Once Mr. 3 and the others quieted down—
Buggy bared his white teeth in a wide grin. The arrogance on his face vanished instantly as he turned toward Yuuki and said cautiously,
"Captain."
Yuuki was long used to Buggy's tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong. Ignoring him, he simply looked calmly at Mr. 3 and the others.
"You've been locked up for quite a while. If I kept you down there any longer, you'd start growing mold. It's a good day to get some sun."
Yuuki leaned back.
A wooden chair appeared out of thin air, and he sat down comfortably.
Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine could feel the warm sunlight shining on them.
But thinking about their current situation—
none of them felt any warmth at all.
Only a chill ran through their bodies.
Among the four, Miss Goldenweek, who looked like a young girl, stared at Yuuki with fear in her eyes. Her dark red twin ponytails hung messily over her shoulders.
Even though Yuuki hadn't said anything—
she had a strong feeling that today might be the day she died.
They had been confined in the laboratory for so long.
While she didn't know exactly what Yuuki had been doing, she could roughly guess.
And being suddenly brought out like this—
wasn't a good sign.
The most likely explanation was simple.
They were no longer useful.
I have to do something.
"Lord Yuuki!"
Miss Goldenweek bit her lip and spoke quickly, her voice trembling.
Buggy's eyes widened. He was about to yell at her for interrupting the captain—
but Yuuki raised a hand slightly.
The gesture clearly meant silence.
Buggy immediately shut his mouth again, looking awkward.
"I'm not a Devil Fruit user!" Miss Goldenweek blurted out in panic.
Yuuki nodded.
"I know. That's why I never gave you a paint palette or pigments."
In truth, Yuuki had only discovered that after capturing her.
It had been so long since he arrived in this world that some details from the original story were fuzzy.
He only remembered that Miss Goldenweek could manipulate people's emotions through paint colors, so he initially assumed she had a Devil Fruit.
But once he realized she wasn't a Devil Fruit user—
he became even more interested.
A naturally acquired ability like that was worth studying.
Miss Goldenweek's ability was essentially a form of hypnosis.
By using different colors, she could amplify emotional influence and guide people's mental state.
It was a form of psychological manipulation.
Among the nine Officer Agents of Baroque Works, only two were not Devil Fruit users.
One was Mr. 4's partner, Miss Merry Christmas.
The other—
was Miss Goldenweek.
However, Miss Merry Christmas's partner had the Dog-Dog Fruit weapon Lassoo, which provided significant combat power.
Miss Goldenweek, on the other hand—
relied entirely on her own ability.
And despite being only sixteen years old, she ranked fifth among the Officer Agents.
Her talent was obvious.
"You didn't give me paint or a palette…?"
Miss Goldenweek froze for a moment.
Then she suddenly realized something.
Mr. 3, Miss Valentine, and Mr. 5 realized it at the same time.
Their bodies stiffened.
"You've only been on this ship a short time," Yuuki said calmly, leaning back in his chair.
"But you've seen quite a few of my secrets."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So, I've decided to kill all of you."
The soft tone of his voice made the four of them feel as if ice had been poured over their bodies.
"But—"
Yuuki paused.
Whoosh!
Mr. 3 moved first.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
He suddenly twisted his body and threw a punch straight at Miss Goldenweek, who stood behind him.
No one wanted to die.
He wanted to live.
Baroque Works was finished.
But from Yuuki's words, it was obvious—
if he eliminated the others, he might not only survive—
he might even join this terrifyingly powerful pirate crew.
For Mr. 3—
this wasn't just survival.
It was a huge opportunity.
Bang!
His punch struck the deck.
Missed.
Mr. 3 froze.
He looked up and saw Miss Goldenweek scrambling backward in a clumsy roll.
"That was close…"
Cold sweat ran down her face as she clutched her shoulder and groaned.
She had dodged Mr. 3's attack—
but she couldn't avoid the attacks from Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
Seeing the three of them closing in—
Miss Goldenweek ignored the pain and turned to run.
Mr. 3, Miss Valentine, and Mr. 5 hesitated briefly, watching each other cautiously.
"Stop wasting time," Mr. 3 rasped.
"Take out Miss Goldenweek first!"
"With our Devil Fruit abilities sealed, none of us can beat her alone."
He immediately rushed after her.
Their powers were still sealed by Yuuki's Key Magic.
Otherwise, the situation earlier would have been very different.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine exchanged a glance.
"Damn it… chase her!"
Mr. 5 shouted and followed.
Miss Valentine's usual arrogance was gone.
Fear filled her eyes.
She followed them—
but deliberately slowed her pace slightly.
She knew very well.
Among the four of them—
she was the weakest.
Once Miss Goldenweek was eliminated—
she would be next.
Under Yuuki's gaze—
four figures chased each other across the deck.
However, they had been locked in the cabin for a long time.
Yuuki never starved them—
but he certainly never fed them well.
And he regularly drew their blood for experiments.
In their current condition—
none of them had the stamina for a long fight.
Nearby, Mohji and Cabaji stood together, watching with interest.
"Who do you think will win?" Mohji said.
"I bet on Mr. 3. He seems to be the leader."
Life at sea was boring.
This little spectacle amused them.
"No way," Cabaji replied thoughtfully.
"I'm betting on Mr. 5."
"With their powers sealed, it'll come down to stamina."
"The two women have the least endurance. Mr. 3 is older."
"Mr. 5 should last the longest."
"Ten thousand berries?"
"Deal."
While the two quietly made their bet—
the chase suddenly changed.
The deck was wide—
but still limited.
Miss Goldenweek, the youngest and weakest in stamina, was soon cornered at the ship's railing.
Mr. 3 adjusted his glasses and panted.
"Sorry, Miss Goldenweek."
"You're the biggest threat to us."
As her partner, Mr. 3 knew exactly how dangerous she was.
Her color hypnosis was troublesome—
but her hand-to-hand combat ability was also surprisingly strong.
Applying paint to an opponent during combat wasn't easy.
Without Devil Fruit powers—
none of them had much chance against her one-on-one.
"Hehe."
Buggy sniffed loudly beside Yuuki.
"Looks like someone's about to be eliminated."
"Not necessarily," Yuuki said lightly.
Buggy blinked in surprise.
At that moment—
Miss Goldenweek's expression changed.
The panic slowly disappeared.
Her face became calm.
Mr. 3 immediately sensed something wrong and hesitated.
Mr. 5, however, didn't notice.
He thought she had given up.
"I've never liked you," Mr. 5 sneered.
"You're not even a Devil Fruit user, yet you outrank me."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Don't worry. I'll make it painless."
"Or you can jump into the sea yourself. Maybe you'll survive."
"Wait," Mr. 3 suddenly said.
"What now?" Mr. 5 asked impatiently.
"Something's wrong," Mr. 3 muttered.
"Battles require intelligence, not recklessness."
Miss Goldenweek suddenly spoke in a mocking tone.
"You call yourself a genius strategist."
"But what strategy do you have now?"
"This isn't the same opponents you faced before."
"In the face of overwhelming strength, your so-called intelligence is useless."
Mr. 3's face flushed red with anger.
"Even so," he snapped.
"You don't have paint!"
"Mr. 5! Miss Valentine! Attack!"
Suddenly—
Miss Goldenweek bit her finger hard.
Blood flowed instantly.
She smeared it across her face.
"Who said I don't have paint?"
"Blood is paint too!"
"You've already exhausted yourselves chasing me."
"Now it's my turn!"
Her eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
"Berserk Blood Red!"
Boom!
The moment she shouted the name—
all reason vanished from her eyes.
She charged forward.
Mr. 3, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine all turned pale.
Even Mr. 3 hadn't expected this.
Her speed exploded.
Before he could react—
her fist slammed into his chest.
"AHH!"
Mr. 3 screamed.
"Help!"
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine rushed in.
But the moment they clashed—
they realized something terrifying.
Miss Goldenweek felt no pain.
She attacked relentlessly without defending.
Her strength and stamina were overwhelming.
Soon—
she completely suppressed all three of them.
Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji stared in disbelief.
Yuuki, however, remained calm.
He had expected this.
Colors could influence emotions.
Miss Goldenweek's ability amplified those emotions through hypnosis.
If she could hypnotize others—
then hypnotizing herself was obviously possible.
The battle ended quickly.
Mr. 3 and the others were already exhausted.
Facing the berserk Miss Goldenweek—
they were defeated in less than a minute.
After knocking them down—
Miss Goldenweek turned.
Her blood-red eyes fixed on Yuuki.
She let out an animalistic roar and charged toward him.
Snap.
Yuuki snapped his fingers.
Invisible mana spread outward.
The blood on Miss Goldenweek's face vanished.
Her eyes cleared.
Confusion appeared on her face.
Then—
thud.
Pain and exhaustion overwhelmed her.
She collapsed onto the deck.
"I… I won…"
She lifted her head weakly.
Her gray-brown eyes stared at Yuuki.
Yuuki stood up.
A faint smile appeared.
"Welcome to the Magic Eye Pirates."
Miss Goldenweek's tense nerves finally relaxed.
She knew—
she had survived.
Mohji and Cabaji helped her to her feet.
After all—
she was now their crewmate.
Yuuki stepped forward.
In an instant he appeared beside the defeated trio.
With a wave of his hand—
they floated into the air.
"As expected," he said softly.
Then—
he flew straight into the ocean with them.
Buggy and the others blinked in confusion.
But they didn't question it.
Their captain did strange things all the time.
A few minutes later—
Yuuki returned.
Not a single drop of water clung to his body.
Floating before him were three Devil Fruits.
As for Mr. 3 and the others—
they had already been thrown into the sea.
By now, the fish had likely eaten them.
Miss Goldenweek stared at the three fruits.
Her pupils shrank.
Shock filled her face.
Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji were equally stunned.
Even Buggy trembled slightly.
He swallowed hard.
His mouth hung open.
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