The moment Rhett finished speaking, the blood mist didn't simply spread outward. Instead, it surged violently toward the Black Tide Greatsword in his hand, compressing and condensing around the blade with terrifying intensity. Decades of refining his swordsmanship alongside his fruit had taught him exactly how to make them work as one. Every fiber of his being, every ounce of his battle experience, funneled into that single moment.
The silver-armored warriors above sensed the danger immediately. They raised their energy weapons without hesitation, barrels glowing with concentrated light as they locked onto Rhett. Their movements were practiced, efficient—the precision of soldiers who had eliminated countless threats before.
But they had never faced anything like this.
Rhett moved.
No battle cry. No dramatic flourish. Just a single, clean upward swing.
"Mist God Style: Heaven Cleaver."
His voice was low, almost conversational. But the effect was anything but.
The blood mist exploded from the blade, expanding instantly into a colossal dark red crescent that seemed to bridge the sky and sea. It wasn't a slash that cut—it was a force that simply erased whatever it touched. Light vanished into its wake. Sound died. The very air seemed to hold its breath.
The soldiers had no time to react. Their weapons, their armor, their ship—all of it was swallowed by the crimson tide. One moment they were there, weapons raised and ready. The next, nothing remained but empty sky. No explosion. No debris. No screams. Just silence where they had been, and the slow drift of clouds reclaiming the space they once occupied.
For a long moment, no one moved. The waves lapped gently against the hulls. Seagulls, confused by the sudden absence of their airborne intruders, circled once before flying off.
Then—
"SSSSUUUUGGOOOIIIII!!!!"
Joy Boy's voice shattered the silence like a cannon blast. The rubber giant's jaw had practically unhinged, his eyes wide as dinner plates. He bounced up and down on his ship, the entire vessel wobbling from his excitement. "That was insane! Rhett! You just—and then—POOF! They were gone! How did you do that?!"
The siblings were even worse off. A-Yang's mouth hung open, his makeshift weapon slipping from his fingers and clattering onto the deck without him noticing. A-Xing was gripping her brother's sleeve so tightly her knuckles were white, her eyes as big as saucers.
"He... he made them disappear," A-Yang whispered, his voice barely audible. "All of them. With one swing."
A-Xing nodded frantically, too stunned to form words.
They had seen Rhett fight before. They had watched him walk through enemies like they were nothing. But this was different. This was a level of power that didn't feel real—like something from the old stories their grandmother used to tell, the ones about gods and monsters.
Joy Boy was already flailing his long arms around, trying to mimic the motion. "Okay, okay, so you do this—and then WHOOOSH—and then—" His rubber body twisted into an approximation of the swing, sending his ship lurching to one side. "Did I get it?! How close was I?!"
Rhett's expression flatlined. "You didn't even come close."
"Aw, man!"
But among all the reactions, one stood out.
The girl hadn't moved from her spot beside Rhett. She hadn't gasped or cheered or babbled questions. Her face was still, almost unreadable. But her eyes—those ice-blue eyes that had once been hollow and empty—were fixed on Rhett with something that looked awfully like pride. Not the loud, boastful kind. The quiet, steady kind. The kind that comes from absolute certainty.
This is my captain, her gaze seemed to say. This is who I follow.
The corner of her mouth twitched upward, just barely. It might have been the wind. It might have been a trick of the light. But it was there.
Rhett caught her looking. He gave an exaggerated shrug, letting the Black Tide Greatsword dissolve back into mist with a casual flick of his wrist.
"Tch. Just some trash," he said, as if he had swatted a fly instead of obliterating an entire squad of advanced soldiers. "Waste of my time."
He glanced at her again, a smirk tugging at the corner of his own mouth. "Not bad, right? Your captain's still got it."
She didn't answer with words. She never did. But she nodded. Small, brief, but unmistakable.
And that was enough.
"Wait, wait, wait!" A-Yang suddenly scrambled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet. His earlier shock had been replaced by a manic energy. "Rhett! That move! The big one! Can you teach me that?! Please?! I'll do anything!"
"Me too! Me too!" A-Xing bounced up and down beside her brother. "I want to be able to make bad guys disappear too!"
Joy Boy, meanwhile, was still flailing on his ship. "Mist God Style! Heaven Cleaver! DUANG! Hahahaha!"
Rhett pinched the bridge of his nose. "First of all, there was no 'duang.' Second of all, no. That took me years."
But the relentless energy of the three idiots wasn't going to let up anytime soon.
He sighed, glancing sideways at the girl. She was still watching him, calm and steady.
"We're not going anywhere anyway," he muttered. "Might as well tell them something."
He straightened up, raising his voice just enough to cut through the chaos.
"Alright, you rubber-brained idiot. And you two little runts. Settle down."
The energy didn't disappear, but they all turned to face him.
"You want to know why those tin cans showed up, right? Why they wanted her so badly?"
Joy Boy's flailing stopped. He blinked, his earlier excitement cooling into something more serious. "Yeah... actually, I do. They said some creepy stuff. 'Prison.' 'Judgment.' Why would anyone talk about a kid like that?"
The siblings exchanged a look. Their questions were the same, even if they didn't know how to phrase them.
Rhett didn't answer immediately. He let the moment breathe, letting the weight settle.
He reached over, his hand finding the crown of the girl's head. She let him, as she always did.
"She's from a place called Piruka," he said. "A city that calls itself a 'divine nation.' They find people with Devil Fruit abilities—people like her—and turn them into tools. They call them 'Holy Maidens.' Fill their heads with talk of duty and sacrifice. Make them believe they exist to be used up."
He paused, and the air around him seemed to cool slightly.
"Their purpose is to be burned alive. Like kindling. For the crime of being born with a power their rulers decided was dangerous."
Silence settled over them all.
Joy Boy's smile was gone. The siblings stared, their earlier enthusiasm fading to something smaller, something heavier.
"That's..." Joy Boy started, but he couldn't finish the sentence.
"None of that matters anymore," Rhett said firmly, giving the girl's head a final pat before dropping his hand. "She's not theirs anymore. And anyone who tries to take her back will end up just like those tin cans."
He let that sink in before turning away, his voice returning to its usual lazy drawl.
"Now then. Anyone still hungry?"