In the blink of an eye, one of their comrades was taken out without anyone even understanding how. The pirates below began to panic.
"Damn it, he can not only fly himself—he can make others fly too??"
"How are we supposed to fight that? We can't even touch him!"
"Why are we so unlucky? How did we run into a monster like this even in the East Blue?!"
The pirates were clearly rattled. Some of them even began quietly inching their way back toward the rest of their crew.
Bang!
One of the small-time pirate leaders fired a shot into the air, momentarily silencing the unrest. The crowd of pirates turned to look at him.
"Pull yourselves together! We've seen all kinds of Devil Fruit powers in the Grand Line—don't forget, our captain's a Devil Fruit user too. Flying isn't unbeatable!"
The pirate leader could see morale was about to collapse before a single blow had been exchanged. He quickly stepped up to stabilize the group.
Hearing that, the pirates settled down slightly and began muttering reassurances to themselves.
"Yeah, our captain carved his way through the Grand Line! He's Demon Trace Brand, with a bounty of 100 million Belly—he'll definitely have a way to handle that flying brat!"
"That's right!"
"Damn flying brat! You'd better not run away—our captain's gonna show you just how terrifying pirates can be!"
"Wait! Where is our captain!?"
The pirates froze for a moment, then quickly turned their heads to look at the ship—only to find that the captain who had been standing on the bow just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't tell me... he already ran???" A wave of despair rippled through them.
...
Up above, Kaito still hovered calmly in the air, not making a move. He had noticed the moment the pirate crew started to panic: the man called Brand had opened a door in thin air and vanished inside.
Suddenly, Kaito turned to a seemingly empty patch of space and spoke.
"Come out. If you're planning a sneak attack, I'd suggest dropping the idea."
But there was no response—it was as if Kaito had simply spoken to himself.
"So... you want me to drag you out, huh?"
Kaito narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on one point in space.
Rinnegan: Yomotsu Hirasaka.
A spatial technique once demonstrated by Kaguya in Naruto—extremely useful for crossing dimensions.
The portal doesn't open instantly, so it's not ideal in direct combat with strong opponents. But it's incredibly versatile, and against a space-type ability user, it's easily the best option.
Suddenly, a black void opened up in midair—exactly where Kaito had been staring—and from it, Brand was yanked into the open.
His face was pale and ashen.
Ever since obtaining the Door-Door Fruit, Brand had always relied on its overpowered ability to escape from any hopeless situation. No matter the enemy, he could always slip away.
Just now, inside his Door-Door space, he had heard Kaito's voice—and felt the weight of that gaze staring straight through the dimensions at him. A ripple of unease passed through his mind.
But trusting in his fruit's power, he'd calmed himself, choosing to bide his time and wait for a chance to strike when Kaito let his guard down.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Kaito to forcibly open his own dimensional space—dragging him out like a girl being yanked naked out of her bedroom.
He was done for.
His strongest, most trusted ability was completely useless before this man.
Brand was already thinking of retreat. He knew with Kaito's spatial control, there was no way he'd escape.
"Spare me! I'll give you all my treasure—it's worth more than my bounty, I swear!"
At this point, pride didn't matter. Brand just wanted to live.
Kaito tilted his head. "But if I kill you, won't it all be mine anyway?"
"No! It's not the same! If I die, you'll never find it!"
Brand blurted out the words in a panic.
His treasure was, of course, hidden inside his personal Door-Door dimension. If he died, that space would collapse. Even if another user inherited the Door-Door Fruit, it wouldn't be the same space.
That was his last card.
But what happened next shattered his last hope.
Kaito once again used the same technique—and from a black portal, countless treasure chests were sucked out, packed full of Brand's life savings.
"Damn it! I'll take you down with me!"
Realizing his last trump card had been destroyed, Brand lost it.
"Armament!"
His right hand coated in black Haki, he hurled a fierce punch straight at Kaito's face.
Smack!
Brand stared in disbelief. His full-powered strike had been effortlessly caught in Kaito's palm.
"This is Armament Haki, huh? Looks like you learned a little something in the Grand Line."
Kaito glanced at Brand's blackened fist, acknowledging him slightly—but then shook his head.
"Too bad... it's not nearly enough."
Without giving Brand another word, Kaito shifted his grip, turning his hand into a claw, and seized Brand by the throat.
Rinnegan: Preta Path activated.
Brand's eyes went wide. He felt his life force draining rapidly.
He tried to struggle, but his body no longer obeyed. All he had left in that moment was utter despair.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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