Group 3's Return
As they walked toward the hideout, Damian suddenly stopped, wearing a surprised expression.
Damian: "Tcharara~ I'm a genius!"
Mirage: "What is it this time? Did you come up with a new laugh?"
Damian: "Tcharara~ I'm not that much of a genius! But I thought of a trick you'll definitely like!"
Mirage: "A trick? What trick?"
Damian: "You'll see soon enough…"
With that, Damian ran ahead and started talking to Mèi.
Damian: "Mèi?"
Mèi: "What's up, Dami?"
Explaining the idea that had just popped into his head, Damian looked at Mèi with hopeful eyes.
Damian: "So... think you can pull it off?"
Mèi: "Hmm… not sure! But I can give it a try!"
Hearing her answer, Damian smiled.
Damian: "That's better than nothing. But you remember what I told you before, right?"
Mèi: "Yup! Focus blood on one side of the blade and then make it explode!"
Damian: "Exactly! That's the foundation—let's give it a shot!"
By the time their conversation ended, they had arrived at the hideout.
Damian: "Mèi TāoTiè: 血染长空 (Xuè rǎn cháng kōng — Blood-Stained Sky)!"
Holding Mèi with both of his right arms at the base, Damian swung her, and the trick began. Mèi gathered blood along the side of the blade opposite the swing, and the moment it was fully charged, she detonated it with full force. This created a massive red wind blade that sliced through crowds, leaving a crater where it landed.
Damian then turned to Mirage.
Damian: "Well? Think you can pull that off?"
Mirage reviewed all the motions in his head, but something was off—he couldn't replicate the full technique. It was like a piece was missing.
Mirage: "I'm sure I can copy the movements… but it feels like something's missing."
Damian: "Weird... your eyes didn't catch it?"
Mirage: "Not exactly… it's like I can't see some part of the technique, for some reason."
Damian: "Interesting... since you couldn't copy it, I'll give you the trick: channel energy to the back of the blade, and explode it at just the right moment. Got it?"
Mirage: staring intensely "...Not a word."
Damian: "Great! Then go team up with Yosuke against that guy."
Mirage: "Huh? Why? And what about you?"
Damian: "Simple... you learn better by doing than by watching. I'll join you after Mèi and I warm up a bit."
Mirage: "Got it! Hey, Yosuke! Let's go!"
Yosuke: "..."
Mirage: "Yosuke...?"
Hearing no response, Mirage turned to where Yosuke should've been—but a few meters away, Yosuke was charging full speed, eyes burning with rage, toward the man who killed his mother.
Mirage: "Shit... I'm heading out, Dami!"
Damian: "Tcharara~ Good luck, buddy!"
Watching Mirage leave, Damian chuckled while glancing at his weapon, Mèi TāoTiè.
Damian: "Hey Mèi, ever heard of an all-you-can-eat buffet?"
Mèi: "Buffet? What's that?"
Damian: "In short… it's lots of food."
Mèi: "Uhhh! Then I want it!"
Amused by Mèi's excitement, Damian turned to see a crowd glaring at him—some with rage, others with fear or shock from his earlier attack.
Damian: "Come at me, worms!"
At his provocation, the paralyzed soldiers charged at him.
Damian: "Tcharararararararara!"
Mèi: "Tcharara...?"
---
Meanwhile, with Mirage and Yosuke
When Mirage caught up, he was surprised—Yosuke was firing a storm of bullets at the man who killed his mother, yet the man wasn't even dodging. The bullets were just getting absorbed by his body.
Yosuke: "Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"
Meanwhile, the man kept ignoring Yosuke to chat with a short, brown-bearded fellow.
???: "So, Ibusu… how many do you want this time? Remember, we've got a clearance sale going on."
Ibusu stared at his supplier in disbelief, his face screaming what the hell is happening?
Ibusu: "Mister Daniel… and what about that kid...?"
Hearing Ibusu's concern, Daniel finally turned to Yosuke, his calm smile unwavering.
Daniel: "I see... you're an ambitious one, huh? But unfortunately, he's not for sale—he's still too... feral."
At that moment, Yosuke stopped shooting. His face was blank, yet his hands swapped magazines to a different type of ammo. When he fired again, the bullet didn't shoot right away—it began charging within the chamber, glowing faintly.
Mirage noticed Daniel's pocket vibrating slightly, and when Daniel caught on, his gaze sharpened briefly though his smile remained. Mirage saw this as the perfect chance for a surprise strike, but—
Daniel: "Well, well... wait, do I know you? Either way... thanks, kid!"
In a blur, Daniel pulled a pair of Tekko Kagi from his clothes, equipping them. With his left hand, he blocked Mirage's surprise attack; with his right, he pointed at Yosuke.
Mirage: "Thanks for what, asshole!?"
Daniel: "For this."
BANG!
Yosuke fired the charged bullet—it looked like a blue beam, moving insanely fast. But even that wasn't enough to break the barrier that formed between Daniel and the shot, absorbing the blast completely.
Daniel: "Good thing that didn't hit! I'd have to pay someone to clean my uniform... whew!"
Yosuke readied another special shot, but before he could finish switching mags—
Daniel: "Bang."
Daniel's hand, still pointed like a gun, fired—and Yosuke's hands were utterly wrecked.
Yosuke: "AHHHHHH!"
As Yosuke screamed, Daniel sneered with a look of disdain. Without moving his hand, he fired again—a tiny metal bullet shot out from his fingertip at pistol speed. But this bullet was actually one Yosuke had fired earlier.
As the bullet closed in, Mirage deflected it—but something about Mirage's expression was... conflicted, as if stopping the shot had interrupted something important.
Mirage: "Sorry, Yosuke, I got distracted."
'Weird... why did I let Yosuke get hit the first time? I'm sure I could've blocked it... but it felt like something told me to analyze this Daniel guy.'
Clutching his broken hands, Yosuke shot Mirage a murderous glare.
Yosuke: "Fine… I don't mind losing a hand or two to kill that bastard. Just do me a favor and keep him busy till I sort this out."
Mirage: "Just keep the smiling prick busy? Sure. Unless I kill him before you're back."
Daniel: "Ooh, scary!"
Mocking them, Daniel rushed Mirage, slashing in an X-shape with his claws. Mirage parried easily with his katanas, and once again a brief glow flickered on them, vanishing quickly.
Daniel: "You're pretty good with those blades. Not many can block Beat and Up. But I wonder—how good are you without them?"
With that, Daniel disengaged, forcing Mirage forward as his katanas plunged into Daniel's body—but no blood spilled.
Daniel: "Surprised, kid? Bet you didn't see that coming."
Mirage: "What the hell are you? A clay man?"
Daniel's body seemed to absorb the swords, as though made of strange clay. Worse still, Mirage's blades no longer felt connected to their hilts.
Daniel: "Nice guess, but no! I ate the Neru Neru no Mi, turning me into a Metal Shaper!"
Revealing his Devil Fruit, something began emerging from Daniel's shoulders—Mirage's own swords, reshaped into metallic claws aimed right at him. Yet Mirage didn't move, nor react.
'That feeling again… it's like I'm... going to…'
To Mirage, time slowed. The claws neared his chest, but everything froze—the world darkened until all light faded. Then, in a blink, his vision returned—but he was no longer standing in front of Daniel.
To be continued...