Pft pft pft—!
Several cold flashes streaked past. Amid agonized screams, the attacking figures dropped like kites with snapped strings, crashing heavily onto the deck!
"It seems you still don't understand the severity of your actions," Kaguya said icily, gripping Blackbeard's throat with one hand. "The price of provoking me is very steep."
Blackbeard's pupils shrank sharply!
He watched in horror as his crewmates writhed on the ground, screaming in agony. Their bodies twisted, faces frozen in terror as their flesh began to peel away at a visible rate. Blood and flesh fell to the floor, turning into dust.
"H-Help me..."
"Captain, please save us!"
"Aaaaaah—I don't want to die!"
"Someone, help me!"
"Mercy, please have mercy!"
Jesus Burgess staggered toward them, most of his flesh already gone, revealing ghastly white bones. "H-Help me... C-Captain..."
He reached out to Blackbeard, but before his hand could touch him, his skeletal body crumbled like sand and collapsed with a crack, reduced to dust!
The rest of the pirates met the same fate, collapsing with desperate cries into heaps of remains!
How was this possible?!
Blackbeard stared in disbelief, eyes wide with shock. This was beyond anything he had imagined—just a single, seemingly insignificant bone spike had unleashed such horrifying power!
When he looked at Kaguya again, his gaze had completely changed.
"Fools," Kaguya said coldly. "Killing trash like you is no harder than squashing a sparrow or a rat. Now, I'll ask you one last time—where is Shirahoshi?"
Sweat beaded on Blackbeard's forehead. His defiance had faded. "I swear, I don't know who or what you're talking about. I haven't seen anyone named Shirahoshi, let alone kidnapped her!"
Kaguya's brow furrowed. "Still lying even in the face of death? Seems you won't cry until you see the coffin." She began tightening her grip on his throat.
Blackbeard was taller than Kaguya by a fair margin. She had to stand on the edge of the ship just to be eye level with him—an almost comical sight.
"I-I really don't know!" Blackbeard's face turned red. He felt like her small hand was a steel vice—no matter how he struggled, it wouldn't budge.
"Really?" Kaguya's voice grew even colder.
"R-Really!" Blackbeard was drenched in sweat. "I wouldn't gamble my life on a lie!"
Kaguya's expression remained frosty. Just as Blackbeard's heart pounded in fear, she suddenly flung him away with a wave of her arm. He flew like a broken doll and slammed into the ship's railing with a loud bang!
"Fine. You can crawl away now," Kaguya said coldly, casting him a dismissive glance.
Blackbeard struggled to his feet, bewildered. "You're letting me go?"
For the first time, he had truly felt the closeness of death.
"Unless you want to die," Kaguya replied, turning her head expressionlessly.
Seeing the murderous intent in her eyes, Blackbeard flinched. Without a word, he spun around, jumped into a small boat, and fled—ignoring the desperate cries for help around him.
Too bad he didn't notice the glint of mockery that flashed through Kaguya's eyes.
"People these days... always so naive," Kaguya said as she watched Blackbeard's figure disappear into the distance. A smirk appeared on her lips. "Goodbye, Blackbeard." She raised a finger and snapped.
"There was never a third time in my dictionary."
"Mini Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb."
Boom—!
A thunderous explosion shattered the sky. The distant sea surface erupted with a massive blast, forming a towering mushroom cloud. Flames soared skyward, smoke billowed in every direction, and the violent shockwave stirred monstrous waves, flipping ships as if swept away by a tsunami!
Kaguya gazed at the inferno with a cold snort. "Did you really think I'd let you go that easily? Too young, too simple."
During the battle, Blackbeard had used his Dark-Dark Fruit's "Dark Water" to absorb one of Kaguya's Truth-Seeking Orbs and was quite pleased with himself. But what he didn't know was—Truth-Seeking Orbs aren't that easy to absorb.
These orbs contained all five elements of nature and Yin-Yang Release, embodying the power of creation and destruction. Even Devil Fruit abilities paled in comparison.
By absorbing it, Blackbeard had effectively stuffed a bomb into his own body. The spatial capacity of the Dark-Dark Fruit didn't matter—against the overwhelming power of the orb, even that space was instantly obliterated.
"Blackbeard… Captain Blackbeard—"
The pirates stared in stunned silence at the firestorm on the horizon, their mouths agape, unable to form words.
"No way... Captain Blackbeard... and the officers..." one pirate, his face streaked with grime, swallowed hard.
"Look—it's her! It's Kaguya!" another shouted, pointing frantically.
Everyone turned sharply toward where he was pointing. There, atop a tall ship's prow, stood a slender figure, looking down at them with icy eyes brimming with a deadly chill.
"K-Kaguya..."
The pirates' eyes widened in terror as they instinctively took a few steps back, cold sweat pouring down their backs.
They knew Blackbeard's strength all too well. He had taken Whitebeard's place as one of the Four Emperors—a force even the powerful Navy Headquarters feared.
If anyone else had defeated him, they would never have believed it. But if the one who did it was Kaguya… it all made sense. After all, she was the one who nearly annihilated the entire Navy Headquarters—alone!
"Run! Hurry!"
"If we don't run now, it'll be too late!"
"Wait—wait! Don't leave me behind!"
"Aaaaah—!"
The panicked pirates scattered like headless chickens, frantically swimming toward their ships. Those already aboard didn't wait for their crewmates in the water—instead, they quickly set sail and sped away.
It was simply too terrifying.
Even Blackbeard had been killed—what hope did they have? With the captain gone, there was no reason to stay. All they could think about now was escape. Not even the scattered treasures floating on the sea mattered anymore.
Watching the pitiful retreat, Kaguya sneered coldly. "Do you think you can run? You're nothing more than outdated cannon fodder. Who gave you the courage to act out on my turf?"
She raised her finger and snapped.
"Amenominaka: Frozen Domain."
The raging sea immediately began to freeze. In the blink of an eye, the waters turned into a white wasteland. Crystalline ice flowers bloomed across the frozen surface, reflecting shimmering light under the faint sunlight—beautiful and bewitching.
But to the fleeing pirates, it was a nightmare.
They swam and rowed desperately, urging their ships forward—but it was all in vain.
Crack crack crack—!
With chilling clarity, the sea rapidly froze. In a matter of seconds, amidst screams of agony, the fleeing pirates were encased in ice. Their bodies remained locked in their final moments—mid-swim, faces twisted in terror—frozen in crystalline prisons.
Even the pirate ships couldn't escape their fate. In the sunlight, they appeared like grand ice sculptures, dazzling yet lifeless.
This was the frozen space of Kaguya's Amenominaka technique—an inner domain projected into reality. While it resembled a full Domain Expansion, it hadn't yet reached the level of manipulating natural laws.
At that moment, two beams of light—one black and one white—fell from the sky like snowflakes. Kaguya raised her hand and caught them in her palm. They instantly fused into her body.
They were the essence of Blackbeard's Devil Fruits—the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
As Kaguya absorbed more Devil Fruits, she began to develop a strange sense. She could faintly detect the presence of other Devil Fruits and even exert a minor influence over them. Though subtle and nearly useless for now, it was a crucial ability in her quest to gather them.
Suddenly, she sensed something and turned to look at a distant pirate ship—Blackbeard's flagship and personal vessel. It towered imposingly, emanating a strong aura of power.
Kaguya leapt forward like a flash of light and landed on the frozen ship. The entire vessel was encased in thick ice.
She gently swept her hand across the surface. The ice melted instantly like snow under the sun. She pushed open the cabin door and stepped inside.
When she reached the innermost room, she froze.
Inside the cold chamber, suspended in clear ice, was a pink-haired girl. Peacefully floating as if asleep.
Bonney?
Why was she here?
Had Blackbeard captured her?
Given the situation, that seemed the most likely explanation.
Kaguya waved her slender hand, and a formless force shot into the ice block. The crystalline ice began to melt at a speed visible to the naked eye. In no time, Bonney was freed from her frozen prison.
Kaguya reached out and gently caught Bonney in her arms. Her body was surprisingly light—like a feather drifting in the wind. Despite all the food she was known to eat, there wasn't a trace of weight gain. That kind of figure was likely every girl's dream.
It had been a while since they last met, and Bonney looked even more radiant than before. Especially her figure—it had become more shapely, more full of youthful vitality.
"Pizza... I want bacon pizza..." Bonney mumbled softly, half-conscious, and rolled over, snuggling against Kaguya's chest as she continued to sleep.
A true foodie—even in her sleep, food was all she could think about.
But seeing Bonney's current adorable state, Kaguya's heart stirred slightly. She gently placed a hand on the girl's stomach, feeling the smooth warmth of her skin.
Just as Kaguya's hand wandered upward, slipping beneath the edge of Bonney's cropped shirt, the sensation of soft, silky skin beneath her palm was almost too tempting.
However, just as her hand reached the waistband of Bonney's shorts, Bonney stirred from the contact. Her long lashes fluttered, and with a soft murmur, she slowly opened her sleepy eyes. When she saw Kaguya, she jolted awake in an instant and pushed away, quickly retreating several steps.
"You're—Kaguya?" Bonney stared at her warily, fists clenched, body tense in a defensive stance.
Kaguya was momentarily surprised but quickly understood—Bonney didn't know her true identity.
"What are you trying to do?" Bonney asked coldly. "Don't tell me even the infamous Kaguya is willing to join forces with someone like Blackbeard?"
Quite an imagination.
Though Kaguya didn't blame her for thinking that way. It was true that during the Marineford War, there had been rumors of a private deal between her and Blackbeard. While Kaguya herself had only taken what she needed from him, to outsiders, it looked very different.
Blackbeard had used that perception to his advantage, rampaging through the Grand Line. His strength alone made him formidable, but his supposed connection to Kaguya only added to his untouchable image.
So Bonney's misunderstanding was... understandable.
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