Under the subtle control granted by Life Return, Bellamy's long blond hair morphed into whip-like tendrils, dancing idly in the air around him.
Having rushed at full speed, Smoker finally arrived on the scene—only to be stunned by the sight that greeted him.
"Life Return!"Impossible! How could a mere pirate possibly know Life Return?! Information regarding X Drake was classified; Smoker's rank didn't grant him access to those files. For a fleeting moment, Smoker wondered if Bellamy was actually some deep-cover Marine operative. Such things weren't entirely without precedent in the long history of Marine intelligence operations.
No pirate Smoker had ever encountered had mastered the Six Powers to this degree. Hell, Smoker himself hadn't mastered Life Return! Most Marine officers, even captains, typically only mastered one or two of the Six Powers techniques. Someone who mastered all Six Powers and Life Return... that level of skill usually belonged to Vice Admirals, or at least Rear Admirals!
"This Bellamy... what is his story?" If he was one of their own, there should have been some indication, some subtle hint in the intelligence reports. But the final assessment from Intel Division was unequivocal: "Extremely Vicious Criminal." Smoker felt utterly bewildered. What the hell was going on here?
Unable to make sense of the situation, he decided to hold back and observe further. "Wait... How did the Hyena's opponent change? Where did that guy in the green suit go?" And also... the man currently held captive by Bellamy looked incredibly familiar. "Isn't that... Kuro of a Hundred Plans? What's he doing here?" Smoker had arrived too late to witness the preceding fight. He scanned the area again but saw no sign of the Vinsmoke. Clearly, some significant developments had occurred on the battlefield while he was en route.
As Smoker watched, puzzled, Bellamy suddenly released his grip on Kuro with his right hand. Instantly, two strands of his hair lashed out like ropes, binding Kuro securely in front of him. Bellamy then reached back, carefully collecting a single drop of blood from the scratch Kuro had inflicted on his back, holding it delicately in his palm.
"Trash," Bellamy whispered, his voice devoid of heat now, replaced by chilling malice. "Die screaming."
Kuro, seeing the look in Bellamy's eyes, realized what was coming. "W-Wait!" he stammered. But such pleas were not permitted.
Bellamy's right hand clenched, vaguely resembling a Tiger Claw. The drop of blood in his palm pulsed, then suddenly expanded into a shimmering, blood-red energy bubble. The instant this bubble formed, Bellamy placed his hand gently atop Kuro's head, then pressed the bubble down fiercely against his skull.
Kuro felt an explosion of agony, as if a thousand red-hot needles were being driven directly into his brain through the top of his skull. Unimaginable pain flooded his senses. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!!! AAAAAHHH!!!" In that blinding moment of agony, Kuro finally understood the true meaning of the phrase "a fate worse than death." Compared to this... death suddenly seemed like a blissful release. Kuro didn't know it yet, but this was only the beginning.
Smoker, observing from a distance, was startled by the sheer inhuman quality of Kuro's scream. He'd arrived too late to see exactly what Bellamy had done. But just hearing those bloodcurdling, tortured screams sent a chill down his spine and caused his assessment of Bellamy to plummet even further. "Is he... torturing him?"What the hell did Kuro do to provoke such a response? Torturing an opponent on the battlefield... this Hyena was even more vicious, more cruel, than the rumors suggested.
As Smoker was still reeling from the implication, Bellamy, having fully pressed the blood energy bubble into Kuro's skull, suddenly vibrated his palm violently. Applying the unique force-generation principles of Ashigara Dokkoi, he channeled a powerful vibratory force from his arm, converting his spring energy into a penetrating vibration that pulsed directly through the blood bubble and into Kuro's very being.
The initially small bubble seemed to resonate, expanding rapidly, enveloping Kuro's entire head and torso in a shimmering crimson field. It felt like a thousand explosions detonating inside his skull, inside his bones. The unimaginable agony threatened to shatter Kuro's very soul into fragments. Unable even to scream, Kuro instantly lost consciousness. Only to be jolted back awake a second later by the relentless, horrifying pain.
It felt as if countless invisible nails were hammering every inch of his body simultaneously. He felt his flesh being pulverized, his bones being systematically shattered into dust, inch by agonizing inch. He passed out from the pain again and again, only to be brutally forced back to consciousness by the unending torment. It was a hellish ordeal beyond human endurance.
Blood began to seep from Kuro's every pore, quickly coating him in a thick crimson layer.
"What in the... What's causing that bleeding?!" Even Smoker couldn't help but exclaim aloud at the horrific sight. "Bellamy, you damn..." This is utter brutality! Even Smoker, a Marine Captain hardened by countless battles and accustomed to death, felt a deep sense of revulsion witnessing such calculated cruelty.
"Just let me die! Please, let me die!" Kuro silently screamed prayers to any god who might listen, begging only for the release of death. But the gods, it seemed, weren't listening. The agony continued, wave after relentless wave crashing through his ruined body.
Gradually, Kuro's choked whimpers faded, his audible suffering lessening... until there was only silence. A thick, dark red fluid, mixed with a disturbing milky white substance, began to slowly ooze from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Bellamy released the hair-ropes and casually lifted Kuro's limp head, bringing the ruined face close to his own. "Hm. Couldn't take it for long, could you?" There was still a faint flicker of life, but the man himself was little more than a twitching, ruined husk. Kuro had lost all consciousness, all sense of self. He was technically still alive, but in every way that mattered, he was already gone.