Nika (Please Follow!)

Extreme cold descended, the biting low temperature spreading along the soaked warship, painting the entire vessel white.

Chilling cold air expanded, freezing the sea surface for hundreds of meters in all directions, causing it to sway in the wind and rain like a floating island.

Ice stairs connected the two sailing ships as, under the terrified gazes of the CP agents, figures that looked no different from minions but radiated terrifying auras rushed down the steps in rapid succession.

Shanks led the charge, a rapier in hand, leaping from the middle of the stairs and crashing onto the snow-dusted deck, kicking up a thick cloud of snow.

The suited man with pink hair and pale demon horns gritted his teeth, shook the rain and snow from his hair, and braced himself to meet the attack.

"Shave!" CP9 vanished from his spot using the Rokushiki technique, then, to the admiration of the Red-Haired Pirates, lunged straight at Shanks.

In an instant, CP9's fingers reflected in Shanks' eyes, a gold-splitting stone-breaking attack aimed directly at his throat.

Shanks was momentarily stunned, then laughed without any dignity.

He raised his sword, easily parrying CP9's strike, then lifted his wet head and flashed a malicious grin at his enemy.

"This is a robbery! Hand over the treasure on the ship!"

"!!" Fosford's face twisted in fury. "Pirate, this is a World Government ship—don't you dare get any ideas!"

Shanks looked at the agent, who had shifted from attacker to struggling defender, and his smile turned dangerous.

"You're making this hard for me, Agent!"

With that, Shanks put force into one hand and sent his opponent staggering backward. As the latter steadied himself, Shanks swung his sword again.

The sharp blade tore through wind and rain, cutting through the air with unstoppable force, and sank straight into flesh.

"Shlick..."

A flash of steel, and crimson blood splattered from Fosford's body.

Badly wounded, Fosford's face contorted, his eyes rolling back. Under the immense impact, he flew backward, snapping the massive mainmast in two before crashing onto the deck.

Having done that, Shanks sheathed his sword and began searching the ship for suspicious wooden crates.

On the other side, a giant beast covered in white fur walked alongside the snow and ice. Every step it took left a thick layer of frost.

Lightning flickered, briefly illuminating its horrifying form, allowing many soldiers and agents to see it in full.

A pale skull was exposed, and giant antlers jutted out, sharp and twisted like withered, gnarled ghost hands.

But just one glance was enough to make their faces pale, their pupils dilate, and their hearts pound faster.

"What... is that thing?!"

"Don't eat me!!"

"Mom!!" As its scarlet eyes swept over them, elite agents and soldiers crumbled under a fear tailored for humans, descending into incoherent babbling.

In her Wendigo form, Yelena had no trace of gentleness left, only a terrifying, ghastly demeanor.

She showed no mercy to the agents who had lost their minds to fear. Her sickle-sharp claws swept out, cleaving them into pieces in an instant.

Blood sprayed, and flesh flew.

One by one, black-suited agents armed with swords and guns were torn apart by those sickle-like claws, collapsing onto the deck without a sound.

These agents from various CP departments had no ability to resist Yelena in her Wendigo form, and ultimately died under the shroud of endless terror.

Soon, Yelena finished off the enemies the Red-Haired Pirates had left behind before entering the cabin.

Her eyes swept over the deck, littered with the corpses of CP agents, blood staining the snow-covered planks. A flicker of surprise passed through her scarlet gaze.

These agents weren't weak in the East Sea, but when facing her, they lost their will to fight due to a fear aimed at humans—this caught Yelena off guard.

Then, Yelena reverted to her human form, stepped over the remains scattered across the ice, picked up her warhammer, and began heading back to the Red Force.

On the way, she slowly raised her long-handled warhammer and brought it down directly on the head of the pink-haired man with demon horns.

"Crunch..." Bone and flesh splattered, a crimson rose blooming in the snow. The agent, who had been on the verge of waking, fell into eternal slumber.

Having done that, she flicked the blood off her warhammer, crossed the stairs, and returned to Louis's side.

Louis looked at Yelena with a strange expression, recalling the anomaly he had sensed in her fighting style through Observation Haki. He asked, "Your lungs acting up again?"

Yelena shook her head calmly and replied softly, "No. It's just that tearing those agents apart felt strange. I never thought killing them would be so easy."

She felt that the ability the Wendigo emitted—the one that instilled fear in humans—could be developed further.

Louis dropped the matter. The boost from a Zoan Devil Fruit was still quite significant.

Soon, Shanks and the others returned from the warship, carrying large bundles and small bags.

At sea, no one could guarantee they'd reach a resupply point before their provisions ran out, so they had gathered anything useful for the voyage from the warship.

They even found and collected several pairs of precious Seastone Shackles in the cabin. Unlike the ones that future Luffy would wear while still hauling boulders, these were standard-issue restraints that could render Devil Fruit users powerless.

At the front of the group, Shanks carried a small treasure chest in his arms. Louis guessed it was the Zoan—Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Nika Form—that the World Government had disguised as the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

"Whoosh..." Louis glanced at it once, then looked away, igniting the flames behind him.

Beside him, Yelena noticed this and, deep in thought, used her ability to melt the ice and stairs connecting the two ships.

On the other side, the helmsman smiled as he steered the sailboat, turning it away from the soon-to-be-destroyed warship.

For a long moment, the flames behind Louis surged high, golden fire coiling along his arm before spiraling and converging at his palm.

The next instant, the twisting, leaping flames took shape, elongating into an irregular golden spear.

Then, Louis raised his arm and hurled the Blazing Spear in his hand.

The scorching spear streaked through the air, piercing the rain and evaporating droplets as it vanished into the warship like lightning.

In the next moment, cracks spread across the warship, golden light bursting from the fissures. Then the entire vessel swelled, exploded, and a blinding radiance lit up the dim sky and earth.

With a deafening roar, the shockwave from the blast expanded rapidly, scattering the torrential rain and turning it into mist-like droplets flying through the air.

Beneath a clear sky, a three-masted sailing ship bearing a skull-and-crossed-swords emblem cut through the wind and waves.

Beside a row of large treasure chests, Shanks crouched down and flipped open the lid of a small chest.

Just then, Uta stepped out from behind him, craning her neck to peer curiously at the contents.

"Shanks, what are you doing?"

"Is this for me too?"

Half of Shanks's face was hidden beneath his straw hat, his expression unreadable, but the faint upturn of his lips was visible.

Faced with his daughter's confusion, he smiled and looked at Uta. "You may be my daughter, but this is the one thing I can't give you."