On the deck of the Marine warship, lined with tense Marines, a sudden eruption of hatred and shock echoed as Shirogai appeared to take the full heat of Admiral Akainu's lava strike — or at least that was what everyone believed.
In the swelling strike of "Hell Hound," Shirogai's upper body was engulfed by magma. Only his lower body and one arm remained intact, magma leaked and hissed around him — yet he stood, unyielding.
The Marines' cheers of "Justice will prevail!" grew louder, the lava crackling as though in celebration. Akainu paused, brow furrowed in suspicion as he stared at the seemingly defeated pirate. He sensed something — triggering his Observation Haki — and spotted a hidden, murderous defense surrounding that "corpse."
"You think I'd fall for that deception?" Akainu growled, eyes cold as he surveyed the scene. "You expect me to be careless?"
The shock and horror on the faces of the Marines deepened. "He's still moving! He's not dead?!" someone yelled. "How is that possible? His upper body was swallowed by lava — and yet he lives?" another cried out.
Marine rifles cracked — bullets loaded with Sea Stone aimed at the pirate corpse — but one by one, they froze mid-air. Their trajectories halted as though struck by an invisible barrier.
"Damn it! Sea Stone bullets can't reach him!" a Marine shouted in disbelief.
Shirogai — cigar between his fingers — slowly touched the magma-scorched area, then casually flicked the cigar's ash into the wind. Sparks danced then disappeared. With a calm, deliberate motion, he raised the cigar toward his severed upper body. The magma bulged, twisted — forming a molten human-shaped torso once more. The crowd gasped.
Calmly inhaling smoke, Shirogai exhaled white smoke in slow rings, surveying the horrified Marines. "Akainu, your cigar has quite a kick," he said dryly, lips curling in amusement. "A bit much for my taste."
Akainu sneered, contempt thick in his voice. "A thief remains a thief. You hide behind others' Devil Fruit powers. You call yourself the Plunderer — but you're just a pirate who steals powers."
Shirogai chuckled, fist clenched as magma coalesced around him for a moment before being unleashed in a monstrous magma fist of his own toward a nearby warship.
"You mean this?" he asked softly. The magma fist slammed into the ship's hull with an explosive roar. The keel cracked, wood splintered, fire erupted, and the warship shuddered violently, beginning to sink.
"Abandon ship! Swim for the others!" Marines scrambled in panic, casting themselves into the water.
Shirogai watched them struggle in the sea, then turned back to Akainu, expression amused. "You want to kill me? Fine. I'll give you a few moves. But if you don't finish it — I'll sink one warship for every time you strike at me."
The magma around Akainu bubbled furiously. He glared, fists clenched, but then he relaxed — just a bit — disdain in his tone. "So this is your trick, Plunderer. Provoking me."
Unfazed, Shirogai flicked his cigar off the deck, strolled past Akainu, and began wandering across the warship like it meant nothing to him.
Suddenly, all Sea Stone bullets suspended in the air fell to the deck. Marines gaped, disbelief etched on their faces.
A nearby Vice-Admiral watching from another ship furrowed his brows as he recognized the strange phenomenon. "Look," he muttered quietly, "thin transparent threads are suspended two metres above him, forming a fine mesh that trapped every bullet."
It was like the ability of Donquixote Doflamingo and his Chop-Chop Fruit — that ability to manipulate strings in the air. The notion sent a chill through the assembled Marines.
"This kind of power… from a pirate?" another Vice-Admiral whispered, voice trembling. "We must report this to headquarters."
On the decks, ordinary Marines in dread murmured quietly: "Monster… This man is a walking nightmare." "Even Admiral Akainu… powerless." "If the Buster Call's bombardment could be frozen in midair… how can we fight him?"
Shirogai glanced around with mild interest at the astonished mob. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers once. Instantly, all the Marines who had charged him froze rigid, eyes wide, bodies frozen mid-move.
A second snap — the rest of the Marines on the warship went stiff like statues. Fear filled their eyes; their bodies refused to respond.
Akainu glared at Shirogai, silent but furious. The pirate's eyes scanned the frozen thousand-plus Marines, a slight smirk on his lips.
"At this point," Shirogai said softly, voice calm and low, "you know I control every life aboard this ship. If you strike rashly, everyone dies."
The warship lay defeated, its crew immobilized, and the chilling power of the pirate known as The Plunderer hung heavy over the deck.
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