“Not bad for the ‘Empress’ with an 80 million berry bounty.
Even with a bunch of dead weight, you can still block this old man’s slash.”
Onigumo stood at the bow of his warship, his Justice coat flapping in the sea wind.
He stared at the black serpent — still ferocious despite its injured tail — coiled on the figurehead, and at Hancock standing protectively in front of it.
His expression grew darker.
Conventional methods wouldn’t be enough to take down the Kuja Pirates quickly.
Hancock’s petrification ability was too troublesome, and that black snake’s defense and strength far exceeded any normal “creature.” If they continued a head-on fight, even if they won, this special task force would suffer heavy losses.
“If brute force won’t work, then we’ll use that.”
A cold light flashed in Onigumo’s eyes as he gave the order to his adjutant.
“We prepared a special gift for Devil Fruit users.
Fire the capture nets!”
“Yes!
Seastone Capture Nets, prepare to fire!”
With the command flag waving, the decks of the two flanking warships suddenly opened, revealing dozens of modified large black cannons.
These weren’t for firing shells — they were specialized tactical weapons.
Bang bang bang!
Muffled launching sounds rang out.
There was no fire, no explosion.
What shot out weren’t destructive cannonballs, but massive black nets that rapidly unfurled in the air.
At every node of these nets were small stones emitting a cold glow — high-purity Seastone.
“Careful!
Those are Seastone nets!”
On the Kuja ship, Marigold, who had been on high alert, turned pale with horror when she saw the black nets, her voice cracking.
As Devil Fruit users, Seastone was their only and most fatal weakness.
It was like the solidified embodiment of the sea — upon contact, a user’s strength would be drained instantly, leaving them as helpless as lambs for slaughter.
“Despicable Marines!
Using such underhanded methods!”
Hancock’s beautiful eyes widened.
She kicked out repeatedly with her long, powerful legs.
“Fragrant Kick – Chain!”
Boom boom boom!
Strong wind pressure swept outward, trying to blow the nets away.
She managed to knock several aside, but this was a saturation attack from three warships — there were simply too many.
“It’s useless, Boa Hancock.” Onigumo sneered.
“These specially made nets are ten times heavier than normal ones, designed specifically to capture large Devil Fruit users and creatures.
You can’t escape.”
Whoosh!
Just as he said, although Hancock blocked some, the remaining giant nets still fell inescapably, covering most of the Perfume Snake’s deck.
“Ughhh…”
The massive, half-beast-form Sandersonia and Marigold were hit first.
The moment their skin touched the net lines, weakness flooded over them like a tide.
The two sisters collapsed like their spines had been removed, their giant snake bodies going limp as their weapons clattered to the deck.
“Sister… I… I have no strength left…” Marigold cried out in despair.
“Damn it…” Hancock’s heart clenched as she watched her sisters fall.
And in that moment of distraction, the largest net — big enough to cover half the bow — came crashing down, trapping Zane tightly on the serpent figurehead.
“Night!” Hancock cried out in alarm.
She wanted to rush over to help, but a sharp flying slash forced her to turn back and defend.
“Hmph.
It’s over.”
Onigumo looked at the black serpent firmly caught in the Seastone net, a flash of triumphant pleasure in his eyes.
“That snake may be ferocious with terrifying strength and even flame-like breath, but it’s most likely an Animal-type — Mythical Zoan.
In front of Seastone, no matter how strong a Devil Fruit user is, they become a helpless weakling.”
“Pull it over!
Remember, that’s a gift for the Admiral — don’t kill it!” Onigumo ordered his men.
On the left wing warship, over a dozen strong Marines immediately turned the winch.
The steel cables connected to the giant net went taut, trying to drag Zane into the sea or directly onto their ship.
However.
No one noticed the look in Zane’s eyes beneath the heavy Seastone net.
There was no fear, weakness, or despair as Onigumo had expected.
Instead, Zane looked utterly confused as he twisted his body slightly, feeling the weight of the metal net.
It was cool and a bit uncomfortable, but other than that…
He felt nothing.
[Ding!
Detected contact with high-concentration Seastone factors!] [System scanning…] [Analysis complete: Host is not a Devil Fruit user!
Host’s power system comes from biological evolution, System enhancement, and Haki!] [Conclusion: Seastone ineffective!] [Evaluation: This is just an ordinary metal net.
Aside from being somewhat heavy, it poses no threat to you.]
“Hiss?
(That’s it?)”
Zane blinked his golden vertical pupils.
He glanced at the two sisters collapsed nearby, unable to even move a finger, then at the confident Onigumo who looked like victory was already his.
Does this old guy have some misunderstanding about “non-Fruit users”?
People in this world had habitual thinking: any creature that could breathe fire, transform, or possess ridiculous strength must have eaten a Devil Fruit.
But he was a transmigrator!
A System user!
His power was pure, natural, additive-free, and pollution-free physical strength!
“Since you love making assumptions so much, I’ll put on a little show for you.”
A sly glint flashed in Zane’s eyes.
Right now, a direct confrontation was bad.
Hancock was tied down by Onigumo, his two sisters-in-law had lost their combat ability, and the Kuja ship was at an absolute disadvantage.
To turn the tide, he needed to play dirty.
So, under everyone’s watchful eyes.
The once-ferocious Hellfire Black Python suddenly went limp, as if all strength had left its body.
It sprawled out, head hanging weakly on the deck, letting out an extremely feeble, tragic hiss.
“Hiss…” (Oscar-worthy performance)
Then, he “weakly” grabbed the deck.
As the winch pulled, his massive body slid obediently over the side.
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere.
Zane, along with the giant Seastone net, fell into the sea.
“It fell!
That beast fell into the sea!”
The Marine adjutant on the left wing warship shouted excitedly.
“It’s wrapped in a Seastone net!
A Devil Fruit user who falls into the sea is as heavy as an anchor!
It’s finished!”
Onigumo saw this and finally relaxed a little.
The biggest threat was neutralized.
“Leave it.
Drowning is fine.
We can still skin it even if it dies,” Onigumo said coldly.
“Current target is Boa Hancock!
Capture those two sisters and she’ll have no choice but to submit!
Concentrate fire and suppress the Kuja ship!”
Underwater.
Cold.
Dark.
Silent.
A completely different world from the surface.
The moment he entered the water, the “dazed” look in Zane’s eyes turned sharp as a blade.
“Show’s over.”
Zane’s muscles swelled.
His dark-golden scales stood up, producing a teeth-grinding friction sound.
Seastone?
Get lost!
He opened his massive jaws, stretching them to the limit.
His two rows of diamond-crushing venomous fangs bit viciously into the metal joints of the Seastone net.
While Seastone itself was hard, the steel cables weaving the net weren’t.
Crack!
Crack!
With a few crisp sounds, the giant net binding him was easily torn open.
Zane slipped out like a black ghost, stretching his body freely in the seawater.
[Talent: Deep-Sea Intimidation (Passive) Active!] [Talent: Underwater Breathing Enhancement Active!] [Thermal Energy Perception — Activated!]
Zane’s vision instantly switched to infrared mode.
The engine rooms, power systems of the three warships above, and the life heat signatures of the hundreds of Marines became crystal clear.
“You want to capture my wife and sisters-in-law?”
“You want to skin me for greaves?”
“Onigumo, you’ve chosen the wrong path.”
Zane didn’t target the central flagship.
Onigumo was there, and its defenses would be the strongest.
His gaze locked onto the left wing warship.
That ship was on the outer edge — the one that had fired the most nets and pulled the winch the hardest.
Plus, that adjutant had been the loudest.
“You’ll be the first.”
Zane flicked his tail, creating almost no ripples, and shot toward the left warship’s hull like a silent deep-sea torpedo.
He reached the stern.
Zane saw the massive wooden main rudder that controlled direction, along with the thick drive shaft connected to it.
In this era, most warships still used mechanical transmission.
Destroying this would turn the ship into a headless fly.
“Heh, time to show you what a ‘professional driver crashing’ looks like.”
Zane opened his mouth wide, jaws stretched to the extreme.
No skills used — just the terrifying bite force of the Hellfire Black Python.
CRACK!!!
A muffled, bone-shattering sound exploded underwater.
The thick, copper-reinforced main rudder was bitten clean through in one chomp!
Not stopping there, he grabbed the broken drive shaft and spun his body violently —
Death Roll!
Creeeeak—!!!
The ear-piercing sound of twisting metal traveled through the hull to every Marine’s feet.
The left wing warship had lost its steering.