"How's the situation?"
When Ren arrived on Separation Island with Yukiko and Yayoi, the entire island had already descended into chaos. Thousands of pirates were engaged in a massive melee.
Of course, most pirates were passive—their strength wasn't sufficient enough, forcing them to scramble about the battlefield, desperately trying to dodge the attacks of the powerful.
The clamorous sounds constantly bombarded Ren's mind, forcing him to interrupt his Mantra perception.
In truth, Kenbunshoku Haki was like breathing—normally, it functioned as a passive skill when you weren't consciously focusing on it, but when you did, it could become an active skill.
Currently, Ren was like someone holding their breath, suppressing his Kenbunshoku Haki to an extremely minimal degree.
"More or less as planned. The strong ones have mostly revealed themselves," Shutamaru said, glancing outward.
Several areas in the vast field clearly had a different atmosphere from the rest—those were the locations where the powerful fighters gathered.
There were also some madmen causing chaos in the crowd, using their strength to slaughter the weak and provoke the strong.
"The clever ones have already started gathering followers or begun following others."
"About a dozen with decent strength, perfect," Ren observed the battlefield.
About a dozen fighters were at roughly the same power level, including the four from the previous conversation.
"I think it's time to make them stop, Ren. Some people seem to have gone bloodthirsty," Yukiko said.
This was her first time witnessing such a brutal scene. She wasn't inexperienced in killing, but this was completely different from a battlefield-like carnage.
Ren nodded.
...
"Whoosh—"
A golden figure continuously weaved through the crowd, leaving trails of crimson blood.
Chris relentlessly pursued Batico, causing all the pirates along the way to suffer. She was as agile as a true feline, using their bodies as stepping stones.
But the power in her legs was enough to shatter boulders several meters high, and her claws could tear through steel—one could only imagine how miserable those used as stepping stones became.
Batico scrambled frantically, looking utterly wretched.
The dense crowd hindered his escape, forcing him to constantly push through it like a wild dog fleeing for its life.
"A sewer rat that squeezes into any crack!" Chris snapped her sharp teeth, but in truth, she didn't dislike the thrill of chasing prey—if anything, she was enjoying it, which was why Batico had managed to escape for so long.
However, this chase suddenly took an unexpected turn.
The reckless Batico crashed into another territory occupied by a powerful fighter, even bumping his head against the person's chest.
"Ow! Who the hell is that? Get out of my way!"
The memory of Hawks' fate filled Batico with terror, and he harbored intense resentment toward the person who had stopped his flight. He cursed loudly.
But when he looked up and saw the figure, he froze.
"Gulp..." He swallowed, watching the person's shadow completely envelop him.
Batico was already three meters tall, but before this person, he looked like a child.
Even more surprising was that this person wasn't of a normal race—he was a Fishman with a spiral-shaped horn growing from his head.
"A... unicorn whale... Willey..." Batico felt certain he was destined to die today, having just provoked such a ferocious unicorn whale...
Willey was nearly nine meters tall, forcing him to bend down specifically to lift Batico. His massive hand effortlessly covered Batico's entire head, and then he lifted him to eye level.
"It wouldn't be too bad to just crush your skull like this, would it?"
"P-Please spare me..." Batico begged, but Willey had no intention of listening.
His fingers squeezed with increasing force, and soon Batico's head began to deform.
Batico quickly rolled his eyes, foaming at the mouth, unable to utter a single word.
"Hey, that's enough! That was my prey!" Seeing her prey stolen, Chris's anger flared up again.
Having been unable to catch Batico moments before, she now shot forward like lightning and kicked toward Willey's head.
In a panic, Willey raised his arm to block her. Half his arm was nearly as long as Chris in her beast-like form.
Sharp cat claws embedded themselves in flesh, but only left a shallow scratch.
Both were surprised.
"Tough skin, you stinky seafood! Give me back my prey, and I'll let this slide," Chris said.
Her mouth was always foul, and though she didn't really want to provoke this giant, her words were unforgiving. However, she made the same mistake as Batico—hitting a sore spot.
As a Fishman, Willey despised those who looked down on his race.
The term "stinky seafood" clearly didn't place Fishmen on equal footing with humans. It was like an alien insisting on calling humans "wild monkeys."
Therefore, Willey didn't hesitate for a moment. He increased the pressure on his hand and crushed Batico's skull.
"Splat—"
Just like popping a tomato.
He casually tossed Batico's corpse in front of Chris, then licked the "sauce" off his hand with a disgusted expression. "The taste of trash is always so repulsive."
"You bastard!" Chris exploded.
Just as she took a step forward, she found herself surrounded by several Fishmen.
Willey wasn't alone—he had his entire pirate crew.
Several Fishmen closed in, putting significant pressure on Chris.
Though these individuals weren't as strong as Willey, as Fishmen, they were still stronger than average pirate riffraff.
"Oh dear, it seems our little kitten has run into trouble."
Just as Chris was considering retreating but couldn't bring herself to do so, a white paper drifted down from the sky. It slowly folded into a human shape.
Then, the abstract paper figure gradually became real, transforming into a red-haired woman.
"You're late, Rosca!" Chris cursed, though she felt relieved.
Rosca was a user of the Kami Kami no Mi (Paper-Paper Fruit), which was actually a superior version of the Hono Hono no Mi (Book-Book Fruit).
Like the Mochi Mochi no Mi (Mochi-Mochi Fruit), it was a special Paramecia type. However, her development of the ability was quite different from the future user of the Hono Hono no Mi.
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