Shing! Shing! Shing!
Three swift gusts of wind sped by. Nami, Carina, and Uta, each moving with incredible speed, appeared in front of three of the bodyguards, immediately halting their advance.
"So fast!"
The three bodyguards were stunned by Nami, Carina, and Uta's display of speed. But upon noticing that the remaining bodyguard was still rushing toward Kaya, they revealed a flash of hope in their eyes.
However, that hope was quickly replaced by shock.
"Got her!"
The bodyguard, seeing he'd already reached his target, happily stretched out a hand to seize Kaya by the neck. Yet at that moment, Kaya's hand darted out, tapping the guard's arm.
Previously self-assured, the bodyguard felt his body abruptly go rigid in the strangest way.
…
Gion narrowed her eyes. From her past experience fighting Arton, she immediately recognized the move Arton had once used on her.
"It's that technique that stops the opponent's nerves from controlling their own body."
'Indeed, now Kaya had mastered it too,' Gion thought with a sigh.
…
"What...?"
The bodyguard tried to plant his feet, but discovered to his horror that he had lost command of his limbs. In the blink of an eye, he toppled to the ground, contorting awkwardly.
"You...what did you do to me?" He stared at Kaya in alarm.
"Please don't look down on me as though I'm some helpless girl." Kaya cast a cold gaze at him. Then she balled her fist and drove it straight into his abdomen.
Though Kaya was kind by nature, what the Celestial Dragon had done was plain to see. She would not extend that kindness to his underlings. Channeling the tremendous power inherited from Tsunade, Kaya's blow instantly shattered the internal organs of the bodyguard.
Spurt!
Blood spewed from the man's mouth, and he stared wide-eyed at Kaya, who he had mistakenly pegged as feeble. He didn't even get a chance to utter a final word before his eyes closed forever.
Without sparing the corpse a second glance, Kaya resumed healing the surrounding villagers.
Meanwhile, off to the side—
"What?! That Kaya actually has that much power?"
"Am I seeing things? She split the ground!"
"Damn it, our intel was wrong. That Kaya's not weak at all."
The three men fighting Nami, Carina, and Uta saw their companion slain, noticing how the ground around him was cracked wide open. Shock filled their hearts. So stunned were they that for a moment, their battle against Nami's group came to a standstill.
That pause of an instant was enough to cost them their lives. In a flash, Nami's naginata, Uta's spear, and Carina's dazzling lightning each struck a lethal spot. None of the three bodyguards managed so much as a groan before following their comrade into death.
With that, the only ones still left standing in the Celestial Dragon's entourage were the Celestial Dragon himself and Nezumi the moment Arton intentionally withheld his Conqueror's Haki from crushing.
At this point, seeing Arton's group slaughter so many so decisively, Nezumi could no longer stand on his feet. Sinking to the ground, he stared at Arton in terror, realizing that if Arton dared to kill the Celestial Dragon's guards, he would certainly dare to kill him as well. Compared to those bodyguards, a mere branch base captain—especially one under investigation—was nothing.
The Celestial Dragon himself, on the other hand, showed not the slightest hint of fear. In his eyes, there was only anger at Arton for daring to kill his property.
"You bastard, what are you doing?! I'm a Celestial Dragon, and you went ahead and killed my men?!"
"Damn you, I'm going to have you killed! Someone, come and get this man!"
"No, first break his legs, let him understand that in front of a Celestial Dragon, he should've been kneeling!"
Saint Charlos jabbed his finger at Arton in a fury.
[Belo Betty:] "Indeed, Celestial Dragons are Celestial Dragons. Even at a time like this, they're still that arrogant."
[Monet:] "Hard to believe someone like that is of the same Celestial Dragon lineage as our Young Master."
[Doll:] "Please, Arton, have some mercy. Don't take things to a point of no return."
[Boa Hancock:] "Kill him, Arton—kill him!"
[Ain:] "At this very moment, Gion is probably trying to get in touch with Tashigi and Hina, hoping they'll stop Arton. Heh, but even if Tashigi and Hina try some honey trap on Arton, I doubt he'll be swayed."
And indeed, as Ain predicted, Gion was urgently messaging Hina and Tashigi. But Tashigi was too distraught over the slain villagers to notice Gion's messages. Hina, although she saw Gion's messages, hadn't had time to act before Carina blocked her path.
"Don't interfere with our captain," Carina said, resting a hand on Hina's shoulder. Glancing at the chat record between Hina and Gion on the latter's diary interface, she smiled.
Seeing this, Hina could only sigh and abandon any thought of approaching Arton. She could sense Carina was dead serious—if she tried anything that went against Carina's wishes, she might really be knocked out cold. And if that happened, there'd be no stopping whatever was about to go down. In other words, her only option was to shut off her diary device and wait for some possible chance to prevent Arton from slaying the Celestial Dragon.
"Have someone break my legs? Celestial Dragon, maybe you should take a good look around—see if there's anyone left who can even carry out your orders."
"You're not hoping that guy can do it, are you?"
Arton sneered as he spoke, gazing at Nezumi, who had collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.
"Mm?" Saint Charlos frowned, glancing around, only now realizing that aside from Nezumi, everyone else on his side was already unconscious or worse.
"You there—didn't you hear me give an order?" He demanded, glaring coldly at Nezumi.
"T-The Celestial Dragon, sir…"
Nezumi stammered, eyes darting fearfully toward Saint Charlos. It wasn't that he didn't want to obey; he just couldn't do anything here.
"What? You didn't hear my command?" Seeing Nezumi fail to move, Saint Charlos's brow creased even deeper.
"He can't do it," Arton said with a shake of his head. "He doesn't have that kind of strength."
Arton's eyes fell on Captain Nezumi. "Hey, do you remember my face at all, Nezumi?"
Nezumi quickly nodded. "O-Of course I know you, you're… you're Arton, the World's Number One Swordsman!"
"Arton, you're aware the man beside you is a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?" Nezumi blurted shakily.
"I'd advise you calm down. Everything you're doing right now is only asking for trouble."
Arton eyed the captain, who looked like he'd mustered a tiny shred of courage, and shook his head. "Apparently you don't remember blowing my ship out of the water back then. I suppose that makes sense—I was a nobody at the time. You, busy with your fraud and embezzling, wouldn't waste your memory on some nobody. Come to think of it, it's only natural that these Celestial Dragons wouldn't recall my face either."
Hearing that, Nezumi froze. "I… I blew up your ship? That's impossible—no way!" he stammered, frantically shaking his head, unwilling to believe he could have attacked a strong figure like Arton.
"Let me give you a little reminder. It was two Celestial Dragons who gave the order, but you were the one who commanded the cannons," Arton said with a smile.
At these words, the old memories flashed across Nezumi's mind.
"You… you're that man! But that guy should've died a long time ago!" Captain Nezumi gasped, horrified.
"Haha, so you do remember, after all. Then at least when you reach the next world, you'll know whose hand you died by. Actually, it's not just my grudge, either. You owe Nami and Nojiko as well."
Arton turned upward and called out, "Isn't that right, Nojiko?"
As he did, an eagle's cry rang through the air. With that cry came a huge shadow swooping down from the sky at tremendous speed. Captain Nezumi hadn't even processed what was happening before he found himself airborne.
"Ahhhh, no! Let me go!"
"W-What the hell are you!?"
Nezumi flailed desperately, but he simply didn't have the strength to break free from whatever creature had seized him. Within barely ten seconds, he'd been lifted over ten meters above the ground. Trembling, he looked up to see he was in the talons of a giant eagle—an eagle staring at him silently, making him feel as though a blade hovered at his throat.
[Pudding: "That… that's one huge eagle!"
[Vivi:] "Wait a second, earlier Arton mentioned Nojiko—could that eagle be Nojiko?"
[Nico Robin:] "Nojiko's Mirajane template grants her demon transformation… does that mean she can also shift into different animals?"
[Kujaku:] "If that's so, that power really is varied."
[Ulti:] "She can transform into animals too? That's a pretty sweet deal!"
While everyone in the diary chat was speculating, the giant eagle holding Captain Nezumi began to change. A flash of light flickered around it, and the eagle's form turned into Nojiko—her arms now feathered like wings and her legs shaped like talons.
[Stussy:] "It really is Nojiko. Looks like Mirajane's power is even more versatile than we imagined."
[Gion:] "So she can shapeshift into an animal and wield its abilities. Meaning Nojiko basically has the equivalent of multiple Zoan-type Devil Fruits?"
[Monet:] "Strange, but seeing Nojiko's form like that gives me a sense of kinship, even though I'm the Snow-Snow Fruit user and clearly have nothing in common with an eagle…"
....
1 extra chapter every 100 stones