Deep in the forest, two figures stumbled through the underbrush before finally collapsing helplessly at the base of a giant tree.
"Hah... hah... we're saved..." Ivankov gasped heavily, his enormous head leaning weakly against the trunk. "That old hag was a real monster!"
Bartholomew Kuma remained silent, simply staring down at his own palm. It was this very hand that had shoved the Paw-Paw Fruit into his mouth moments ago.
An indescribable taste still lingered in his mouth, but a strange, unprecedented power was surging through his body.
"Hee-haw! We made it, Kuma!" Ivankov recovered some of his strength and patted Kuma's shoulder. "Thanks to that black-haired guy back there! Who was he? What a cool dude!"
Kuma's mind conjured the image of that man wielding his naginata, standing alone against Charlotte Linlin.
"Yeah," Kuma responded quietly, his eyes containing not just lingering fear, but more importantly, a flame that had been ignited.
"We need to hurry and save Ginny and the others!" Ivankov struggled to his feet. "While everything's chaos outside, this is our chance! With your new power, we can definitely—"
His words cut off abruptly.
The sky had somehow darkened.
A massive pentagram magic circle glowing with ominous red light materialized in the sky above them, its complex runes slowly rotating as they emanated a soul-crushing, oppressive force.
"What... what is that..." Ivankov's voice trembled with terror.
The next second, from the center of the formation, a figure wreathed in black lightning and sinister flames slowly descended.
He wore a black suit with a distinctive headwrap and mustache, but most striking were his emotionless eyes that looked down upon all living things, and his spider-like lower body.
BOOM!!
The moment the figure landed, an invisible shockwave exploded outward from his position! The earth cracked, trees toppled, and even the air seemed to solidify.
Ivankov couldn't even manage a scream—faced with this emperor-like presence, his consciousness was instantly crushed. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed stiffly.
Only Kuma, drawing on the innate resilience in his Buccaneer bloodline and the changes in his body from just consuming the Devil Fruit, barely managed to avoid fainting on the spot.
But every bone in his body was crying out in agony, his entire form pressed flat against the ground, unable to move.
The newcomer was none other than one of the Five Elders—Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Warrior God of Scientific Defense!
Saint Saturn didn't glance at the unconscious Ivankov, his gaze completely focused on Kuma.
"Buccaneer brat."
He spoke, his voice quiet but every syllable ice-cold.
"From the moment your race was born, you've only had two choices." Saint Saturn approached slowly with his cane. "Become slaves, or face death."
These two words stabbed into Kuma's mind like cold awls. He remembered his father's stories about Sun God Nika, told with his dying breath in chains—that legend who would bring laughter and liberation to everyone.
He also remembered that black-haired man just now. Despite being a powerful pirate, he was willing to face a monster like Charlotte Linlin for complete strangers.
Why?
Why could some people judge others' lives and deaths like gods? Why were others willing to save people like heroes?
And us... Why were we born only to be slaves?
An unprecedented anger and indignation overcame his physical agony and spiritual terror.
Kuma used every ounce of strength to brace his hands against the cracked earth, trying inch by inch to lift his crushed body upright.
"Old man..." His voice was hoarse with pain yet strangely clear. "Do you have a lot of power?"
Kuma struggled to raise his head, and on his blood-stained face, those eyes burned with an unyielding flame.
"If... if we're born to be slaves... then why are we born at all?"
"It doesn't... make any sense!"
He thought of those companions like him, fleeing in terror, shot down like prey.
He thought of Ginny, of Ivankov, of that big brother who blocked the monster to save them.
"If..." Kuma's chest heaved violently as he practically roared, "If I had enough power right now! I'd want to be like Nika and do everything I could to save those... those poor people just like me!"
The boy's declaration echoed through the silent forest—full of naive overconfidence, yet carrying heart-shaking determination.
Saint Saturn remained unmoved, speaking coldly: "This is exactly why your race must disappear completely from history."
With those words, he slowly raised his cane, dark energy gathering at its tip as he aimed at Kuma's skull.
Before absolute power, the will to resist was itself the greatest sin.
Just as that destructive energy was about to fire—
A black shadow appeared without warning at Saint Saturn's rear flank, the tip of a black-gold naginata transforming into an ultimate black line, soundless and swift, stabbing directly at Saint Saturn's nape.
No price on the bounty—Five Elders under the blade!
Point-blank ultimate! Let's do this!
Silent Cloud Piercer!
CLANG!!
A piercing clash of metal rang out, especially jarring and loud after the absolute silence of the sneak attack.
Kyle's pupils shrank violently.
His full-power thrust—that attack that eliminated all sound—had been precisely blocked by what seemed like a casually raised appendage from Saint Saturn.
The tip of the appendage met the naginata's point, sending brilliant sparks flying.
A tremendous force transmitted through the blade. Kyle felt his entire arm go numb as the recoil sent him sliding back dozens of meters, carving deep furrows in the ground before he barely managed to steady himself.
What a tough old bastard! Even harder than that old hag Linlin!
Kyle shook out his tingling wrist. The devil-may-care smile vanished from his face, replaced by complete seriousness.
Saint Saturn slowly turned around, those emotionless eyes shifting from Kuma's face to Kyle's for the first time.
He glanced at the almost negligible white mark on the tip of his appendage, his tone carrying the slightest ripple for the first time.
"Strange Devil Fruit... and this level of haki." He seemed to be stating a fact. "Are you a pirate?"
"Your mom!"
Saint Saturn's eyes held no anger whatsoever, only lofty indifference.
"No matter." He said quietly. "Cleaning up one bug and cleaning up two bugs makes no difference."
Kyle flipped him off. "Ha—ptui, dumbass!"