Golden hair tied with a butterfly ribbon, a delicate face, petite and slender figure, dressed in a night-sky-black dress, and in her hand, a long black-red sword emanating an ominous aura.
Wasn't she the one who destroyed Impel Down and was given a bounty of 500 million Berries?
The pirates were horrified, eyes wide with terror. Panic took over in an instant.
Oh no, why did they have to run into this devil?
She was the one who destroyed all of Impel Down!
Realizing the danger, the pirates hurriedly tried to turn their ship around and flee. But before they could change course, Kaguya had already raised her sword and aimed at their ship.
"Excalibur."
A massive black beam of light burst from the sword, tearing through the air in an instant, slicing the sky and slamming down on the pirate ship with thunderous force.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed through the skies. The shockwave turned into a violent storm, roaring across the ocean. The calm sea instantly surged with towering waves. The pirate ship was shredded into countless fragments, like a broken toy.
As for the pirates onboard—they were most likely all dead.
"Overestimating yourselves." Kaguya snorted coldly.
But just then, several more pirate ships appeared on the distant horizon, quickly sailing in their direction. The pirate flags flying on their masts were identical to the previous ship's, indicating they were from the same crew.
"What a nuisance," Kaguya frowned, her tone laced with impatience. "Why are there always so many people eager to die?"
"They must be idiots," Hancock chimed in, unusually making a joke.
"Then let's settle it once and for all." Kaguya raised her sword, pointing it toward the approaching ships. Wisps of black sword energy spiraled around the blade, and a powerful aura radiated from her.
Ever since she used the Black Holy Grail card, her magic power had been endlessly replenished, allowing her to use Excalibur repeatedly. Even its power had significantly increased—likely due to the Holy Grail's influence.
"Wait!"
Just as Kaguya was about to blast them all into the sea to feed the fish, a small boat quickly approached from the distance. A few people stood on it, the one in front short and stout, wearing a black coat, wide-brimmed black hat, and a green scarf, with a cigar clamped in his mouth.
"Please don't misunderstand, I didn't come here to start a fight," the short, stout man said. "There's something I would like to discuss with you."
"You?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think you're worthy of speaking to me?"
"My name is Capone Bege," the man replied calmly, showing no sign of anger. "My men were too reckless just now and offended the two of you. I sincerely apologize and hope you won't hold it against us."
"Knowing your mistake and admitting it—not bad," Kaguya nodded. "Since you apologized, I won't be too harsh."
But before Bege could breathe a sigh of relief, Kaguya added, "In that case, I'll just kill you all."
Startled, Bege saw her raising her sword again—clearly not joking—and quickly said, "I have Devil "Devil Fruits?"
Kaguya paused slightly, the motion of her hand stopping.
Seeing her reaction, Capone Bege knew he'd bet correctly. He let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I came here because I want to propose a cooperation. If all goes well, I will gift you twenty Devil Fruits."
There had been rumors that Artoria had a fondness for Devil Fruits, having plundered many from different places. So this time, Bege had specifically brought a large number of Devil Fruits as bargaining chips for the deal.
Kaguya touched her chin thoughtfully, then suddenly raised her sword again and aimed it at them. "I could just kill you and take the Devil Fruits anyway."
"Wait!" Capone Bege cried out in alarm.
"What is it now?" Kaguya said coldly. "Do you have any last words?"
"This is just an initial payment. Once the job is done, all the Devil Fruits we obtain will be gifted to you, no strings attached," Capone Bege said, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
"And the Devil Fruits?" Kaguya stretched out her fair hand and stared him down. "You're not trying to scam me, are you?"
"Of course not!" Capone Bege quickly signaled to his crew, who hurriedly brought over a large chest from the ship's hold.
"Here are twenty Devil Fruits," Capone Bege said.
Kaguya opened the chest. Inside, it was indeed filled with Devil Fruits. She closed the lid and said, "You may leave."
"Huh?" Capone Bege was stunned. "What about the cooperation?"
"What cooperation?" Kaguya replied with a question. "When did I ever say I agreed to cooperate with you?"
Capone Bege quickly said, "But you accepted the Devil Frui—"
"Don't push your luck," Kaguya snapped. She pointed her sword at him and said coldly, "Those Devil Fruits were merely payment to buy your lives. And now you shamelessly want to work with me? Don't make me laugh."
Capone Bege's face turned green. What kind of unreasonable monster was this?
He had come all this way, only to lose twenty hard-earned Devil Fruits and get nothing in return. He regretted it so much that his guts were twisting.
Still unwilling to give up, Bege hurriedly added, "Don't you want to hear what the plan is?"
"No," Kaguya scoffed. "With someone like you, what kind of brilliant plan could there be? You really overestimate yourself." With that, she turned to leave.
"What if it's Kaido? What if the plan is to assassinate Kaido?" Capone Bege shouted urgently.
Kaido?
Kaguya stopped in her tracks, turned around, and raised an eyebrow. "You're saying you want to assassinate Kaido?"
Seeing her pause, Bege quickly continued, "That's right! If we take down Kaido, all his Devil Fruits will be yours!"
...
...
Although no one knew exactly what their boss had discussed with Artoria, judging by Capone Bege's smug expression, it seemed they had reached some kind of agreement.
On the Kuja pirate ship—
"Did you agree to his offer?" Hancock walked over and asked curiously.
"No," Kaguya shrugged. "He's just a small fry. Why would I need to team up with someone like that?"
"But earlier you..." Hancock widened her beautiful eyes in surprise.
"Did I say anything?" Kaguya blinked playfully and said, "I only told them to keep an eye on Kaido."
Who would have thought that Capone Bege, someone who wasn't even considered a boss or a major player in the original story, could get his hands on so many Devil Fruits. Looks like he wasn't as useless as the original had made him seem—perhaps he'd been hiding his strength.
Still, no matter how impressive he was, he was at best around the level of a Vice Admiral. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come running so eagerly to try and strike a deal with Kaguya. Regardless, he could be a useful pawn.
The supplies on their ship were nearly depleted—food, water, and everything else. They needed to restock. Of the nearby islands, only the Sabaody Archipelago was large enough. The other islands were much farther away.
So, it seemed they had no choice but to head to Sabaody Archipelago.
The only concern was the Navy. The archipelago was close to Marine Headquarters, and warships could arrive in less than half a day.
But there was one reason Kaguya had to go, even if the Navy was present—the auction house in Sabaody Archipelago. Rumor had it that a large number of rare Devil Fruits might appear there. It was the perfect opportunity to sweep them up in one go, saving her a lot of trouble.
"I want to go too," Hancock clasped her hands in front of her chest, blinking her big eyes, full of longing.
"You can't," Kaguya said. "You're a Warlord of the Sea (Shichibukai). If you openly walk around with a wanted criminal, it'll cause unnecessary trouble."
"Alright..." Hancock looked disappointed.
Sensing what Hancock was feeling, Kaguya reached out, hooked her finger under Hancock's fair chin, and smirked. "Be good and wait for me to come back."
Then she leaned in and kissed Hancock on the lips.
Hancock's eyes flew open wide, as if struck by lightning. Her mind went blank for a moment, and a blush slowly spread across her face.
Sabaody Archipelago hadn't changed much since Kaguya's first visit—still the same bustling streets, rows of shops, and throngs of people. If anything had changed, it was the buildings. There were more of them now, and the decorations had become fancier.
She wondered if that dango shop from before was still open. Their dumplings were pretty good.
But as Kaguya walked through the streets, the noise around her suddenly died down. Many people cast uneasy glances at her, like they were seeing something terrifying.
Kaguya ignored them and continued toward the shop she remembered.
Just before she arrived, a hooded figure suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her into an alley.
Once inside, the person pulled down their hood and angrily said, "Idiot! How can you walk around so openly? Don't you know you're a wanted criminal now?!"
The voice belonged to Jewelry Bonney — sharp-tongued and furious as ever.
"Of course I know," Kaguya said curiously. "But what does that have to do with me walking on the street?"
"Are you stupid?!" Bonney snapped. "You're a criminal with a 500 million bounty! If the Navy sees you, they'll definitely send troops to capture you!"
"Then let them try," Kaguya replied nonchalantly.
Bonney rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I really don't know how someone like you managed to escape from Impel Down."
"Impel Down isn't exactly hell. Escaping from there isn't that big of a deal," Kaguya said indifferently.
"Keep bragging then," Bonney snorted. "Just be careful the Navy really comes and arrests you."
Kaguya thought for a moment and said seriously, "Actually, I'm really strong."
"Yeah, yeah," Bonney replied dismissively, clearly not buying it.
You couldn't really blame her. The ones who had escaped from Impel Down were all infamous pirates. Since the breakout, their bounties had skyrocketed, and some even claimed to have taken down Magellan themselves.
Compared to those legendary pirates, Kaguya seemed like a newcomer. People preferred to believe the breakout was caused by those fearsome pirates, and that Kaguya just happened to escape with them.
Besides, the World Government hadn't explicitly said Kaguya was responsible, so the blame had conveniently shifted onto the more arrogant pirates.
"By the way," Kaguya suddenly asked, "how did you escape?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Bonney replied with annoyance. "The whole prison was in chaos. Of course I took the opportunity to escape. You think I'd be stupid enough to stay like you?"
Fair point.
"Do you know where the auction house is?" Kaguya asked again.
"Don't tell me you're planning to buy slaves," Bonney frowned.
"No, what would I need slaves for?" Kaguya said. "I heard a batch of Devil Fruits came in recently. If possible, I want to buy them all."
Bonney's expression softened, then she seemed to remember something and asked, "What do you want Devil Fruits for?"
"Due to some special circumstances, I can't tell you," Kaguya replied.
"Tch, what's there to be so secretive about? Fine, if you won't say, I won't force you," Bonney snorted. "But do you even have the money to buy Devil Fruits? They're super expensive, usually at least a hundred million Berries, sometimes several hundred million."
Kaguya said nothing and simply extended her fair hand toward Bonney.
"What are you doing?" Bonney asked, puzzled.
"Borrowing money," Kaguya said plainly.
Bonney: "..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven