Late at night, in a hidden warehouse in the Stahlburg port area.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds of coal smoke. Only a few yellow streetlights swayed in the cold wind, casting long shadows across the warehouse.
This was where the Donquixote Family was temporarily storing that batch of weapons. Normally, cargo this valuable should have been guarded by the family's top men.
But at this moment, the entire warehouse area was eerily quiet.
Under the dim streetlights, several members of the Donquixote Family in black suits were lying all over the open area outside the warehouse doors. They were still clutching empty wine bottles and snoring loudly, completely unaware of anyone coming near.
"This is way too easy, isn't it?"
Ginny crouched in the nearby shadows. Looking at the drunk men on the ground, she could not help whispering to the dark figure behind her, "Kuma, can you believe this? These guys are so drunk they did not even leave anyone on watch. They are practically inviting us in."
Behind her, Bartholomew Kuma's huge body looked even bigger in the dark. He nodded from the shadows. He was still holding his book, BIBLE, and his gentle eyes carefully scanned the area. He did not lower his guard just because things were going smoothly.
"Maybe they never thought anyone could steal these weapons. After all, these are very large items." Kuma's voice was very low, gentle, and steady. "No matter what, we need to move fast."
After confirming that the guards really were completely drunk, the two quickly moved to the side door of the warehouse.
Click.
A faint sound of metal breaking rang out in the quiet night. The huge alloy lock on the side door was easily opened by Ginny's skillful hands with two pieces of wire. She pushed open the heavy iron door, and the two quickly slipped inside.
Under the faint moonlight shining through the skylight, stacks of weapon crates filled the warehouse. Ginny looked like she had just walked into a treasure room. She excitedly jumped onto one of the crates and skillfully pried the lid open.
"Wow! It's all good stuff!"
She ran her hand over the cold gun barrels, her eyes shining. "Brand-new rifles, and these unopened cannons too! We're rich! We're really rich this time! With these weapons and supplies, our Revolutionary Army will finally look like a real army!"
She quickly counted the rough amount, getting more excited the longer she looked. "This much... how much money did that Corazon spend? Is this how rich people live?"
"Kuma! Don't just stand there! Start moving!"
Ginny turned around and waved at Kuma, her eyes full of excitement. "Clear this place out! Don't leave even a single bullet for those scumbags!"
Kuma nodded. He walked toward the piles of heavy weapon crates. He slowly took off his black gloves, revealing the soft pink paw pads on his palms.
Paramecia-type: Paw-Paw Fruit.
It could push away anything. When it came to moving cargo, it was almost the perfect ability.
Kuma's face remained calm. He did not need to carry the crates like a normal worker. He only reached out and lightly tapped the stack of weapon crates in front of him with his palm.
Pop.
With that light sound, the stack of crates, weighing hundreds of kilograms, was instantly wrapped in a clear paw-shaped bubble. The next moment, it shot toward the skylight at incredible speed.
Sough.
Wrapped in the bubble, the cargo passed cleanly through the skylight and disappeared into the night sky. It would follow the path Kuma had set and land safely at the chosen location.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Kuma's palms became blurs. He moved quickly through the warehouse. Every wave of his hand made another pile of cargo disappear. With his ability, that weight meant nothing to him.
In less than ten minutes, the huge warehouse was almost empty. Only a large section at the very back remained. It was separated from the rest and marked with a warning line. There, more than a dozen massive objects sat under heavy waterproof tarps.
"That is..."
Ginny ran over and lifted one corner of a tarp. She gasped. "Sss... are these those heavy cannons?!"
She looked at the dark cannon barrels, and her eyes burned with excitement. "These are real monsters! With these cannons, we could blast open the gates of any city!"
"Kuma! These are the last ones! Move them and we leave!"
Kuma nodded and walked over with heavy steps. He reached one of the cannons and raised his palm, about to use his ability to send it away.
However.
The moment before his palm touched the cold barrel, a powerful sense of danger rushed up his spine like lightning. It was a pure instinctive warning.
"Who's there?!"
Kuma instantly pulled back his hand and jumped backward. He moved in front of Ginny in one motion and took a defensive stance. Then he looked up at the shadowed area directly above the cannon.
"Good reaction, big guy."
A lazy, playful voice slowly came from the darkness.
Click.
A crisp metallic sound rang out, and a small flame lit up the shadows, revealing a young, handsome face.
Aiden sat cross-legged on top of the huge cannon barrel, casually playing with his silver lighter. The flame danced between his fingers and reflected in his black eyes. He had been sitting there the whole time without making a sound or showing any presence. If he had not spoken, Kuma felt he might not have noticed him even after moving the cannon.
"You're moving pretty fast."
Aiden looked at the empty warehouse and smiled with clear approval. "Cleaning out an armory in less than ten minutes. That efficiency is better than any moving team."
He closed the lighter and jumped down from the cannon, landing lightly in front of them.
"You... who are you?!"
Ginny stuck her head out from behind Kuma. But the moment she saw Aiden's face clearly in the faint moonlight, her pupils shrank and her face turned pale.
"How is this possible? Why is it you?!" Her voice shook. Her finger pointed at him uncontrollably. "The one... the one from the newspapers..."
"Captain 'Reaper' Aiden?!!"
The moment that name was spoken, Kuma's body visibly stiffened as well. As revolutionaries who constantly watched world events, how could they not know that name? He was one of the fastest-rising stars on the sea. He was the Marine Captain who had killed the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki by himself. He was a monster.
"Why..." Ginny groaned in despair. "Why would someone like you show up in a place like this?!"
"Why?"
Aiden casually adjusted his collar. Looking at their terrified expressions, a natural smile appeared on his face. "That's a strange question."
"I am a Marine. This is a member nation of the World Government." Aiden spread his hands, sounding as relaxed as if he were chatting with a neighbor. "If thieves come here to steal things, isn't it normal for a Marine to come catch them?"
"Catch... thieves?"
Ginny bit her lip, her mind racing. Looking at the calm man in front of her, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Stop lying." Ginny's hand quietly moved toward the gun at her lower back. A crafty light flashed in her eyes. "A Marine Headquarters Captain personally coming to catch thieves over something this small? And doing it alone, in secret, in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know what you're planning, but you definitely don't want the Black Steel Empire's soldiers to find you here, right?" She suddenly pulled out her gun and aimed it at the ceiling. Her finger settled on the trigger, and a desperate fierceness appeared on her face. "The moment I fire, the patrol will hear it! Let's see how you explain yourself then!"
"Oh? Cause chaos and use it to escape?" Aiden looked at her without even trying to stop her. His lips only curled into a mocking smile. "A smart choice. Too bad, you won't get the chance."
"What?" Ginny froze.
Only then did she notice that the sounds of insects and wind outside the warehouse had completely vanished. The whole warehouse felt like it had been sealed inside a giant glass jar, trapped in absolute silence.
"Don't waste your energy," Aiden said calmly. "This place has already been isolated. Forget a gunshot. Even if you screamed until your lungs gave out, no sound would get outside."
In the shadows outside the warehouse.
Rosinante crouched at the corner of the wall, sweat dripping down his forehead. His hands were pressed hard against the ground as he desperately kept his Devil Fruit ability active.
Rosinante gritted his teeth and screamed in his head, "That bastard Aiden! He insisted on 'catching rats in a trap' and made me isolate the whole warehouse! This place is huge, it's wearing me out!"
Inside the warehouse.
"Kuma! Run!!"
Ginny was the first to react. She knew that against a monster at this level, any hesitation could be fatal. "As long as you can get away, don't worry about me!!"
As she shouted, she pulled out her pistol and fired at Aiden without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets flew toward Aiden's vital points in a triangular pattern.
However.
"Too slow."
Aiden had no need to dodge. His body flickered slightly, and he instantly turned into a blue streak of lightning. He slipped straight through the gaps between the bullets and vanished from where he had been standing.
"What?!"
Ginny only saw a blur. Before she could understand what had happened, a long, strong hand appeared at her neck without warning.
Click.
That hand closed lightly around her throat. Aiden held Ginny in the air.
"Ugh...!!!"
The gun fell from Ginny's hand and hit the floor. Her hands clawed desperately at Aiden's arm, and her legs kicked wildly. But that hand felt like iron and did not move even a little. Tiny blue sparks ran from Aiden's arm into her body, instantly numbing her nerves so badly that she could not even scream.
"Ginny!!!"
Kuma, who had already taken a defensive stance, instantly lost the gentle look on his face. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he let out a roar like a beast in pain. "Let her go!!!"
Kuma did not hesitate. His massive body burst forward with terrifying speed. He raised his giant paw-like palm and slammed it toward Aiden.
Boom!
The air was instantly compressed by the paw pad on his palm, forming a paw-shaped shockwave. Carrying enough force to crush stone, it avoided Ginny and blasted straight toward Aiden's face.
Facing this furious attack, Aiden held Ginny with one hand and did not retreat at all. He only raised his free left hand and opened his fingers. Pitch-black Haki instantly covered his palm.
Bang!!!
With a heavy sound, Aiden caught the shockwave with one hand. The blast blew his hair back, but his feet did not move even an inch.
"What?!" Kuma's pupils shrank.
"Too weak." Aiden looked at Kuma coldly. "That's it? This is all you've got? And you think you can protect your people like this?"
"Too weak."
Aiden clenched his left hand and crushed the compressed air on the spot. Then he threw a punch back at Kuma. The punch did not hit Kuma directly. It struck the air.
Boom!!!
The air in front of Aiden's fist compressed instantly and formed a violent blast. The gust was even more direct and brutal than Kuma's attack.
Dong!!!
Kuma did not even have time to defend. The terrifying shockwave slammed into his stomach. With a heavy sound, his huge body flew backward like a cannonball and crashed into the warehouse wall.
Boom!
A large section of the thick brick wall collapsed, and dust filled the air.
"Cough, cough cough..."
Kuma struggled up from the rubble, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His whole body hurt, but his eyes never left Ginny in Aiden's hand.
"Let... let her go..."
"Oh? You can still stand?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. Carrying Ginny, he walked toward Kuma one step at a time. With every step, the lightning on his body grew stronger, and the pressure in the room became heavier.
"It looks like you still don't understand the situation, big guy." Aiden stopped five meters from Kuma. He raised Ginny, who was almost out of breath, a little higher so Kuma could clearly see the pain on her face.
"On this sea, the weak have no right to negotiate."
"Did you really think that being soft and not wanting to hurt anyone was enough to protect the people you care about?"
Aiden's fingers tightened slightly.
"Mmm..." Ginny let out a pained sound, and tears ran from her eyes.
"Stop it!!!!" Kuma felt like his chest was being torn apart as he watched Ginny suffer.
"Want to save her?" Aiden looked at him coldly. "Then kill me."
"Attack me with everything you've got and with the intent to kill."
"Otherwise..." His eyes turned even colder. "She will die in front of you. She will die because you were too weak."
"ROAR!!!!"
Those words completely broke Kuma's self-control. At that moment, the gentle and kind Bartholomew Kuma was gone. All that was left was a man who had lost his mind trying to protect someone.
Kuma's eyes turned red, and the muscles all over his body tightened. He threw his arms wide open. The paw pads on his palms shook wildly, and the air around him compressed again and again at terrifying speed.
Boom boom boom boom!!!
Countless paw-shaped air blasts slammed toward Aiden like a storm. Every single blast held enough power to tear apart steel. Even the warehouse roof was blown open by the pressure.
"Now this is a little interesting."
Faced with the barrage that could flatten the whole warehouse, Aiden did not retreat. He moved forward. Still carrying Ginny in one hand, he calmly walked through the dense storm of attacks.
He tilted his body, and one air blast brushed past his shoulder. He threw a punch and directly shattered another shockwave in front of him. Aiden's figure blurred through the smoke. His Armament Haki and Observation Haki were both overwhelming, letting him move through the bombardment with ease.
Bang!
After breaking through Kuma's attack, Aiden kicked him in the chest and sent the huge body flying once again.
"Is this your limit?!" Aiden shouted. "You can't even touch me. How are you supposed to protect her?!"
"Aaaaah!!" Kuma crawled back up and charged again without caring about anything else. He thrust both palms forward, trying to use the strange power of his Devil Fruit, the same power that could even push pain away, to break through Aiden's defense.
But Aiden's Observation Haki had already read every move before it happened.
"Too naive."
Aiden's figure flashed and appeared beside Kuma.
His high-voltage finger deliberately avoided Kuma's vital points and pierced straight through the muscle in his shoulder. Blood sprayed out, but Aiden carefully controlled the current. It caused intense pain, but it was not fatal.
The fight was one-sided from start to finish. Aiden was like a cat toying with prey that could not fight back. He knocked Kuma down again and again, only to watch him crawl back up every time. With violence and harsh words, he slowly crushed Kuma's simple way of seeing the world.
Until.
Boom!
One last heavy strike landed.
Kuma's huge body crashed hard into the floor, and this time he could not get up right away. He was covered in blood, breathing heavily, and even his paw-covered hands were shaking. But he still forced himself to lift his head and look at Ginny in Aiden's hand with blurry eyes.
"Let... her..."
His voice was barely audible, but he still refused to give up. Aiden looked down at Kuma lying at his feet, and the hint of mockery in his eyes disappeared.
He opened his hand.
Plop.
Ginny dropped to the floor, gasping and greedily pulling air into her lungs. When she looked at the broken, bleeding Kuma, her vision was already blurred by tears.
"It's over."
A brilliant lightning sword condensed in Aiden's hand. But he did not aim it at Kuma. Instead, he slowly pointed the tip at Ginny, who had collapsed on the floor and could no longer resist.
His face showed no emotion. "I have seen your resolve. But sadly, this world doesn't care about tears."
"Remember this feeling, Bartholomew Kuma."
Aiden raised the lightning blade high and aimed it at Ginny's neck. Ginny closed her eyes in despair.
And Kuma, seeing the blade about to fall on Ginny, suddenly widened his eyes. Blood spilled from the corners.
At the moment Ginny was about to be killed, something in him broke loose. It was the desperate urge to destroy the enemy in front of him no matter the cost.
Kuma suddenly pushed himself off the ground. He compressed every last bit of strength left in his body between his palms, creating an extremely high-pressure air bullet no larger than a marble.
This was his final move. He was going to take this monster down with him.
"Too weak."
Aiden did not even look at the air bullet. The lightning blade in his hand did not stop for even a second. Wrapped in overwhelming Haki, it swung down at once.
Puff.
The air bullet that held all of Kuma's remaining strength vanished silently in midair like a popped bubble.
And the terrifying lightning blade kept falling toward Ginny.
"NO!!!" Kuma roared.
Chiii!!!
Lightning filled the entire warehouse.
When the light faded, silence returned.
To Be Continued
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