Blueno smirked as his Shigan struck its mark. His finger pierced cleanly into Binko's side, sending the man stumbling back with a grunt of pain. The attack had landed perfectly from the invisible air dimension.
"Too easy," Blueno muttered to himself, preparing to go in for another strike. But before he could follow up, loud footsteps echoed up the stairs.
"Hmm?"
A group of people stormed onto the uppermost floor of the Courthouse.
There were six of them—Alvida, Zoro, Sanji, Gin, Galdino... and Kruz.
The moment they reached the top, they found Hibari and Binko on edge, eyes scanning their surroundings.
Zoro raised a brow. "What's with the tension?"
"Be careful," Hibari warned, keeping her gun close. "There's someone hiding—invisible in the air. He can attack from anywhere."
Instantly, everyone tensed.
"An invisible man?" Sanji asked, shifting into a defensive stance.
"He's not invisible," Binko said. "He's hiding in some kind of air space. He attacked me out of nowhere."
The Orcas scanned their surroundings cautiously, eyes sharp.
Blueno watched from the pocket space, amused. "Do they think they can spot me just by looking around?"
But as he prepared for his next strike, something caught his attention. Of the entire group, Kruz and Alvida were the least alert. They weren't glancing around frantically like the others. Kruz especially looked distracted.
"Too relaxed..." Blueno narrowed his eyes. "This is my chance."
Without hesitation, he slipped through the dimensional veil.
"Door Door: Shigan!"
Bam!
The jab struck Kruz squarely in the back, jolting his body. His eyes rolled back for a moment as he fell to his knees, then slumped over.
Blueno grinned, vanishing once again into his hidden space.
"One down. Let's see who's next. That woman, maybe—"
But then he froze.
Kruz—the man he'd just struck—was standing again.
"…What?"
Kruz's eyes were now sharp. His demeanor had completely shifted. He looked... different.
He is now another personality—Friday.
The man turned slowly and looked straight into Blueno's hidden space. His gaze was chilling.
Blueno's instincts screamed. "No way... He can see me?!"
Before he could retreat, Friday raised his arm and struck forward.
"Saku Saku: Friday Shigan!"
With a jab, a space tear opened before him. His finger disappeared into it like it pierced water.
In the air dimension, Blueno suddenly staggered, clutching his side.
"Ugh!!" he gasped as pain bloomed across his back; a Shigan had just struck him directly.
He stumbled backward, wide-eyed. "How…?!"
His breathing became ragged.
"That's what you get for injuring Kruz." Friday said.
"He pierced… the dimension? That's impossible. That technique—what kind of ability is that?" Blueno was alarmed.
His eyes widened as he watched Friday calmly facing his direction, completely unfazed by his spatial concealment. That look—cold and certain—sent a chill down his spine.
Friday's voice rang out, emotionless and sharp.
"Your ability is just child's play to someone like me—someone who can tear through space directly."
Blueno's expression changed instantly. His instincts screamed caution.
"What did you say?" he asked, now fully alert.
Friday didn't give him time to process.
"Let me show you what it feels like… to be crushed by a superior ability."
He took a stance, both hands open as he concentrated.
"Saku Saku: Rampaging Shigan."
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
Friday's fingers jabbed forward at lightning speed, each thrust piercing through a space tear that opened in front of him. From inside the air dimension, Blueno had no time to dodge—the attacks rained down with brutal precision, stabbing directly into his chest.
Boom!
Inside the hidden space, Blueno staggered back and collapsed, choking on his breath. His vision blurred as pain wracked his body. His consciousness wavered.
Outside, the Orcas watched the strange scene unfold.
Friday was jabbing repeatedly into midair—punching nothing, as far as they could see.
"Uh… what is he doing?" Sanji asked, blinking.
"Did he find the invisible guy Hibari mentioned?" Gin wondered.
"Looks like it…" Alvida said, brow furrowed.
The relentless assault suddenly stopped.
Friday stood still for a moment, then reached his arm into the hovering space tear—and grabbed something.
With a swift motion, he yanked out a limp figure—Blueno—and slammed him down onto the floor in front of everyone.
"Gah!" Blueno groaned, coughing hard as he hit the tiles.
But even while weakened, he wasn't ready to give up. In desperation, he activated his power again. A door opened from his back, and he dropped through it, disappearing to the lower floor below.
Friday didn't even flinch.
"Trying to run? Not that easy."
He opened a space tear to the side, narrowed his eyes, and without hesitation launched another volley.
Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup! Tup!
Each jab once again disappeared into the spatial slit, and from below, they heard Blueno's fading grunts of pain. After a moment, silence.
Then Friday reached into the tear again—and pulled out Blueno's unconscious body, limp like a rag doll.
He dropped him gently to the ground.
"Oh… I thought he was still conscious." He glanced at the slumped man, then looked away indifferently.
The Orcas stared, a chill running down their backs.
"This guy's monster," Gin muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
"That cow guy picked the wrong target," Galdino added grimly.
"A guy who can tear space… seriously?" Alvida felt the danger too, sweat trickling from her forehead. "Fortunately, he is on our side."
Zoro squinted his eyes, watching Friday closely.
"Have you noticed?" he said. "He's only been using Shigan for his attacks."
"Maybe that's all he needs?" Sanji shrugged.
While they were still processing that brutal display, a new presence appeared—several figures flew out of the top floors of the Tower of Justice, moving with speed and confidence.
Their movements were calm, eyes observing the Orcas sharply.
"So, they finally came," Alvida said, eyeing the newly arrived CP9 members with calm confidence.
She stepped forward without hesitation, her heavy mace resting casually on her shoulder. As she moved, the rest of the Orcas followed suit—Zoro, Sanji, Gin, Galdino, and Hibari fanned out behind her, forming a loose line of defense.
Even Binko, despite his injury, limped forward and stood tall. Meanwhile, Friday stepped away from the unconscious Blueno and joined the formation, his expression unreadable.
On the CP9 side, five figures stood tall—Kaku, Jabra, Kumadori, Fukurou, and Kalifa. Though outnumbered, they didn't show a hint of concern. Their gazes were sharp, cold, and confident, as if they believed the pirates in front of them were nothing more than an inconvenience.
"You people are quite strong," Jabra commented, eyes flicking briefly to Blueno's unmoving body. "To think you actually managed to defeat Blueno."
Friday tilted his head slightly and replied without emotion, "He was just too weak to fight me."
The air grew tenser at that. CP9's expressions darkened slightly.
"You look confident, yoyoi..." muttered Kumadori, twirling his hair. "Perhaps I should discipline you in place of your mother, for the sake of justice…"
Friday shot him a piercing look. "Perhaps I should imprison you in a void. That might teach you not to speak nonsense again."
There was a slight shift in CP9's posture.
From the side, Alvida broke the tension. "I'll handle the girl," she said coolly, motioning to Kalifa. "You all can take your picks."
No one objected. In fact, Sanji nodded in approval. "Perfect. I don't hit women anyway."
He cracked his knuckles and pointed at Jabra. "Let me take the one with the scoundrel face. I'd love to flatten that smug jaw."
"I'll take the one that looks like Usopp's twin," Zoro said, adjusting his swords.
"Usopp twin?" Gin blinked.
"The one with the long square nose," Zoro clarified, pointing at Kaku.
Gin snorted, then turned toward Fukurou. "Then I'll handle that… whatever that thing is. Round guy."
"Wait a minute!" Galdino called out, lifting his arms in frustration. "You all picked your opponents already? Who's left for me?"
Alvida pointed calmly toward the Tower of Justice. "Go further. There might be more enemies there."
The group followed her gaze. From their vantage point on the courthouse roof, they could clearly see Spandam watching them from the upper balcony of the tower.
"Seems like someone's still up there," Binko muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"I'll go deal with him," Galdino offered.
"No, let me," Binko said, stepping forward despite the blood still seeping through his clothes.
"You're injured," Hibari reminded him sharply. "Go back and assist Nami and the others instead."
"Yeah," Galdino added. "Wounded people should fall back, not charge ahead."
Binko clicked his tongue but didn't argue further. He turned away, muttering under his breath, and limped down the stairs to rejoin the others below.
With Binko retreating, the Orcas sprang into action.
Alvida vanished with a Soru, appearing in front of Kalifa with her mace mid-swing. The weapon smashed down, forcing Kalifa to block with her thorned whip.
Zoro clashed directly with Kaku, their blades meeting in a fierce spark of steel.
Gin vanished from where he stood and appeared next to Fukurou, delivering a spinning tonfas strike.
Friday didn't say a word. His gaze remained calm and focused as he reached out beside him. With a flick of his finger, he opened a tear in space, shimmering like a rippling mirror. At the same time, another tear opened behind Kumadori—and without warning, a hand burst from it, grabbing Kumadori by the back of his collar and yanking him violently into the void.
"Gwah!" Kumadori's surprised yelp echoed briefly before vanishing with the snap of the portal closing.
On another part of the rooftop, Sanji raised his middle finger casually at Jabra, a smirk on his face. "You look like a mutt. I bet you even bark in your sleep."
Jabra's face twitched. His fangs bared slightly, clearly provoked. "What did you just say, pretty boy?"
Without waiting for a response, he vanished in a blur—Soru—and reappeared midair, launching a Rankyaku not at Sanji, but at Binko, who was limping away.
"Watch out!" Sanji shouted.
Binko turned just in time, diving into a roll. The sharp, compressed air blade sliced through the space he had been in just moments ago.
"Oops. My bad," Jabra said mockingly. Then, in an insincere voice, he added, "Are you alright over there?"
"You bastard! You did that on purpose!" Binko yelled, his face red with rage. He started toward Jabra, but Sanji leapt up, cutting him off.
"Leave it," Sanji said. "I'll handle this fleabag."
Sanji shot into the air with a swift kick-off. Jabra saw this and smirked, rising into the air using Geppo.
"You really think you can take me in midair?" Jabra scoffed. "This is where you're out of your element!"
He moved behind Sanji instantly, thrusting his fingers forward—Shigan!
But his attack stabbed through empty air.
"Geppo." Sanji's voice came from the side.
He had moved with the same technique, appearing next to Jabra in a flash. His leg spun downward, flames trailing from his heel.
"Tempest Concassé!"
Boom!
The flaming kick slammed into Jabra's shoulder, sending a shockwave through his body. His expression twisted in pain as he was blasted downward like a meteor.
Crack! Boom!
The rooftop tiles shattered as Jabra crashed through, crashing onto the floor below. Rubble flew everywhere.
Sanji didn't wait. He shot downward after him, twisting midair for another kick.
Jabra rolled to the side, avoiding the full brunt of the attack. Both of them landed on the lower floor, facing each other. Jabra grunted and held his shoulder, visibly shaken.
Sanji brushed off some dust from his sleeve and looked at him mockingly. "Oops. Did I forget to mention? I can use Geppo too." His smile widened. "Are you alright?"
Jabra's eyes widened in fury. "You smug bastard…"
Veins bulged on his arms as his body began to shift. Fur sprouted, claws extended, and his face lengthened into a fierce snout.
"You provoked me enough. It's time I show you my real power!"
In moments, Jabra had taken on his hybrid human-wolf form, muscles bulging under fur, claws glinting dangerously. His fangs gleamed as he growled low.
"I'm not holding back anymore."