In the blink of an eye, they had inexplicably lost a companion. The pirates below grew uneasy.
"Damn it, not only can he fly, he can make other people fly too?"
"How are we supposed to fight this? We can't even touch him!"
"Why is our luck so bad? How did we run into someone this tough in the East Blue?"
The pirates were clearly starting to panic. Some even began stealthily edging back toward their pirate ship.
One of the pirate underlings fired a shot into the air, temporarily silencing the restless crowd. The pirates all looked toward him.
"Pull yourselves together! What kind of Ability Users haven't we seen on the Grand Line? Don't forget, our captain is an Ability User too. Flying isn't impossible to deal with!"
Seeing their morale about to collapse before the fight had even begun, one of the pirate officers hurriedly spoke up to steady the others.
Hearing this, the pirates calmed down a little and began consoling themselves.
"That's right, our captain made his name on the Grand Line! Brand the Phantom Trace, with a bounty of a hundred million Berries, will definitely know how to deal with this flying brat!"
"That's right!"
"Damn flying brat, you'd better not run! Our captain will soon show you how terrifying pirates can be!"
"Wait! Where's our captain!?"
The pirates froze, then hurriedly turned toward the pirate ship, only to discover that Brand, who had been standing at the bow, had vanished.
Could the captain have already run away? The pirates could not help feeling despair.
Meanwhile, Senga still floated in the air without making a move. When the pirate crew had started to stir, he had seen the captain named Brand open a door out of thin air and jump inside.
Suddenly, Senga turned toward an empty stretch of space and spoke.
"Come out. If you're planning to ambush me, I advise you to give up on that idea."
However, there was no response, as though Senga had merely been talking to himself.
"Looks like you want me to drag you out."
Senga focused his gaze on one spot, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Rinnegan: Yomotsu Hirasaka
This was a spatial ability Otsutsuki Kaguya and Urashiki had displayed in Naruto. It opened a black portal out of thin air, allowing the user to travel freely between different spaces. It required no preparatory movements to activate, such as hand seals or markings.
Its weakness was that opening the portal took a certain amount of time, making it less useful in battles against powerful opponents. However, its utility was immense, and against a spatial Ability User like this, it was naturally the best choice.
A black hole suddenly appeared in the space Senga had been watching, and Brand emerged from it.
Brand's expression was ashen.
Ever since obtaining the Door-Door Fruit, even when facing enemies he could not defeat, he had escaped countless times with this absurdly overpowered Devil Fruit ability.
Just now, within the Door-Door Space, he had heard Senga's voice and seen Senga's gaze seemingly pierce through space to stare at him. A flicker of unease had risen in his heart.
Yet, trusting in his Devil Fruit ability, he had temporarily suppressed that unease and waited calmly for Senga to let his guard down, preparing to land a decisive blow.
But Senga had actually opened his Door-Door Space and exposed him directly. Right now, he felt like a young girl being dragged naked from her private room and stared at from head to toe.
This time, he was truly finished. Seeing his proudest ability amount to nothing before Senga, Brand began to consider backing down. He knew that with Senga's ability, escaping was no longer possible.
"Can you spare me? I'll give you all my treasure. It's definitely worth more than my bounty!" Pride no longer mattered. Brand only wanted to stay alive.
Senga tilted his head. "But if I kill you, all of it will be mine anyway."
"No! It's different! If I die, you'll never be able to find it!" Brand hurriedly said.
His treasure was naturally stored within his Door-Door Space. Once he died, that space would disappear. Even if the next Ability User opened it again, it would not be this same space. This was his last means of preserving his life.
But what happened next filled him with despair.
Senga used the same move again, drawing countless chests out of a black hole. Naturally, the chests contained the fortune Brand had amassed over the years.
"Damn it, I'll fight you to the death!" Seeing that his last trump card was gone, Brand snapped.
"Armament!" A layer of black material covered Brand's right hand as he threw a fierce punch at Senga's face.
Brand stared in disbelief as Senga effortlessly caught his full-force strike in his palm.
"This is Armament Haki, isn't it? Looks like you did learn a few things on the Grand Line." Senga looked at Brand's pitch-black fist and gave him a little acknowledgment before shaking his head.
"Unfortunately, you're far too weak."
Without giving Brand another chance to speak, Senga changed his palm into a claw and seized Brand by the throat.
Rinnegan: Preta Path activated.
Brand's eyes widened. He felt his life force rapidly draining away.
He tried to struggle, but his body had clearly stopped obeying him. At that moment, all he had left was endless despair.
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