Hollow

Cifer gripped the blade. No matter how hard the Brute Dragon struggled, it could not move the blade even an inch.

"Then I have no choice!"

There seemed to be reluctance in the Brute Dragon's words, but they were also full of anticipation.

Remaining inside Jerry's weak, battered body required it to consume a great deal of its lingering soul energy for anything it wanted to do.

But if it seized the powerful body before it, then before it completely dissipated, it might be able to use Cifer's power to wreak the greatest possible destruction upon this small island!

The black aura that had originally coiled around Jerry now used the blade as a medium, continuously flowing toward Cifer.

"Sir!"

Seeing the black aura begin to gather around Cifer, Jerry's mother immediately guessed what the Brute Dragon intended.

The best outcome would be to lure the Brute Dragon into her own body!

She was already frail and sickly. If the Brute Dragon possessed her, it would not be able to wield much power at all.

The woman tried to push aside her daughter, who stood in front of her, only to find that Jamie was as immovable as a boulder. She wanted to protect her mother!

In the blink of an eye, Jerry realized that he had regained control of his body, while the blade had fallen into Cifer's hand, his entire body wrapped in black aura.

While Cifer was still dazed, he hurriedly pushed his mother and sister aside, away from Cifer.

With the great villain and the Brute Dragon's soul combined, he felt that all of Loguetown might be destroyed because of his choice, becoming just as the Brute Dragon had shown him.

"La la la la la~ What... overwhelming power!"

"Cifer" swung an arm, and a powerful aura spread like a tide. The sky, which had gradually cleared as the Brute Dragon's strength faded, was once again covered in dark clouds.

"Is that... the legendary Brute Dragon?!"

Smoker, who had stopped his vehicle, wore a grave expression. He had heard stories about the Brute Dragon as a child, but he had never expected such a troublesome thing to possess another troublesome person.

Feeling the immense power emanating from Cifer's body, Smoker felt that Loguetown was in for serious trouble.

"Hey~ Are you done playing? As Captain of the Gods, I don't believe you'd be controlled so easily."

Enel stood beside Smoker, his eyes full of disdain. From beginning to end, his expression had not changed.

As the man who had defeated him, and the World's Strongest Man at that, if Cifer could be controlled by such trash so easily, then Enel must have been blind as a bat.

"This guy is your captain? Then don't do anything reckless! Blades have no eyes!"

"My lingering soul won't last much longer anyway. Once I finish what I need to do, I'll naturally return the body to your captain!"

Upon hearing that the body it occupied belonged to Enel's captain, the Brute Dragon was overjoyed. Of everyone present, Enel was the only one it feared.

As long as Enel did not oppose it, it could do whatever it wanted.

The Brute Dragon felt that success was at hand. From Jerry's memories, it had seen that Cifer was a pirate with an extremely high Bounty, which meant he was also a great villain!

Since they were both bad people, even if it committed evil using his body, his companions would not mind.

Then, the Brute Dragon suddenly noticed something strange. When it had occupied Jerry's body, it had clearly seen his memories, so why had it not seen the memories of this body?

Besides, even a weak child had been able to slightly resist its control, yet ever since it entered this body, it had felt no resistance at all.

Suddenly, the world spun around it.

To everyone else, the Brute Dragon had merely frozen for a moment. But in truth, its consciousness had already been pulled into Cifer's mental world.

The Brute Dragon appeared in a vast white forest. Countless towering trees blotted out the sky, while white gravel covered the ground. As a dragon, it felt fear for only the second time in its life!

It had clearly taken over that man's body, yet its consciousness had been passively brought elsewhere. There was no doubt that Cifer had dragged it into his mental space.

That meant the man's soul was far, far stronger than its own—so much stronger that it could not even sense the gap between them.

An aura of extinction filled the surroundings. Though the Brute Dragon saw nothing, it felt as if something had surrounded it.

It could not sense the aura of any living creature, but it knew something was watching it—many, many things!

"Stop playing tricks and come out, dragon!"

Summoning its courage, the Brute Dragon shouted into the forest. Its voice seemed to travel far away, yet also seemed not to leave at all. Echoes lingered by its ears, making its scalp tingle.

The echoes drew closer and closer, but the sounds reaching the Brute Dragon's ears seemed to grow shriller, sending a chill down its spine.

Ripples suddenly spread through space. Following the sound, the Brute Dragon saw the surrounding space being torn apart from the middle as though it were cloth.

Pairs of enormous, pale hands tore open the rifts. Heads wearing white Long Nose masks appeared in the air, their horrifying eyes all turning toward the Brute Dragon.

"What are these monsters..."

The Brute Dragon's lingering soul was on the verge of collapse from terror. It had survived for centuries, yet it had never heard of such terrifying creatures existing in this world.

Though a mental space could be constructed through one's strength and imagination, things could be fabricated, but their aura could not.

Unless he had seen them before!

The Brute Dragon could not imagine it. These monsters were filled with the aura of death. As an evil man who had slaughtered countless people, there was no way it could mistake that unmistakable feeling!

It looked around. It was now surrounded by countless monsters over fifty meters tall, their bodies nearly pure black.

Surrounded so completely, the Brute Dragon was like a tiny mouse eyed by a pack of beasts. Beneath their enormous bodies, its once awe-inspiring dragon form had become a mere loach.

"A mere incomplete Hollow dares challenge me?"

Cifer's voice finally descended from the sky. The Brute Dragon looked up and saw that man standing in the heavens!

"Have some trash snacks!"

Upon receiving Cifer's command, the Adjuchas surrounding the Brute Dragon sprang into action, extending their massive hands toward it.

"No!!!"

Ignoring the Brute Dragon's helpless, despairing gaze, Cifer tore open space with his bare hands.

"In your next life, remember who I am and stay far away."

In Cifer's final glance, the Brute Dragon was torn to pieces by several Adjuchas and stuffed into their mouths.

Back in reality.

"You guessed right. Too bad there's no reward."

The black aura wrapped around Cifer began to dissipate. Looking at the fine blade in his hand, Cifer casually answered Enel.

"The Brute Dragon actually..."

The woman was the most shocked of all. As a descendant of the Dragon Slayer, no one understood the Brute Dragon's terror better than she did.

Even with only a lingering soul left, its strength was beyond question. Yet in this man's hands, it had been annihilated in an instant.

"Should I say that's just like you, Ulquiorra?"

Though he had been scared into a cold sweat, things had finally turned in a better direction. Smoker let out a sigh of relief, and the cigar he had nearly bitten through was finally spared.

"Huh?"

Seeing that the famous Base Captain Smoker seemed to know Cifer, Jerry felt as if his brain had crashed.

"Colonel Smoker! This man is a Great Pirate with an insanely high Bounty!"

Gathering his courage, Jerry pointed at Cifer and shouted. If not for this guy, how could he have drawn the Brute Dragon and nearly caused a catastrophe?

"Uh... Haven't you read the newspapers?"

Smoker scratched his head helplessly. This kid's information was far too outdated.

"Huh?"

Now it was Jerry's turn to scratch his head. As an expert at saving money, how could he possibly spend money on newspapers?

"This guy is one of the newly appointed Shichibukai. Simply put, you can think of him as a special kind of Marine—this applies only to him."

Though he hated the Shichibukai system, as a well-informed elite from Headquarters, Smoker still highly approved of Cifer.

"Huh?!"