant.
"Don't tell me… the captain ran away?" one pirate muttered weakly. The hope in his voice died as the others followed his gaze, dread settling in.
Up in the air, Kane Uchiha floated silently above them. He hadn't moved since the start of the commotion, his expression unreadable. From the moment the panic began, he'd noticed something strange: Captain Brand had opened a door in midair and vanished.
Kane turned his head slightly toward a seemingly empty patch of sky and spoke in an even tone.
"Come out. If you're planning to ambush me, I suggest you give up."
Silence. Only the faint rustle of leaves below. No response.
Kane's eyes narrowed. "So, you want me to drag you out myself, huh?"
His gaze sharpened. The concentric rings of the Rinnegan glowed faintly in his eyes as he muttered, "Rinnegan Yomotsu Hirasaka."
A dark rift tore open in the air a swirling black void that rippled like ink. From it, Brand was forcibly pulled into view, his form warping as he emerged from the portal.
The pirate captain's face was ashen, disbelief etched deep into his features.
Ever since eating the Door-Door Fruit, Brand had never feared capture. No matter how desperate the fight, no matter how powerful the enemy, he could always open a door and vanish. The ability to escape was absolute.
But now someone had torn open his own space.
When Kane's voice had reached him inside that dimension, and those strange eyes had pierced the walls of his sanctuary, Brand had felt a flicker of unease. Still, he'd told himself there was no way this stranger could actually reach him.
Yet here he was, standing exposed his most prized secret laid bare. It was as if someone had ripped open the walls of his bedroom and dragged him naked into the street.
Impossible, he thought. This can't be happening…
Desperation flickered in his eyes. The confidence he'd built on the Grand Line, the pride of a man untouchable, was gone. All that remained was fear.
"Wait! Let's talk about this!" he blurted, hands raised. "I I'll give you everything! All my treasure, every last berry! It's worth more than my bounty!"
Kane tilted his head, mildly amused. "Hmm. Tempting. But if I kill you, wouldn't everything already be mine?"
"No! It's not the same!" Brand stammered. "My treasure's hidden in my Door-Door space. If I die, it disappears forever! No one no one can find it, not even the next person who eats the fruit!"
Kane's eyes gleamed faintly with curiosity. "Oh? Is that so?"
Before Brand could react, another black rift opened beside him. Wooden chests dozens of them began spilling out, clattering onto the ground below in a storm of gold and jewels.
The captain's jaw dropped. He… opened my storage space too?!
Panic turned to rage. "You damn monster! You think you can just take everything from me?!"
Brand's right arm darkened, covered in the dense black sheen of Armament Haki. With a furious roar, he lunged forward, aiming a full-force punch straight at Kane's face.
But the blow never landed.
Snap.
Kane caught his fist effortlessly, his fingers closing around it like a vice. The impact didn't even stir his coat.
"That's Armament Haki, isn't it?" Kane said, studying the blackened knuckles with detached interest. "So you really did pick up a few tricks from the Grand Line." He gave a faint nod. "Not bad."
Then his tone shifted, soft but merciless. "But still… far too weak."
Before Brand could pull away, Kane's hand shot forward, wrapping around his throat. His fingers tightened not enough to crush, but enough to hold him in place.
"Rinnegan Hungry Ghost Path."
A strange, invisible force surged through Kane's palm. Brand's eyes bulged as he felt it his strength, his vitality, his very life essence being drained away.
"No… no… what… what are you "
His words choked off as his skin began to pale. His body convulsed weakly, trembling under the invisible pull. He tried to move, to resist, but his limbs felt like lead. The color drained from his face as the light in his eyes flickered and dimmed.
Kane's expression didn't change. He watched in silence as the pirate's body went limp in his grasp.
"Life energy, Haki, Devil Fruit essence…" he murmured quietly. "All of it flows the same way."
He released his grip. Brand's corpse crumpled to the ground, eyes wide open in frozen terror.
Below, the pirates stood paralyzed. None dared move, none dared breathe. The only sound was the faint whisper of the wind and the rhythmic flutter of Kane's coat as he floated above them calm, unhurried, utterly beyond reach.
At that moment, they understood.
The man above them wasn't just strong. He was something else something that didn't belong in their world at all.
For Kane Uchiha, this battle wasn't a test of strength. It was merely the first step in mastering the darker paths of power.
The first trial of the Hungry Ghost Path.