Clang!
The steel arm fell from the sky, rolled a few times, and was stopped underfoot.
Kaguya stood on the severed arm, towering above, looking down on them with contempt. "Don't bother showing off childish tricks like that."
Franky's expression grew grim. "This is bad. Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp are all badly injured. Luffy will still need time to recover. Until then, it's just the two of us."
When there was no reply, Franky turned and instantly scowled.
"What a beautiful lady! This is the best! Miss, may I buy you a coffee?" Sanji's eyes had turned to hearts, hands clasped over his chest, twisting his body as he swooned. "Whatever you need, just say the word."
Franky looked like his face had been dunked in soot. "Hey! Sanji! Whose side are you on?!"
"I'm obviously on the side of the beautiful lady," Sanji said dreamily, his curled eyebrows standing on end.
"What a bunch of fools," Kaguya said coldly, lightly brushing her fingers along her sword. "Still hopeless even now? In that case, there's no need for you to continue existing in this world. I'll be happy to end you myself."
As her words fell, Kaguya dashed forward like a phantom, appearing before Franky in an instant. She swung her black-red blade like a streak of light.
Clang!
A sharp metallic clash rang out as Franky's fist collided with the sword, sparks flying from the impact.
"Hm?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Franky to block her strike. More precisely, it was because his fist was incredibly sturdy, unlike the arm she had cut earlier.
Only Franky knew the truth—he had covered his fist in a thick layer of seastone. He had once complained about the cost, but now it was proving its worth. Without it, that punch would have ended up just like the arm.
However, the seastone only covered the fist. The rest of the arm was too expensive to reinforce, and thanks to Luffy's appetite, their funds never seemed enough.
Kaguya swung again.
Clang!
More sparks flew as Franky's seastone-covered fist blocked the blade once more. But his body was thrown backward. He was shocked—what terrifying power. Even with his mechanical body, he couldn't withstand it.
Suddenly, Kaguya vanished with a sharp sound and reappeared right in front of him.
But Franky didn't panic. A grin spread across his face. "Gotcha."
His body began to transform rapidly. His large shoulder pods opened to reveal black cannon barrels aimed directly at Kaguya.
"Go to hell!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of mini-missiles shot out, trailing flames, arcing in from all directions.
"Put away your toys," Kaguya said coldly. With a wave of her white arm, the missiles seemed to hit an invisible wall, twisting and detonating mid-air.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A brilliant display of explosions lit up the sky.
What?!
Franky's heart skipped. He hadn't expected her to neutralize his attack so easily.
At the same time, Kaguya was already at point-blank range. She thrust her sword forward, and Franky could feel its icy chill.
"Don't you dare hurt my comrades!"
With a loud shout, Sanji suddenly leapt forward, flames blazing around his leg as he aimed a powerful spinning kick at Kaguya.
Kaguya turned her head and cast a cold glance at him.
Sanji's serious expression instantly collapsed into a lovestruck smile. His leg instinctively retracted, and drool nearly dripped from his mouth.
"Miss, when do you have time? Maybe we could grab a coffee sometime?"
Kaguya frowned, her expression turning cold with disgust. "You're the lady. Your whole family's full of ladies!" she snapped, delivering a flying kick to Sanji's gut.
BOOM!
Sanji crashed into the ground with a loud impact, shattering the earth beneath him and kicking up a storm of dust and rubble.
He coughed violently, blood seeping from between his fingers. "Didn't think such a beautiful lady would hit so hard..."
Suddenly, as if realizing something, Sanji quickly scrambled to his feet. But when he looked toward the battle, his pupils shrank.
A cold glint flashed, followed by a splash of blood. Franky's massive head flew through the air, spinning before it hit the ground with a heavy thud. His large body collapsed next.
Sanji's eyes widened in horror. He was frozen, the cigarette falling from his mouth.
"Another piece of trash dealt with," Kaguya murmured, wiping the blood from her blade. She turned with a radiant smile. "Now, it's your turn."
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the town...
"Hurry up! Faster!" Nami yelled. "If we don't move, that monster's going to catch us!"
Chopper panted heavily, his tongue hanging out. "We should be far enough by now, right? We're already so far away."
"Exactly," Brook chimed in. "At this distance, not even someone super fast could catch up."
"You don't understand anything!" Nami suddenly snapped, uncharacteristically furious. "Haven't you figured out who she is?!"
"Who?" Chopper asked curiously. "Who is she?"
Even Brook was intrigued now.
"If I'm not mistaken... that woman is one of the legendary Four Emperors," Nami said grimly. "Artoria."
"What?!"
Brook and Chopper both turned pale.
They had heard of Artoria. She had appeared like a meteor a few years ago, making waves the moment she arrived.
She debuted by defeating two Marine Admirals in the Calm Belt. Then, she singlehandedly stormed the supposedly impenetrable Impel Down prison and killed its warden, Magellan. Afterward, she defeated several well-known powerhouses. The world had been shaken.
The World Government placed a five-hundred-million bounty on her head—a record for any rookie. Even Whitebeard didn't get that much when he first appeared.
Her otherworldly strength earned her global recognition. The fact that she infiltrated and escaped Impel Down unscathed was proof enough of her power.
She disappeared a few years ago, but despite her absence, she was still recognized alongside Whitebeard, Shanks, and Kaido as one of the Four Emperors.
She was later removed from the title due to her long absence, but her strength was unquestioned.
Realizing their enemy was such a terrifying force, the three of them fell into a heavy silence.
Suddenly, Brook spoke. "Hey... do you hear that? It got really quiet."
Nami and Chopper turned. He was right. The sounds of battle had completely stopped. The silence was eerie.
Nami's eyes widened as a terrible thought crossed her mind.
Could it be—
A familiar voice cut through the stillness like a blade of ice.
"That's right. They're all dead."
A slender figure stepped out from around the corner, smiling sweetly.
Everyone's face changed drastically. Instinctively, they stepped back, all in shock.
Sanji and Franky were dead?
How could this be?
The shocking news was hard to believe. Just moments ago, their crewmates had been full of life—now they were being told they were already gone.
"Impossible!" Nami took a step forward and shouted, "There's no way they could be killed so easily!"
"That's right!" Chopper clenched his fists and yelled, "Stop lying to us!"
"Lying to you?" Kaguya strode forward gracefully, casting a cold glance at them. "If you don't believe me, go see for yourselves. But before that, you'd better be mentally prepared."
"Mentally prepared?" A bad feeling suddenly crept into Nami's heart.
"That's right," Kaguya said with a cold smirk. "When someone becomes a pile of minced meat, they aren't exactly easy to identify."
Their pupils contracted sharply.
"No way... no way..." Chopper growled, lifting his head. "You won't fool me!" He suddenly bulked up, transforming into a burly form and charged straight at Kaguya.
"Wait! Chopper, don't go!" Nami shouted anxiously.
But it was too late. Chopper had already reached Kaguya. "Arm Strength Boost!" he growled, his arms swelling as he swung a massive fist down at her.
"My friends will never be so easily killed by the likes of you!"
BOOM!
A deafening thud.
"Childish tricks like this—stop embarrassing yourself."
A cold voice rang out.
Chopper froze, his face in disbelief. His mighty punch had been effortlessly stopped—by a single finger.
Kaguya looked up coldly. "You're far too weak. A feeble insect like you has no reason to exist in this world." With that, she turned and kicked him hard.
BOOM!
Chopper's massive body was sent flying like he'd been hit by a train. He crashed into a wall, smashing a huge hole and leaving cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
"Chopper!"
Nami cried out, rushing toward him. But before she could get far, Kaguya appeared in front of her.
Sweat beaded on Nami's brow. She bit her lip. "Why are you doing this? Attacking us without reason—what good does it do for you?"
"You misunderstand," Kaguya said, walking toward her step by step. "It's not about what I want to do—it's about what you want to do."
"What?" Nami froze.
"Perhaps I haven't made myself clear," Kaguya said, smiling as she gently stroked the blade of her sword. "I'm actually the one who hired everything behind the scenes in Dressrosa."
Nami's eyes narrowed as she stared at her. "So you're the true mastermind behind everything that happened here?"
"Not quite," Kaguya replied. "I didn't tell Doflamingo to do what he did. But since you all got in the way of my plans, well—that's just your bad luck."
"But didn't you see what the people of Dressrosa suffered through because of him? They lived in misery!" Nami snapped.
"Forgive me for being blunt," Kaguya smiled, "but what do they have to do with me? Why should I care whether they live or die?"
"But—" Nami clenched her fists. "Don't you have even a shred of compassion?"
"Compassion?" Kaguya replied coldly. "All I see is that it was you who turned Dressrosa into a ruin."
"What?" Nami froze.
"This war—wasn't it started by you? If it weren't for you, would Dressrosa be in this state?" Kaguya gestured around, her voice sharp. "Look how many people died in this chaos. How many were displaced? In the end, aren't you the true culprits?"
"That's just twisting words!" Nami cried.
"Twisting words? I'm only stating facts," Kaguya said with a sneer. "You claim to fight for justice, but you drag countless innocents into war. How are you any different from Doflamingo?"
Nami felt her heart tremble.
"Nami, don't listen to her!" Chopper called out, crawling from the rubble. "She's trying to confuse you. This isn't the time for debate."
He stomped his hoof. "Leg Boost!" He transformed into his reindeer form and charged at Kaguya like a bullet. His arms bulged again.
"Cherry Blossom Blizzard Fist!"
Chopper unleashed a storm of punches like a raging tempest.
Kaguya sighed. "Why don't you ever learn? You're too weak. Why keep fighting?"
She raised her arm. A black-and-red sword appeared in her palm.
"Since you sincerely wish to die, I'll be kind enough to grant your request."
A dark aura oozed from the blade like ink, crackling with lightning. A heavy wave of power surged forth, whipping up a violent storm.
Nami gasped. "No—Chopper! Get out of there!"
But it was too late. A massive black beam of light tore through the blue sky like a shooting star, crashing toward Chopper with devastating force.
"Excalibur!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. The unleashed energy obliterated everything in its path. Rocks shattered, debris flew, and smoke engulfed the scene.
Chopper was blasted from the dust cloud like a ragdoll, flung high before crashing back down.
BOOM!
His eyes had rolled back, face as pale as paper. His clothes were shredded, covered in blood, with smoke rising from his body—and a faint smell of burned flesh.
Kaguya turned, smiling radiantly. "So... would anyone like some roasted venison?"
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