"Enough!"
The voice, deep and commanding, cut through the noise like a blade. Instantly, the crowd fell silent.
People parted as an elderly man with a dignified air stepped forward. He looked up at Ethan Chen, who stood atop the bow of the Lexington. Then, as if responding to an unspoken demand, he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud and bowed his head low, his forehead striking the wooden dock with a sharp thunk.
"Thank you... for defeating the pirates and saving our village."
"Mayor…"
"Silence! Is this how you repay a benefactor?"
Chastened by the reprimand, the once-agitated villagers exchanged uneasy glances. Slowly, they began lowering their torches and weapons. One by one, they knelt beside the mayor and bowed deeply in thanks.
"That's enough," Ethan muttered, lips curling slightly. Since they'd shown some respect, he no longer felt the need to pursue the matter. "Now get lost. I'm trying to rest."
"Yes, sir."
The old man was the first to rise. He turned and led the villagers away from the Lexington's dock.
"That's it?" 2B said, her voice muffled behind her white mask. "I thought there'd be a fight."
"They're just ordinary people. There's no meaning in fighting them. Besides, it'd just reinforce our image as pirates. Not worth the hassle... Though I'm done with this place. Let's set sail."
2B nodded. "All aboard! We're leaving!"
"…Who are you talking to?"
As Ethan asked, a figure shimmered into view at the end of the dock a stunning woman dressed in red.
Ada Wong.
Ethan's eyes widened slightly. "When did you get here?"
"I've been here the whole time," Ada replied with a soft laugh. "Since before you even left the restaurant."
"Were you invisible?"
Ada shook her head and raised her hand. A faint shimmer of turquoise serpent scales rippled across the back of her hand before vanishing.
"It's not invisibility," she said. "It's like a snake. I suppress my presence and conceal my aura to blend into the environment. The effect is similar to being invisible."
Ethan was genuinely impressed. She had taken the Hebi Hebi no Mi Snake-Snake Fruit and developed it to the point it mimicked an actual invisibility ability.
Was it not the Snake-Snake Fruit: Green Bamboo Viper model after all? Could it be the Snake Charm Totem form instead?
After all, the emblem on the charm totem was also a green serpent.
"But how did you notice me?" Ada turned to 2B, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "I was standing in plain sight. No one else noticed me. They treated me like air."
"With radar support, I saw you clearly," 2B replied.
"Of course," Ada nodded knowingly. "So it only works against the naked eye. Technology still exposes me."
"But in a world as underdeveloped as this," Ethan said, "your ability is more than enough. To the naked eye, you might as well be invisible."
Especially that aura suppression. Even someone using Observation Haki would struggle. After all, Haki relies on sensing someone's presence and if that presence is completely suppressed, what is there to sense?
"I don't know much about that," Ada said, crouching slightly.
With a sharp burst of motion, she sprang effortlessly onto the ship.
It was the kind of explosive power typical of Zoan-type Devil Fruits. Her strength, speed, and agility had all increased significantly.
Watching this, both Mona and Tifa who had previously refused to eat any Devil Fruit couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
The benefits were just too overwhelming.
"Could you help me haul up my speedboat?" Ada asked. "The engine's shot, but the hull's fine. I've still got a lot of equipment onboard."
"I'll do it." Tifa brought over a tow rope and got to work. Although she didn't particularly like Ada's freewheeling attitude, a crewmate was a crewmate. Personal feelings could wait.
The others were busy untying mooring lines, raising the anchor, and preparing to set sail.
They were eager to leave, not wanting to linger a moment longer.
Their plan to donate funds to help rebuild the town was scrapped. There was no point being a doormat. They'd done more than enough.
That money would stay with them. They'd earned it fair and square.
After hauling up Ada's speedboat, the Lexington sailed out into the open sea under the cover of night.
Ethan climbed the mast and replaced the pirate flag with the original [Calamity] banner.
On his way back down, he saw Ada organizing her gear. She was pulling an array of firearms out of her boat's storage pistols, ammunition boxes, rifles.
He was stunned.
"Desert Eagle, Magnum, a Thompson submachine gun, M4A1 assault rifle, pump-action shotgun... This is insane. That's a serious arsenal."
"You know these?" Ada asked.
"Yeah. My world had all of them too." Ethan crouched beside her and pointed to the gleaming Desert Eagle. "Can I try that one?"
"You can. But if you play with my gun," she said with a coy smile, "do you have one I can play with?"
"Huh?" Ethan looked up at her, slightly thrown off. Ever since she ate the Devil Fruit, she carried a more seductive aura wild, intoxicating.
"Hm? I meant a gun from this world," Ada teased. "Don't tell me you don't have one."
"I don't have a gun," Ethan said, smirking. "But I do have a cannon. It's big. Powerful. You wanna try it?"
Ada's gaze dropped to the space between his legs. Her full lips puckered playfully, then parted as she whispered, "Cannon?"
"I meant the one mounted on the bow," Ethan said calmly. "Upstairs, above the dining hall. From now on, you're the ship's artillery specialist. The room behind the gun deck is yours."
"Boring," Ada said, leaning in close, her breath hot against his ear. "You know what I meant. You're no fun when you play dumb."
"You know what I meant too. And I should warn you, you won't be the only one manning the cannon. You okay with sharing it?"
As he spoke, Ethan reached out and gently hooked his fingers under her sharp chin, pulling her closer.
But Ada turned away at the last moment.
Ethan clicked his tongue, disappointed.
Until she suddenly leaned in again and kissed him deeply. Her tongue slipped into his mouth.
It was different from their first kiss. This time, her tongue moved with a serpentine grace. Agile, sinuous, alive.
It coiled around his, twisted, and teased. It was powerful. Thin. He could even feel the subtle split at the tip.
Ethan's eyes widened. Even with all his experience, he had never felt anything like this before.
It was almost... inhuman.
A living creature.
A tongue like a snake's.
And if her tongue was this skillful, what could it do elsewhere?
As their lips finally parted, Ada smirked. "So that's your kissing technique? I'm not impressed."
Ethan wiped the corner of his mouth, still dazed. "No... it's your tongue. It's insane."
"Is it?" Ada stuck it out.
This time, what emerged from between her lips was a long, forked serpent's tongue.
Ethan shivered. The Snake-Snake Fruit fit her too well.
No wonder they say you don't choose the Devil Fruit the Devil Fruit chooses you.
Turns out, there's some truth to that after all.
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