Inside the Flying Sky Pirates' palace!
"Hey hey, little girl, no need to take it all yourself, hohoho… isn't this a bit unfair?" Doflamingo frowned, glancing at the young girl beside him.
"You're too weak!" the girl said proudly.
Doflamingo's forehead immediately tensed with veins popping.
The others, hearing her words, also shot her cold glares.
The battle in the main hall was nearly over—and it was overwhelmingly one-sided.
At the start, even though Jack and the others were confident in their strength, they expected a hard fight. After all, the Flying Sky Pirates had cadres plus branch captains, totaling thirty to forty people. And each cadre, not to mention the branch captains, was a formidable fighter worth hundreds of millions.
Yet no one expected the battle to be completely lopsided—and it was all because of this little girl.
She was terrifying. Who could have imagined that such a small girl possessed such horrifying power?
At the beginning of the battle, Denissa didn't act. She simply stood there, quietly observing everyone fighting.
They faced Kaen and Cantel, Jack confronted Bolly, and others found their respective opponents. No one paid attention to Denissa.
After all, she was just a small girl. Even if she was a famed Grim Reaper in the underworld, nobody thought her actual combat strength would be significant.
The Grim Reaper had always fought using Death-Soul Puppets; her true form had never been seen in combat. Seeing Denissa' youthful appearance, they instinctively assumed her strength was limited.
After all, if she were truly strong, why command puppets instead of fighting herself?
But what followed immediately shattered all assumptions.
During the battle, a Flying Sky Pirates cadre sneaked behind Denissa, raising a long blade to strike.
"No!" Raelmann and the others moved to intervene. Denissa was a core member of the Oath-Blood Guard—she could not die here, or it would be impossible to explain back home.
Yet, Denissa slowly raised her head, and a chilling aura emanated from her, making the cadre freeze mid-swing, his face twisted in pain.
Denissa extended her hand, seemingly pulling something from the man. The cadre collapsed stiffly to the ground, lifeless.
"What… was that?" Raelmann exclaimed in shock.
"Impossible," Mokusu and the others murmured, equally puzzled.
No one understood what had just happened. Why had the Flying Sky Pirates cadre suddenly halted? Was it the terrifying aura?
The aura was indeed fearsome—but this cadre was a pirate with over 100 million bounty, accustomed to facing countless strong opponents in the New World. How could a mere aura immobilize him?
"Time to act?" only Shaxia's eyes flashed with insight.
The others did not yet understand the true danger of this seemingly fragile girl—but Shaxia knew all too well.
Denissa was a Death-Soul Fruit user, capable of attacking an opponent's very soul. Her Death-Soul Intimidation could freeze anyone whose soul was not strong enough. Once the soul was immobilized, the body naturally followed—completely at Denissa' mercy.
Shaxia recalled Rosinante's fight against Denissa. If Rosinante hadn't possessed Conqueror's Haki and an unusually strong soul, he too might have fallen victim.
Rosinante had once said that the Death-Soul Fruit was more like a Demon Spirit Fruit, capable of devouring enemies' souls to grow stronger.
"Since you're acting, then let's begin," Denissa said calmly, stepping toward another Flying Sky Pirates cadre. Her gaze made him feel as if he were already dead.
"You little—don't think I'll be scared!" the cadre growled, raising his wolf-tooth hammer with crushing force.
Yet, once again, Denissa' chilling aura washed over him. His hammer froze mid-swing; his eyes lost focus, as if his soul had vanished.
Denissa reached out, seemingly plucking something from him. He collapsed.
Observers saw a pale, ghostly substance in Denissa' hand, which she crushed, turning it black and merging it into her aura.
Denissa then moved to the next cadre.
"You monster! Let's take her together!" a few cadres shouted, rushing forward.
The previous scene had unnerved them, and now they tried to bolster their courage.
But they were about to see Denissa' full terror. As they approached, black tendrils of Death-Soul energy shot from her body.
These tendrils carried an oppressive force; anyone struck was paralyzed, unable to resist as the tendrils pierced through.
Composed of her Death-Soul energy, these tendrils drained life, leaving bodies desiccated and weak, as if all nutrients had been sucked out.
The tendrils then became reapers, harvesting the lives of the Flying Sky Pirates cadres.
A battle that had seemed even was now completely one-sided. Aside from deliberately leaving Emperor Crocodile Bolly in combat, all others were already defeated.
Not only the Flying Sky Pirates cadres, but even the branch captains who were fighting Raelmann and others were slain by Denissa' intervention.
Doflamingo, who had been trying to show off against the Flying Sky Pirates' Mokusu, was swiftly eliminated by Denissa.
Attempting to make a display before the heavy hitters of the Gray Nation, he was instead left humiliated and furious.