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Perospero stared at Jin, who was the picture of calm. He could see a deep, unshakeable confidence in his eyes, a strength that was not intimidated by the name of a Yonko.
"How exciting," Smoothie said, her expression cold. "A man should be this assertive and confident—provided he has the strength to back it up. Do you have enough strength to make an enemy of the Charlotte Family?"
She was a woman of great responsibility, fiercely loyal. She would not allow her mission to fail.
"Have you thought this through?" Jin asked. "Once we start, there's no going back for you."
Smoothie drew her longsword, making her intentions clear.
Perospero and Galette also drew their weapons, flanking her.
"Barrier Box."
Jin raised a hand, and a square barrier of energy formed around them, trapping him and the three Sweet Commanders inside.
He didn't want the collateral damage to destroy Hannabal.
A Devil Fruit? Smoothie noted.
"Butter Bind!"
Galette attacked first, a wave of butter shooting from her hands to control the battlefield and restrict her opponent's movements.
The Paramecia Butter-Butter Fruit. It could create and manipulate butter to restrain opponents.
"Candy Wave!"
Perospero also attacked, releasing a massive wave of purple syrup that pooled around the edges of the space like a swamp.
The Paramecia Lick-Lick Fruit. It could create candy and syrup of various shapes and could turn anything it touched into candy. Another control ability.
It was clear that their goal wasn't to kill him, but to subdue him, to teach him a lesson.
After all, he was a guest invited by Charlotte Linlin.
If they failed their mission, there would be consequences.
A crackle of electricity, and Jin "vanished" from his chair.
WHAM!
Before she could even react, a fist slammed into Galette. She was sent flying backward, her back hitting the barrier, and she was knocked unconscious.
"What??"
Perospero was horrified. He quickly waved his candy cane, creating a thick "candy wall" around himself.
CRASH!
The hard candy wall shattered into a thousand pieces.
An unstoppable force surged through the air.
Perospero was also sent flying, coughing up blood. He crashed to the ground, unable to get up.
Smoothie, stunned, acted on pure instinct.
"Juice Giant!"
Her body and her weapon grew to a massive size, her form wrapped in an invisible armor of Armament Haki.
The Paramecia Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit. Its main ability was to wring out moisture, to "squeeze" the juice from anything it touched.
She used her Observation Haki, and through the haze, she could just make out a flash of "lightning." The speed was incredible.
A fist rushed toward her, carrying with it an immense pressure.
It was like a bolt of lightning from the heavens. A blinding light exploded in front of her eyes, and a massive force crashed into her.
The punch, imbued with incredible power, slammed into her body, creating a sound like rolling thunder as electricity coursed through her.
Smoothie's body shuddered violently. She felt her "juices" boiling. She was completely paralyzed, arcs of electricity dancing across her skin.
She stumbled backward, the ground cracking beneath her feet, each step leaving a deep fissure.
The attack didn't stop.
After three more punches, Smoothie's back was against the barrier. She had nowhere to retreat. A final, vicious punch descended.
The blow was like hitting a water-logged sponge. A massive amount of liquid, of juice, erupted from her body.
She collapsed to the ground, limp and powerless, her body shrinking back to its normal size, tiny arcs of electricity still flickering across her skin.
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Jin returned to his chair and glanced at the three of them. They hadn't intended to kill him, so he had spared their lives.
'A ransom... three Devil Fruits in exchange for these three... that's not too much to ask, is it?'
'If they pay, that's six fruits in total. If they don't... I kill them, and it's still three.'
Jin was beginning to realize that having others "deliver" Devil Fruits to him was much more efficient than hunting for them himself.
Good deeds go unrewarded, while crime pays handsomely.
He was getting good at this whole kidnapping and extortion thing.
Especially with the Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords, who had their own vast territories and large crews, and thus, a much greater chance of acquiring Devil Fruits.
He had them all put in Seastone cuffs and locked away.
As for the five hundred pirates they had brought with them...
"Mayor Enru," Jin said, "your arena is still short on laborers, isn't it?"
"It is, a little."
"Wilson. It's time to test your men's training. The First Fleet will handle this. Anyone who resists... is to be killed."
At his command, Wilson, the captain of the kingdom's First Fleet, stationed in Hannabal, led his men to surround the Big Mom ship.
The scene drew a lot of attention.
"Is that... Wilson?"
"He's surrounding Big Mom's ship?"
"Did the negotiations break down? Are they going to fight?"
"Damn... that king has some serious balls. He's going after a Yonko's ship? Isn't he afraid of Big Mom's retaliation?"
The pirates on Smoothie's ship were also confused. They'd thought this would be an easy job. How had they ended up surrounded?
"Hey! What do you think you're doing??"
"Do you know who we are?? Look at the flag!"
"We're from a Yonko's crew!" they shouted, indignant, feeling that they had been insulted.
"Where is Lady Smoothie?"
"What do you want?" another pirate, sensing that something was wrong, demanded.
"Smoothie of the Big Mom Pirates and her associates threatened and attacked the king, a serious violation of the kingdom's laws," Wilson announced, his voice booming. "By order of the king, you are all under arrest. You have the right to resist, but any who do will be executed on the spot!"
Behind Wilson, defensive fortifications had been erected. Soldiers armed with Kar98k rifles took their positions. Others adjusted the aim of the cannons.
They were the new recruits from Drum Island, Hannabal, and Asuka Island, all of whom had undergone the formal training program Jin had developed, a hybrid of his home world's military training and the unique characteristics of the world of One Piece.
As expected, the pirates of a Yonko's crew, arrogant and unruly, were not about to surrender to a bunch of weaklings from Paradise.
"Dammit!"
"Kill them!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?? You think you can make us surrender??"
Wilson's eyes turned cold. He waved a flag. "Open fire!"
BOOM!
The 130mm coastal defense cannon, already loaded, was the first to fire.
A Haki user on the ship, intending to leap into the air and cut the cannonball in two, had just drawn his sword when the shell was already upon him.
What??
He was stunned. The shell wasn't round; it was a pointed cone. And it was much faster than he had expected.
The distance was too close.
This coastal defense cannon was one of Jin's own "creations." Its shells traveled at three times the speed of sound.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A single shell was all it took. The ship was blown in half, the people on board sent flying by the massive explosion, their bodies torn to pieces.
To make matters worse, the explosion had set off the ship's powder magazine, and a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
But the individuals in the world of One Piece were truly tough.
Even in the face of such a powerful explosion, half of the pirates had survived. They leaped ashore and charged, their swords drawn.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Kar98k rifles opened fire, their faster bullets, higher rate of fire, and greater destructive power tearing through flesh and bone.
Blood sprayed through the air as one pirate after another fell to the ground.
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