Morning.
Eina stared blankly at Wayne's profile, her gaze tracing from his sharp jawline all the way down to his firm chest and chiseled abs, which made her unconsciously lick her lower lip.
Recalling yesterday's artistic exchange, Eina's face bloomed like a peach blossom; she didn't even need to press her hand to her chest to feel her heart pounding.
At this moment, she knew she had been conquered by this man, both mentally and physically.
He was handsome, tall, and dashing, the best-looking man she had ever seen.
He was generous, spending money without batting an eye, and she could have anything she desired.
He was mysterious; although he deliberately avoided discussing what happened that day, she knew this man was definitely more than just a photographer.
Therefore, even though she knew such a man was destined to be a wanderer, she still wanted to try, hoping that such a wanderer might change for her.
Eina gazed at Wayne in a daze until he opened his eyes.
"Up so early? Are you hungry?"
Eina didn't answer. Instead, she nestled against his chest like a docile kitten, her fingers unconsciously tracing circles on his pectoral muscles, her voice soft and alluring: "Mr. Wayne, can I be your exclusive model?"
Wayne: '...That tone! Those eyes! Something's not right, very not right. This woman is definitely smitten.'
Wayne's expression remained calm as his fingers gently brushed Eina's hair: "Of course you can. To complete my art, I need at least fifty exclusive models like you! And you, Eina..."
"You are the first."
"Fi...fifty?!" Eina sounded as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water, her voice changing pitch. "That's not what I meant! I was hoping..."
"I understand!" Wayne immediately interrupted her, his eyes incredibly sincere. "Don't worry! I won't treat you unfairly."
"Your compensation won't be a single Berries less, and when your photos appear in the magazine I publish, you, Eina, will surely become an overnight sensation!"
"You will become the dream woman of all men in the entire Grand Line... No! The entire world!"
Hearing this, Eina's heart turned cold. Biting her lower lip, she asked with a last shred of hope: "Is it true that there's only a transaction between us?"
Wayne sighed softly, his finger wiping away Eina's tears: "Eina, you are a great girl, and I truly like you, but art is free; it cannot be bound, it cannot be exclusive."
"So... let's maintain this pure artistic bond, alright?"
Eina bit Wayne hard on the shoulder: "Wayne, you're such a scoundrel! Waaah, waaah, waaah..."
After this, Eina no longer harbored fantasies about Wayne. This, in turn, made her feel slightly more relaxed.
After all, she was already very fond of the feeling of exchanging art with Wayne. If she couldn't have his heart, then she would fiercely have his body.
Two days later, Wayne suddenly left after giving her a Den Den Mushi number and 10.5 million Berries.
Eina originally thought she would never see this man again, but to her surprise, he found her again more than half a year later.
He said he wanted her to join something called Golden Media Studio... (T/N: I honestly don't remember if this was supposed to be cupid magazine or not. I might change it later on)
Long Ring Long Land Marine Fortress.
The once formidable Marine Fortress had now been reduced to a battlefield.
Cannons roared, smoke billowed, and amidst the ruins, a dark, steel killing machine rampaged inside the fortress.
"Too weak! Too weak! Too weak!!!"
Douglas Bullet casually slapped a charging Marine officer, sending him flying. Then, he looked around, his tone extremely irritable: "Is this all the strength you Marines have?! Where's Sengoku?! Where's Garp?! What about Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, those three monsters everyone talks about?!"
"I warned you in advance! I told you to call everyone capable of fighting! Not to send these nobodies at me!"
He had originally thought that by openly declaring war, the Marine, for the sake of its reputation, would at least send an Admiral or one of those three "monsters" to hold the fort.
But what was the result? All who came were mere fodder, not even qualified enough for him to warm up! This was an insult!
"Damn it! All cannons! Aim at that lunatic! Fire! Blast him to smithereens!"
"Heh... overestimating yourselves, ants."
Looking at the angry yet incredibly weak Marines around him, a strong sense of irritation and boredom welled up in Bullet's heart.
This kind of one-sided crushing was truly too boring.
Now, he just wanted to quickly destroy this place and then go cause havoc somewhere else.
If all else failed, he would imitate the most evil criminal in history and directly attack Mariejois.
He didn't believe that if he attacked the Marine's masters, they would still remain indifferent.
The next second, Bullet's arms suddenly spread wide, and a torrent of purple energy erupted from him as its center.
"Large Bullet!"
Gasha Gasha no Mi: Awakening!
The purple energy greedily devoured everything around it: fortress walls, cannons, ammunition boxes, even the warships docked in the harbor... all inorganic matter was engulfed by this violent purple torrent.
Immediately after, the all-consuming purple torrent violently contracted and condensed. Finally, a towering, purple-black giant, nearly a hundred meters tall, rose from the ground. Bullet, inside the giant, sneered:
"Ultimate Cannon!!!"
The giant arm was raised high, and a massive amount of Armament Haki quickly covered the entire arm, slamming down towards the earth below.
Boom!!!!
A violent shockwave spread out in a circular pattern in all directions. Wherever it passed, the earth was torn up and shattered like fragile biscuits!
Smoke billowed up like a mushroom cloud, obscuring the sky.
The figure of the purple-black giant was faintly visible in the smoke, like a demon of destruction.
"Hmph, finally some peace and quiet." Bullet waved his large hand, and a whale-shaped submarine ejected from the giant's arm, crashing into the sea.
Then, Bullet released his awakened state and landed on the ground in front of the giant, which gradually began to disintegrate behind him.
Just as Bullet was about to leave the island on the Catapult Ship, a man's voice suddenly came from the sky.
"Douglas Bullet, I finally found you."
Bullet abruptly looked up at Wayne, who was floating in the air, his gaze suddenly changing: "It's you! You're the one they call The most evil criminal in history, Griffin D. Wade!"
Wayne slowly descended to the ground, smiling as he spread his hands towards Bullet: "Indeed, that would be me."
The facial disguise device he recently purchased for ten thousand points was really useful. Anyway, not many people knew his true identity, and with the facial disguise device, he could freely switch between his two identities and do whatever he pleased.
"I came to find you this time for..."
"I don't care, talk to my fist!"