"Bastard!!" Gaban roared, axes in hand as he lunged like a jungle tiger. "You think hiding behind that barrier means you've got us cornered!?"
He raised both axes and chopped down.
Clang!
Instead of the barrier breaking, Gaban himself was blasted back, his hands going numb from the recoil.
"Well!?" Kurozumi Semimaru sneered smugly. "My barrier technique is an invincible defense!"
Kurozumi Higurashi laughed coldly. "Go ahead and wait. Captain Rocks will deal with your Roger Pirates soon enough!"
The Roger Pirates glared, anger flaring in every set of eyes at the Kurozumi duo's arrogant faces.
At that moment, Rayleigh reached out and patted the Fish-Man Sunbell beside him, signaling him to lower his head. Then Rayleigh leaned in and whispered a few words.
Sunbell's eyes lit up. He nodded rapidly.
Then Rayleigh looked back at the Kurozumi pair and suddenly smiled.
"Devil Fruit abilities always have weaknesses. Some kind of limitation… a flaw."
"You've been holding that specific hand sign the whole time," Rayleigh continued casually, "because that's what maintains your ability, isn't it?"
As he spoke, he saw Semimaru's expression tighten.
That reaction only confirmed Rayleigh's suspicion.
Rayleigh sprang forward, his body swift and fluid like a hunting leopard. His hand rested on the hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
Shing!
A blade-flash burst into view, bright as lightning in a pitch-black storm, fleeting as a meteor across a summer sky.
"I told you…" Semimaru didn't even finish the word "no" before his face changed.
His vision rose.
It wasn't an illusion.
Rayleigh's sword had cleanly sliced through the rubble beneath their feet, cutting the stone they were standing on. In an instant, the slab lifted and they were thrown upward.
Higurashi's eyes widened. "Rayleigh… what is he trying to do!?"
He wasn't attacking the barrier.
He was attacking the collapsed stone and broken walls beneath them.
And the moment that thought formed, dread followed.
Because it became reality.
Beside Rayleigh, the Fish-Man Sunbell burst forward like a wild beast, seizing the slab under the Kurozumi duo with both hands.
Veins bulged along his arms. Beneath blue skin, raw, feral power surged.
Then Sunbell spun.
The barrier sphere with the Kurozumi duo trapped inside whirled violently, sending them crashing into each other, tumbling, seeing stars.
Sunbell roared, voice shaking the air:
"Fish-Man Jujutsu Flying Disc!"
He released.
The barrier sphere shot into the sky like a cannonball, screaming through the air until it vanished from sight.
And just like that, it was gone.
"Whew." Sunbell grinned. "Finally dealt with that headache for now. Rayleigh's idea really worked!"
Rayleigh sighed. "We didn't have a choice. Semimaru's barrier defense is too absolute. We can't break it."
"Luckily, they only have defense. Their actual combat strength isn't impressive."
"If…" Rayleigh's eyes narrowed, the thought slipping out, "if Tengetsu Ares's body could reach the level of that barrier…"
"Then he really would be unbeatable."
Sunbell nodded. "Still, it's been over two years since we last fought Tengetsu Ares…"
"In that time, he's caused a huge stir out on the seas. His bounty's climbed to 2.2 billion berries. He's definitely stronger than before."
He still remembered their first clash. Tengetsu Ares had been young, yet his strength already exceeded Sunbell's, a Fish-Man.
Now…
After so much time…
How far had that monster advanced?
Rayleigh felt it too. "Let's move. If we run into that kid again, it'll be another brutal fight. And Rocks is here too…"
"This place is too dangerous."
The last time he fought Tengetsu Ares still stuck in his memory his unique "No-Sword Style," and that terrifying talent for learning mid-battle.
Even thinking about it now made Rayleigh's scalp prickle.
He really didn't want to face that monster again.
"Yeah. Then we'll store the Flame-Flame Fruit for now," Roger said. "Rocks's ability is the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users."
Eating a Devil Fruit meant inheriting a fatal weakness. Roger had no intention of doing that yet.
High in the sky
Inside the violently spinning barrier sphere, the two Kurozumi slammed around until their bodies were covered in bruises.
But Semimaru didn't dare drop the barrier.
If they fell without protection…
They might hit the ground as nothing but paste.
Higurashi's forehead was swollen with lumps. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"Damn it…" she hissed. "Rayleigh… that bastard… actually had someone throw us out!"
Bang!
Her head slammed into the barrier again, and she screamed in agony.
Beside her, Semimaru stubbornly maintained that strange hand sign, his fingers swelling from strain.
They flew who knew how long.
At last, the barrier sphere began to descend.
Boom!
The hard sphere smashed into the earth, carving out a deep crater and then the barrier vanished.
The Kurozumi duo, battered into total disorientation, finally passed out cold.
Night fell.
Then dawn returned.
A whole night passed.
When Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru finally woke again…
The moment she opened her eyes, Higurashi felt pain everywhere. It was like her bones had fallen apart. Even the smallest movement made her suck in breath through her teeth.
Before she could check her injuries, she suddenly shrieked.
"Semimaru!!"
"Look look over there!!"
Still dazed, Semimaru focused his eyes.
A small box had fallen to the ground.
And beside it…
Was a Devil Fruit shaped like a pineapple pink, with eight green stalk-like leaves.
A Devil Fruit.
The Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Model Yamata no Orochi!
"Hahahaha!" Semimaru burst into ecstatic laughter, sprinting over as if he'd forgotten every bruise on his body.
He snatched it up, laughing wildly.
"It really is a Devil Fruit! We actually ran into one!"
"We should thank the Roger Pirates! If it weren't for them, we never would've stumbled across this fruit!"
Higurashi stumbled over too, laughing now as well.
"This fruit has to be insanely valuable! But what power is it!?"
"No," Semimaru said, eyes burning. "We can't sell it."
"This is power. With power, you can get anything you want!"
Higurashi frowned. "But we're already Devil Fruit users. We can't gain this fruit's ability…"
"And this has to be one of the six fruits the World Government prepared."
"It probably has a godlike power…"
If they weren't already users, they would've swallowed it without hesitation.
Semimaru said, "Forget the rest. We'll keep it for now. It might come in handy later."
Suddenly
A voice sounded.
And in an instant, every hair on their bodies stood on end.
"I think…"
"This Devil Fruit would be better off… in my care."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.
The story's already ahead on Patron. Go there if you want to catch up faster!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"