"It's just a Zoan ability. What's there to be so arrogant about! Let me teach you a lesson, old man! This New World isn't a place for a Devil Fruit user like you to run wild!" Hawks calmed down, but his words were so infuriating that Chris couldn't help but laugh.
This was the first time she had ever seen such an idiot.
At that moment, haughtily, Hawks drew a massive axe from his back. Seeing the conflict begin, the pirates around them cleared a circle. Some were too afraid to let them fight, but they were more than happy to egg them on.
"Oh my, isn't this the famous Giant Axe Hawks? What's a big man like you picking a fight with a little girl for?" a man who seemed to know Hawks jeered as he approached. "Don't tell me you're getting lectured by a yellow-haired brat like that. Now that would be a laughingstock."
"Batico, you just wait! Once I'm done with these eyesores, I'll chop off your head and use it as a chamber pot!" Hawks roared immediately.
The man called Batico paid him no mind. Instead, his gaze fell on the four people opposite Hawks. Two men with well-proportioned builds, a tall, red-haired woman with an excellent figure, and a fierce-looking, petite cat woman who was about a meter and sixty centimeters tall.
These four didn't look scared at all. The murderous, man-eating look in Chris's eyes even made Batico feel a flicker of fear. He knew this fool, Hawks, had just kicked an iron plate, so he paid no heed to his threats and simply watched the show with great interest.
What he didn't know was that from the moment he opened his mouth, he had been targeted.
'Dare to call me a yellow-haired brat? You're dead too!' A cruel killing intent flashed in Chris's slit pupils. The thought of tearing these two to pieces filled her with delight.
"Hmph. Boring. I'm leaving."
The second of the four men exhaled, hands in his pockets as he prepared to leave. But Hawks had no intention of letting him escape. He raised his giant axe high, his burly arms flapping it like a massive fan, stirring up a fierce wind.
"Kid, you provoke me and think you can just walk away?"
He was utterly arrogant. Without a second word, the axe in his hand came crashing down toward the man, making the onlookers' hearts leap into their throats. The axe was almost as large as the man himself. If it connected, wouldn't his head be smashed to pieces like a walnut?
Thud!
The massive axe struck the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Hey, hey, you can't be serious..."
The onlookers stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.
Although the giant axe had hit the ground, there was no body beneath it. Or rather, the axe hadn't even been swung properly before it fell to the ground.
A petite figure stood on the axe's handle. Chris was covered in blood, her right hand gripping a giant, severed arm.
"I said, don't ignore me!" Chris tossed the arm to the ground and then leaped lightly down from the axe. Thanks to her Devil Fruit, her height had increased significantly, but she was still shorter than the massive weapon.
And yet, this little girl had torn off Hawks's arm in an instant with her sharp claws.
"Oh my, oh my, making such a mess with blood again, Chris. So unladylike," the red-haired woman said, though the area around her and the man beside her was completely shielded from the blood.
"Shut up, Roska!" Chris snarled like a perpetually bristling cat, not even bothering to look back, then took small, deliberate steps toward the now-limp Hawks on the ground.
Though her body was small, it exerted immense pressure on the pirates present. Anyone who had witnessed her firsthand would no longer be fooled by her appearance. It was like how pink might be cute, but it didn't diminish the power of a pink machine gun.
"D-don't come closer..."
Hawks finally felt fear. He was on the ground, scrambling backward, the terror so great that he forgot the pain of losing his arm and begged for mercy.
But Chris was not a woman who knew mercy.
"What are you talking about? Didn't I say I was going to tear off all your limbs?" Chris said, tilting her head as she extended a blood-soaked finger. "You know? Cats might look cute, but they're incredibly cruel. So..."
She reached Hawks's side and kicked out with her right leg, the force nearly piercing his body.
Hawks screamed as he was sent flying, crashing into a group of pirates.
"Come on, fight back! This is no fun if you don't," she said as she stomped the ground, causing it to crack. The next moment, a golden leopard-cat shot forward, its claw piercing Hawks's chest and tearing out his heart.
"..."
"Is this guy... a demon?"
The surrounding pirates were stunned, unable to process the scene before them. The petite cat woman was covered in blood, holding a giant, still-beating heart in her hand...
Chris casually crushed the heart and swept her gaze around. The pirates whose eyes she met instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze, until her eyes settled on Batico.
"Hey, wait, we don't have any quarrel, do we?" Batico's hair stood on end as he waved his hands and backed away. But he received no response. Batico felt a bad omen and immediately scrambled into the crowd, his hands and feet moving frantically. The thousands of pirates instantly erupted into chaos.
"Are you sure it's okay to let them cause this much trouble?" Roska asked, watching Chris disappear into the crowd. "We're here as undercover agents, this is way too conspicuous. And if these two escalate things, it could be hard to clean up."
Roska's concern wasn't just for Chris. The man who had left earlier was also a problem.
"It's fine. Causing a disturbance was probably 'Raiden's' intention all along," Garo said. "The fact that he hasn't shown up yet proves it, and that Ashura Doji, Shutendouji, is gone too. He's probably watching from the shadows."
"So he wants to see our strength?" Roska crossed her arms, trying to ease her own tension. "Still, not everyone is a pushover. It would be bad if we run into a troublesome opponent."
"Well then, let's go cause some chaos too."
[
Hey everyone,
I hope you're doing well. I'm writing this with a heavy heart because, for the first time in over two years of creating content for you all, I've been hit really hard financially.
I've always tried to keep things running smoothly—updating regularly, posting daily, and even putting out bonus chapters on Patreon. But right now, I'm in deep trouble trying to manage my education expenses on top of everything else.
This is the first time I've had to ask, but if you've ever enjoyed my work and have the means to help, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Even a small contribution would mean the world to me right now and would help me keep creating the content you love while staying afloat personally.
Thank you for reading, and thank you even more if you choose to help.
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]