Kaguya was stunned for a moment.
She wondered if she had misheard.
A dainty little girl uttering such an earth-shattering phrase—it left Kaguya a bit dazed.
Seeing her expression, Ain clearly misunderstood and huffed, "Sensei, are you trying to go back on your word? You promised last time!"
Last time?
Kaguya blinked, then vaguely recalled something like that happening. Though it had been quite some time ago.
Back then, Gion had gone through a period where she frequently challenged Kaguya. But the gap in strength couldn't be bridged through willpower alone. So Gion lost, over and over again—thoroughly crushed each time.
It had become dull for Kaguya. Beating up a novice a few times could be satisfying, but doing it dozens of times? Not so much.
The only upside was that Gion offered some... benefits after each defeat. Things like massages or light skin contact—which became her motivation to keep showing up day after day.
Truth be told, Gion's figure was exceptionally good, and the feel—well, it was addictively smooth, like silk.
But there's no wall without cracks. These pleasant daily episodes eventually caught the attention of certain people—particularly one with a habit of tailing others.
Yes, Ain.
And so, these not-so-child-appropriate scenes were witnessed by the girl hiding in the bushes.
It was rather embarrassing to have one's own student stumble upon such a thing. Especially during... less-than-virtuous activities.
She couldn't let her student think she was a degenerate teacher, right?
So Kaguya decided to fabricate a convenient excuse.
Massage.
It helps relax muscles, relieve fatigue, reduce stress, and improve circulation—not to mention boost immunity. Perfect justification!
And why that particular spot?
Kaguya coughed and claimed it was for development.
Why was Vice Admiral Gion so well-endowed? Because of massage therapy, of course! It was an essential lesson for becoming the perfect woman.
After all, as the saying goes: "Without a full chest, how can one win hearts?"
Kaguya had delivered the line with a straight face, and the naive Ain had totally bought it.
What she hadn't expected was for Ain to take it seriously.
Even less expected—she actually came back asking for it.
"Ahem," Kaguya coughed lightly. "Ain, you're still young. You don't need that kind of... uh, training yet. Wait until you're older."
"But I am grown up!" Ain protested. "And Tashigi has already developed, but I haven't at all!"
Kaguya paused. "How do you know she has developed?"
"I touched her," Ain replied, using her hands to gesture the difference. "They're way bigger than mine."
At her words, Kaguya's mind involuntarily conjured up an image of Tashigi's curvaceous figure.
Yes... she had developed quite quickly—far ahead of her peers. Especially those.
Very soft.
"Please help me, Sensei," Ain pleaded, clinging to Kaguya's arm. "If you don't, I'll tell everyone about what you and Vice Admiral Gion were doing!"
Hey now—this was going too far.
If Ain spread that story around, it wouldn't even take a day before the entire Navy Headquarters heard about it.
Kaguya could already imagine the gossip and whispering. Who knew how they'd twist the tale?
At that point, Kaguya might just be tempted to wipe out the whole navy out of embarrassment.
Wasn't this basically blackmail?
Maybe she should silence Ain for good...
Well, not seriously—just a passing thought.
Kaguya looked at the adorably eager little girl in front of her, weighed down by the crushing guilt of conscience.
Was she really going to become a pervert teacher?
"Pleaseee, Sensei~" Ain kept shaking her arm, voice sugary sweet.
Fine.
Since she was being asked so sincerely, it would feel heartless to refuse.
Fulfilling a cute girl's request—er, fulfilling a student's reasonable request—was a teacher's duty, right?
With a sigh of resignation, Kaguya reached out and unfastened the top buttons of Ain's blouse. Slowly, she worked her way down, removing the top and the adorable bra beneath. Under Ain's hopeful gaze, Kaguya gently placed her hand over her chest.
...
When Kaguya finally walked out of the room half an hour later, she looked slightly dazed.
No surprise—Ain's soft, silky skin really was like satin. The tactile experience was unexpectedly amazing.
Sure, she wasn't quite on Tashigi's level, but Tashigi was several years older.
As Kaguya was still reminiscing, Vice Admiral Tsuru's aide came again with a message.
Tsuru had apparently been a stunning beauty in her youth, but now she was just an old lady with a face full of wrinkles.
"What is it, Vice Admiral Tsuru?" Kaguya asked as she entered the room, plopping casually onto a sofa.
"Urgent news from the front. The battle has reached a stalemate. The Navy's forces have suffered heavy losses. These unknown creatures... they're far stronger than we expected," Tsuru said with a grim expression. "I fear our plans must change."
"Change the plan?" Kaguya echoed, frowning.
"Yes," Tsuru said. "Reports indicate sightings of the creatures in Dressrosa."
"Dressrosa?" Kaguya's eyes sharpened. That was Doflamingo's territory.
"Indeed," Tsuru nodded. "I summoned you to ask—should we dispatch aid to Dressrosa or proceed with the original plan?"
Kaguya's face darkened.
Those idiots were raising hell in Dressrosa? That place was supposedly Doflamingo's turf, but in reality, it was a critical transit point for her Devil Fruit operations.
If Dressrosa was destroyed, all her prior efforts would be wasted.
"Of course we're going," Kaguya said.
She wasn't about to lose a valuable pawn like Doflamingo.
Meanwhile, in Dressrosa—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the area. A figure flew backward, crashing hard into a wall. He coughed up a mouthful of blood on impact.
That figure was none other than Doflamingo.
"ROAR!"
A massive creature, resembling a tanuki, let out an enraged howl. The booming sound shook the buildings and sent dust raining down from the rooftops.
"Damn it," Doflamingo muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth, his teeth clenched as he glared at the monstrous figure in the distance.
Moments earlier, he had been lounging on a bench outside the royal palace, basking in warm sunlight and enjoying a rare, relaxing moment of leisure.
Then, out of nowhere, this tanuki-like beast appeared and attacked without provocation. Caught off guard, Doflamingo had taken a heavy hit—beaten black and blue, two teeth knocked out, and his luxurious palace reduced to rubble.
Enraged, Doflamingo naturally retaliated. But after engaging the creature in battle, he realized it was far stronger than expected. This "tanuki" was nothing like the Sea Kings he had imagined.
Its strength was immense, its speed startling, and its body surprisingly durable. Even his Ito Ito no Mi (String-String Fruit) could barely cut the surface of the creature's sand-like exterior. Any wounds inflicted healed quickly.
For reference, in the original storyline, Doflamingo's strings could easily sever Little Oars Jr.'s leg.
This monstrous intruder was Shukaku—the One-Tail.
Originally, Shukaku wasn't this powerful. But after Kaguya had traversed multiple worlds and absorbed vast amounts of energy, her power had skyrocketed. Consequently, the tailed beasts had grown much stronger—far beyond their former selves.
"It hurts! It hurts so much! You hit me! Not even my mom hit me like that!" Shukaku shrieked, eyes blazing with fury. "I'm going to crush you!"
With those words, the ground suddenly erupted in a sea of sand, forming massive waves like a tsunami that surged toward Doflamingo.
Startled, Doflamingo flicked his fingers, hooking a thread onto a nearby cloud, yanking himself into the sky and narrowly dodging the sand's onslaught.
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"
Before he could catch his breath, a rapidly spinning blue orb hurtled straight toward him.
At the last second, Doflamingo shot several web-like threads from his hands, forming a net that managed to intercept the projectile.
BOOM! A deafening explosion rocked the sky as the orb burst into a fierce gale.
A razor-sharp wind blade sliced past Doflamingo's cheek, leaving a fresh, bleeding wound.
Veins bulged on Doflamingo's forehead as his jaw clenched tightly.
Even someone as composed as him was running out of patience.
With a low growl, he released a wave of overwhelming Haki. The ground trembled violently beneath the pressure, like an earthquake had struck.
With a thunderous rumble, the earth transformed into strings, writhing like tentacles, lashing out at Shukaku with lightning speed.
Just as the strings were about to pierce their target, a massive sand wall rose from the ground, blocking the attack.
CRASH!
The tendrils of string struck the wall with full force.
But to Doflamingo's shock, they couldn't pierce through. The sand barrier absorbed most of the impact, stopping the strings midway.
"Pathetic weakling! Hahaha! You think you can defeat me? Such naive thinking, little brat!" Shukaku mocked without restraint.
Doflamingo's rage intensified. His face darkened like a volcano about to erupt.
"Just a damned beast—and you dare talk big? Die!"
With a roar, the ground beneath them began to quake violently. Within moments, it turned into a vast expanse of white threads, stretching as far as the eye could see—an ocean of silk.
From this ocean, sixteen towering waves of thread surged upward, each one laced with high-density Armament Haki, streaking toward Shukaku at breakneck speed.
"Sixteen Holy Execution Bullets: Divine Judgement!"
But just then, the tanuki-like Shukaku twisted its face into a mocking sneer. "With that level of power, you really think you can beat me? Idiot."
As it spoke, Shukaku opened its massive maw. A black-purple orb wreathed in lightning began to form at its mouth, exuding an overwhelming aura that pressed down like a tidal wave.
Doflamingo's pupils shrank.
He recognized that black-purple sphere. If he remembered correctly, that technique was—
The orb burst forth like a bolt of black lightning, tearing through the air.
"Tailed Beast Bomb."
BOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion shook the skies. A massive fireball erupted into the sky, thick black smoke following it. Shockwaves radiated out in rings, flattening everything nearby like a natural disaster, reducing the surrounding buildings to complete ruin.
BOOM!
Doflamingo was blasted away like he'd been hit by a freight train, crashing hard through what remained of the palace.
The intricate web of threads he had summoned earlier dissolved instantly—evaporating like snow under the summer sun.
Spurt!
A mouthful of blood gushed from Doflamingo's lips.
He was beyond frustrated. That move—his ultimate technique—was created with the sole purpose of taking down Kaguya. He had spent years enduring humiliation, honing his strength through hellish training, all for revenge. All to finally face her and settle the score.
And now?
He was getting stomped by a giant tanuki.
It was like a man who trained day and night for an MMA championship, only to realize he couldn't even beat the old janitor.
"Oh right," Shukaku said suddenly, waddling over on his stubby legs. "Do you have any Devil Fruits?"
"Devil Fruits?" Doflamingo blinked, confused.
"No?" Shukaku grinned wickedly. "Then go die."
He opened his mouth wide again, and a Tailed Beast Bomb began to charge—this one several times larger than the last.
Doflamingo's eyes widened in horror.
This was bad. He was severely injured—barely able to move. He had managed to recover a bit, but it was nothing compared to the scale of the attack coming his way. There was no chance he could defend against that.
At this point, he had no choice but to retreat.
Just as he prepared to flee—
Shukaku's furry ears twitched. His expression changed instantly. As if sensing something, he turned tail and bolted. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
What just happened?
As Doflamingo stood there in stunned confusion, a white figure suddenly appeared before him.
"Well well, cause trouble and then run off, huh?"
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