"Damn it, it's the pirates!"
The moment Black Zetsu suddenly emerged and knocked Law unconscious in a single blow, Corazon's pupils shrank sharply. Despite his severe injuries, he forced his battered body to move.
With a swift motion, he drew a flintlock pistol from his right side, aimed at Black Zetsu, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A flash of gunfire burst forth, the air trembled—but not a single sound followed. A lead bullet instantly tore through dozens of meters of distance, heading straight for Black Zetsu.
This was the power of the Calm-Calm Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that nullifies all sound within a certain radius, making it perfect for surprise attacks.
Moreover, with one's presence silenced, even Observation Haki users would struggle to detect the user's location or movements.
This was how Corazon and Law had remained hidden for so long.
Black Zetsu was slightly surprised as the bullet zipped toward him, then passed clean through his body.
But it didn't matter. Black Zetsu was a being who had survived being chopped into dozens of pieces—what was a bullet to him?
He simply pushed through Corazon's desperate shot and knocked him out just like Law.
Having subdued both protection targets, Black Zetsu curiously picked up the dropped flintlock, studied it, then stored it away. Slinging Law and Corazon over his shoulders, he began sprinting at full speed.
Due to his current possession of a pirate's body, he could no longer use his usual earth-phasing technique, so he had to rely on his own legs to flee.
"Heh... now all I have to do is get off this island, right?"
With a crescent-moon grin, Black Zetsu thought this mission was laughably easy.
But what he didn't know... was that the moment Corazon lost consciousness, the power of the Calm-Calm Fruit vanished.
Their bodies resumed emitting subtle, unique sounds—sounds that could now be tracked by someone using Observation Haki.
---
Meanwhile, on the snow-covered Minion Island, a man with a watermelon-shaped haircut in Marine attire was searching through the ruins of Minion Town with several other Marines, looking for survivors.
Suddenly, a ripple of awareness flashed across his mind—two life forms had suddenly appeared within his Observation Haki's range, moving swiftly with a third figure.
His expression tightened. Without hesitation, he bid farewell to his fellow Marines and raced off toward the location.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes gleamed coldly.
Vergo—a high-ranking executive of the Donquixote Pirates, former Heart Seat. Years ago, he'd left the pirate crew and infiltrated the Marines as a sleeper agent, planted by Donquixote Doflamingo himself.
A master of Haki and the Rokushiki.
---
Thud!
Casually tossing aside a pirate corpse, A frowned.
"Chiyo, still no trace of the targets? It's been over ten minutes. The Donquixote Pirates are probably almost on the island by now."
Unlike Black Zetsu, they couldn't scan memories. Their only search methods were puppet reconnaissance and interrogating survivors—clearly inefficient.
Up to now, they hadn't even glimpsed Corazon's shadow.
Chiyo frowned, about to argue, but then suddenly went silent.
Through a puppet bird she had summoned using a Lord God Point Exchange item, she caught a flicker of black movement near a corner wall.
Following the trace of that shadow, she sent the puppet deeper into an alley.
From the puppet bird's vision, a broad-shouldered man in Marine uniform stood in the alley. Three figures lay collapsed in the snow beside him.
One of them, dressed in a pirate outfit, was a bloodied pulp. The other two were a clown-like man wearing a crow-feather coat and a young boy with a hat.
The clownish figure matched perfectly with the pirates they'd been briefed on—he was very likely one of their mission's protection targets.
Without hesitation, Chiyo dashed forward.
"I found them! The target's barely clinging to life. Hurry and follow me!"
A and Killer Bee followed right behind.
Only Might Duy, the weakest among them, was quickly left behind.
"Wait for me!"
He called out, but Chiyo and the others had already vanished from view. Duy sighed helplessly—rookies really had no status here.
---
The three quickly reached the location marked by the puppet bird.
As expected, in a narrow alley, they saw the targets.
Vergo had just finished a call with the Transponder Snail on his shoulder.
He turned and saw the three approaching strangers, narrowing his eyes with a cold grunt.
"Hm?"
Seeing the man with the watermelon haircut and sunglasses, A immediately gave orders: "Chiyo, go heal the wounded! Bee and I will take this guy!"
"No problem."
Unlike A's brashness, Chiyo remained calm and steady.
Without protest, she nodded and ran straight toward the collapsed figures. Her palms began to glow with green Medical Ninjutsu, ready to stabilize them.
If they really were mission targets and died from their wounds, Chiyo and the others would be punished accordingly.
Seeing her move, Vergo's eyes turned icy. With a grunt, he raised his foot and kicked straight toward her—
But A caught the strike midair!
With a shout, his hand crackled with blue Lightning Style Chakra, gripping Vergo's leg and hurling him sideways into the alley wall.
BOOM!
With a crash, the wall crumbled.
"Yo! Big bro's the boss~ Big bro's real cool~" Killer Bee chanted gleefully.
A moment later, a figure emerged from the dust—Vergo, his entire body pitch black and gleaming like metal, completely unharmed.
His voice echoed coldly:
"Very well. I don't know who you are, but before the Young Master arrives... I'll keep you company."
Not even a scratch?!
A's eyes narrowed. That throw had been empowered by Lightning Style Taijutsu—not full power, but still formidable. Yet it hadn't even left a bruise?
But the real shock came next.
Vergo planted his stance and punched out.
A simple, unassuming punch—but it was blindingly fast, as if tearing through space itself.
BOOM!
In an instant, A was blasted back over ten meters, crashing through a building, buried under tons of rubble.
"Big bro!" Killer Bee shouted, instantly drawing his twin ninja swords.
"What a punch..."
From beneath the rubble, a pained yet excited voice came.
With a surge of power, A burst from the stones, his body cloaked in surging blue lightning—
The Lightning Style Chakra Mode, drastically boosting his defenses, cell activity, and Taijutsu prowess.
The legacy of the Raikage clan—Lightning Armor, the ultimate shield!
~~~
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