Frank's gray fur on the back of his neck stood on end.
The Winter Soldier gave him no time to react.
His metal left arm rose, fingers together, aimed straight for Frank's throat.
It was twice as fast as a bullseye.
Frank's front paws crossed to block.
The Armament Haki-hardened claws struck the vibranium alloy fingertips.
A shockwave exploded from the point of contact.
The windows of the three nearest cars in the parking lot shattered simultaneously, shards of glass flying everywhere.
Frank was knocked back two steps.
His hands went numb.
The Armament Haki on his front paws gleamed.
The Winter Soldier didn't pause.
As his metal left arm retracted, his right hand drew a submachine gun from his waist, aiming the muzzle at Frank's hind legs.
Three rounds fired.
Frank dodged to the side.
The bullets grazed the fur on his hind legs, striking the load-bearing pillar behind him, sending concrete debris flying.
Before he even hit the ground, the Winter Soldier was already upon him.
A metallic left arm slammed down from above.
Frank's right claw met it, his Armament Haki hardening to its fullest extent.
Collision.
The bones in his entire right arm vibrated.
Frank's four legs dug eight white marks in the ground, forcing him back three meters.
"This arm..." Frank's vertical pupils were fixed on the metallic arm.
Harder than a vibranium blast door.
The Winter Soldier remained silent, his movements fluid and seamless.
He retracted his fist, twisted his waist, leveled his submachine gun in his right hand, and opened fire.
Bullets blocked the way.
Three shots to the left, forcing Frank to dodge to the right.
Two shots hit the ground to his right front, the rebounding concrete debris obscuring his vision.
The metallic left arm emerged from behind the debris, aiming straight for Frank's ribs.
Firepowered close combat, switching between ranged and melee.
Frank's left claw slapped towards the Winter Soldier's side.
The Winter Soldier didn't dodge.
The metal left arm gripped the wolf's claws and pressed down.
Simultaneously, the right knee slammed into Frank's chest.
Armament Haki blocked the fatal wound.
The impact wasn't enough.
Frank's 120-kilogram body flew ten meters, his back smashing through a load-bearing pillar.
Concrete and steel bars sprayed from the fracture, dust filling half the parking lot.
Frank crawled out of the rubble.
His mouth tasted rust.
He coughed, spitting a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the ground.
At least three ribs on his left side were broken, the severed ends embedded in the muscle.
The Wolf-Wolf Fruit's regeneration had activated, but its speed couldn't keep up with the destruction.
The Winter Soldier approached.
His steps were steady.
His metal left arm hung at his side, the fingertips stained with Frank's gray fur.
Fast footsteps came from the stairwell on the right.
Jack rushed out.
His dislocated left arm had automatically reset under the serum's effects, and his right fist was covered in a gray, armor-hide sheen.
Jack slashed directly at the Winter Soldier from his right rear, delivering a punch to his back.
The Winter Soldier's body leaned forward a centimeter.
He turned.
His right elbow slammed into Jack's left arm.
A dull thud echoed as bone dislocated from the joint.
Jack's left arm dislocated at the shoulder, the entire arm limp.
The Winter Soldier's right foot followed immediately, kicking Jack in the chest.
Jack flew four meters backward, crashing into the door of an SUV.
The door was dented into a human shape.
Jack slid to the ground, using his still-functioning right hand to brace himself, trying to stand, but fell heavily back down.
Two actions.
A dislocation, a knockback.
Frank lay prone in the rubble, staring at Jack lying beside the car door.
Bang.
The Winter Soldier's gun barrel was still smoking.
The gunshot struck a nerve in Frank's brain that had been dormant for three years.
Three years ago.
Central Park.
Sunlight, checkered fabric, ketchup.
Three gunshots.
Maria fell backward, Lisa's water glass slipped from her hand, and little Frank's plastic water gun fell onto the grass.
One thousand and ninety-five days.
Frank rose from the rubble.
Broken ribs pierced his muscles, but he ignored them.
A white cloak unfurled behind him, the edges of the word "Justice" gleaming faintly.
A black sheen seeped from the surface of Frank's limbs into his muscles.
Then from his muscles into his bones.
The sheen was no longer just a shell covering his skin; it began to penetrate deeper.
A half-awakened, flowing cherry blossom.
Frank moved.
His speed doubled.
The Winter Soldier's metal left arm came at him.
This time, Frank didn't block.
His right claw bypassed the front of the metal arm and struck from the side.
The instant the claws touched the metal surface, a shockwave traveled from the claw pads into the alloy's interior.
Three fine cracks appeared on the surface of the metal arm.
The Winter Soldier's movements paused for 0.3 seconds.
Frank's left claw followed, striking the Winter Soldier's breastplate.
The same shockwave seeped in from the claw.
The Winter Soldier took a step back.
The first step back.
Frank pounced.
The fully transformed gray wolf, combined with the explosive power of his half-awakened Sakura form, each claw strike carried a shockwave of internal destruction.
Right claw slammed, left claw swept, hind legs slammed into the ground.
The beast's snout bit towards the joint of the metal arm.
The Winter Soldier was forced to switch from offense to defense.
The metal left arm blocked 70% of the attack, but each block accumulated internal damage.
The cracks increased from three to seven, from seven to twelve.
Frank's vertical pupils ignited into two golden flames.
But his body couldn't keep up.
The semi-awakened Ryuo was extremely unstable; the high-intensity output was rapidly draining his stamina.
Fifty seconds.
The Armament Haki began to flicker, the internal vibrations becoming intermittent.
The Winter Soldier dropped his submachine gun, his five fingers digging into the gaps between Frank's right claws, locking them shut.
His metal left arm wrapped around from the left, the elbow gripping Frank's throat.
Frank was pinned to the ground by the Winter Soldier's single arm.
The metal elbow was wedged into his trachea.
The pressure increased dramatically.
Frank's four legs dug white marks into the ground, unable to break free.
The Winter Soldier drew a pistol from his waist, the muzzle aimed at Frank's temple.
His index finger rested on the trigger.
A heavy red object slammed down from the parking lot entrance.
A fire hydrant.
A cast iron casing, connected to half a water pipe, weighing five hundred kilograms.
The fire hydrant struck the Winter Soldier's metal arm shoulder joint precisely.
The impact propelled him five meters away from Frank.
A sharp, metallic crack echoed from the shoulder joint of his metal arm, the existing cracks widening to twice their original size.
Frank rolled over and scrambled to his feet, coughing up blood three times.
Jessica Jones stood at the parking lot entrance.
Her arms hung limply at her sides, veins bulging on her forearms, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
"Get your filthy hands off him," Jessica gritted her teeth.
The Winter Soldier rose from the ground.
His metal left arm hung limply at his side, the servo motors in his shoulder joint humming intermittently.
He glanced at Frank, then at Jack in the distance, his gaze finally settling on Jessica.
His left ear, the one behind his headset, twitched.
He turned and ran deeper into the parking lot.
The black figure disappeared into the pre-designated evacuation tunnel entrance.
The footsteps quickly faded.
Frank's half-beast form receded, clumps of gray fur falling from his body.
He glanced at Jessica.
"You're too late." Jessica walked over and kicked away the shards of a fire hydrant on the ground.
"Stop showing off here. You're covered in blood." A two-meter-long trail of blood stretched across the concrete floor, from the rubble pile of the load-bearing pillar to where he stood.
Jack walked over from beside the SUV, tore off a piece of his sleeve, knelt down, and wrapped the strip of cloth around Frank's chest, tightening it.
Frank hissed.
"Gently."
"You have three broken bones in your chest. It can't be gentle." Jack tied the knot and stood up.
Frank pressed the communicator.
"Winter Soldier… Hydra has unleashed a devastating weapon. This guy's strength is such that you'd need to come in person." There was a three-second silence on the other end of the channel.
"Winter Soldier… Bucky Barnes."
The channel went dead.
Shipyard rooftop.
Ron stood under the canvas awning, clutching the Soul-Soul Fruit.
The wind blew from the East River.
Bucky Barnes.
The executor of "Operation Winter," Hydra's ace assassin. For seventy years, he's been frozen, thawed, brainwashed, and tasked with missions in a never-ending cycle.
Ron closed his eyes and brought up the system panel.
[Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes. Sin Value: 3700 (converted from forced crimes).]
[Willpower Strength: A+ (suppressed by brainwashing).]
[Supernatural Essence: Super Soldier Serum - Perfect Version. Rating: SS+.]
[Imprisonment Option: Imprison in Impel Down Level 2, extract the Supernatural Essence. Expected Justice Value +3700, usable for forging Paramecia-type Devil Fruits.] Imprisoning Bucky and extracting the serum directly boosts combat power.
At the bottom of the system panel, a line of small blue text flashed.
[Special Option: Consume 5000 Justice Value to use Impel Down's "Purification" function to remove the Hydra implant program from the Winter Soldier's brain. After purification, the Sin Value will significantly decrease.] This target can be converted into a potential ally. Five thousand Justice Points.
He currently has a total of ten thousand two hundred. Spending five thousand leaves him with five thousand two.
The unlock threshold for Impel Down's fourth level is twenty-five thousand. The final offensive against Kingpin requires at least fifteen thousand Justice Points.
Imprisoning Bucky only increases Justice Points.
Rescuing Bucky directly cuts Justice Points in half.
Ron's right hand gripped the Soul-Soul Fruit, his knuckles slowly tightening.
Imprison Down is short of manpower.
It lacks commanders with absolute obedience and top-tier combat power.
Jack needs to grow, and Frank has his own obsessions.
A super soldier brainwashed for seventy years, with combat instincts etched into his bones.
If Hydra's control is removed and replaced with the Navy's mark,
this isn't a criminal.
This is a ready-made executioner's blade.
Ron opened his eyes.
"Hydra's weapon is mine."
He didn't confirm the imprisonment, nor did he close the panel.
He tucked the Soul-Soul Fruit back into his pocket and picked up the communicator.
"Frank."
"Here."
"Winter Soldier, capture him alive." There was a two-second silence on the other end of the channel.
Frank's voice was hoarse from broken ribs.
"Are you serious? That guy almost ripped my head off. You want him alive?"
"Alive." The channel went dead.
Ron turned and walked downstairs.