From the shadows, a calm voice echoed through the blizzard.
"…Finally."
I slowly straightened, cold air burning my lungs as mist escaped my lips. Snow drifted sideways, swallowing the forest in white.
"We're alone," I said quietly.
The snow in front of me shifted.
A figure rose soundlessly from the ground, as if the earth itself had spat him out. He wore the stark white suit of the World Government, spotless even in this frozen hell. A smooth mask hid his face completely, emotionless and hollow. In his hands rested a long, black blowgun—too refined, too precise to be a hunter's tool.
A sniper's weapon.
"Who are you?" I asked flatly.
He looked at me the way one looks at something already dead.
Without answering, he turned the blowgun slightly—and fired.
The shot wasn't aimed at me.
"—!"
Pandora shrieked as the bullet tore through the space she had been floating in. She twisted desperately, flames warping, the projectile missing her by a breath before she dove behind my head.
"How dare you attack a Sun Goddess!" she screamed, her flames flashing an angry violet.
"I don't care what you are," the man said coldly. "You are merely a distraction from my target… 'Goddess.'"
My jaw tightened.
"CP0?" I asked.
He didn't deny it.
"Your existence," he said, "has become an inconvenience to the Heavens."
Before I could move—
Something crawled up my spine.
Not wind. Not killing intent.
Presence.
I spun around.
Standing several meters away was a second figure.
A girl.
She wore a pale mask carved with six unblinking eyes, each one staring in a different direction. Her posture was relaxed—too relaxed. Long, jagged nails twitched at her sides, scraping faintly against the ice.
I didn't even see her move.
Pain exploded in my shoulder.
"Tch—!"
I staggered back, blood welling where her nails had grazed me. The wound was shallow—but my body betrayed me.
My legs stopped.
Locked.
Frozen solid against the permafrost, as if the ground itself had decided I was no longer allowed to move.
What—?
I tried to step back.
Nothing.
Panic surged through my chest.
I can't fight both of them.
I can't run.
And I don't even know what she did.
A Devil Fruit power..?
My gaze darted around the forest.
How many more…?
I clenched my teeth and looked at Pandora. "Can you get higher? Give a signal. Find Gaban. Skolldir. Spruce."
Her glow flickered weakly.
"I am at my weakest stage, child," she hissed. "But I will try. In return—your right arm shall be my offering."
"Witch," I muttered.
I grabbed her with my left hand and hurled her upward like a firework.
"At least answer me next time, lizard!" she yelled as she shot into the sky.
The sniper adjusted his aim—
I didn't give him the chance.
Power surged through my body.
Bones cracked. Muscles expanded violently. Sapphire scales erupted across my skin as the Azure Dragon forced its way out.
The pressure shattered.
I tore free as the transformation finished, my body swelling with draconic force.
The six-eyed girl slid back a step, clicking her tongue in annoyance—as if a pressure she'd imposed had simply failed to hold.
I surged upward, my massive body carried by coiling flame-clouds as the storm roared below.
Bullets screamed toward me.
CLANG!
CLANG!
They bounced harmlessly off my armored chest.
"Pandora! NOW!" I roared. "Give them a signal!"
She answered.
Pandora flared into her true form—no longer a simple orb, but a blazing miniature sun. The Underworld ignited in orange and gold, shadows fleeing from her light as it surged through the frozen roots of the Great Tree Adam.
BOOM—!!
Something massive slammed into my head mid-air.
My vision shattered.
I was sent spiraling downward, tearing through frozen branches, splintering ancient wood, before crashing violently into the snow.
I coughed, blood and frost spraying from my mouth.
Standing where I had been was a third figure.
Broad-shouldered. Immovable.
His iron mask was seamless—no mouth, no expression.
"…They're all the same," I muttered, remembering Spruce's warning about the faceless ones.
I tried to detransform.
My body refused.
My limbs shortened, a thick tail snapping behind me. Two horns jutted from my forehead, blue scales coating my skin like armor.
Hybrid form…?
It's unstable.
I leapt, snatching Pandora out of the air with my left hand.
"You wanted my right arm, didn't you?!" I growled. "Fine—but first, show me what you can do, you fake Goddess!"
I remembered Big Mom.
Her control.
If Pandora is anything like Prometheus… then I could force it.
"What are you doing, lizard?!" she screamed as my grip tightened, heat scorching my palm.
The sniper fired again.
The bullets sparked uselessly against my scales.
"HEAVENLY FEUER!"
I hurled Pandora with everything I had.
She screamed as she flew—a blazing comet of solar fury.
The iron-masked Vanguard crossed his arms.
Impact.
Pandora exploded into white fire.
Steam and flame roared skyward, shaking the forest.
She reformed moments later, screaming insults as she flew back.
"You stupid lizard! How dare you throw me—!"
I grabbed her and clamped her mouth shut.
As the steam cleared—
The Vanguard was still standing.
Burn marks. Scratches.
Unmoved.
"As expected..." I whispered.
I turned and ran.
My Lunarian lineage factor ignited, my body becoming a blur through the snow-covered trees.
CLING!
A bullet struck my back.
My scales held.
"They're still tracking me."
Suddenly—
cold.
My body gave out, strength vanishing in an instant. I collapsed face-first into the snow, the impact dull but final.
I tried to move.
Nothing.
Then—
Agony.
"AHHHH—!"
A searing pain ripped through my back—right where Akainu's magma had burned me in Egghead. The scar tore open violently.
Blood flooded out, hissing against the snow.
A high, cruel laugh echoed.
"Hehh…"
Someone knelt beside me.
A cold tongue dragged slowly across my open wound.
"So…" a voice whispered.
"This is how your blood tastes."