First Trial of the Preta Path

In the blink of an eye, they had inexplicably lost one of their own, and the pirates below grew unsettled.

"Damn it, not only can he fly, but he can make others fly too??"

"How are we supposed to fight this? We can't even touch him!"

"Why's our luck so bad? Running into a tough nut like this in the East Blue?"

The pirates were clearly panicking; some even started sneaking back toward their ship.

A minor boss among them fired a shot into the air, momentarily silencing the restless crowd. The pirates all turned to look at him.

"Pull yourselves together! We've seen all kinds of Ability Users in the Grand Line. Don't forget our captain's one too—being able to fly isn't impossible to deal with!"

Seeing morale about to collapse before the fight even started, one of the pirate leaders quickly spoke up to steady them.

Hearing this, the pirates calmed down a bit and started reassuring each other.

"Yeah, our captain made it through the Grand Line! The bounty's a hundred million Berries—Brand the Phantom! He's gotta have a way to handle this flying brat!"

"That's right!"

"Damn flying brat, you'd better not run! Our captain's gonna show you what real pirates are capable of!"

"Wait! Where's our captain!?"

The pirates froze, then whipped their heads toward the ship, only to find Brand, who had been standing at the bow, was gone.

"Did the captain already run???" Some of them couldn't help thinking in despair.

Up in the sky, Senga was still hovering in place, holding off for now. Because when the commotion broke out among the pirates, he had already seen the captain named Brand open a door in thin air and jump inside.

Suddenly, Senga turned his head toward an empty patch of space and spoke.

"Come on out. If you're planning to ambush me, I'd advise you to drop that idea."

But there was no response, as if Senga had just been talking to himself.

"Looks like you want me to drag you out, then."

Senga fixed his gaze on one spot, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Rinnegan · Yomotsu Hirasaka

This was a spatial ability demonstrated by Otsutsuki Kaguya and Urashiki in Naruto—opening a black portal in thin air to freely travel between different spaces. It required no preparatory moves like hand signs or markers.

Its downside was that opening the portal took some time, making it less practical in fights against strong opponents. But its strength lay in versatility, and right now, it was the perfect ability to use against a spatial-type Ability User.

A black void appeared in the space Senga was staring at, and Brand emerged from within it.

Brand's face was ashen.

Ever since he'd obtained the Door-Door Fruit, even when facing enemies he couldn't beat, he'd escaped countless times thanks to this absurdly broken ability.

Just now, inside the Door-Door Space, he'd heard Senga's voice and felt his gaze piercing through space itself, and a flicker of unease had stirred in him.

Still, trusting in his Devil Fruit ability, he'd suppressed that anxiety, biding his time for Senga to let his guard down so he could strike in one decisive blow.

But then Senga had opened his own Door-Door Space, exposing him completely. He felt like a young girl, dragged naked from her boudoir and put on full display.

He was truly done for. Seeing his proudest ability treated as worthless before Senga, Brand had already started thinking about retreat. He knew that with Senga's skill, escape was impossible.

"Can you let me off? I'll give you all my treasure—worth way more than my bounty!" Face didn't matter anymore; Brand just wanted to survive.

Senga tilted his head. "But if I kill you, all of that will be mine anyway."

"No! It's different! If I die, you'll never find it!" Brand hurriedly said.

His treasure was stored in his own Door-Door Space. If he died, that space would vanish. Even the next Ability User to awaken the fruit wouldn't open the same space. It was his last lifeline.

But the next scene made him despair.

Senga used the same move again, pulling countless chests out of a black void—chests filled with the wealth Brand had hoarded over the years.

"Damn it, I'll take you down with me!" With his final trump card gone, Brand went berserk.

"Armament!" A layer of black material coated Brand's right fist as he punched straight at Senga's face.

Brand stared in disbelief as his full-powered strike was effortlessly caught in Senga's palm.

"So this is Armament Haki. Looks like you picked up a thing or two in the Grand Line." Senga gave a slight nod of acknowledgment at Brand's blackened fist, then shook his head.

"Too bad. It's too weak."

Without giving Brand another chance to speak, Senga turned his palm into a claw and grabbed Brand by the neck.

Rinnegan · Preta Path activated

Brand's eyes bulged. He could feel his life force draining away rapidly.

He tried to struggle, but his body had already stopped obeying him. At this moment, all that was left was endless despair.