"Blackbeard?" Kaguya paused just as she was about to walk through the cabin door. She turned back with a slight smirk. "You won't be seeing him again."
Bonney blinked in surprise.
Won't see him again?
What did that mean?
Kaguya looked at Bonney, who was still full of wariness. "Relax. I'm not going to harm you, nor do I have the interest. If I wanted to capture you, do you think you'd still be standing here?"
"I knew it!" Bonney grew even more alert, her body tensing into a combat stance. "You are here to capture me!"
Why doesn't this kid understand words?
"Forget it. Think what you want," Kaguya said. "But I'm just here to take back something that belongs to me."
Take back something?
As Bonney hesitated for a second, Kaguya appeared before her in a flash, raised her hand, and plunged it into Bonney's chest!
Bonney's pupils shrank sharply!
So fast!
She hadn't even had time to react.
But strangely, there was no pain, no blood. It was as if she hadn't been stabbed at all.
What shocked her even more was that she couldn't move. Her entire body felt foreign, paralyzed. Not even a finger could twitch.
At the same time, she felt her strength draining from her, leaving her weaker and more helpless by the second.
"Done."
Kaguya withdrew her hand, and Bonney collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, her body limp and powerless.
Floating in Kaguya's palm was a pink aura—the essence of Bonney's Devil Fruit. With a clenched fist, she absorbed it into her body.
Another Devil Fruit claimed.
By now, Kaguya had absorbed the majority of the world's Devil Fruits. It wouldn't be long before she could sweep up the remaining few.
The mission seemed even simpler than expected.
Without looking at Bonney again, Kaguya turned to leave.
"Wait..."
Bonney struggled to stand.
Kaguya stopped and glanced back. "What is it? If you want your Devil Fruit back, forget it."
"So you really can absorb others' Devil Fruits," Bonney panted, sweat beading on her brow.
Kaguya gave her a sidelong glance. "I'm simply reclaiming what was mine to begin with. Nothing strange about it."
"I just want to ask one thing," Bonney said, her amber eyes fixed on Kaguya. "Where is Artoria?"
"Artoria?" Kaguya turned fully around, a hint of surprise in her voice.
"That's right," Bonney said. "If I'm not mistaken, she should've been with you. But she hasn't appeared in a long time."
Kaguya studied the weakened girl with interest. "Why are you so concerned about her?"
"Because—" Bonney said firmly, "she's my friend!"
Kaguya paused.
Artoria—just one of the many identities Kaguya had used while operating in the Grand Line, mostly for secretive tasks. She didn't expect that persona to mean so much to someone.
Seeing Bonney's sincere expression, it felt too cruel to keep toying with her.
So Kaguya said flatly, "She's dead."
Dead?
Bonney froze. "What did you say?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Kaguya replied. "She's dead."
"No—no way! She can't be dead!" Bonney shouted in disbelief.
"Why couldn't she die?" Kaguya asked coldly. "Humans are fragile creatures. In these chaotic times of war, anyone can die—it's only a matter of time."
"But—but..." Bonney bit her lip and shouted, "But she promised me!"
"Promised you?" Kaguya paused. She didn't recall making any promises.
Bonney clenched her fists, her voice low. "She promised to treat me to the best dango... How could she go back on her word?"
Dango?
Now that she thought about it—there was something like that.
Still, to have such a strong attachment to food... Was that really why she was looking for her?
But then Kaguya noticed the tears welling up at the corners of Bonney's eyes. She was crying?
She hadn't expected the brash, carefree Bonney to show such vulnerability.
Kaguya turned and began walking toward the ship's exit. As she stepped out, a single sentence drifted back and froze Bonney in place:
"If you want to find her... go to Albion."
Bonney's head jerked up. Tear stains still streaked her cheeks, but her expression twisted into one of frustration.
Damn it!
That awful woman tricked her!
But—where was Albion?
Bonney rushed out of the ship's cabin. The moment she stepped outside, a wave of cold wind hit her, making her shiver. But as she took in the scene before her, she froze.
As far as the eye could see—snow. The raging ocean had vanished, replaced by a vast frozen wasteland of glaciers and ice. Pirate ships were locked in solid ice, debris scattered everywhere, and corpses lay in grotesque stillness.
What had happened here?
Then, she remembered what Kaguya had said earlier—"You won't be seeing him again."
Bonney's eyes widened in shock.
Could it be...?
Days later, a sudden and explosive piece of news shattered the calm of the Grand Line:
The Blackbeard Pirates had been completely annihilated at sea. Blackbeard himself, along with nearly all his senior officers, had been slaughtered. Fewer than one-tenth of the crew managed to escape.
And from their accounts, the one who destroyed them—was Kaguya.
The world was stunned.
During the Paramount War, it was rumored that Kaguya and Blackbeard had made some sort of pact. Though the details were unknown, after that day, with her shadow looming behind him, Blackbeard had risen to dominance on the Grand Line.
Yet now, it was Kaguya who wiped him out?
Meanwhile, in the Revolutionary Army's camp—
When Dragon read the headline on the newspaper, his expression grew heavy.
He had a feeling: a fierce storm was coming.
...
The Grand Line was a storm of uncertainty, and the fall of the Blackbeard Pirates only added fuel to the chaos. Yet this did little to dampen the fervor of other pirates—on the contrary, more of them poured in.
When Blackbeard ruled, large swaths of the Grand Line were his territory, his domain. But with the Blackbeard Pirates annihilated, those waters were now up for grabs—an irresistible opportunity for every ambitious pirate.
Not every pirate dreamed of becoming the Pirate King. For most, immediate gains were far more tempting than the distant legend of "One Piece." Treasure in hand was worth more than any mythical crown.
As a result, the Grand Line grew even more chaotic.
But to Kaguya, it was meaningless. In her eyes, they were all just floundering fish—nothing more.
The sky was a clear blue, with not a cloud in sight. A gentle sea breeze brought a cool touch to the air.
Kaguya leaned on the ship's railing, seemingly lost in thought.
She had assumed Blackbeard was the one who kidnapped Shirahoshi, but that no longer seemed likely. Given Blackbeard's cunning nature, he had no reason to remain tight-lipped at the brink of death—yet he genuinely didn't appear to know anything. Even after searching the entirety of the Blackbeard Pirates, she found no sign of Shirahoshi.
It probably wasn't Blackbeard's doing after all.
But then who?
As for Blackbeard's end—well, it was a pitiful one. A once-dominant force of the sea had met an undignified demise.
But such is the fate of those who carry forbidden power. The saying "a man is guilty of possessing a treasure" applied perfectly. In other words, he brought it upon himself.
Had he known his place, perhaps he wouldn't have ended up dead.
"Beautiful Miss Kaguya, I've personally prepared some red bean dango for you. Please enjoy. Might I offer a beverage as well? Fresh orange juice, perhaps?"
A sickeningly sweet voice chimed in from behind. Kaguya turned and said, "Thanks, Sanji."
Sanji gave a gentlemanly bow. "To serve a lovely lady is my honor."
In truth, Sanji was quite handsome—sharp black eyes, thin lips, a well-defined jawline, and a tall, slender figure that wasn't too bulky. If it weren't for his pervy grin and fanboy attitude, he might have scored more points.
But with his lovestruck expression, most girls would run before they even got close.
"Sanji didn't get petrified? Now that's surprising," Brook whispered from the shadows. "He was passed out for days after just seeing her the first time."
"What an idiot. Can't even walk straight when he sees a pretty girl," Zoro scoffed.
"Seriously though, why are we bringing someone like her along?" Usopp said, face pale and body trembling. "She's called a bloodthirsty demon! There's probably a mountain of corpses behind her!"
Smack!
Usopp was immediately whacked on the head by Nami.
"What was that for, Nami?!" Usopp protested.
"Don't talk about her like that," Nami huffed. "If it weren't for her, you guys would be fish food by now."
A few days earlier, while sailing the Grand Line, the Straw Hat crew had been caught in a violent storm. Even with Nami's accurate predictions and quick maneuvering, they couldn't escape the fury of the tempest.
And as if things weren't bad enough, they ended up drifting straight into a Sea King's nest!
In front of the massive Sea Kings, the Thousand Sunny looked like a tiny speck—utterly insignificant. One bite from a Sea King could have swallowed them whole. The Straw Hats fought fiercely, but instead of driving the beasts back, they only enraged them further.
As the Sunny was about to be torn apart by the raging storm and the frenzied Sea Kings, Kaguya appeared out of nowhere and saved them. If not for her, they would've become fish food.
"Still... isn't it way too dangerous to have someone like her on board?" Usopp asked, trembling. "She's a top-level threat! Even the Navy Headquarters can't deal with her. Is it really okay to keep her here?"
Nami hesitated. "I think... maybe it's fine?"
"Don't maybe! That's not reassuring at all!"
At that moment, Kaguya turned her head and flashed them a radiant smile. "Were you talking about me?"
"N-No! Absolutely not!" Nami and Usopp shook their heads like rattles.
Even Zoro's expression turned a little awkward. He turned his face and cleared his throat twice.
Zoro, who dreamed of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, had naturally wanted to test himself against Kaguya—who was known as the strongest, and a master swordsman herself.
It was a noble dream. But reality was cruel.
Before Kaguya, Zoro couldn't even put up a proper fight. Using only a small twig, she overwhelmed him completely. He was barely able to defend himself. It was even worse than the time he lost to Mihawk. It was as if every move he made had glaring flaws.
As expected, Zoro lost.
Only then did Mihawk's words echo in his mind:
"Don't challenge her until you're certain you can win. Her strength has reached a transcendent level. Her swordsmanship is beyond imagination—you'll be utterly crushed."
Zoro hadn't believed it back then. How could someone be that terrifying?
But after facing Kaguya in person, he realized just how naive he had been. Her swordplay was so refined that she could suppress him effortlessly with one finger—it was like sparring with a child.
Now, he finally understood why his childhood friend Kuina had admired her so much.
Just then, Kaguya seemed to sense Zoro's gaze. She turned to glance at him, and Zoro quickly looked away, coughing awkwardly.
She really was a monster!
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