A Challenge

Fenrir Island, also known as "Snow Wolf Island," was the second-largest island in John's territory, surpassed only by the pirate island of Hachinosu.

Thanks to its excellent location and the trade routes surrounding it, Fenrir Island had once shown faint signs of rivaling Hachinosu Island. John had even considered moving his headquarters there.

But after weighing the matter, he ultimately gave up on the idea.

On one hand, the resources of Hachinosu Island and its surrounding islands were equally abundant, no worse than those over there.

On the other hand, considering the overall layout of John's territory, Fenrir Island was actually rather remote. Moving his headquarters there would practically mean giving up control over nearly a third of his territory.

Compared to all of John's considerations, however, this resource-rich island was truly flawless in the eyes of the hungry Beasts.

First of all, the island was not far from the Beasts' current base. It was practically in the neighboring waters, reachable within a day.

Meanwhile, Fenrir Island was separated from Charlotte Linlin's territory—the Totland Sea—by Hachinosu Island itself and a host of smaller affiliated islands. The distance was too great for her to realistically compete with the Beasts over it.

As for Shiki, his territory lay in the middle region of the New World, quite a distance from Hachinosu Island.

Furthermore, the islands under him were generally kept floating in the sky by his ability, so he had little interest in well-positioned islands. His purpose this time was only Rocks' Treasure, to expand the scale of his grand fleet.

"I understand, Boss Kaido! This time, I'll definitely take those islands!" Burufatt vowed confidently.

"What islands? What are you talking about~? Why didn't you wait for this little l—me?"

Oshi's cheerful voice came from outside. Then, two little heads, one red and one blue, poked through the doorway from behind the barrels.

Seeing the two little ones with only half their cowlicks visible behind the barrels, Burufatt could not help but relax.

"So it's you two brats. How's your Haki training going?"

"Hehe~ Haki is such an easy thing. A genius like me naturally mastered it with ease." Oshi crossed her arms and proudly raised her little nose.

"Oh? Then I'll have to test that later. Don't let this little genius end up crying after I beat her up~"

Burufatt teased with interest.

"Hoho~ You still dare challenge me even knowing that I've mastered Haki? You Minotaur uncle, you..."

Oshi's cowlick swayed. Having achieved mastery of her divine art, she had been looking for someone to test it on.

She folded her arms, like a card player who had already summoned a twelve-star boss monster, and curled her lip in provocation.

"Well~ I don't dislike brave people like you, but reality is cruel. I'll show you just how foolish it is to challenge a god! Hahahaha!"

"Uh... huh? Did you eat some Sea King whip these past few days? Why are you suddenly so arrogant? And my name is Burufatt, not Minotaur!"

Burufatt put his hand directly on Oshi's little head and vigorously ruffled it.

"Hey, masked guy, come outside and spar with me later too."

Obe spoke up as well, challenging King to a fight like a delinquent girl.

"Fine." King had no objections. He also wanted to see how much Obe had improved over the past few days.

"Wororororo~ How interesting! Later, I'll get a good look at just how much you two little brats are worth. If you fight well, I'll bring you along for a couple of laps this time too!"

Kaido had always been greatly interested in anything involving battle. At the same time, he wanted to see how effective Ra's teaching had been.

"King, Burufatt, don't go easy on them later!"

If the two little brats had already reached a level that satisfied him, then there was no reason they could not take part in this operation.

"Huh? We can go out to sea and have fun?"

Hearing Kaido's promise, the two little ones immediately perked up. They had already explored every inch of this small island in search of inspiration over the past few days, and they were starting to get bored.

But Oshi and Obe did not nod right away. Instead, they both looked toward Ra.

Seeing the longing in their eyes, Ra said calmly, "You can, if you finish my homework before Captain Kaido sets out."

"Ehhh~~~"

At the mention of homework, Oshi and Obe wilted again. Five days had already passed, and they still had not made much progress. At this rate, they would really have to go bare-assed.

"Huh? What homework?" Burufatt asked curiously from the side.

"Nothing! Perverted hooligan!" Oshi snapped.

"Why the hell are you cursing me for no reason? You rude little brat!"

After getting cursed for no reason, Burufatt had only made a fool of himself.

"Hmph~ Are you done with your meeting or not? If you are, hurry up and come out! I can't wait to beat you up!"

Thinking about how frustrated she had been these past few days, Oshi could not wait to find someone to vent on. Maybe after beating him up, her thoughts would suddenly clear up, and then—ding!—inspiration would strike~

"Worororo~ Let's go. Everything that needed to be said has been said. Now let me properly enjoy your fight!"

Kaido ended the pre-battle meeting and headed for the training grounds first. King gave Obe a look before following behind, and the group made their way to the training grounds.

Once again, it was that open clearing—

The training grounds were no longer as empty as before. After being ravaged twice by Kaido and Ra, then by Oshi and Obe, the seemingly reshaped environment had attracted some curious members of the Beasts Pirates.

Quite a few members had started using the place again for daily practice and sparring. After all, it was one of the few open spaces on the island.

"It's Boss Kaido! Why is he here?"

"Lord King and Brother Burufatt are behind him too."

"And that newly joined officer, her name was Ra, right?"

"Boss Kaido, why have you come here?" a combat squad captain asked.

"I'm here to watch a fight. All of you, move aside and clear the field for those two!"

With a wave of Kaido's hand, the pirates on the training grounds moved to both sides, leaving a vast open space in the middle.

"Hey, who do you think Boss Kaido came to watch?" People had already begun discussing it.

"No idea. I haven't heard of any captains arranging a fight."

"Could it be Taolong, the first squad captain? I heard he's always wanted to challenge for an officer position."

"Possible. Could he be challenging the new Ra?"

"Unlikely. A few days ago, Captain Taolong caused trouble in the cafeteria and got taught a lesson by Lady Ra. She only gave him one look, and he did not dare say a word before running off with his tail between his legs."

"Then who exactly are the two people fighting...?"

Amid the pirates' discussions, Oshi and Burufatt walked to the center of the training grounds.

When they saw who it was, the surrounding noise instantly fell silent! But an even greater uproar erupted right afterward.

"Ah, ah?!"

"N-No way! Brother Burufatt and that red-haired girl?! How is that possible?"

"Th-This... what's going on?"

"Is this some kind of prank? That can't be possible!"

"That red-haired girl isn't even ten yet, right? She's not even as tall as Brother Burufatt's thigh!"

"I remember she seems to be Lady Ra's younger sister. Maybe..."

"Are you ready, brat? If you are, then come at me." Standing in the middle of the clearing with his arms crossed, Burufatt looked down at Oshi.

Oshi showed no intention of moving. Instead, she let her arms hang loosely at her sides and calmly looked at the tall figure across from her.

"You make the first move, Minotaur uncle. After all, you're the challenger!"

"You little punk!"

Burufatt was speechless at Oshi's arrogant attitude and decided to teach this brat a proper lesson.

"Don't come crying to your sister afterward! Fish-Man Karate—Three Thousand Sheet Tile Straight Punch!" Without another word, Burufatt threw a fist coated in Armament Haki straight at Oshi's face.

"Damn! Brother Burufatt is serious! He used Fish-Man Karate right away!"

"And he coated his fist in Haki too. Is he trying to beat that little brat to death?"

"No! I actually like that red-haired girl. She helped me win quite a bit of money."

The surrounding pirates seemed to already see Oshi's tiny body being sent flying by Burufatt's massive fist. Some people close to Oshi had already turned their heads away.

Yet the expected sound of impact never came.

Just as Burufatt's fist wind was about to touch Oshi, she—who had been standing still as if she had not reacted at all—suddenly gave a wicked smile. Then she dodged the punch with an unbelievably fast flash step.

"Perfect Dodge, achieved! And now, Time-Space Rupture!"

Oshi muttered game terms under her breath. Of course, there was no actual Time-Space Rupture in reality—her dodge had simply been too fast.

A flash of red light streaked past. Before Burufatt's disbelieving eyes, a fist wrapped in crimson Armament Haki slammed directly into his chest!

In an instant, his body, enormous compared to Oshi's, was blasted backward like a cannonball.

The sight made the surrounding pirates' jaws drop, and some of their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

"Wh-What was that?"

"Brother Burufatt flew away! Brother Burufatt was sent flying by that red-haired girl's punch?!"

"Is this some kind of illusion-type Devil Fruit ability?"

"What was that red stuff? An ability? Or Haki?"

"It's over, it's over! I called that brat a little turnip head several times. She's definitely going to get revenge on me!"

Even Kaido put down the jug in his hand when he saw this, staring at the field with a surprised expression.

It was as if he had just discovered something incredibly interesting.

"Cough, cough~ What a powerful punch! And that color of Haki!"

Burufatt climbed up from the ground in the distance, clutching his chest as he looked at Oshi. "Red-haired girl—no, Oshi! You really aren't ordinary!"

"Didn't I tell you already? I'm a genius. It's only Armament Haki. As long as I feel like it~" Oshi remained completely unconcerned.

"Well? Want another round, Minotaur uncle~?"

"Hahahaha! Of course! It's been a long time since I've met a worthy opponent. Today, I'll finally show you what I can really do!" Burufatt lowered the hand clutching his chest and rolled his neck from side to side.

"By the way, little girl, you keep calling yourself 'this great me' all day long. Can't you be a little more ladylike, like your sister? What a waste of such a cute face.

"And stop calling me Minotaur uncle!"

"Want this great me to change what I call you? Then you'll have to win first. After all, only the victor gets to make the rules." Oshi still wore a confident smile.