"Found me, huh? Then I guess we fight!"
At once, black smoke surged from Mislanda's left hand, forming a dense sphere of darkness.
The next second, he slammed it into the ground.
From that point outward, the earth began to twist and churn like a black sea instead of solid land.
"Dark Vortex!"
Mislanda's shout echoed as the shadows expanded rapidly, spreading in every direction.
Within moments, everyone around was swallowed by the creeping darkness.
"W–what is this?! What's happening?!"
Deep inside the abyss, Spandine stared in horror as his body began to sink — his legs vanishing beneath the black sludge.
"Damn it! Stop this! Somebody stop it!"
Three of the elite agents immediately launched an attack from three sides.
But before their blows could land, Mislanda vanished into the darkness as if diving into water.
The Dark Vortex could devour anything — and as the master of the Yami Yami no Mi, Mislanda could freely enter and exit it at will.
"Where did he go?! Find him, now! And someone save me!" Spandine screamed.
A moment later, the young boy's cold voice came from behind him.
"Save you? Keep dreaming."
With one swift motion, Mislanda pressed Spandine's head into the swirling darkness — and both of them disappeared.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the darkness faded away. The ground returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Mislanda knew he couldn't take the others head-on. All three possessed Haki, and the strongest among them even had a Devil Fruit ability.
He quickly pulled up the system panel.
[Name: Tarilles]
[Affiliation: World Government Agent]
[Devil Fruit: Zoan — Ant-Ant Fruit]
[Power Level: Diamond]
[Defeating Reward: +1000 Points]
A Diamond-level enemy, Mislanda thought grimly. With both Haki and a Zoan enhancement… he'd be crazy to stick around.
Mission complete. Time to disappear.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Saul had just stumbled upon Olvia.
"Saul?! What are you doing here?!"
"No time, Olvia! The Navy's coming — you need to get everyone off the island right now!"
He scooped her up effortlessly and sprinted toward the massive Tree of Knowledge.
Olvia wanted to explain, but then remembered Professor Clover's instructions — the mysterious ally he'd mentioned might just be this giant.
So when she returned with a towering figure instead of the one Clover expected, the old scholar nearly fainted.
"I told you to find Rayleigh, not a giant! Who is this?!" Clover sputtered.
"Enough talk! I'll get you all out of here!" Saul roared.
Without waiting for permission, he reached into the library and began carrying the scholars out in handfuls.
There weren't many true researchers in Ohara — Saul could carry them all easily.
But before they could get far, a spear of ice pierced Saul's right leg, freezing it solid and splattering blood onto the ground.
"Gah!"
He toppled over, groaning in pain.
When he looked up, a tall, lean man with a lazy expression was walking toward him, frost trailing behind his feet.
"Ah-la-la… Saul. Fancy meeting you here."
"Kuzan… it's you!"
The newcomer was none other than Kuzan, one of the five vice admirals leading the Buster Call — and the man who would one day become Admiral Aokiji.
Though both held the same rank now, the power gap between him and Saul was vast.
"Don't make me do this," Kuzan said quietly. "Surrender, Saul."
"Hmph! Surrender? Do you think that's possible?!"
With a roar, Saul forced himself upright and threw a massive punch toward Kuzan.
Boom!
The ground trembled.
But when the frost settled, dozens of new ice spears had already formed, piercing Saul's limbs.
"Arghhh!"
He howled in pain as his arms and legs were sealed in layers of frost, his body collapsing to the ground.
Kuzan sighed, walking past the fallen giant to face Olvia and Clover.
"Come with me," he said flatly. "The Navy won't harm innocents. I'll make sure of that."
The scholars exchanged uncertain looks — they had no power to resist anyway.
But just then, a boy's young yet confident voice echoed behind Kuzan.
"I don't think you should take them, Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Everyone turned.
Standing not far away was Mislanda, holding something gleaming in his hand — a golden Den Den Mushi.
Kuzan froze.
He knew exactly what that snail was — the Buster Call transmitter Sengoku had entrusted to Spandine!
"How did you get that?" he asked sharply.
Spandine must've been taken out — there was no other explanation.
Mislanda smirked. "How else? I took it. And unless you want someone important to die, I suggest you back off and let them go."
As he spoke, he quietly brought up Kuzan's data.
[Name: Kuzan]
[Affiliation: Marine Headquarters — Vice Admiral]
[Devil Fruit: Logia — Hie Hie no Mi (Ice-Ice Fruit)]
[Power Level: Radiant Star]
[Defeating Reward: +2000 Points]
Radiant Star, Mislanda thought. Still a long way from the powerhouse he'd become in the future, but already leagues beyond him.
Even holding the Buster Call transmitter, Mislanda knew he couldn't win if Kuzan got serious.
Still… maybe he didn't have to.
Kuzan frowned. As much as he hated the government's methods, Spandine was still a World Government officer — and Marines were technically under the World Government.
If he ignored this and Spandine died, the Navy would be in trouble for years.
Weighing his options, Kuzan finally nodded.
"Let me see him."
"Sure."
Mislanda snapped his fingers. The ground rippled with black mist, and Spandine was spat out like a wet rag.
"Cough! Cough! Ah—fresh air!" Spandine wheezed, gasping desperately.
He was unharmed — a sign of Mislanda's control over his power.
This was Dark Vortex Plus, a technique Mislanda had developed beyond Blackbeard's version.
It could absorb and compress targets — but more importantly, Mislanda could control the pressure inside, releasing them completely intact when he chose.
~~--------------------------
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