Under the influence of the Black Magic Book, the traitorous Rocks Pirates were no longer human.
Their bodies swelled, bursting through their clothes. Horns curled from their skulls. Their skin turned into rocky, gray hide.
Golden Lion Shiki hovered above, looking down with lingering fear.
"ROAR!!!"
"I FEEL INVINCIBLE!!!"
"POWER! ENDLESS POWER!!"
"CAPTURE THE CHILD! KILL ROCKS!!"
"IF WE KILL THEM, WE GET SHAKKY!!"
"AWOOO!!"
The demons howled like wolves. Their minds were gone, replaced by the singular command of Mu. Ignoring Shiki in the sky, they stampeded toward the town like a landslide.
York stood his ground. He had just distributed the three Mythical Zoan fruits to Kaido, Whitebeard, and Linlin.
Suddenly, the ground shook. A horde of monsters—his former crewmates—charged at him.
"FOUND ROCKS' BRAT!!"
"KILL HIM!!"
York frowned, confused. "What the hell happened to them?"
WHOOSH.
Shiki flew down, landing beside York.
"They're controlled by that woman's ability!" Shiki explained hurriedly. "It's some kind of curse!"
"The woman fighting Rocks?" York asked.
"Yeah!" Shiki nodded. Then, his eyes locked onto Shakky standing behind York.
"SHAKKY-CHAN~~!! You're safe! Oh, I was so worried!!"
Shiki's face melted into a goofy grin.
Shakky forced a polite smile. "Thank you for your concern, Shiki."
"Ah~ Shakky-chan thanked me~~"
Shiki wriggled with joy, completely oblivious to Whitebeard and Big Mom quietly pocketing their new Devil Fruits.
"HAND OVER THE CHILD!!"
Silver Axe led the charge.
He was unrecognizable. He had grown to five meters tall, and his signature axe had mutated into a massive, double-edged cleaver. He swung it with force enough to cleave a mountain.
Whitebeard stepped forward. His expression was dark.
CRACK.
He punched the air.
The Gura Gura no Mi activated. The atmosphere shattered like glass. Silver Axe's momentum died instantly, blocked by the invisible quake.
York didn't hesitate. He handed the sack back to Shakky and launched himself forward.
"Fist Bone: Galaxy Crush!"
BOOM!
York's fist, coated in Advanced Conqueror's Haki, slammed into Silver Axe's face.
There was no resistance. Silver Axe's head exploded into mist and bone fragments.
"HEAVENLY THUNDER-FIRE!!"
Charlotte Linlin struck next.
She merged Prometheus (Fire) and Zeus (Lightning) into a spiraling beam of destruction.
BOOM!
The blast engulfed a dozen demonized pirates, burning their flesh to ash and blasting them backward.
"THUNDER BAGUA!!"
Kaido roared.
He had shifted into his Man-Beast (Hybrid) Form. Blue scales covered his torso, horns protruded from his brow, and a tail whipped behind him.
He swung his kanabo with brutal, instinctive force.
SMASH!
He struck Captain John.
John had mutated into a bio-mechanical nightmare, his armor fused with his flesh. But Kaido's strength—boosted by the Azure Dragon—was overwhelming.
John's metal helmet caved in. His skull deformed with a sickening crunch.
In seconds, the four monsters—York, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom—had decimated the charging army.
Shiki blinked, snapping out of his love-daze.
'These four... when did they get so coordinated?'
'And their attacks... they're brutal. I've never seen them hit teammates this hard.'
But the victory was short-lived.
SQUELCH. CRACK.
Silver Axe's exploded head reknit itself from the blood mist.
Captain John's crushed skull popped back into shape.
The burns on the other pirates vanished as if erased by an eraser.
They stood up, roaring as if nothing had happened.
"Immortal bodies?!" Shiki gasped. "The witch wasn't lying?!"
York landed, his face grim.
"It's the same as the old spider I fought," York said. "They are connected to that woman. Conventional attacks won't kill them."
He looked at the ocean in the distance.
"We need Seawater."
"Drown them. The sea rejects Devil Fruit users, and it should disrupt this magic too."
York turned to the two heavy hitters.
"Newgate. Shiki. I need you two."
"Newgate creates the waves. Shiki controls the water. It's the only way."
It was a solid plan.
But Shiki scoffed, tossing his golden hair.
"HA?! Cooperate?! With Newgate?!"
"York, are you dreaming?! I can fly! Why should I waste time saving you ground-crawlers?!"
He turned back to Shakky, extending a hand.
"Shakky-chan~ It's too dangerous! Come with me! I'll fly you away to a romantic island!"
Shakky knew exactly how to handle him.
She shrank back, putting a hand to her chest, looking terrified. Her eyes shimmered with fake tears.
"But... I'm so scared, Shiki... These monsters are terrifying. Can't you get rid of them for me first?"
Shiki froze. His heart melted.
His expression shifted from arrogance to determination in a nanosecond.
"SAY NO MORE!!"
"WAIT FOR ME, SHAKKY-CHAN! I'LL DROWN THESE TRASH BAGS RIGHT NOW!!"
WHOOSH!
Shiki shot into the sky.
He drew Oto and Kogarashi.
"Lion's Majesty: Sea Valley Cut!"
Golden slashes flew toward the coast. They sliced the ocean itself, carving out massive cubes of seawater.
"RISE!!"
Under the power of the Float-Float Fruit, thousands of tons of water lifted into the air and flew toward the town.
On the ground, the demons recovered and charged again.
"ROAR!!"
Whitebeard sighed. He stepped forward.
He didn't use a quake to kill. He used it to push.
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted the demons back, clustering them together in the center of the street.
"NOW, SHIKI!!"
"GYAHAHAHA! TAKE A BATH, YOU FOOLS!!"
Shiki released his control.
CRASH!!!
A massive cube of ocean water dropped from the sky like a hammer.
It slammed into the street, crushing the demons and flooding the town instantly.
"Run!"
York grabbed Shakky and leaped to a rooftop, watching the chaos below.
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