"Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku Sovereignty!!"
In an instant, the whole world was washed in pink.
A shockwave of blinding, extreme pink light tore through the air at terrifying speed. Wherever the "Spear of Elbaf" passed, the trees along its path didn't merely snap or shatter
They were erased.
Vaporized.
Broken down into nothing but air.
Saint Garling whirled around, pupils shrinking.
"Charlotte Linlin!?"
Shing!
Black-and-violet flames erupted across his blade. The bright steel turned pitch-black in a heartbeat
A black blade.
He raised it to block.
CLANG!
Garling's body was driven back like a plow ox forced through mud, his boots scraping the ground and carving deep trenches behind him.
"Hey, Celestial Dragon!" Linlin bellowed as she charged in, gripping Napoleon. "That fruit… I'm taking it!"
Garling's face twisted as he roared, "Linlin!! You dare?!"
"That Devil Fruit is property of the World Government!"
"If you steal it, the World Government will hunt you to the ends of the sea. We'll be enemies until death!"
But Linlin didn't care in the slightest. She swung at Garling again, and at the same time barked an order behind her.
"Streusen! Go get the fruit!"
"Heh-heh." Streusen his face and vibe somehow reminding people of a certain short comedian lit up instantly. His eyes locked onto the Devil Fruit lying on the ground.
"Linlin, you just keep that Celestial Dragon busy. I'll grab the fruit first."
The small, short Streusen's legs spun like wheels, kicking up a cloud of dust as he dashed to the unconscious Kuma.
He snatched the Devil Fruit into his hands.
Streusen grinned from ear to ear. "What luck! We got our first Devil Fruit this fast!"
"If we gather more powerful fruits, the Charlotte Family will become the strongest family in the world!"
That thought had taken root the moment he'd first witnessed Linlin's terrifying talent.
Streusen believed that with Linlin's gifts, if she kept having children and binding them by blood…
She could forge the strongest family the world had ever seen.
Seeing the Paw-Paw Fruit taken by Linlin's subordinate, Garling's fury exploded.
"Bastard!"
"Put that fruit down, now!"
"Or the World Government will mobilize everything at any cost to hunt you down!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Linlin answered with savage, brutal violence.
"Maser Cannon!"
Flames roared along her blade as she cleaved down at Garling.
Linlin looked delighted, baring her teeth in a grin.
"Mamamama… Celestial Dragon, that fruit belongs to me now!"
"Without my permission, you're not getting it back!"
CLANG!
Black-and-violet flames surged along Garling's black blade, sealing off the fire on Napoleon's edge.
The temperature in the air climbed.
Feeling the monstrous strength Linlin was bringing to bear, Garling's mind raced. An idea sparked, sharp and quick.
He tried a different approach temptation.
"Hey."
"Linlin, you want Devil Fruits, don't you?"
"I've got a Mythical Zoan here."
"You interested?"
It worked instantly.
Linlin stopped mid-attack, her alluring eyes burning as she stared at him.
"Mamamama… you're saying you have a Mythical Zoan!?"
"Then once I beat you, that fruit will be mine anyway!"
She raised Napoleon to strike again
"Wait!" Garling shouted.
"Linlin, you can't beat me."
"So I'm offering you a trade!"
"Trade your fruit… for mine!"
He pointed at the box strapped to his waist.
"This Devil Fruit is the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami!"
"It turns the user into Okuchi no Makami, and grants the power of ice!"
Linlin's eyes flashed. Her gaze glued itself to the box at Garling's waist.
"Mythical Zoan… Okuchi no Makami!?"
"I want it!"
Streusen, however, suddenly grew curious. He asked quickly, "You're willing to trade a Mythical Zoan… so what is the fruit in my hand, then?"
Garling looked like he'd been expecting the question.
"That fruit is the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi."
"A Paramecia."
"Paramecia?" Streusen froze.
He stared at the bear-paw-shaped fruit in his hand, suspicion creeping in.
Was Garling lying to him?
Garling continued smoothly, "That fruit looks like a bear's paw. Don't believe me? Then look at this."
He reached into his clothes, pulled out a small booklet, and tossed it over.
Streusen picked it up and flipped through quickly. He found the entry for the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi at once.
His expression jolted.
"It really is the Paramecia… Nikyu Nikyu no Mi."
Compared to a Mythical Zoan, a Paramecia was worth far less
And Streusen wasn't even sure what the Paw-Paw Fruit could truly do.
He hesitated, then narrowed his eyes at Garling.
"Open the box."
"Let us see the fruit inside. How do we know it's really the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami?"
Garling complied immediately, displaying the fruit openly for Streusen and Linlin to examine.
Linlin turned her head. "Streusen, is it the Mythical Zoan Okuchi no Makami?"
Streusen flipped the mini Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to the right page.
Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami.
The fruit illustration matched perfectly.
He nodded. "Linlin, it's real."
At that moment…
Kuma, Ivankov, and Ginny who had been knocked out by Garling began to stir awake.
The instant they opened their eyes and saw the "beautiful girl" whose size was closer to a giant than a human, they froze in shock.
But when they saw the Paw-Paw Fruit in the hands of the "little short man," Ivankov panicked.
"Hey! Put that fruit down! Kuma found it!"
"It's mine now," Streusen replied.
He didn't even spare the children a glance. He simply looked back at Linlin.
"Linlin. Do we trade?"
Something about it felt off to him
But greed crushed reason under its heel.
A Paramecia and a Mythical Zoan were worlds apart.
Truly top-tier Paramecia were rare, almost nonexistent.
The Gura Gura no Mi was on Whitebeard.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi belonged to Shiki.
And Mythical Zoans…
Were even rarer than Logia.
If Ares were here, he'd argue that point because in the future he'd come to know Mythical Zoans were far more common than people believed, even nearing the number of Logia.
Linlin considered for a moment, then said decisively, "Trade."
Meanwhile, Ivankov lowered his voice, leaning toward Kuma.
"Kuma go take it back."
"With your strength, you can do it."
Streusen was short, about their height
But in front of Kuma, who was tall, broad, and sturdier than most grown men even at his age, Streusen looked like a child.
Ginny whispered urgently, "Kuma… that's our hope."
"Our hope of getting free."
"You can't let it fall into the hands of bad people again."
"And if you manage to grab it…"
"Eat it immediately!"
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