"Hehe..."
Wilhelm chuckled.
He didn't sell anything anymore.
Katakuri and Smoothie watched in shock as he reached out his right hand and pressed it against the air in front of him.
"Ka—"
A small, circular air door opened.
The passage was only the size of a palm, revealing a strange, translucent green space. From inside, they could clearly see the outside world.
"This is...?" Katakuri looked surprised.
He already knew Wilhelm could transfer Devil Fruit abilities to his rings, allowing him to use their powers in a unique way. He had seen it before and experienced it firsthand.
But this was different. He couldn't help but be shocked. He stared at the ring on Wilhelm's hand, then at the strange green space.
"Can even non-living things carry 'demons'? That's really unexpected..."
"The ability of the Door-Door Fruit?" Smoothie asked curiously.
She knew Wilhelm had created the "Ten Rings," but she had never seen him use the power of the Door-Door Fruit before.
As she gazed at the eerie green space inside the circular portal, Katakuri spoke thoughtfully, "Is this your trump card?"
Whoosh!
In an instant—
Wilhelm, Katakuri, Smoothie, and everyone else, along with the sofa they were sitting on, vanished from the hall.
They reappeared inside the green space within the strange portal, which was no bigger than a palm.
Smoothie and Katakuri barely had time to react. Their vision blurred for a moment, and the next thing they knew, they were inside.
They instinctively stood up, staring at the translucent green space in shock.
Through it, they could still see the outside world.
Boom!
Without thinking, Katakuri threw a punch.
A blinding light shot forward like lightning, tearing through the air with a deafening explosion.
But his air fist kept traveling forward—straight into the distance—until it vanished without a trace...
"It's useless..."
Wilhelm, still seated on the sofa, spoke calmly.
"This is a separate space, like a parallel dimension. You can see the outside world from here... but you can never touch it."
"In other words, unless someone trapped inside escapes before the passage closes—or they kill me and use the power of the 'Ten Rings' to reopen the door—there's no way to leave this space!"
"No matter how strong they are, it's useless!"
After integrating the ability of the Paramecia-class Memo-Memo Fruit into "Kickoff," Wilhelm had completely grasped the concept of the Door-Door Fruit's separate space. He even felt lucky to have obtained such a broken ability.
This green space was like a special parallel dimension—limitless in a way.
Aside from the air that allowed people to breathe normally, there was nothing else. No land, no resources, nothing.
Only the Door-Door Fruit could open a passage to this place.
So far, Wilhelm hadn't found any other ability capable of entering this space.
"What!?"
"This power..."
Katakuri and Smoothie's expressions changed.
They were shocked—and a little angry.
This ability was terrifying. It sent shivers down their spines.
It was completely unfair.
"So that's your plan…" Katakuri stared at Wilhelm in disbelief. "You want to trap the powerful forces of Marine Headquarters here and leave them to die?"
"This is just part of the plan," Wilhelm admitted. "After all, those top fighters are unbelievably strong—like monsters. Their Haki is too overwhelming. Right now, I can't transfer them effectively…"
He spoke calmly, as if discussing something ordinary.
"Besides, most experienced warriors are incredibly alert and react fast. Even if I open a portal, forcing them inside won't be easy."
Then—
His expression shifted, and he sneered.
"But warships… and the Marine soldiers on board… that's a different story."
Katakuri and Smoothie's pupils shrank.
"What do you mean?"
"Hehehe~~~ Hahaha~~~"
Wilhelm clutched his head.
At first, he let out a low chuckle.
Then it grew louder.
Unrestrained, arrogant, wild. His entire presence became more and more menacing.
"What do you think, big brother Katakuri?"
Without warning—
His gaze sharpened!
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him, crashing outward with unstoppable force.
The sheer pressure swept across the space like a raging storm.
"Crash! Boom! Bang!"
"Whooooooooooooooooooooooo..."
The atmosphere froze.
For a moment, an intense wind pressure surged through the space.
Inside the green dimension, the tea table, teacups, wine glasses—everything—shook violently before being lifted into the air and torn apart in an instant.
"Wilhelm—!"
"This Conqueror's Haki!?"
Smoothie and Katakuri's expressions changed.
In the next second, both were forced backward by the sheer force of the wind.
Even the luxurious sofa beneath them was shredded into pieces—cotton and fabric scattered through the air, carried away by the storm-like pressure.
"This guy... Wilhelm! His aura is completely different from before!" Katakuri's gaze locked onto Wilhelm, who stood before him, fiercer and more domineering than ever.
Katakuri refused to back down. His own Conqueror's Haki surged outward, clashing head-on with Wilhelm's.
"BOOM!"
"Whoooosh—"
"Crackle… Crackle…!"
The collision of their Haki was visible to the naked eye.
Black and red lightning arced through the space—flashing, intertwining, and violently crackling as it spread in all directions.
It was as if their wills had taken on a physical form.
Within the strange green space, countless dark red energy spheres flickered—pushing, squeezing, and crashing against each other in an intense struggle for dominance.
"This is… a clash of Conqueror's Haki!?"
The rippling shockwaves and howling wind made it almost impossible to stay steady.
Smoothie, unable to get close since she wasn't using her Devil Fruit's abilities, could only watch from a distance.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"How is this possible!?"
She stared at Wilhelm and Katakuri, both unleashing their full Haki without restraint.
Her mouth hung open, her beautiful face covered in cold sweat.
But what shocked her the most—
The powerful, overwhelming, and fearsome aura that made her body tremble…
It didn't belong to Katakuri.
It belonged to Wilhelm.
His Conqueror's Haki completely overpowered Katakuri's.
"BOOM——!"
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You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04