Inside the church, Charlotte Linlin leisurely pulled out a sniper rifle and propped it on her arm. Her powerful Observation Haki was firmly locked onto the small, cursing figure inside the tunnel.
She wasn't worried at all that Kuri would be in any real danger. Her future-predicting Observation Haki was enough to precisely neutralize any threat before Kuri's life was at risk.
It wasn't possible for Kuri to be soloed by a tunnel, right? Otherwise, wouldn't all that time spent training have been for nothing?
"Alright, little one, begin your 'God-Slaying' journey." She chuckled softly, her figure standing like a mountain in the dilapidated church... "Ugh~ You bastard dad! Is there really anyone who treats their daughter like this!"
Kuri rubbed her sore bottom and arms, grimacing as she climbed up from the cold, damp ground, shaking her small fist angrily at the entrance above, which had become a faint speck of light.
The tunnel was filled with a stale, musty smell and the scent of earth. It was pitch black, so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, with only her own echoing complaints for company.
"Talking about defeating gods... you just want to see me make a fool of myself! Once I get that Devil Fruit, I'll definitely... definitely..."
She muttered under her breath, trying to bolster her courage with words, but her voice sounded exceptionally weak in the empty tunnel.
Just then, a faint, dense fluttering sound came from deep within the darkness, accompanied by sharp, short "squeaks."
Kuri froze instantly, the hair on her body standing on end. She nervously "looked" toward the source of the sound—though she couldn't see anything.
But soon, she wouldn't need to "look."
In the darkness, one, two, ten, a hundred... dense red points of light lit up like ghost fires one after another, filling the passage ahead of her, even covering the walls on both sides and the ceiling.
Those were countless eyes belonging to the creatures inhabiting this dark tunnel—bats! They had been awakened by the intruder and let out restless cries. The sound of flapping wings grew louder and louder, merging into a wave of sound that made her skin crawl.
Kuri's heart nearly jumped out of her throat as fear instantly seized her.
She instinctively wanted to run back and escape this terrifying place, returning to that bastard but at least safe and reliable "otousan."
However, just as she had taken two steps—
"Boom!"
A bolt of dark red lightning struck, precisely hitting the tunnel entrance in front of her!
There was no deafening explosion, only a heart-palpitating sense of annihilation.
The rubble and soil were instantly vaporized, and the stairs she had used were completely gone, leaving only a deep pit she couldn't cross.
Furthermore, the entrance that had still let in a sliver of light had completely vanished, leaving only scorched marks and the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke.
Kuri: "!!!"
She stood frozen on the spot, her small face pale as she looked at the sealed-off escape route.
Immediately after, from above her head, Charlotte Linlin's gloating voice reached her ears clearly:
"Kuri~ my dear daughter~ haven't you been clamoring to get stronger every day? The opportunity is right in front of you!"
"Go for it! Big Horned Cow! Charge! Dad believes you can do it!"
Her tone was full of the joy of someone watching a scene unfold for their own amusement.
"You bastard dad!!!" Kuri's pent-up fear and grievance instantly transformed into a soaring rage. She tilted her head back and let out a deafening roar toward the pitch-black ceiling.
"When I get out! I'm going to eat all your sweets!!! I won't leave you a single bite!!!"
Her roar echoed through the tunnel, seemingly suppressing the bats' agitation for a moment.
But soon, even more red eyes turned toward her, and they began to slowly close in. The sound of flapping wings grew denser, carrying a clear sense of threat.
Kuri could already faintly feel the foul wind they brought with them.
"Oh no..." Kuri thought to herself. Countless bats were in front of her, and her retreat had been completely cut off by that unscrupulous dad.
Alone in absolute darkness and facing unknown danger, a strong sense of helplessness washed over her for a moment, making her almost want to cry.
She clenched her small fists, her body trembling slightly from fear.
Run? There was nowhere to run.
Call for help? That bastard dad would only watch and laugh.
What should she do? Was she really going to die here? Be eaten by these disgusting bats?
No!
You've got to be kidding me!
She was Charlotte Kuri! She was the daughter of the Heavenly Calamity Pirates' Captain, Charlotte Linlin! How could she be intimidated by mere bats!
Although that bastard dad's methods were terrible, she knew—she had always known—that her father would never truly let her fall into a situation of certain death.
This... this might really be a trial?
"Bastard dad... just you wait..." Kuri cursed under her breath, but her trembling gradually stopped.
She took a deep breath, and the air, smelling of mold and bat stench, seemed to inject a bit of strength into her.
She stopped looking at those approaching red eyes and instead tried hard to adapt to the darkness.
She recalled the combat techniques Mama Ripley had taught her and the mountain-like, steady aura of Mama Gölz.
"I... want to become a woman as strong as otousan!"
She said to herself, her voice not loud but carrying a kind of desperate determination.
Along with her roar, without her realizing it, some insects and rodents lost consciousness. However, this group of red-eyed bats was unaffected for some reason.
"I didn't expect an unexpected harvest~"
Sensing the situation below, Charlotte Linlin raised an eyebrow. Kuri's awakening of Haoshoku was somewhat beyond her expectations.
Her initial goal was only to train Kuri's courage and see if she could awaken Observation Haki in this pitch-black environment.
As for Armament Haki, she had never heard of anyone in this world being able to awaken it at just a few years old. Because besides willpower, the awakening of Armament Haki was also inseparable from physical fitness.
In the dark tunnel, Kuri no longer retreated, her gaze fixed firmly on the red eyes further away.
Although she couldn't see the path, those red eyes hanging from the ceiling pointed out the way forward for her.
She took a step forward, and at the same time, felt around on the ground for a few small pebbles. Using all her strength, she threw them hard toward the densest cluster of bats!
"Get lost!"
The pebbles whistled through the darkness, causing an even greater commotion and screeching among the bat colony.
The stones she threw were like the fear she cast away. Taking this opportunity, Kuri crouched low, relying on her small stature and sudden burst of courage to charge deeper into the tunnel!
She no longer thought about a way back or complained about her father. There was only one thought in her mind: move forward! Find that Devil Fruit! And then... then get out and settle the score with that bastard dad!
In the darkness, the little girl's figure plunged into the encirclement of crimson eyes without looking back, beginning her solo adventure.
In the church above, Charlotte Linlin "watched" Kuri charging forward with courage through her Observation Haki, a gratified smile appearing on her face.
"That's more like it... my daughter."
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