Battle Against Black Maria

Black Maria's expression shifted slightly. Yota had clearly hit the nail on the head.

In truth, among Kaido Pirates' senior officers, Black Maria was the least fond of fighting. Throwing her weight around against the weak was fine, but asking her to join expeditions or fight bitter battles? She would rather pass.

Despite that temperament, she had still become one of the Tobi Roppo in Kaido Pirates. Her status even seemed faintly higher than that of the other Tobi Roppo, and she enjoyed Kaido's trust entirely because, well... she was Kaido's mistress.

Pillow talk was more powerful than anything for a man. Even though Kaido had the temperament of a ruthless tyrant, greatly reducing its effect, Black Maria still held a special position within Kaido Pirates.

For example, while the entire crew had gone out on this expedition, Black Maria had been left behind to guard their lair.

As for why Yamato and Ace were fighting fiercely outside while Black Maria had not gone out to help—you had to understand that while she was not much older than Yamato, she was Yamato's stepmother!

It would have been truly strange if the two of them had gotten along well!

Go out and face the enemy alongside Yamato? Yamato already had little patience for the Beasts Pirates, and she disliked Maria, her young stepmother, even more. If Maria had really dared to go out, Ace could have beaten her to death while Yamato stood nearby applauding.

That was also why Ace had never encountered Black Maria in the original story.

A little thought made it obvious. No matter how careless Kaido was, no matter how much faith he had in Wano Country's natural defenses, he could not possibly take every officer in his crew with him and leave only Yamato, that unfilial child, to guard the house! Was he not afraid some reckless pirates would overturn his lair?

He was not like the Red Hair Pirates, so poor they could barely scrape together a hundred million Beli aboard their ship, with nothing left but their reputation.

Wano Country's common people might have been poor, but Wano Country itself was anything but poor! This was the sole source of Sake Iron Ore and Sea Stone, and it also had countless skilled craftsmen and stonemasons.

Kaido had built up his forces in Wano Country. His lair was filled with gold and silver treasures, famed blades and swords, and even Devil Fruits! How could he possibly leave it unguarded?

Still, given Kaido's personality, leaving behind Black Maria and Yamato was already the limit. They could handle ordinary pirate crews. As for the other Four Emperors Crews, unless they wanted to start an all-out war with him, they would never raid his lair.

In fact, Black Maria had mainly been left behind to keep an eye on Yamato.

Yet they had run into hotheaded fools like the Spade Pirates—and powerful hotheaded fools at that.

"Heh, beautiful lady, you dare stop me all by yourself?" Yota sneered. His tone made it seem as though he did not consider Black Maria and her half-human, half-demon underlings a fighting force at all. A faint metallic sheen flickered across his body.

Black Maria's face darkened. She was still a senior officer of Kaido Pirates. While there had been other factors behind her rise to power, her actual combat strength was on the same level as the other Tobi Roppo. Being looked down on so blatantly by Yota naturally stirred up her anger.

Despite her fury, she remained calm. Waving the Rinnegan Rod in her hand, she did not charge straight at him. Instead, she shouted to her subordinates, "Get him! Kill this brat!"

Among the Beasts Pirates, Black Maria's subordinates could only be considered somewhat capable elite grunts, or minor officers. There was no way they could be Yota's match.

Of course, even if Black Maria did not know Yota's exact strength, she could vaguely sense his aura. These subordinates were merely a cover, meant to test him on one hand and conceal her poison gas attack on the other.

"Hmm, this should be some kind of mental toxin, right? But trying to use poison against a Medical-nin... you're really showing off before an expert." Yota sniffed the air and spoke with a cold smile.

As he spoke, Yota formed hand seals. "Genjutsu—Hell Viewing Technique!"

The Hell Viewing Technique was an entry-level genjutsu, and the only offensive genjutsu Yota had learned in the past six months. It targeted human psychology, making people see the scene they feared most in their hearts.

When Kakashi tested Team 7 in the original story, he had used this genjutsu on Sakura. After falling under the illusion, Sakura had seen Sasuke covered from head to toe in kunai.

A genjutsu that could be used on newly graduated genin could not possibly be that powerful, but how could anyone in the Pirate World have ever seen something like it?

In an instant, the faces of the charging "oddities" twisted in terror. They screamed wildly and ran around the hall in panic, looking even more fitting for their appearances.

"Lord Kaido, why... No, that's not right!" Black Maria was, after all, a Tobi Roppo-level figure. Though she had never encountered Chakra-based genjutsu, she was only confused for a moment. She spread her Observation Haki and immediately broke free from the illusion.

Seeing that her poison gas had not only done nothing to Yota, but had instead been turned against her, the massive spider beauty finally lost her patience. Her cumbersome kimono fell away in an instant, and the Rinnegan Rod in her hand came crashing down on his head.

"Furisode Rinnegan Rod!"

With a thunderous boom, Yota was sent flying. Black Maria laughed sweetly. "Little brother, don't get distracted in the middle of a fight."

Yota climbed to his feet, his face flushed red with a hint of black. Being sent flying so easily just now truly made him feel embarrassed.

But he could not help it. He was a man, after all. Seeing such massive frontal armor so suddenly, getting a little distracted was perfectly normal.

Maria might have spoken affectionately, but her hands showed no mercy. Before Yota had even risen fully, the spider body on her lower half opened its huge mouth and spewed flames.

"Enjo Maria!"

A fierce torrent of fire erupted. Though Yota had no idea how a Rosamygale Grauvogeli Tarantula could breathe fire, he had long since prepared himself.

He opened his mouth wide, generating a terrifying suction force. Every last flame was swallowed whole. Then, terrifying fire blazed over his entire body as Yota charged toward Black Maria like a meteor.

"Stop Maria!"

White spider silk formed an enormous web, trying to halt Yota's charge. Flames could greatly enhance Black Maria's spider silk offensively, but when it came to defense, they became a fatal weakness.

Yota's flaming meteor blasted straight through. Stop Maria's white web offered no resistance at all. His fist smashed into the spider head on her lower body, and every bit of fire Yota had absorbed erupted from that punch, igniting her spider half.