A brief moment of silence fell over the battlefield.
Marianne was the first to react, her face full of shock.
"How is that possible?!"
She knew better than anyone just how powerful the spell she had just unleashed was.
And when she clearly saw the figure who had made her attack vanish without a trace, her pupils contracted sharply.
"Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma!
Whoosh!
Kuma vanished from where he stood and appeared before Marianne as if teleporting.
Without the slightest hesitation, he brought one hand down.
Marianne's expression changed dramatically.
She pushed off the ground and retreated at high speed while swinging her paintbrush up to counterattack.
However—
Kuma was even faster.
Her brush had only just risen to chest level when his palm, marked with its distinctive paw pad, pressed against her chest.
Whoosh—
Marianne vanished from the spot.
Robin's eyes widened in horror as she stared at Kuma, who had already turned his head toward her.
The moment Kuma raised his hand again, Robin felt her heart skip several beats.
"Well now, long time no see."
Suddenly, a calm voice sounded from behind Kuma.
Kuma's raised arm paused mid-motion.
BOOM!
In the next instant, his body was struck by an invisible impact and sent flying straight out.
He crashed into a pile of ruins several hundred meters away.
Robin looked up—
only then did she see Yuuki slowly lowering his leg, a faint smile on his face as he looked at her.
"Captain!"
Robin finally let out the breath she had been holding and quickly spoke up.
On the battlefield—
the chain of sudden events had left Luffy and the gathered pirates completely overwhelmed.
"Everyone! That man just now is also one of the Seven Warlords—'Tyrant' Kuma!"
Nami hurriedly shouted, panic clear in her voice.
"I forgot to warn everyone while we were fighting Moria!"
"Then why did he save us?"
A confused voice came from the crowd.
"Is that really what we should be discussing right now?! Who's that other guy?!"
another panicked voice cried out.
Although Robin's call of "Captain" toward Yuuki had not been loud, in the silence that now filled the area, plenty of people had heard it clearly.
"That's the captain of the Magic Eye Pirates."
Nami's whole body was tense and trembling slightly, fear filling her voice.
A Warlord—someone that powerful—had just been kicked away in a single strike.
That kind of strength was beyond imagination.
"The Magic Eye Pirates?"
"Never heard of them."
"..."
Several low murmurs rose from the back.
After having their shadows stolen by Moria, these pirates had been trapped here all this time.
Naturally, their knowledge of the outside world was severely limited.
"Bounty: 1.3 billion Berries."
"'The Magician' Yuuki."
Nami's trembling voice rang out once more.
Gulp—
The entire crowd fell silent.
The sound of people swallowing nervously rose one after another.
Yuuki merely cast a calm glance in Luffy's direction—
and the pressure alone made the gathered pirates feel suffocated.
However—
he did not focus much attention on the Straw Hats.
Instead, he sensed something briefly.
The next moment—
Spatial Magic — Fallen Angel's Passage!
With a sweep of his hand through the air beside him, a silver spatial corridor unfolded instantly.
BOOM—
A shrill sonic scream erupted from within it.
In the next instant—
Marianne shot out of the spatial corridor at terrifying speed.
Yuuki's eyes flashed.
He quickly reached out and caught her.
The moment their bodies made contact, the horrifying repulsive force of Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit exploded from Yuuki's palm.
RUMBLE!!
A thunderous roar erupted instantly.
A violent shockwave spread outward from the two of them like a level-eight storm.
At the very moment that energy blast formed, terrifying magical power erupted from Yuuki's body.
He forcibly compressed and erased the shockwave.
That instant burst of magic caused over half the pirates present to collapse limply to the ground.
The rest turned pale, drenched in cold sweat.
Only Robin, standing behind Yuuki, was spared the direct impact.
Even so, seeing the expressions of the surrounding pirates and the Straw Hats was enough for her to understand what had just happened.
Yuuki released his grip.
Marianne immediately dropped to one knee, her body going limp.
Her lips had turned faintly purple, and fear still lingered on her pale face.
"Cap... Captain..."
She had never imagined that she would be sent flying without even the slightest ability to resist.
And throughout the entire process, she had been unable to break free from that terrifying force.
"The Seven Warlords are not all equal."
Yuuki spoke calmly.
"People like Crocodile and Gecko Moria are among the weakest."
Those words naturally reached the ears of the pirates nearby.
The expressions of Luffy and the others darkened.
BOOM!
The ruins over a hundred meters away exploded apart.
Kuma stood up expressionlessly.
Without any visible movement, he vanished again.
A moment later—
he reappeared before Yuuki.
Marianne and Robin both tensed.
"You should be in the New World."
Ignoring both women, Kuma lowered his towering frame slightly and looked directly at Yuuki.
"Looks like I'm getting quite a bit of attention."
Yuuki replied with a smile.
"You should be in the New World."
Kuma repeated coldly.
"I'm taking Gecko Moria with me."
Yuuki still ignored Kuma's question.
Kuma fell silent for a brief moment.
Then he said coldly,
"You already defeated Crocodile. The Government will not allow another Warlord to be affected."
"Gecko Moria wasn't defeated by me."
Yuuki chuckled lightly.
He raised an arm and pointed toward the Straw Hats before withdrawing it and snapping his fingers.
"And since when have you become so obedient to the World Government?"
"Even if you owe them a favor, you should've repaid enough by now."
BOOM!
The ground beneath Kuma suddenly cracked apart.
Shattered stone flew everywhere as a powerful aura exploded outward.
Only now did the gathered pirates realize—
a battle could erupt between these two at any second.
Without the slightest hesitation, they turned and ran.
"While those two are fighting, let's go!"
Nami rushed behind Luffy and the others, speaking anxiously.
"No!"
"I have to ask them why they took Usopp!"
"And Robin too...!"
Luffy's fists clenched tightly.
Hearing that, Nami, Zoro, and Sanji all showed helpless, exasperated expressions.
Yuuki heard Luffy's words and let out a faint laugh.
He slowly raised an arm toward the Straw Hats.
And at that exact instant—
BOOM!
Kuma moved.
His paw-padded palm landed directly on Yuuki's raised arm.
In that split second—
Yuuki could clearly sense a transparent paw-shaped air bubble enveloping his entire body.
Immediately after, that unique force activated, attempting to send him away.
Key Magic — Release.
A sharp light flashed through Yuuki's eyes.
A translucent key appeared before his chest.
The moment it manifested, the paw bubble surrounding him was directly absorbed into the magical key.
The clash between the two powers was completed in an instant.
Kuma visibly froze.
His hand was still pressed against Yuuki's arm—
yet Yuuki remained standing there.
Clearly, even for Kuma, this was the first time something like this had happened.
"You—"
Kuma opened his mouth.
Before he could finish—
Yuuki had already grasped the translucent key in his hand and squeezed.
Crack!
A nearly imperceptible shattering sound rang out.
A paw-shaped bubble surged out of the key and wrapped around Yuuki's hand.
Then—
Yuuki pressed that paw-wrapped hand directly against Kuma's arm.
Hummm—
Kuma vanished with a bang, clearly blasted away by the very same power of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
"You truly don't understand the power of magic."
"And naturally, you can't comprehend the might of Netherworld Magic."
Yuuki shrugged as he looked in the direction Kuma had vanished.
Then he once more raised his hand toward the Straw Hats.
A sphere of black magic gathered in his palm.
Dark Magic — Black Hole.
Nami and the others' hearts jumped.
They stared at Yuuki in terror.
"AHHH!"
A scream rang out.
Nami and the others instinctively flinched—
only to realize it wasn't one of their crew.
"BROOK!"
Chopper cried out in alarm.
Only then did everyone notice—
Brook was rising uncontrollably into the air, flying straight toward Yuuki.
In the blink of an eye, he was caught in Yuuki's grasp.
Clack... clack... clack...
Brook's teeth chattered loudly.
Though he was nothing but a skeleton, his afro remained as magnificent as ever.
"How fascinating."
Yuuki examined Brook's skeletal frame, raising an eyebrow as he sensed the life force still contained within it.
The Revive-Revive Fruit truly was different from ordinary Devil Fruits.
Despite being a skeleton, Brook retained the state of a living human.
He could even eat and drink.
During the contact just now, Yuuki had deliberately released a trace of corpse spirit magic—
only to discover that he could not control Brook at all.
To the magic's judgment, Brook was considered alive.
This unique mode of existence—
was still beyond Yuuki's current level of magical understanding.
"You two, take this skeleton and Moria back first."
Yuuki casually tossed Brook toward Marianne.
"Yes!"
Marianne immediately responded.
With a flick of her brush, she created ropes and bound Brook tightly.
At the same time, Robin used the power of the Flower-Flower Fruit to sprout multiple arms from the ground and lift the unconscious Moria.
Then—
Marianne infused magic into the Magic Eye Cross hanging from her neck.
A spatial corridor opened.
Marianne and Robin disappeared through it with Brook and Moria.
Yuuki did not return with them.
There was still one more target left—
the user of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, Perona.
Kuma had sent her flying to Kuraigana Island, Mihawk's territory.
Yuuki knew the place existed—
but not its exact location.
He still needed Kuma to get there.
As for Kuma having just been sent flying?
The Straw Hats were still here.
Besides, being blasted away by his own Paw-Paw power meant he would naturally return soon enough.
So, before that—
Yuuki turned around.
A faint smile spread across his face as he looked at the Straw Hat crew.
Beating up the weaklings a bit should be fine.
Their growth was still far too slow.
At least, in Yuuki's eyes, it was.
No matter what, by the time the New World matters were settled—
Luffy needed to awaken Nika.
Yuuki was genuinely curious to witness the power that even the World Government feared.
Facing Yuuki's gaze—
"You guys go first!"
Luffy suddenly roared.
"Gear Second — Gum-Gum Jet Gatling!"
White steam erupted from his crimson skin.
His fists instantly became afterimages, stretching forward like bullets.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The barrage was so dense that only the sonic booms could be heard.
The fists themselves were invisible.
Yet—
Yuuki kept both hands in his pockets.
He walked forward at an even pace.
Not a single punch landed on him.
"Accelerating blood flow to increase power and reaction speed."
"A clever little trick."
"But your speed is still too slow."
"And your strength is still too weak."
Step by step, Yuuki approached the continuously attacking Luffy.
"How is this possible?!"
Nami's face was deathly pale.
Her hands tightly gripped the Clima-Tact.
"It's not that he isn't dodging."
"His speed is simply too fast."
Sanji gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
"RUN!"
Luffy roared again.
He pulled back both fists and bit down on his thumb.
Then he blew hard into it.
BOOM!
His right arm rapidly expanded at visible speed.
In an instant, it became dozens of meters large—
like the arm of a giant.
"Gum-Gum Giant Pistol!"
Luffy roared.
The enormous fist cast a shadow over Yuuki's head and came crashing down with terrifying force.
"The power's improved."
"But it's still too weak."
Yuuki said expressionlessly.
He simply raised one finger.
The next instant—
BANG!
His fingertip collided with Luffy's gigantic fist.
And effortlessly stopped it.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Luffy roared continuously, pouring more force into the attack.
But no matter how hard he pushed—
his fist did not move even an inch downward.
"We're comrades!"
"How could we just leave you behind and run?!"
Though bitterness flashed across their faces at the unbelievable scene before them—
Zoro and Sanji still charged forward without hesitation.
"You're all far too weak."
"You can't even spark the slightest interest in me."
Yuuki shook his head.
Light Magic — Sword of Divine Judgment!
Three streaks of golden light vanished instantly.
Their speed was so fast that before Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji could even react—
the blades had already pierced through their chests.
Three sprays of blood burst into the air.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon!
Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
The story has been completed on Patreon! patreon.com/AminaSim
Next Bonus Chapter at 5800 powerstones.