Black Cage Hina

"How could that be?"

The air seemed to freeze. Countless cracks spread through it like frozen ice flowers, each one forming a flat plane. Those planes passed through the iron spears, seemingly doing nothing.

Yet when it was over, the iron spears along those cracks all snapped apart. The dozens of ship-destroying iron spears fired from the five warships shattered in an instant.

The one who cried out was not a Marine, but Simon, who stood behind Rogge and had witnessed everything.

Being so close to Rogge and aboard the same ship, he was right in the thick of it. If those iron spears struck the ship, he would die with it.

Just as he had prepared to jump ship and flee, he saw Rogge do that. It was so unbelievable that, at that moment, he seemed to forget why he had come aboard this ship.

"I didn't expect it to be her." Rogge recognized the somewhat familiar iron spears. Within the Marines, only Hina used such a weapon. The Cage-Cage Fruit could create things like iron prisons. Rogge did not actually know the exact details of her ability. In the anime and manga, Hina had only acted once, when she tried to capture Luffy during the Marineford War, but Luffy escaped with the acceleration of Gear Second.

Her first appearance had been in Alabasta, where she pursued Luffy's group and captured Bon Clay. She had used this exact method then, turning the Going Merry into a porcupine.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

All the iron spears fell into the water, now reduced to fragments. Once they entered the sea, they actually vanished. Clearly, they were not real metal, but something created through Devil Fruit powers.

It worked on the same principle as Tesoro's gold. Once it came into contact with seawater, it disappeared. Such things were created by Devil Fruit users, and seawater suppressed all Devil Fruit abilities. Naturally, these insubstantial creations vanished upon touching the sea.

"Five warships. This won't be an easy fight." Ham put on his gauntlets.

"Ares, watch the ship. The five of us will take one ship each. Simon, can you use the ship's cannons to fight the Marines?" Rogge asked.

"No problem." Simon picked up his rifle and nodded.

For some reason, Simon no longer had any other thoughts. He no longer considered how to take Rogge's head. Rogge's punch at the bow had not merely blocked the iron spears; it had struck Simon's heart and shattered those little schemes of his.

"This distance is about right. I'm going." Rogge leaped from the bow.

"Hey, you'll fall into the sea from this far away! I should send you over—" Cook's expression changed when he saw Rogge jump. There were still over two hundred meters between them and the Marine warships. How could Rogge possibly make that jump? Just as Rogge seemed about to fall into the sea, Cook grew worried, but his words stopped halfway.

"Boom!"

A muffled blast rang through the air. The atmosphere cracked beneath his foot, and using the force rebounding from it, Rogge jumped again in midair. This jump carried him dozens of meters farther.

"This is..." Hina frowned aboard the warship. She knew that movement too well. It was clearly Geppo from the Rokushiki. Although Rogge had done it through his Devil Fruit ability, the technique involved was not something a pirate from the Four Seas could possibly have encountered.

"Boom!"

Another loud explosion rang through the air. Compared to Geppo, the noise Rogge produced was far too great, which was why Hina determined that he was not using Geppo.

The Rokushiki demanded extremely precise control over one's body. Every technique required meticulous control. Iron Body, Finger Pistol, and Paper Art involved precise control of cells, flesh, and blood, while Shave, Tempest Kick, and Geppo required extraordinarily keen control over one's legs and even the air itself. With just the slightest bit of air, one could leap through the sky.

If Rogge had not relied on his Chop-Chop Fruit to damage the atmosphere, it would have taken him at least several years of training to learn Geppo himself.

Why could Sanji master it? He had trained his kicking techniques under Zeff since childhood and had always fought with his legs. All he needed to master Geppo was an opportunity. That opportunity was eventually forced out of him by the okama, proving the saying that people were forced into their potential. No problem with that, so don't let your minds wander.

Of course, Rogge had come up with this move the moment he discovered that the Chop-Chop Fruit could shatter the atmosphere, and he had trained it himself. He had now gained control of the skill. He was forcing himself too. Before this, his command of the move had not actually been proficient. But when he leaped toward the sea and saw the ocean, the fear that surged up in his heart made him use this move and control it perfectly.

Rogge skipped through the air like a dragonfly touching water. After four midair steps, he smoothly arrived before the warship and stood atop its cannon barrel, looking at the commander of this Marine fleet.

"Black Cage Hina. So it really was you." Rogge saw the pink-haired woman, confirming the person he had just thought of.

"So you're no ordinary petty thief. Hina wondered who it was. It turns out to be you, the petty thief who touched the Heavenly Tribute." Hina carefully examined Rogge and immediately recalled his identity.

"Looks like I do have some fame, though not much." Rogge spread his hands.

"The headquarters sent word that the Heavenly Tribute was not lost. Only the three Devil Fruits meant as tribute to the Celestial Dragons were stolen," Hina said.

Rogge raised his hand. A halo covered in fissures appeared in his palm. He smiled. "This is the ability I gained. You saw it just now, didn't you?"

"It is indeed powerful. Hina is very surprised," Hina said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to waste time with you. I need to end this battle as soon as possible. Fighting Marines is the most boring thing." Rogge placed the hand wrapped in his ability on the cannon barrel at the bow.

"Hina cannot let you leave." Hina raised both hands, and two iron pillars grew from her sleeves. Iron bars hung down from beneath them, making them look like fences.

Black Cage—black meant black, while cage meant prison. A black prison. One could tell exactly what Hina's ability was from her epithet.

"Jacket Cage."

Two rows of iron bars closed in from either side, trapping Rogge between them.

"Clang!"

Hina was clearly a little faster. The two closing rows of iron bars instantly clamped Rogge between them, while the hanging bars bound him as well.

"Just this much? Hina is a little disappointed." Hina exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Smoking is harmful to your health." Rogge's body shook, and the Black Cage around him instantly shattered across the ground.