"Kill every last one of these Marines!"
Jack the Drought roared, swinging his massive shotel blades with murderous intent.
With a single sweep, a Marine's head hit the ground, and blood splashed across the base courtyard.
This wasn't just an attack — it was revenge.
Revenge for the humiliation he'd suffered.
After Luo Xing had healed him completely with a Senzu Bean, Jack had left Wano without hesitation, determined to wash away his shame in blood.
If he didn't, how could the mighty All-Star ever face his comrades again?
But this time, Jack wasn't charging in blindly.
He'd chosen a naval base far from Akainu's patrol zone, ensuring he could strike and vanish before the Admiral arrived.
"Slaughter them all!"
The Beasts Pirates roared in unison.
Each of them had consumed Monster Cells, their strength eclipsing ordinary soldiers several times over.
The Marine base commander, a seasoned Vice Admiral, clenched his fists as his men fell one by one.
"Damn you, Jack! Damn the Beasts Pirates! Damn that cursed Prince Consort of Beasts!"
Even in his fury, he knew exactly where to place the blame.
Every one of these monsters drew their power from Luo Xing's inventions — the Monster Cells that had turned them into living weapons.
Jack's expression hardened as he strode forward, his towering frame casting a shadow over the Vice Admiral.
"Who were you just cursing?"
The Marine spat blood but glared up defiantly.
"You, you monster! You and your so-called—"
"Wrong answer."
Jack's voice dropped to a growl. His eyes glinted with frost.
"You insulted the Prince Consort. That's unforgivable."
Before the Vice Admiral could draw breath, twin arcs of silver light flashed through the air.
Slash—!
The man was cleaved into four pieces before he could even scream.
Blood fountained onto the stone.
Jack wiped his blades clean and said coldly,
"Those who insult Lord Luo Xing—die."
With their commander dead, the remaining Marines scattered in panic.
It didn't matter. Within minutes, the base was silent.
"Gather all valuables," Jack barked. "Then we move on to the next base!"
Just as the men began hauling crates aboard, a pirate ran up in panic.
"Lord Jack! Billy True-Fist's surrounded by Marine Vice Commodores—he's badly hurt!"
"Take me to him."
They found Billy moments later, pale and trembling. His left leg was gone.
In the old days, Jack would've left him to die.
The weak had no place among the Beasts.
But now, things were different.
Jack reached into his coat and drew out a small, green bean.
"Eat this."
Billy obeyed instantly.
What happened next silenced the entire squad.
Before their eyes, Billy's severed leg regrew — flesh knitting, bones forming, until it was as if the injury had never happened.
"Wha—what…?" a pirate whispered.
Even Jack's grizzled crew could only stare, jaws slack.
Billy fell to his knees, shaking.
"Thank you, Lord Jack! Thank you for—"
"Not me," Jack interrupted flatly. "Thank Lord Luo Xing, the one who created this miracle."
Then he turned away, already walking toward the shore.
"We're done here. Move fast before Akainu gets wind of it."
Billy watched Jack's back, tears welling in his eyes.
"I was nothing once… just a weak soldier. It was the Prince Consort who gave me Monster Cells — who made me strong enough to stand here."
"And now, his medicine has given me my life again."
He pressed his forehead to the ground, facing the distant shores of Wano.
"From this day forward, I'll live — and die — for him."
Hours Later
When Admiral Akainu finally arrived, the base was a graveyard.
Bodies, rubble, and flames stretched to the horizon.
He clenched his fists, his molten rage simmering beneath the surface.
"Jack the Drought… You'd better pray I never find you again. Next time, you'll drown in magma."
The ground around him cracked from the heat radiating off his body.
Then a voice cried out,
"Admiral Sakazuki! Someone's still alive!"
A medic was kneeling beside a barely breathing Marine Captain.
After several tense minutes, the man stirred, gasping weakly.
Akainu leaned down.
"Speak. Where did Jack's crew go?"
The Captain shook his head.
"I… I don't know… But… I have… information…"
"What information?" Akainu demanded.
"The Beasts' Prince Consort… he's invented a medicine… called Senzu Beans."
"They said it can heal any wound… even make limbs grow back. No matter how badly someone's hurt—one bean restores them completely."
"What?!"
Even Akainu, who had stared death in the face a thousand times, froze.
A medicine that could regrow limbs and heal any injury instantly?
That wasn't science. That was sorcery.
And then, realization struck like a hammer.
"Jack… his lungs…" he muttered. "So that's how he lived."
The thought made his skin crawl.
Sakazuki wasn't afraid of Kaido. He wasn't afraid of the Emperors.
He'd fought monsters and gods and stared them down without blinking.
But this?
A man who could manufacture immortality?
Who could arm an entire army with the power to regenerate endlessly?
That terrified him.
"This… Prince Consort…" he whispered, fists clenching.
"If what they say is true—his inventions are more dangerous than the Yonko themselves."
For the first time in years, Admiral Akainu felt something he hadn't known since childhood.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Dread.
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