"So this is the strength of a Yonko crew's elite!?"
"If this is all you've got, then you're really disappointing."
Inside the Cake Island castle, in an area already plunged into complete chaos—
Roronoa Zoro held two swords in his hands, a faint cyan-green gleam blooming in his eyes as he stepped forward, one pace at a time, toward the fallen Smoothie.
A breeze of unknown origin swept through, stirring up wisps of dust from the ground. The drifting smoke twisted into a miniature vortex that skimmed past Smoothie's feet.
"Cough—! Cough, cough…!"
In the next instant, Smoothie violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Clang!
Even after snapping in half, her greatsword—still over a meter long—was slammed heavily into the ground.
Using the broken blade as support, Smoothie barely managed to push herself upright.
The first thing she did was scan her surroundings.
As a user of the Wring-Wring Fruit, she could rapidly recover her stamina and injuries simply by extracting fluids from other living beings.
However…
No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find a single living creature nearby.
Not even a rat passed through the area.
"Give it up," Zoro suddenly said with a chuckle."There's nothing alive around here besides the two of us."
"You despicable bastard!" Feeling utterly humiliated, Smoothie exploded in rage."If you've got guts, let me absorb some fluids first, then fight me again!"
"I'll show you just how strong I am at full power!!!"
This was the first time Smoothie had ever been forced into battle without being able to drain anyone, and it clearly shattered her composure.
In her eyes, Zoro was nothing more than a petty man exploiting an information advantage.
She refused to acknowledge this defeat.
Yet in the face of her abuse, Zoro merely snorted softly.
"Forget it~"
He shook his head impatiently."Temporary power gained by stealing others' nourishment is hollow and rootless. You can't even bring out the real strength of that body."
"And besides…"
"If you can win easily, what kind of idiot would sit around and watch their enemy grow stronger!?"
Crack—!
Narukami, crackling with lightning, tore a brilliant blue arc through the air.
Disappointment surfaced in Zoro's eyes."I really didn't expect that a Yonko crew's commander-level fighter would be this weak."
"No wonder your bounty isn't even a billion Beli. Looks like Red's strength tiers are still way too broad."
"Should've listened to Usopp and split commander-level into early, mid, and late stages. Makes identifying enemy strength a lot easier."
Murmuring words Smoothie couldn't understand, Zoro slightly bent forward.
When he raised his head again, his eyes were already drowned in dazzling lightning.
"One Sword Style Secret Technique—Iaijutsu: Raikiri!!!"
Chiriririri—
It sounded like the simultaneous cry of a thousand birds erupting from Zoro's waist.
In the next instant, Zoro's figure transformed into a blazing bolt of lightning, flashing past Smoothie's side!
The sword technique—originally derived from an Electric-type move but forcibly renamed Raikiri by Red—slashed mercilessly across the tall, dark-skinned woman's body.
Crack!
Serpentine arcs of lightning danced wildly across Smoothie's smooth skin.
Paralyzed, she struggled to turn around, gazing at Zoro with grievance in her eyes, her arm trembling as she raised it.
"Y-you…"
Thud!
Before she could finish her threat, Smoothie's eyes rolled back. Completely numbed by the lightning, she collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"What a boring fight~"
Turning back to look at Smoothie lying there, Zoro shook his head in dissatisfaction and removed the bandana from his head.
With her ability to absorb biological fluids restricted, Smoothie's actual strength was only around that of a pirate with a 500-million-Beli bounty.
On top of that, she had just gone through Red's Tsukuyomi world earlier. While her physical fatigue could be restored through her Devil Fruit, the damage to her mind was far harder to heal.
That was why Zoro had said—
"This bandana was worn for nothing."
...
...
"Magic Weather · Thunder · Annihilation!"
BOOOOOOM—!!!!
Along with a deafening roar, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky over a coastal plain on Cake Island, violently smashing into the ground below.
In an instant, the innocent land let out a miserable scream.
Standing atop that land, the Loan Shark King Du Feld was completely engulfed by lightning, his entire body resembling a charred corpse. Even his obese frame visibly shrank.
If not for the faint wisps of smoke still trembling from his nose and mouth, no one would believe that thing was once a living person.
Smack!
After landing, Nami immediately slapped Du Feld across the face, twisting his head a full ninety degrees.
"Talk! Keep talking! What other crimes have you committed over the years!?"
"G-Grandma—Lady…"
Dragged up by the collar in Nami's grip, Du Feld's eyes overflowed with two streams of regretful tears.
Who could've imagined…
That this king of usury, who had forced countless people into darkness through financial exploitation, would one day kneel and beg for mercy.
But…
He had no choice!!!
In just the past half hour, this underworld king had endured freezing, lightning strikes, drowning, burning—every conceivable form of torment.
And if that were all, Du Feld—still a big shot in his own right—wouldn't have been reduced to such a sorry state.
The terrifying part was that this seemingly young girl had used every single method he himself had once inflicted on debtors—without missing one.
Who knew why such a cute, sweet-looking girl would be so intimately familiar with the techniques of the dark world.
At this point, death was no longer Du Feld's greatest fear.
Even a quiet death had become a luxury.
And in pursuit of that luxury, he answered Nami's questions with absolute honesty, holding nothing back.
Unfortunately, his confessions were often interrupted by Nami's anger—just like the sudden lightning strike earlier.
Another ten minutes passed.
Finally, after being ravaged by dozens of bolts of lightning, Du Feld inexplicably wore a relieved smile—and with that smile, he stopped breathing.
"Pretty resistant to electricity, huh~"
Seeing this, Nami slowly dispersed the thunderstorm forming in her hands.
But the next second, remembering the countless crimes recorded in her notebook, a look of disdain flashed through her eyes.
"Heh~ letting you die so easily really was too kind."
As her words fell, Nami suddenly reached out.
From Du Feld's corpse, several long, slender silver needles shot out and flew into her Clima-Tact, shrinking in size as the staff itself retracted.
Like magic.
Smacking her lips, Nami muttered,"Didn't expect those human acupuncture points I learned from little Chopper to be this useful~"
"Next time I teach him navigation, maybe I should study this stuff a bit more too."
...
...
"Franky~ SUPER Shoulder Throw!!!"
"Franky~ SUPER Sweep Kick!!!"
"Franky~ SUPER… Seismic Toss!!!"
On another battlefield on Cake Island—
BOOM!!!
Massive clouds of dust exploded upward, blanketing the entire clearing.
The next moment, Franky—jets blazing beneath his feet—burst out of the smoke, hovering midair. He formed a triangular gesture in front of his chest with both hands.
"Franky SUPER~ Radical Beam!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
A brilliant energy beam condensed in front of Franky's chest.
In the blink of an eye, it fired straight into the dust, slamming toward Shipping King Umit, who was stuck head-first in the ground like a planted turnip!
The underworld kings invited to Big Mom's main table were naturally no pushovers.
Sensing imminent danger, Umit yanked his head free from the ground and retreated without even grabbing his hat.
The raging beam struck his previous position and chased relentlessly along his escape path.
"Damn you!!!"
Umit roared through clenched teeth, his body charging desperately toward the shoreline.
As long as he could reach that place…
As long as he could reach it!!!
Though Umit possessed strength comparable to an elite Marine vice admiral, the true reason he had become one of the underworld's kings…
Lay in his homeland.
If Water 7 was the greatest shipbuilding city in the pirate world—
Then Umit's kingdom was the greatest submarine-building nation.
Historical records showed that the world's first deep-sea-capable submarine came from Umit's country.
Unlike most of his compatriots, however, Umit didn't inherit the craft. Instead, he chose to sail the seas.
After more than a decade of adventures, he returned one day with technology exclusive to the Marines—Seastone.
With that knowledge and his hardened strength, Umit swiftly unified every submarine shipyard in his kingdom and chose underwater transport as his path, growing step by step into what he was today.
All of his technology now resided within that massive undersea beast of a vessel.
As long as he could reach his submarine… Umit believed no one could defeat him in the ocean!
"He's running again!?"
Seeing Umit flee repeatedly without fighting back, Franky frowned deeply.
Even an idiot could tell that this man, obsessed with the sea, was hiding something crucial.
After three months of training, Franky had reached Level 56. His base stats alone matched those of an elite Marine vice admiral.
Add in his absurd modifications, and even some weaker Yonko commanders wouldn't stand a chance.
Yet Umit was still running.
Realization dawned, and dark brown light flickered in Franky's eyes.
"I'm curious what you're hiding… but Red drilled this into us—never be arrogant. If you can end a fight, end it immediately."
"Never give the enemy a chance to grow or counterattack."
"So… sorry about this…"
Franky murmured softly.
The next moment, crimson flames erupted beneath his feet as he shot forward like a falling meteor.
"Alright… warm-up's over. Time to test the new structure!!!"
"Baddy Bad—activate!!!"
Many had forgotten that besides his Steel typing and the accidentally acquired Fighting typing, Franky also possessed—
A bizarre, trick-oriented Dark typing!!!
"If I let you get away like this, I'd never live it down!!!"
WHOOSH—!!!
A vicious aura, completely different from Conqueror's Haki, burst from Franky and surged toward Umit.
In an instant, Umit felt as if something strange had been jammed into his brain. His limbs lost coordination.
BAM!!!
Before he could react, a transparent wall materialized in front of him. He slammed into it and bounced back.
"W-What is this!?"
Clutching his head, Umit cried out as the bizarre sensation disrupted his control.
At that moment, a figure descended from above.
A rotating disc appeared on Franky's chest, inlaid with various Pokémon Evolution Stones.
As it spun, subtle changes rippled through Franky's body.
"You thought you could escape from me!? Want my crewmates laughing at me!?"
Suddenly sharp-tongued, Franky grabbed Umit.
Violent lightning surged through Franky's arms into Umit's body.
The disc shifted—from Thunder Stone to Ice Stone.
Franky's hairstyle and tone instantly calmed.
"Give up resisting. Cooperate, and we won't take your life. You might even become a partner of the Straw Hat Pirates."
In his calm state, Franky spoke gently, reasoning and persuading.
But Umit had no idea what was happening.
All he saw were multiple identical figures talking to him at once.
Fire's fury, grass's warmth, water's tenderness, moonlight's mystery, sunlight's passion, light's kindness, darkness's malice…
In the end, Umit wasn't defeated by Franky's power—
He was scared into submission by Franky's wildly shifting personalities.
After struggling a few times to no avail, he raised both hands in surrender.
"What do you want from me!?"
"Please… stop torturing me!!!"
Who could imagine—
A pervert wearing nothing but briefs on the bottom and nearly shirtless on top, winking at you one moment, cackling the next, showing concern, then asking about your family background…
Umit sincerely declared:
This fight—he was done with it.
No way he was continuing.
This was inhuman torture!!!
(End of Chapter)