Mist, eternal mist, nothing is clear.
Gin was in this mist, panting heavily, his whole body radiating intense heat, turning his entire figure a bright red.
Bang!
A fist equipped with Diamond Gloves struck him, but upon contact with the heat, everything except the diamond melted, including the armor on the fist, which also melted alongside the hand.
"Anything metallic will melt in my presence!"
Gin spun around and kicked, as if piercing through tofu, smoothly puncturing the person's abdomen, with smoke rising as the intense heat touched their body.
"Krieg, you're already dead, don't appear before me anymore!"
The figure before Gin was Krieg, donned in a Golden Battle Armor, the same Krieg he'd killed no less than ten times.
Things had been off since stepping onto this island.
As soon as he reached the shore, before venturing deeper, the originally thin mist thickened immensely, completely obscuring the surroundings, and Gin encountered surprising phenomena.
The long-dead Krieg appeared once more, and not just once!
The first time he appeared was during their last meeting, when Krieg attempted to lower the Pirate Flag to seize the ship, but was vehemently opposed by Gin.
Master Sage never showed up, and Krieg attacked him. Yet, in front of today's Gin, he couldn't even penetrate the defense and was pierced through the chest by a heat-fueled punch.
Then, he appeared again.
This time the scene was reminiscent of their encounter at Baladi, but Straw Hat Luffy was absent. After seizing the food, Krieg launched a Poison Gas Bomb at him because he hesitated to attack Sanji, resulting in everyone, except him, dying from the poison. The furious Gin killed Krieg once more.
Then it changed again.
Having narrowly escaped back from the Grand Line, they were ambushed by the Navy. Instinctively, Gin moved to intercept the Navy's pursuit alone; despicable as Krieg was, he was still a Pirate, and handling the Navy came first.
Yet, just as he prepared for action, Krieg suddenly attacked from behind, inciting Gin to kill him once again in rage.
Then came Hawkeye...
The first venture into the Grand Line...
The setbacks of the East Sea era...
Each event flashed through Gin's mind like a revolving lantern, with Krieg appearing every time, only to be killed by him.
By now, there were no more scenes, yet Krieg persistently existed, reappearing no matter how many times he was slain.
"An Ability User?!"
Having dealt with another Krieg manifestation, though his fists quivered slightly and red dots flickered in his eyes, Gin shouted into the mist, "Master Sage said that all strange phenomena can be explained by abilities. You're just an Ability User; once I find you, I'll definitely defeat you!"
Kaboom!
As soon as the words were spoken, the mist-filled sky erupted with thunder, the entire sky darkened, unleashing a storm.
"A storm?"
Instinctively, Gin turned his head; the mist that cloaked the weather was swept away by the storm, revealing the sea, upon which a massive Black Ship slowly approached.
"Death Star? Master Sage!"
With a hint of joy in his eyes, Gin called out, "Master Sage, over here!"
Quickly jumping from the ship's bow, a figure descended above Gin, and while he still held that joy, the figure punched him hard in the face, sending him flying backward.
Gin stumbled a considerable distance back, skidding several meters across the ground before he struggled to lift his head, incredulously exclaiming, "Ma-Master Sage?"
"Worthless."
With an expressionless face, Sage said, "Why couldn't you complete the mission? Why didn't you follow my orders? I don't need a subordinate who doesn't obey commands."
As he spoke, Krieg's voice seemed to echo in his ears.
Gin's pupils constricted, reflexively saying, "Master Sage, it wasn't like that, I... No, it can't be!"
He fixed a steady gaze on Sage, suddenly standing up, gritting his teeth as he declared, "Master Sage wouldn't say such things; is this another ability?!"
"What do you mean I wouldn't say such things? Would I recruit a useless subordinate? Gin, I'm very disappointed in you... Since our time in the East Sea, I've had high hopes for you, but how have you repaid me?"
Sage continued, "Nothing at all, it's all about me assisting you. How could a Captain help a subordinate? You're utterly useless; none of you are of any use!"
"B-but..."
"Gin, don't blame the Captain."
From behind Sage, six High-Ranking Officers rapidly approached; on the right, Lily maintained her elegant demeanor, "For a Pirate, being eliminated is normal; you're useless now, just find an isolated island to exile yourself."
"Hee hee hee, that's how the sea is, the weak are weeded out." Morlia laughed sharply on the left.
The rest stared expressionlessly at Gin, their eyes filled with cold indifference.
Is it fake?
It must be fake!
Master Sage wouldn't...
Wouldn't...
Gin's clenched fists trembled, still using his ability, yet the red dot in his eyes that represented calmness flickered and completely vanished.
"You are ability creations, I will destroy you!" Gin gritted his teeth and charged forward.
"It's over..."
In a room, the person seated at the head sighed lightly, his face half-obscured by shadows, revealing just the corner of his mouth as he smirked and said:
"Human fear does not disappear, no matter how much you motivate yourself; over time, without seeing change, doubt will arise, and doubt... is the beginning of fear."
Before him, the image from the Radio Snail showed Gin punching towards Sage.
Beside the Radio Snail, a person dressed as a special agent paused, a hint of trepidation in his eyes, then smiled and said: "You can even deceive the Radio Snail... truly worthy of you, I can't discern truth from falsehood."
"A frog at the bottom of a well can't even see the sky, so how can it distinguish between illusion and reality..."
The seated person snorted coldly, "Drowning in your own perceptions might actually be a good thing for you. The world... is very cruel."
The special agent's mouth twitched, "Maroni, don't forget what you promised us, without us..."
"Without you, I could still occupy this place, without me, you have nothing..."
He interrupted the agent's words, "I sought you out for cooperation, not the other way around, understand?"
The agent clenched his fist, then relaxed, smiling: "The order is that as long as you cooperate with us and don't cross boundaries, anything goes. When will the next batch be trained?"
"In half an hour."
The person added, "Remember your promised supplies."
The agent turned to the image of Gin battling the Disaster Pirates, concerned: "This guy holds on for so long..."
"As long as there's enough time, it will all work out."
He said slowly, "No matter how long he holds on, it won't work now."
The agent laughed, "Can we have him? He's a prime servant, holding on for so long, you can't help but admire his willpower, even eating raw meat when starving."
The indiscernible lips curved again, with an undeniable confidence, "You can, but for more supplies."
"No problem... But he's a high-ranking officer of the Disaster Pirates, if something goes wrong, we're not helping you." The agent said.
"This place... they can't get in, all trapped in illusions, truth and lies, no one can tell which is real."
The person said: "Even I can be affected by this ability, unable to distinguish. But precisely because of this, no one can invade this island unless I allow it, or the consequences will be like his!"
Bang!
Another thunderbolt, illuminating the mist.
"Fake, all fake!"
Gin, his body fiery red, melted Sage's head with a punch, his foot on Moriah whose chest had a big hole, raging and roaring: "All fake, you can't fool me, Master Sage isn't this weak!"
This was already the third batch.
The appearing Disaster Pirates were indeed fake. To himself, the cold Master Sage, indifferent companions, and the fierce subordinates wanting to kill him for merit, were all fake.
Because they were too weak!
So weak, everything must be fake, all fake!
His eyes could no longer maintain Observation Haki, not even basic clarity, gradually darkening.
He couldn't hold on...
Even if it's fake, such repeated killing, repeatedly identifying, is consuming, Gin hadn't noticed the mist rising in his dim eyes as the thunderbolt lit up the area.
"Another ship!"
Steam rose as Gin's fists fired up steel-high temperature, his voice like a beast's, muddy yet vigilant, glaring at the approaching Death Star, snarling: "Come on, Sage, I'll kill you!!"
Ship's bow position.
Sage just bit into a cigar, while behind, Mute and Pearl pulled and tugged, finally allowing Pearl an opportunity to rush up, lighting the lighter. Just before it burned the cigar tip, a roar echoed from the coast.
The sound... somewhat familiar.
Pearl blinked, turned back, shocked, nearly dropping his jaw, his eyes bulging, teeth almost flying out, his hand holding the lighter instinctively stiffening.
A hand grabbed Pearl's, bringing it closer to light the cigar.
"Hoo..."
Sage exhaled smoke, gazing at Gin on the coast, unleashing his power, clicking his tongue, "What did he say just now?"
Lily walked over, frowned, "Sage, he's not in a good state."
"I asked, what did he say just now."
"He said he wants to kill you." Renedia ran over, baring her small tiger teeth, with a hint of schadenfreude, "The black ghost is rebelling!"
"Two less whips."
Sage clenched his hand, looking at the insane Gin on the coast, grinning viciously: "Getting bold, Gin!"