“Huff… Huff…”
Onigumo half-knelt on the tilting deck, cold sweat pouring down like rain.
His left arm was in a horrifying state.
The wound where Zane had bitten him wasn’t bleeding red blood — it was smoking black.
The surrounding skin had turned charred black, and the darkness was visibly spreading up his arm along the veins.
With every inch it advanced, the muscle made a sickening “sizzle” sound, as if what flowed beneath the skin wasn’t blood, but molten lava.
“What kind of poison is this…” Onigumo gritted his teeth, a flash of horror in his eyes.
“Not only is it highly corrosive, it also carries extreme heat?
Even Armament Haki can’t fully block it?”
He tried to use Haki to suppress the toxin, but the fire venom was tyrannical, constantly devouring his Haki.
“Vice Admiral!
Your arm!” the adjutant shouted in terror.
“Shut up!”
Onigumo glanced at his swollen, purple forearm and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
As a battle-hardened Vice Admiral, he knew that if this poison reached his heart, not even a god could save him.
“I was planning to save this for that woman…”
Onigumo swung his right hand.
The famous blade that had fallen to the deck flew back into his grip.
Without hesitation.
Slash!
“Ugh!” Onigumo grunted.
His body trembled violently, his face turning deathly pale.
Plop.
A large chunk of charred flesh and muscle tissue was brutally cut off from his left arm and fell onto the deck, still sizzling and smoking.
Blood gushed out, but he immediately used Life Return to contract his muscles and forcibly stop the bleeding.
“Ruthless even to himself.”
In the distance, Zane saw this and couldn’t help but mentally give him a thumbs-up.
What a madman.
“Night!!!”
At that moment, a furious and anxious cry rang out.
BOOM!
The wreckage of one warship was kicked flying.
Boa Hancock had finally broken free from the two warships’ suppressive fire.
Like a vengeful valkyrie, she stepped through the air with Moon Step and charged over.
When she saw Zane’s head covered in blood and his broken scales, her deep blue eyes instantly turned blood-red.
“You dared… you dared to injure my Night like this!!”
“Onigumo!
I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!”
Terrifying Conqueror’s Haki pressed down like a physical force, making the air feel thick.
The tilting warship groaned under the pressure, as if it would break apart at any moment.
“Boa Hancock…”
Onigumo clutched his wound and stood up, his face extremely ugly.
A cunning, venomous monster snake paired with a rampaging Warlord.
The situation had completely spiraled out of control.
His left arm was heavily injured, severely reducing his combat power.
Continuing the fight might really cost him his life here.
“Retreat!”
Onigumo made the decision instantly, without hesitation.
Using Moon Step, he shot backward toward the undamaged main flagship.
“Trying to run?!” Hancock was about to pursue.
“Hiss— (Don’t chase.
It’s a trap.)”
Though his head was throbbing, Zane’s mind remained clear.
He stopped Hancock, his gaze fixed on the direction Onigumo was retreating.
The moment he bit Onigumo earlier, his Observation Haki had sensed an extremely obscure, icy presence leaking from the main ship’s cabin.
It wasn’t a human’s aura.
It was… something manufactured purely for slaughter.
“But you…” Hancock looked at the wounds on Zane’s head with heart-wrenching pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Hiss— (I’m fine.
Time to eat some supplements first.)”
Zane slithered over to the chunk of flesh Onigumo had cut off.
It looked a bit disgusting, but this was the flesh of a Vice Admiral proficient in the Six Powers and Haki!
The high-grade energy it contained was like a supreme tonic for Zane right now.
Gulp.
Zane swallowed the piece of flesh that still carried residual Armament Haki.
Gluttony activated!
Boom!
A warm current exploded in his stomach and spread through his bloodstream.
The splitting pain on his head quickly subsided, and the damaged scales began to stop bleeding and regenerate.
More importantly, the system panel lit up with exciting notifications:
[Ding!
Devoured Elite Vice Admiral flesh (contains Armament Haki / Six Powers energy)!] [Armament Haki experience +500!
Level increased to LV2 (Hardening enhanced)!] [Analyzing target muscle structure… Obtained Skill Fragment: Iron Body!] [Skill fusion in progress…] [Congratulations!
Host has comprehended new skill: Iron Body · Snake Scale Version!] [Skill Description: By controlling scale closure and high-frequency hardening of subcutaneous muscles, instantly increase body hardness by 5 times!
Can be stacked with Armament Haki!]
“Iron Body?”
Zane’s eyes brightened.
He tested the skill.
Buzz!
His dark-golden scales suddenly tightened and locked together perfectly.
His entire body became like a solid black-golden ingot.
“With this defense… I wouldn’t have ended up bleeding all over my head earlier.”
Just as Zane was praising the system, a heavy mechanical roar came from the main flagship in the distance.
Clank clank clank—
The massive hatch on the front deck slowly opened.
White steam billowed out, obscuring vision.
Onigumo stood on the command platform above the hatch, his face pale but his eyes extremely cold.
“I didn’t want to use this.
After all, this is just a ‘test model’ Dr.
Vegapunk gave me.
The combat data isn’t stable yet.”
“But against a monster duo like you two, I have no choice.”
Onigumo formed a seal with one hand and pressed a red button.
“Activation Code: PX-0 (Modified).”
“Target Lock: All members of the Kuja Pirates.
Extermination Mode.”
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed from within the steam, each step shaking the massive warship.
A sea breeze blew past, dispersing the steam.
Both Zane and Hancock’s pupils shrank simultaneously.
What appeared there was a seven-meter-tall colossus.
It had a humanoid shape but a bear-like massive build.
Its upper body was bare, revealing metallic muscles, while its lower body wore black pants.
The most chilling part was its eyes — no pupils, only two glowing red electronic lenses.
In its palms and mouth, golden light was faintly gathering.
“This is…” Hancock frowned.
“Bartholomew Kuma?
No, it doesn’t feel right.”
“Pacifista…”
Zane hissed softly, alarm bells ringing wildly in his mind.
Although this looked like an early prototype, not as complete as the mass-produced versions during the Summit War, the oppressive feeling was very real.
Especially the golden energy point gathering in its palm.
That was — Kizaru’s laser!
“That thing… can it be eaten?”
Zane looked at the high-tech colossus (mainly smelling of metal and energy) and drool unconsciously dripped from the corner of his mouth.
He had just eaten a Vice Admiral’s flesh and learned Iron Body.
If he ate this thing’s power core… could he learn how to shoot lasers?
“Hiss— (Wife, that iron lump is mine.
The rest of the small fries are yours.)”
Zane deactivated his Iron Body state.
Most of his injuries had already recovered.
He arched his body like a fully drawn bow.
The hunting season — second round — begins!