"Phew—"
Snow Wind exhaled, wiping blood from her armor with a handkerchief before picking up a Deadman's Chest.
"Tough fight."
She looked at the corpses of several explorers. No wonder she once held the title "Arena Unmatched"—as a second-tier, she'd beaten third-tiers.
That was thanks to the training on Kaido's ship—their Haki had improved.
Even so, it was a hard battle. In the end, Snow Cake had to eat a Paramecia Steel Plate Fruit to survive.
Yes, Snow Wind's team had found several Devil Fruits, but hadn't eaten them—they planned to take them out and sell them.
Devil Fruits didn't always mix well with other bloodlines, and their growth limit was unclear. The side effects were minor, but once you chose a fruit, you lost access to other strong bloodlines.
As ambitious spacers, Snow Wind didn't plan to eat a Devil Fruit—unless it was a Mythical Zoan; regular fruits weren't worth it.
But the battle had been too tough. All the third-tier explorers had at least 55 base stats.
So besides Snow Wind, her two teammates had eaten Devil Fruits during the fight.
They couldn't master the fruits instantly, but eating one gave instant stat boosts—tangible combat power.
Snow Cake's Steel Plate Fruit fit his tank role, but their healer, Snow Lily, was unlucky—she ate a Mouse-Mouse Fruit for survival. Not a Mole Fruit, but Mouse—she gained no noticeable abilities, and her animal form was ugly.
Women love beauty—even spacers. Snow Lily was miserable: her bloodline growth was capped, and now she was a mouse girl.
"The fog's so thick—shouldn't we help Brother Gusion?"
Ulti squeezed out of the ruins, worried as she looked at the distant battle.
She'd had a decent time in the Beasts Pirates. After Gusion's advice, she understood that without Kaido's help, she and her brother wouldn't have gotten those fruits.
She felt the crew was a bit of a family, and since Gusion had taken care of them, she was grateful.
She'd thought Brother Gusion, who could kill Navy rear admirals, would dominate Sky Island, but he was in a tough fight now.
"Sis, there's crying everywhere. I'm scared."
Page One cowered behind Ulti.
She bonked him. "Coward. Brother Gusion will beat all the bad guys."
"But we're pirates. Aren't we the bad guys?"
Page One retorted.
Ulti stomped his foot. "How dare you talk back!"
"Ow, sis…"
Page One complained, then pointed at the mist. "Look, Brother Gusion!"
Snow Wind's team looked over—through the parted mist, Gusion was blasted out by a light cannon.
He crashed through a dozen buildings before stopping, a charred hole in his left shoulder.
"Crap, is Boss Gusion losing?"
Snow Cake was shocked. "Sis, should we—"
"Shut up, it's not over yet."
Snow Wind cut him off. They'd already fought hard and were exhausted—helping Gusion now was unrealistic.
If Gusion lost, Body Killer would clear out Sky Island, and the elite explorers would become loot.
If they wanted to run, now was the time—dive into the white sea and survive until return time.
But she didn't want to leave—not out of loyalty, but because she hadn't found the possible Poneglyph or hidden intel in Birka.
Enel hadn't invented Ark Maxim—it came from blueprints found on Birka, meaning the island hid more than it seemed—perhaps more than Skypiea.
They'd theorized that Sky People came from the moon, bringing advanced tech and founding a great kingdom 800 years ago—Birka might hide many high-tech blueprints.
The Ark Maxim blueprints might even be those of the ancient weapon "Uranus!"
They couldn't take Enel's prototype, but they could take the Uranus blueprints. If they could build it in their End Space, it'd be a huge boost for their team.
Even if not, finding the blueprints would greatly increase their world exploration score.
"Sis, are we being too greedy?"
Snow Lily, petite but well-endowed, was still shaken from the last fight and wanted to run after seeing Gusion wounded.
"Greedy? If you're not greedy here, you'll die sooner or later."
Snow Wind said coldly. "Besides, I trust him—he's beaten me before."
She signaled the others to follow. With most explorers gone, the island was relatively safe outside Gusion and Body Killer's battle—the perfect time for some looting.
"Aren't we going to help?" Ulti asked anxiously.
"No need—he can handle it."
Snow Wind replied. "That wound's nothing."
She'd fought Gusion in the arena before, and even with a huge stat advantage, he'd managed to wound her. She knew how absurdly tough he was.
As if to prove her right, Gusion walked out of the ruins, and the gaping hole in his shoulder healed before their eyes.
"Kaido? You really are a proper shinigami."
Body Killer, watching from the mist, smirked. With the battle nearly over, he spoke more freely.
With all the chaos he'd caused in this world, he wasn't planning to return—if the world government investigated, he'd be a wanted man.
"So, how many more can you eat?"
Gusion stared into the fog as Body Killer attacked.
Body Killer's light cannons were powerful—Dankū couldn't fully block them, only buy a moment.
It wasn't that Dankū was weak; Body Killer's attacks had a piercing property, great against energy barriers.
If Gusion predicted accurately, wrapping his blade in Haki, he could cut the light cannon and stay unscathed.
He'd been wounded earlier because Body Killer's spiritual stat had increased, making his light cannon faster and stronger.
At this point, he doubted Body Killer had any more tricks—his stat boost could only be from eating another Devil Fruit.
Devil Fruits, as bloodline items, gave instant stat boosts upon consumption.
"Stop pretending. You're no match for me now."
Body Killer tried to undermine him, though he was actually annoyed—he'd been forced to use his last slot on a Devil Fruit.
He'd wanted to save that slot for the Rumble Rumble or a mythical thunder fruit.
Gusion's Observation Haki was unexpectedly strong—he could always react to the light cannon even in the mist, forcing Body Killer to boost his power further.
He'd used a Dream Fruit he'd meant to sell. He didn't know its full abilities, but the identification said it gave +4 spiritual stat, so he ate it.
With higher spiritual stat, his magic attacks grew stronger—hence Gusion's wound.
Gusion blocked part of it with the Mazuko, but still took a hit to the shoulder. A full hit would have killed him.
"Pretending?"
Gusion's face darkened with rage. "You know what you've done?"
Now it was Body Killer's turn to be confused. He'd just eaten a fruit—he'd hurt Gusion before, and Gusion hadn't been this angry. "Looks like you've seen your own defeat."
Crimson Conqueror's Haki crackled around Gusion, mixing with golden lightning, turning his hair into a raging mane.
"You dare eat my fruit!"
Gusion roared and charged, his blade swirling, drawing in the endless mist and dispersing it behind him.
He dashed forward, Body Killer staring in shock as he came.
Boom—
Body Killer had to block with his holy sword. The shockwaves cleared the mist, revealing the fight to Sky Island's residents.
Gusion, face furious, slashed relentlessly, draining Body Killer's health and spirit with each attack.
Body Killer beat his wings, splitting the mist with water streams to separate them.
He wanted to retort—"What do you mean your fruit? Are you a bandit?"
And did Gusion really think he could loot his Deadman's Chest?
Wounded and drained, Body Killer was frustrated.
As they parted, he fired another light cannon, forcing Gusion to dodge.
At this power, Gusion didn't dare block with the Mazuko—he'd risk injury and damage to the blade.
Gusion paused, tilting his head at Body Killer. "Is that all you've got?"
Body Killer's composure cracked with rage. He didn't understand how Gusion remained calm—he outclassed Gusion in stats, had the field advantage, and was landing hits. Yet Gusion was unfazed.
That taunt drove Body Killer into fury. As pioneers from different Spaces, only death could determine who was stronger.
Gusion saw the anger and calmly said: "I haven't even eaten a fruit yet."