It seemed buying off Kiana with money wasn't an option—but fortunately, Crick never intended to offer her any in the first place. If she truly followed his orders and turned on Luffy and the others, that would've been far stranger.Just what kind of woman is this…?
This is tricky. Crick eyed her warily. She might be a Devil Fruit user. Something definitely went wrong earlier. First her body became strangely tough when I struck… and then—when she attacked—her movements were way too fast. That's not what a normal human can do.
"Stop. Don't fight anymore, Chief Crick. Let's withdraw."
A moment later, Akin finally walked out of the restaurant, still clutching his right shoulder in pain.
He had been watching… and had already understood one thing very clearly—Kiana's strength was terrifying. This wasn't like their previous enemies. Even their infamous leader—Don Krieg himself—couldn't handle her. The best outcome now… was for both sides to stop here. No more fighting.
"Stop?" Crick's face froze. "You giving me orders now—the fleet captain of the Krieg Pirates?"
Akin stayed silent, but Crick glared even harder. This guy… normally he's ruthless. Why does he look like a completely different person after just one visit to Baratie?Was he… actually bargaining with Crick? Telling him to stop? For the restaurant's sake?
"Did you abandon your ruthless nature just because someone treated you to one meal? Are you even worthy of your nickname—the Ghost Man?"
Crick looked genuinely disappointed. He had promoted Akin because of his merciless nature. But now? One meal seemed to have changed everything.
"No… it's not that." Akin lowered his head. "Mr. Sanji is my benefactor. When I was starving to death… he gave me food."
"That kind of thing is irrelevant!" Crick snapped. "I order you—kill that woman immediately!"
"…"
Akin froze, caught between two loyalties—his sworn allegiance to Crick… and his debt to Sanji and his friends. The conflict twisted his heart like a knife. He didn't know what to do.
"Forcing someone to do what they don't want… some 'leader' you are."
I couldn't help it. I finally spoke.
In the original story, Akin had always left a deep impression on me. A man strong enough to overwhelm Sanji… but ultimately seen as worthless by Crick, simply because he hesitated in killing his benefactor.
What baffled me in my past life was his loyalty. How could scum like Crick have such a faithful subordinate?
"Heh. You sure talk big." Crick spat. "Akin's strong enough to kill you in seconds."
He turned sharply. "Akin, what are you doing?! Get on with it! Do you intend to betray me?!"
"I… Ch-Chief Crick…"
Akin clutched his head with both hands—this huge, hardened man—kneeling on the ground, trembling and crying. He couldn't decide. He truly didn't know what to do.
"Shut up, Crick!"Luffy finally shouted, unable to watch any longer. "Akin, you don't have to listen to him. Just do what you want!"
"I'm definitely gonna punch you into orbit, Crick!!"
Luffy's fists clenched tightly, face darkening.
"Oh really? Then come at me, brat!"
The disc on Crick's shoulder clicked and rotated—then a green warhead launched from it, drawing gasps from the pirates.
"Poison gas bomb?! Chief—we're still here!"
"Jump into the sea and hold your breath!!"
At the mention of poison gas, Paddy and the other chefs hurled themselves straight into the ocean. Gas was no joke—just breathing it once could kill you.
The bomb was clearly heading straight toward me, Luffy, and Sanji.
"Shit," Luffy muttered, expression twisting. Rubber or not—poison gas wasn't something he could tank.
Everyone panicked, leaping into the sea. The pirates donned gas masks. Amidst the chaos—and I alone remained absolutely calm.
As the bomb flew toward us, I raised Rachel—and struck it precisely on its side with the back of the blade.The bomb spun away—and exploded midair dozens of meters behind me.
A cloud of green spread outward—then was swept away almost instantly by the strong sea breeze. Within seconds, it had vanished almost completely.
The high-altitude wind carried the gas away at remarkable speed.
"You… knocked it away with a blade? That's insane. If it exploded early, we'd all be done for!"
Zeff muttered in disbelief. No one sane would attempt something like that.
Crick's jaw hung open. He clearly hadn't expected me to even see the incoming shot—much less pull off something like that.
"Rubber… Rocket Launcher!!!"
Luffy's arms stretched far behind him—then launched forward like a cannon. His fist slammed straight into Crick's chest.
"GAAAH—!!"
Blood gushed from Crick's mouth as he flew backward—crashing into the wreckage of his own pirate ship. The sea rippled with the impact.
"This ends now."
I followed close behind. I had every intention of finishing this. Don Krieg was disgusting—and this needed to be cleaned up.
Dodging three unstable planks on the sea, I landed near him. He was still trying to stand—one hand gripping his chest.
I swung Rachel—
—and decapitated him instantly.
Blood burst from his neck, staining my clothes. The blade barely met resistance—it was almost effortless.
Heat from the rachet blade scorched the flesh around the cut—cauterizing it with a faint sizzle of cooked meat.
Then—countless notifications only I could see burst into view—flooding into my body like warm current. Strength surged through every vein. The sensation was familiar…
Ah. Level up.
Crick's death had boosted my stats significantly.
I wonder… can I take on a major Dragon Ball quest now?
But I didn't pull out my phone. This wasn't the time.
"...Chief Crick!!"
Akin stumbled forward, rushing to the corpse. His eyes shook, wide with disbelief.
"Sorry, Akin," I said calmly. "It was him or us. I hope you understand."
I rinsed Rachel briefly in the seawater—not that it helped much. Most of the blood had already evaporated.
"Is the poison gone yet?!"
The pirates who'd been underwater finally surfaced, and immediately noticed Crick's corpse.
"Wait—Chief Crick was defeated?!"
"No way… he actually lost?!"
Their disbelief shattered when their eyes landed on the severed head beside them. The leader of the East Blue's largest pirate crew—was dead.
Akin stood frozen. Blood slowly spread over the water around the body. Sharks began to approach, and both pirates and chefs hurriedly steered Baratie away in fear of attack.
"We surrender! We never wanted to attack you! Chief Crick forced us—he even shot one of our crew for refusing!"
They raised their hands and kneeled the moment they reached land. With their strongest fighter dead… they had no reason left to resist.
"Hmph. Surrender or not—tie them all up!"
Paddy produced a pile of rope from god-knows-where, and the chefs began restraining the pirates one by one.
"Kiana… that was pretty violent and bloody…"
Luffy stared at me, stunned. Sure, he agreed with what happened—but he still felt compelled to comment.
"Akin, you alright?"
Sanji rushed over, concern in his voice.
"…"
Akin stared blankly, then shook his head slowly.
"I'm fine… I just feel empty. The leader always said he was the strongest. I believed it. But now… it was all just a joke. Why did we even believe in something like that?"
He seemed heartbroken… lost.
I didn't say anything. Instead—I began stripping Crick's corpse.Armor, weapons—anything valuable went into my material space.
"...Kiana?!"
Luffy was shocked. My hands didn't stop moving.
"I'm a bounty hunter. I collect loot. That's allowed, isn't it?"
"Eh?! Why'd it just disappear?! Is that part of your ability, Kiana-chan?!"
Sanji stared at the vanishing armor.
"Yep. I can store materials and food at will. Living things don't work, though."
"Heeeh?! You can store food?!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled with envy—a true gourmet's reaction.
"But Kiana-chan… your ability's kinda weird," Sanji added. "You can create weapons, right? Now you can store them—and earlier, you saved me with something strange too. What is your Devil Fruit? I've never seen anything like it."
Sanji frowned, clearly trying to recall anything in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia he knew.
I smiled.If only you knew, Sanji…This body belongs to Kiana Kaslana—Valkyrie of Schicksal. Domain Outfit: White Comet.And I'm not even from this world.