In reality, the only person left here was Carmen, who was hog-tied mid-air, her legs bound wide apart by ropes, and her hands raised high above her head, also spread wide apart.
There was also the gag that had long since stuffed her delicate, rosy mouth, leaving her only able to emit muffled whimpers of helplessness and anger.
"Time for the main course." Jonathan stood up, walking toward Carmen with a wicked smile, looking like a jackal eyeing easily obtainable prey, a rare and exquisite meal.
"Wuwuwu—" Carmen's eyes were filled with helplessness and panic, and the struggling and trembling of her entire body became more intense than ever before.
She did not want this; she did not want to lose her purity here, to this devil.
But suddenly.
"Rumble—" The entire room shook violently, as if it were the precursor to a major earthquake.
"Ah ah ah—"
"Clang—"
Soon, screams and the sounds of weapons clashing or swiftly slicing through the air came from outside, rising and falling in succession.
The shaking continued, a powerful vibration caused by some massive energy attack hitting the building.
"What is going on?" Jonathan's expression instantly changed, and he immediately started cursing loudly, his voice sounding like the bellowing of an ox.
Carmen felt a mixture of dullness and sudden joy. Could she be rescued?
Soon, a Marine Soldiers burst through the door, saying in utter panic.
"This is bad, Colonel Jonathan, a group of women has broken in! They are too strong; many of our men have already been easily killed by them and are lying in pools of blood."
"Trash! A bunch of useless trash! You let a few women beat you up like this!" Jonathan immediately started yelling. For the Marine base he managed and ruled to be reduced to this state by a few women, what else could these guys be but trash?
"But... Colonel, they don't seem like ordinary women," the Marine Soldier said, sounding both tearful and wronged. After all, he had personally witnessed how those women had slaughtered the Marine Soldiers. He knew clearly that these women were not the fragile beauties they appeared to be—each one incomparably beautiful and graceful.
Instead, they were like berserker witches walking out of hell, and countless Marine Soldiers outside had already fallen under their attacks.
"How strong can a bunch of women possibly be?" Jonathan cursed again in exasperation. Since he hadn't witnessed it himself, he naturally didn't know how terrifying Luna and her companions' strength was. Moreover, he genuinely didn't believe women could be that strong; Carmen, who was right beside him and whom he was about to enjoy, was the best proof of that.
"Colonel, but they..."
But before the Marine Soldier could say anything more, there was a sudden whoosh, and a purple blade of light pierced him from behind, going straight through his heart.
The man instantly froze. In his last moment of life, he felt a great force coming from behind him, as if he had been kicked.
However, in the eyes of Carmen and Jonathan, this Marine Soldier was indeed kicked flying, collapsing in front of them, already a corpse.
Following footsteps, Luna walked in.
Looking at Jonathan in front of her, she immediately sneered, "You're the last one."
Jonathan, a Devil Fruit User, grabbed his weapon, a war hammer. Remembering the blade of light Luna had previously generated from her finger, he immediately guessed that Luna was a Devil Fruit User.
Carmen looked at Luna with curiosity and scrutiny. So strong, so cool, so beautiful. Regardless, she had been rescued today, and she definitely had to thank her properly later.
Carmen thought internally.
"It seems I truly underestimated you all. What is the situation outside now?"
Jonathan's eyes held only ruthlessness, like a wild bull about to charge.
"You are the last Marine left in this branch. On a side note, your son was also just killed by me, just like the Marine I killed a moment ago."
Luna teased him in a joking tone. Her objective, of course, was to provoke this brute in front of her, who looked completely like a muscle-headed simpleton.
The reality was exactly as she expected. Hearing that his son had been killed, Jonathan's eyes instantly turned red, and he exuded an aura of brutality.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!" He roared, immediately grabbing his war hammer with both hands and charging forward.
"Be careful." Carmen kindly warned him, but she was overthinking things. If Garp couldn't handle Luna, how could this East Blue Marine Colonel, who didn't even know Haki, possibly pose a threat?
As a purple light flashed across her body, Luna activated the Void Body skill once again, easily dodging the hammer strike and moving to his side.
"Gliza Beam." Void Energy instantly condensed near Luna's forehead, and a purple bolt of lightning struck Jonathan's face at close range. This casual, energy-based attack, equivalent to a strike from a Vice Admiral-level expert, instantly blew the head off this villainous, trash Marine Colonel who had committed countless atrocities in this town.
A headless corpse soon lay on the ground.
The bound Carmen was stunned.
"It seems I arrived just in time." After finishing off Jonathan, Luna immediately rescued Carmen.
"Thank you. I don't know what I can do to help you in return," Carmen said gratefully.
"To be honest, I actually came to this town for you," Luna said, smiling.
"For me?" Carmen felt confused, while a hint of fear also lurked in her heart. Could this savior in front of her be that kind of person?
Clearly, she was overthinking things, and Luna didn't notice her concern, so Carmen didn't press the matter. Otherwise, if Luna had known, she probably would have been so angry she'd spit blood.
Am I that kind of girl?
"My name is Luna, and I am the captain of the Pink Hat Pirates. I am currently forming an elite Pirate Crew composed of beautiful women around the age of 20 who possess outstanding professional skills and the potential to become strong experts. We plan to adventure freely on the high seas together. I heard about you and came because my ship currently needs a chef."
Luna answered Carmen's question, explaining her background.
She wanted to invite Carmen to join her ship.
So that was it. After hearing her out, Carmen immediately understood.
She was only 20 this year and was definitely a young beauty in the East Blue. This point, or rather these two points, certainly met the other party's requirements.
As for her cooking skills, she was quite confident; satisfying the appetites of this group of girls would be no problem.
But.
"My strength isn't good enough, and I don't seem to have the potential to become stronger that you mentioned," Carmen said, feeling somewhat disheartened. After all, if she had strength, she would have long ago pursued her dreams on the Grand Line like Sanji, instead of remaining in the tiny East Blue.
"Eat this. It will make you strong, allowing your dreams to be reborn in fire and soar like a phoenix."
Luna said with a smile, while pulling out a Devil Fruit shaped like a dragon fruit, predominantly red and orange, with feather patterns decorating its surface.
This was the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Devil Fruit, Mythical Zoan Phoenix form, that she had prepared for Carmen.
It granted the ability to control the hottest and most extreme flames in the world, allowing the user to be reborn in fire like a phoenix and fight without fear of death.
Let's compare it to Marco's Phoenix Fruit (Fushichō Fushichō no Mi). The Phoenix Fruit does not possess healing abilities, and its standard self-recovery is inferior to the Undying Bird. However, as long as it can absorb flames, the Phoenix surpasses the Undying Bird in recovery ability. Moreover, as both are fire divine birds, the Phoenix far exceeds the Undying Bird in both flame power and its fundamental fighting capabilities.
After all, one is the Emperor among birds, while the other can only be called the Great General among birds.
Luna immediately explained the details to Carmen.
Carmen was already somewhat stunned. She never expected such a stroke of luck; not only was she rescued today, but she was also offered such a powerful gift to become stronger.
Carmen wanted to refuse, as this Devil Fruit was simply too precious and too powerful.
But she was cut off by Luna after saying just a few words.
Luna simply said that if Carmen wanted to repay her and live up to the potential of this Devil Fruit, she should become her partner and chef.
Carmen could only agree. She took the Devil Fruit, thanked Luna once more, and immediately took a bite. The result was...
"Ugh—This thing really tastes like that stuff, ugh—"
Carmen, having eaten the Devil Fruit, felt terrible, but ultimately, she could only force herself to endure the disgusting taste of the Devil Fruit and swallow the pulp.
But quickly, changes began to happen to her body.
Flames began to burn on her body, growing until her entire body was engulfed in fire. Miraculously, her clothes weren't scorched, and she didn't feel hot.
But Luna understood and smiled instantly. How could a phoenix be burned by its own flames or feel the heat?
It was now obvious that Carmen had gained the Phoenix power within the Devil Fruit.
And if she remembered correctly, the first transformation of a pure Zoan fruit was...
Beast Transformation, or the so-called full beast form.
Carmen immediately underwent a massive transformation. She roared towards the sky, her voice carrying a hint of a phoenix cry. Her entire face and head transformed, slowly becoming like a phoenix, and her hands turned into fiery phoenix wings. She instantly burst through the roof and flew out.
In the dark sky, a colorful phoenix, at least five meters tall, appeared. Its feathers were predominantly red and orange, shining with dazzling light, magnificent and breathtakingly beautiful.
The phoenix spread its vast wings, every feather seeming to pulse with the flame of life. It soared through the air, agile and graceful, as if displaying its majesty and beauty to the world.
Accompanying the phoenix's flight, a clear and melodious cry echoed through the sky. That sound was like heavenly music, full of power yet revealing a mysterious aura that made people fall under its spell.
The raging flames burning on its body illuminated this section of the sky, but no one should underestimate this phoenix just because of its beauty; the fire divine beast fighter jet among birds was not to be trifled with.
Meanwhile, Luna took the opportunity to level the Marine base with just a few random skills.
She then met up with her partners who had already cleaned up all the Marines outside.
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