Shiraishi's blatant taunting left Little Chaikaf awkwardly dazed; he didn't seem to immediately realize that Shiraishi had taken the gem with zero intention of returning it.
"You blew up our ship, and now you plan to just waltz off with my gem?!"
Several guards surrounding Little Chaikaf drew their blades in rage and lunged at Shiraishi. Unlike their slow-witted young master, these veteran pirates were far more ruthless, intending to chop Shiraishi down on the spot.
In an instant, a brilliant translucent glow erupted around Shiraishi. The moment a trace of neurotoxin was injected into the guards' systems, their expressions twisted dramatically, and they suddenly began slashing viciously at one another!
Mind control?!
Shiraishi hadn't expected the creature residing within the Poison-type gem to take the initiative itself—directly commandeering their bodies by numbing their nervous systems with a specialized toxin, triggering vivid hallucinations inside their minds.
It wasn't just Little Chaikaf's guards; even Shiraishi felt a specialized toxic energy attempting to corrode his internal system.
Compared to Articuno last time, this Poison-type entity was substantially more dangerous.
Inside the realm of his consciousness, the moment Shiraishi stepped into the pitch-black void, Articuno let out a crisp, resonant cry as it materialized beside him.
"Articuno, are you worried about me?"
In response to Shiraishi's question, Articuno let out a sharp cry, unleashing a fierce blizzard from its wings that instantly intercepted an invisible, creeping toxin surging through the darkness.
It was a silent, insidious poison that invaded without leaving a trace!
Suddenly, a melodic, maiden-like singing echoed throughout the entire consciousness space. Countless rays of light converged, condensing into a mysterious entity bathed in a radiant, golden luminescence.
Completely shattering Shiraishi's mental image of typical, skulking Poison-types, the visual before him defied all expectations.
The mysterious entity lightly tapped its toes, morphing into the likeness of an ethereal maiden. Standing tall, her figure executed a fluid, arc-like footwork step to rapidly close the distance to Shiraishi. Sweeping her right arm, countless glowing golden tentacles merged into a single whip, snapping viciously toward his neck with a sharp crack!
A prickling, numbing sensation flared at Shiraishi's throat. Not daring to be careless, he pulled his body back with extreme force, tilting sharply to the left to narrowly dodge the lethal strike.
At that exact second, the hairs on Shiraishi's right shoulder stood on end as he sensed an approaching danger.
He knew it wasn't an illusion—a physical impact had already occurred, and even his consciousness space was being warped by her toxin.
A tentacle pierced straight into his shoulder, revealing its physical existence only at the exact point of contact, while the holographic projection of the mysterious entity on the other side faded away like a dissipating illusion.
At the critical juncture when the whip struck his shoulder, a surging, frigid airstream exploded from every pore of Shiraishi's body. Articuno's power flooded into him at that instant, rescuing Shiraishi from the grip of the hallucination.
It turned out that during the brief clash, the mysterious Poison-type had simultaneously launched a stealth attack directly against Shiraishi's physical frame.
The extreme, sub-zero air current erupted with a roar, unleashing a wave of terrifying force.
A raging blizzard burst from Shiraishi, temporarily neutralizing the entity's poison. Yet she didn't give up—her form morphed into a massive silver-bubbled armor, shielding against the invading ice while continuously releasing eerie toxins.
However, Shiraishi's true technique was only now coming to light. Within the raging snowstorm, Shiraishi and Articuno combined to execute a second move. As a massive tempest whipped up in a flash, the entity was caught in the updraft and launched into the air.
The maiden form assumed by the creature could not withstand the sheer force of Shiraishi's tempest. Thrown skyward by the powerful gale, she lost all balance, drifting helpless like a kite with a severed string.
Pouncing forward once more, Shiraishi closed in on his mid-air opponent. Pressing down with his left hand, his right fist drove upward as an endless torrent of freezing energy detonated instantly!
Though the maiden form was struck head-on, her figure dissolved into thin air the very next second.
A decoy! An illusion!
Shiraishi's heart stirred. Not far to his side, the maiden form reemerged, staggering slightly as she stabilized her footing. During this process, her true form slowly revealed itself:
A body composed entirely of translucent, glass-like umbrella material, constantly shifting without a fixed shape.
Nihilego!
An Ultra Beast of the Poison and Rock types hailing from another dimension. Compared to Articuno's freezing air, Nihilego's poison was colorless, shapeless, and extraordinarily insidious—making it a supreme master of toxin manipulation.
The primary reason Shiraishi had attracted its attention was the lingering photon aura of Necrozma residing within him, which made Nihilego feel a natural affinity toward him.
Possessing the identity of the "Radiant One," Necrozma exercised an immense influence over Ultra Beasts. Once Nihilego's consciousness awoke in this world, it immediately detected that faint, familiar trace of Necrozma's presence.
Thus, utilizing the invisible toxins residing within the gem, Nihilego had long since controlled Little Chaikaf, ultimately using him to draw close to Shiraishi's crew.
Truth be told, Little Chaikaf's intellect wasn't naturally low; however, Nihilego's mind control had forced him to hand over the gemstone ring in an utterly foolish, sub-zero IQ manner.
After this brief battle, Nihilego was immensely satisfied with Shiraishi's capabilities, opting to fully reveal its true body.
Seeing Nihilego reveal its true form, Shiraishi didn't hesitate for a moment. He commanded Articuno to manifest behind him, raining down a massive ice storm that instantly bound Nihilego in place!
Just as Shiraishi was about to step forward, Nihilego emitted another bell-like chuckle. Its figure warped and reappeared on the opposite side, floating in mid-air as it radiated a sacred, golden light.
A standard Nihilego was pale blue, whereas the golden Nihilego before him was a shiny, specialized existence, highlighting its unique nature.
This battle of consciousness had allowed it to experience a genuine sense of delight. As their eyes met for a brief second, Nihilego's entire form dissolved into a brilliant, golden holy light, illuminating every corner of the consciousness space from all directions.
It was thoroughly satisfied with this host!
The icon representing Nihilego on the silver glove fully activated.
Boom!
A specialized golden light flared around Shiraishi. Outside, the vast majority of people—including Little Chaikaf—had been invaded by the toxin, their entire nervous systems coming completely under its control.
What a terrifying ability...
Nihilego could split off tiny, jellyfish-like parasitic clones that silently invaded a target's brain to extract all their memories and information.
Of course, if the target possessed immense individual strength or had mastered advanced Haki techniques, they could naturally resist and ward off Nihilego's toxins.
However, the current Kingdom of Cartier possessed zero means to block the Sunagakure Pirates. After capturing Little Chaikaf, Shiraishi dragged him straight toward the central district of the town.
"Oh no! Lord Prince has been controlled!"
"Quick, go inform His Majesty the King!"
Although Little Chaikaf had been manipulated by Nihilego during this recent period, those atrocious, inhumane experiments had originally been orchestrated by his own hands.
Noticing the look of pure disgust on Kikyo's face, Shiraishi offered a faint smile: "Don't worry, I'll make sure this kingdom pays the absolute price."
Shiraishi was simply venting frustration on Kikyo's behalf; as for whether this would offend the Red Count, he hadn't bothered to factor that in at all. Even Moyard was left staring in utter, dumbfounded silence at Shiraishi's series of absurdly domineering moves.
Identify the Anomaly: Observation & Illusion Detection.
Madara and Kikyo detect memory manipulation in the local population, linking the town's atmosphere to human experimentation.
Confront Little Chaikaf: Seizing the Gem.
Shiraishi bypasses the royal guards and uses Little Chaikaf's arrogance to naturally take the purple gemstone ring under the guise of inspecting it.
Consciousness Duel: Confronting Nihilego.
Inside his mental world, Shiraishi and Articuno overcome Nihilego's hallucinatory toxins using a combination of sub-zero ice tempests.
System Activation: Poison-Type Bonding.
Detecting the residual aura of Necrozma, the shiny golden Nihilego acknowledges Shiraishi as its host, fully activating the second gem slot on the glove.
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