"Byakugan."
Rakuya's low murmur fell, and the scarlet tomoe of the Uchiha turned into the milky pallor unique to the Hyuga clan.
Veins bulged at his temples. He lifted his gaze and let it drift toward Peach Rabbit.
Sensing his stare, Peach Rabbit tilted her head, puzzled.
She had no idea what a Hyuga's Byakugan could do.
The Nine Tails, however, was no fool.
"Boss... why do you have the Hyuga clan's Byakugan..."
Rakuya could not be bothered to answer the fox. He was very seriously observing Peach Rabbit, gaze tracing the curves beneath her robe, the faint rise and fall that made his throat go dry.
"Tsk, tsk. That's at least a B, right? No, a C... wait, C might be a stretch. Definitely not an A..."
He peered straight through the black robe and the fabric that framed pale skin. His blood ran hot.
If anyone from the Hyuga clan learned Rakuya was using their proud eye to do this, they would be leaping out of their coffins to throttle him.
"Nine Tails... what's a Hyuga? And what is the Byakugan?"
Peach Rabbit's cheeks were full of confusion. She had never heard those names. Were they some hidden family in this world?
"Young lady, the Hyuga are a clan from our world. Their trademark is those pale eyes. With the Byakugan, you can see through clothing to skin, even through bodies to the meridian network. In short, nothing escapes those eyes." The Nine-Tailed Fox grinned, then added slyly, "Which means that even dressed, Miss Peach Rabbit is basically undressed in front of the boss. Best not to tease him. He will not hold up."
"So powerful?" Shock flashed across Peach Rabbit's face, then realization struck. Her expression flipped. She yelped, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Rakuya. "You lech! Close your eyes! Close them!"
Rakuya did not care. He admired the view while offering expert commentary. "Wow... perky. And that bounce..."
Peach Rabbit's ears burned scarlet. With a string of little screams, she bolted out of sight.
When she was gone, Rakuya sighed and let the Byakugan fade. He walked over to the Nine Tails and brought his palm down.
Thump.
"Awwooo..." The fox crouched with tears in its eyes, looking up at him, thoroughly aggrieved.
"Boss... why hit me? Did I say something wrong?"
"Damn it. You talk too much. Think you're the only one who knows what the Byakugan does?"
"S-sorry, Boss. I won't do it again..." The Nine Tails curled up like a scolded house pet, a far cry from the swaggering terror it had been in the shinobi world.
"Buzzkill."
Rakuya clicked his tongue and headed into Ryugu Palace to go patch things up with his little Peach Rabbit.
"Awoo..." The Nine Tails hugged its head and let out a wounded howl.
Meanwhile, in the former seat of the World Government at the Holy Land, the land Flowing Cloud had smashed with a meteor was coming back to life.
On the vast crimson boulder, palatial buildings rose again, restoring the old visage of Mary Geoise.
In five days, Steel Bone Kong had pulled it off. The Government reemerged and order was restored.
Only one thing remained an eyesore: the red cloud emblem carved into the bedrock.
It was the mark left by Flowing Cloud, a reminder the Five Elders had neither the strength nor the face to erase. Letting that emblem remain, recording Flowing Cloud's feat, was the greatest mockery of all. A brand searing their pride every second.
"Steel Bone. Paint over that damned cloud," the bald Elder snarled.
"Yes, sir."
Steel Bone Kong bowed. In front of the Five Elders he did not dare talk back.
"My lords, there is something else," he said, face dark.
"Speak."
The sword-bearing Elder polished his blade without looking up.
"Rakuya, the one with what seems to be a hidden clan behind him. He captured our Marine brass. I crossed hands with him myself... and lost."
"You lost?"
That got their attention. All five turned at once.
"Yes. This arm of mine was torn off by that kid..." Steel Bone's voice was bitter.
"Torn off?" The Elders glanced at his right sleeve. It was not empty.
"Sea Prism prosthetic?" one Elder observed, eyes narrowing.
"Yes, my lord."
"Steel Bone, you have the strength of a Fleet Admiral. And you were not his match?"
"My lords, I request one of you accompany us to redeem our people. Once we have them back, we move straight to apprehend Rakuya."
"Ridiculous." The bald Elder glowered. "The entire Marine Headquarters cannot handle one brat and you want us to move?"
"My lords..." The Marine officers lowered their heads. Only Garp scowled and spoke up. "He ignores physical attacks. None of our blows landed. Tell me how we are supposed to catch him."
"Ignores physical attacks? A Logia?" the diminutive Elder frowned.
"No. He is not a Logia. He is worse. Even Armament Haki could not touch him."
"I see."
The Elders' brows knit. After several minutes, the bald Elder smiled thinly. "I will lead the team. He may shrug off physical strikes, but he will not slip out of a spatial barrier."
"Yes, my lord."
Relief finally eased Steel Bone's shoulders.
With orders given, the Five Elders moved back into Mary Geoise.
Five days of backbreaking work had nearly killed Steel Bone's men. They finished, and not a word of praise. The taste in their mouths was... unpleasant.
At the same time in the New World, Whitebeard was marshaling his forces.
In just five days, the main crew and sixteen division squads, totaling roughly 1,500 men, plus thirty-five allied pirate crews with a combined twenty thousand, had all assembled.
An armada of dozens upon dozens of ships waited only for Whitebeard's word.
At Marine Headquarters, steel warships gathered as well, a flotilla forming up to push into the New World under full steam.
Whitebeard's armada and the Marines alike were ready to pay in blood to take Rakuya down.
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