Chapter 155: Probe and Clash!
On the deck of the Pola, the biting cold wind generated by the presence of the Ice General swirled around the steel superstructure.
Rem stood by the gunwale, her hands gripping the cold metal railing so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her azure eyes were fixed on the frozen sea below, where General Esdeath and Lady Albedo had already taken their positions like two goddesses of war descended upon the mortal realm.
A trace of fierce determination, mixed with a painful throb of inferiority, flashed in Rem's eyes.
I am weak, Rem told herself, the thought bitter but honest. Compared to General Esdeath, who can freeze oceans, and Lady Albedo, who possesses the defense of a fortress... my strength is insignificant. I am just a maid.
But as she thought of Master Suzaku's smiling face, a fire ignited in her chest that burned hotter than any magic.
But I am Suzaku-sama's maid!
She couldn't stand here idly. She couldn't hide on the ship while others fought for his glory. Even if she was just a pebble compared to mountains, she wanted to be a pebble that tripped the enemy. She wanted to do her part for Master Suzaku, to clear even a speck of dust from his path!
She turned to look at her sister beside her.
Ram stood with her usual poise, her pink hair fluttering in the wind. Her expression was indifferent, bordering on bored, but her ruby-red eyes held a depth of understanding that only a twin could possess. She glanced at Rem, reading her sister's tumultuous thoughts as easily as an open book.
There was a flicker of indulgence in Ram's gaze, a silent sigh that seemed to say, "Honestly, Rem. You are always so dramatic. But I suppose I cannot stop you."
"Nee-sama..." Rem whispered, seeking permission.
"If we are going, let us not be late," Ram said softly, her voice cool and crisp. "The Master is watching."
Having received her sister's tacit approval, Rem's face lit up. She immediately reached out and took Ram's hand.
The connection was instant. The twin demon sisters, the maids of the Vermillion Wing, moved in perfect unison.
Whoosh!
The two sisters vaulted over the railing. They didn't fall; they descended like feathers caught in a downdraft, transforming into a blue and pink stream of light. They utilized their wind magic to manipulate their momentum, landing on the ice field with a soft, synchronized thud, their maid skirts settling perfectly around their legs.
"Hey! Rem! Ram! Wait for me!"
A muffled, frantic voice came from the deck above, breaking the serious atmosphere.
Akame, the assassin of Night Raid, was currently shoving a large piece of sea-king jerky into her mouth. Her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. When she saw the two sisters—who were not only her combat partners but also the primary providers of delicious food on the ship—rush down, panic set in.
She was someone who cared deeply about her companions. To Akame, the bond of food and the bond of battle were sacred.
They are going to fight without me? What if they get hurt? What if they get hungry?
"Mmph—glup!"
She swallowed the massive chunk of jerky in three distinct, painful-looking gulps, not even bothering to wipe the grease from the corner of her mouth. Her red eyes narrowed, shifting instantly from 'foodie mode' to 'killer mode.'
"How can you start the party without me?!" Akame shouted, her hand already reaching for the hilt of Murasame, the One-Cut Killer. "Those guys look very durable! I need to test if I can cut them!"
Before her words even faded into the wind, this gluttonous assassin leaped from the ship. Her black hair streamed behind her like a banner of death as she plummeted towards the ice, chasing after Rem and Ram's backs.
Thud.
She landed steadily on the ice, sliding slightly to a stop behind the twins.
In an instant, the lineup on the vast, frozen ice field was complete.
At the forefront stood the Ice General, Esdeath, and the Succubus Overseer, Albedo. Flanking them were the Oni Twins, Rem and Ram. And guarding the rear was the Assassin, Akame.
Five women. Five distinct auras. Their figures were reflected clearly on the mirror-like surface of the ice, creating a scene that was as beautiful as it was terrifying.
However, across the ice, on the deck of the Red Force, the reaction was starkly different.
Apart from Red Hair Shanks, who remained calm, and his Vice-Captain Benn Beckman, who smoked silently, the faces of the other cadres twisted into expressions of mixed shock, disbelief, and rising anger.
They looked up at the Pola, then back down at the ice.
What does this mean?
Ulquiorra Cifer, the man who had reportedly blasted a hole through Admiral Akainu, was still standing on the deck, looking at the clouds.
Hashirama Senju, the legend who had physically wrestled Kaido of the Beasts into submission, was nowhere to be seen.
As a result, the opposing side had sent out... five women? Five maids and military cosplayers?
To the Red Hair Pirates, a crew of hardened veterans who ruled the New World, this was no longer just an underestimation. This was a blatant, stinging insult. It was a slap in the face with a silk glove.
"Hmph... we're really being looked down upon, aren't we?"
Yasopp, the sniper of the Red Hair Pirates, gripped his long rifle. His face, usually adorned with a cocky grin, was now gloomy and dark. His dreadlocks swayed as he shook his head in disbelief.
He gently caressed the wooden stock of his beloved rifle, his eyes sharp enough to spot a fly on a mast three miles away.
"They actually send a few little girls to deal with us?" Yasopp spat on the deck. "Do they think the Red Hair Pirates are a joke? Do they think this is a place for playing house? I have a son their age, for crying out loud!"
Beside him, Lucky Roux, the rotund combatant who was always gnawing on a rack of ribs, paused his eating.
Chomp.
He shoved the entire remaining meat leg—bone and all—into his mouth and crunched down. His cheeks puffed up high as he swallowed.
When he looked up, the simple, honest, and goofy smile that usually graced his face had completely disappeared. It was replaced by a cold, hard stoniness that few outside the crew had ever seen.
His familiar companions knew that look. When Lucky Roux's smile disappeared, it meant the time for games was over. It meant someone was about to have a very, very bad day.
However, as the center of this gathering storm, Esdeath paid absolutely no attention to the enemy's injured pride or their emotional state.
To her, they were not legends or Yonko commanders. They were livestock. They were toys waiting to be broken.
Her attention was entirely focused on the upcoming "entertainment."
She looked at the Red Hair Pirates gathering on the rail of their ship and curled her lips into a cruel, devastatingly beautiful smile.
"Come on then," she whispered, her voice carrying across the ice.
She lightly raised her jade-like hand.
Snap!
In an instant, the moisture in the air in front of her rapidly condensed. The temperature plummeted, causing the very air to crackle.
Dozens of extremely sharp ice cones, shimmering with a faint blue cold light, appeared out of thin air. They hovered for a split second, aiming directly at the Red Force, like a swarm of bloodthirsty flying fish waiting for the command.
"Go."
With a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, the ice cones shot overwhelmingly towards the deck of the Red Force!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The attack was dense, fast, and deadly. But for Esdeath, this was just a probe—not even an appetizer.
"Don't look down on people!"
Yasopp roared, his pride igniting like gunpowder.
Instead of retreating or taking cover, he advanced. He leaped directly from the ship's rail, soaring through the air and landing steadily on the ice field with a heavy thud.
Facing the whistling rain of ice cones that threatened to turn him into a pincushion, Yasopp didn't flinch. The long rifle in his hand seemed to come alive, becoming an extension of his own arm.
"We are the Red Hair Pirates! We won't be scared by such childish magic tricks!"
He raised the rifle. He didn't aim. He didn't need to.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of dense, rhythmic gunshots erupted on the ice field! It sounded like rain hitting banana leaves—rapid, continuous, and deafening.
Yasopp's hands became a blur. He worked the bolt of his rifle with god-like speed, firing, reloading, and firing again in fractions of a second.
Every bullet was coated in invisible Armament Haki.
Every bullet found its mark.
Shatter! Crack! Boom!
Every single approaching ice cone was hit with pinpoint accuracy right at its tip, the force of the Haki-clad bullets shattering the structural integrity of the ice. The cones exploded in mid-air, turning into a harmless cloud of glittering ice dust that drifted down like snow.
That composure. That ease.
It was as if he wasn't fending off a deadly attack from an Admiral-level fighter, but merely performing a magnificent gunmanship show at a carnival.
In a flash, more than twenty ice cones were all reduced to dust. Not a single shard crossed even half a step past the line Yasopp stood on.
"Oh?"
Seeing that her casual attack was completely intercepted by the opponent's gunman in such a magnificent way, Esdeath halted her hand.
She showed no annoyance at the failure of her attack. Instead, her eyes widened, and the smile on her face grew even brighter, stretching wider in a terrifying display of delight. Her pupils dilated with the surprise of discovering a new, durable toy.
"Not bad... not bad at all!" Esdeath laughed, a chilling sound. "You've got some skills! You aren't fragile trash after all!"
She licked her lips.
"This makes it more fun! This makes it worth my while to personally catch each of you, and slowly 'interrogate' you about your potential!"
However, this "praise" immediately drew dissatisfaction from the woman standing beside her.
"Hmph. What a waste of time."
Albedo's voice was cold, filled with undisguised contempt and aristocracy. She brushed a speck of invisible dust from her dress, looking at the battlefield with disdain.
"Your attack was so easily blocked by a mere insect," Albedo sneered at Esdeath. "Truly disgracing the name of the Suzaku Pirates. If you cannot exterminate the pests efficiently, perhaps you should step aside."
"What did you say?!"
Being mocked to her face, Esdeath immediately bristled. Her killing intent, which was focused on Yasopp, momentarily snapped sideways toward Albedo.
She abruptly turned around, her icy blue eyes glaring at Albedo's golden ones.
"I'm just assessing the quality of the prey!" Esdeath retorted sharply. "I need to see if they're worth my precious time or if I should just freeze them instantly! Unlike some boring fools who know nothing about the joy of the hunt!"
"Joy?" Albedo scoffed. "The only joy is absolute service to the Supreme Being. Playing with food is vulgar."
Seeing that the two powerful "ladies" were about to start a "civil war" and fight each other before even engaging the enemy, Rem and Ram exchanged weary glances.
They both saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Here we go again.
"Lady Albedo! Lady Esdeath!"
The twin sisters spoke in perfect unison, their voices overlapping. They took a step forward with practiced synchronicity, inserting themselves into the conversation to quell the imminent disaster.
"Please don't be angry!" Rem bowed slightly, her tone anxious but firm. "We are in front of the enemy! Master Suzaku is watching!"
"The enemy's small fry... leave them to Ram to clear out!"
Ram, concise and to the point, stepped forward first, standing between the two bickering heavyweights. She looked at the Red Hair Pirates who were now jumping off their ship to join Yasopp.
Before her words faded, Ram raised her hands.
She didn't summon ice. She didn't summon darkness.
Zzzzt...!
The air around Ram distorted visibly. A dazzling, greenish-white light gathered in her palms. To the pirates, it looked like electricity, but it was actually wind—wind compressed to such an extreme density that it glowed with mana friction.
It was Wind Magic.
"El Fura!"
Taking advantage of the momentary standoff between Esdeath and Albedo, the cadres of the Red Hair Pirates—Lucky Roux, Bonk Punch, Limejuice, and others—had long been unable to hold back. One by one, they leaped off the ship, spreading out in a fan shape to encircle the women.
A cold light flashed in Ram's eyes.
She swung her hand.
The ball of compressed wind in her hand instantly exploded outward, transforming into several massive, high-velocity wind blades that shrieked through the air like banshees!
These wind blades swept horizontally towards the newly landed Red Hair Pirate cadres with the speed of lightning!
"What?!"
"Another ability user?"
"This pressure... is it a Logia? A Wind Logia? Or Lightning?"
The pirates shouted in surprise. They couldn't see the blades clearly, only the distortion of light and the greenish glow as the attack approached.
"Hmph! This is the New World!"
Lucky Roux stepped forward, his massive body moving with shocking speed.
"Don't think a mere Logia can do whatever she wants!"
Facing the howling, violent wind blades, the Red Hair Pirate cadres did not flinch. Though surprised, they were seasoned veterans of a thousand battles.
Each of them showed a fierce, confident smile.
Woom!
Almost simultaneously, they covered their arms and weapons with a layer of glossy, jet-black Armament Haki!
They didn't dodge. They punched, kicked, or slashed directly at the incoming magic!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The wind blades fiercely struck their Haki-clad limbs. The impact sounded like heavy hammers hitting iron bells—deep, muffled thuds that echoed across the ice.
The wind exploded, scattering gusts of air that knocked the snow backward.
The attack failed to draw blood. The Haki of the Red Hair executives was too dense, turning their skin into iron that not even high-pressure wind could cut.
However, the force of the impact made them pause. Their charge was halted for a split second as they braced against the magical pressure.
While fending off the attacks, their tactical discipline held firm. Their footsteps did not stop for long.
They regained their momentum instantly, maintaining a perfect encirclement formation. Like a tightening net, they pressed closer, step by step, towards the five stunning beauties at the center of the ice field.
On the ship's bow, Shanks watched this scene, the sea breeze flapping his empty sleeve. His eyes were serious, observing every exchange, every ability, and every counter. But there was no worry in his gaze.
These were his companions. They were the men who had climbed to the top of the world with him, entrusting their backs to each other through hell and high water.
He knew their strength better than anyone!
[Akarin Note:
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