Steel? Take It Up with My Barrett!

Kane silently approached the rendezvous point and witnessed what was happening there through the bat clone in the sky.

Cuckoo stood surrounded by three people, leaning on her sword and gasping for breath. A sword wound on the outer side of her left calf was still bleeding, while her right leg had been twisted into a distorted abstract work of art.

Aside from Jora, the Art-Art Fruit user, those surrounding her included Lao G, a master of martial arts, and Diamante, the Ripple-Ripple Fruit user, who fluttered through the air like a flag.

"If you don't want to suffer, surrender quietly. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll stay in one piece."

Diamante drifted over Cuckoo's head, leaving behind a mocking taunt.

Not far away, Jora cradled a cloud capable of turning people into abstract paintings. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at Cuckoo. She disliked the valiant woman before her, and the urge to ruin Cuckoo was especially strong.

Cuckoo watched them warily, her heart slowly sinking.

Even with the detailed intelligence Kane had provided, and even though she had identified them immediately, Jora had still managed to ambush her while she was fighting Diamante.

If she had not been vigilant enough, and if her Haki had not been so well-developed, it would not have been just one leg that had turned into an abstract work.

Even so, her mobility had been severely affected. Defeat was only a matter of time.

No!

Kane is probably on his way here. I need to find a way to warn him!

Cuckoo's gaze instantly hardened with resolve. An astonishing aura burst from her as she locked her eyes on Jora, who held the cloud.

"Jora, watch out!"

As a swordsmanship master, Diamante saw at once what Cuckoo intended to do. He shouted a warning and flashed toward her.

Yet he was still a step too late. Cuckoo, staking everything on one desperate attempt, concentrated all her strength in her intact left leg. Blood immediately poured from her sword wound.

Her left leg compressed like a spring pushed to its limit. The instant it released, she shot toward Jora like an arrow from a bow!

Jora's face changed drastically. She raised the cloud in her hands to block, hoping Cuckoo would hesitate for even a moment and give Diamante time to save her.

But Cuckoo did not hesitate at all. She plunged headfirst into the cloud, while the longsword in her hand flew free, curving around the cloud and shooting toward Jora like a bird returning to its nest!

Slash!

The coldly gleaming blade cut beneath Jora's ribs, splashing blood everywhere.

"Ah! You damned bitch! How dare you stab me! It hurts, it hurts so much..."

Jora collapsed to the ground in agony. The cut had landed too far off, missing anything vital.

Cuckoo, now transformed into an abstract painting figure, struggled to remain standing. Seeing this, her heart sank.

If she could have killed Jora with that one strike and removed the Devil Fruit ability placed on her, she would still have had the strength to fight.

But the sword wound on her left leg and her immobile right leg had thrown off her aim. Her counterattack had ended in failure.

The tall figures of Diamante and Lao G appeared before her. Both attacked with furious roars, a longsword and a fist descending upon Cuckoo at the same time!

"You bastard! How dare you hurt Jora!"

"You shameless sneak attacker! Accept G's judgment!"

Cuckoo faced the two without fear, her eyes clear as she confronted the murderous intent surging toward her.

Kane should notice the commotion here...

It's just a shame I never got to tell him how I feel...

Boom!

Diamante's sword pierced empty air, while Lao G's fist slammed heavily into the ground, sending snow and dust flying.

The place where Cuckoo had been was empty. A tall, powerfully built figure stood several meters away, holding her in his arms.

"What do you think you're doing to my important companion?"

The familiar voice made Cuckoo's heart tremble. She had thought she would never see Kane again, never expecting him to save her.

Overwhelmed by the emotions of surviving certain death, she realized she was being held tightly in a pair of firm, warm arms.

When she looked up, Kane's handsome face was right before her. His dark eyes were icy cold, and she could even see blue veins throbbing angrily beneath the skin at his temples.

Kane's strong, powerful heartbeat thudded through his chest, striking against her body again and again.

With every breath, his masculine scent flooded into her nose and mouth, invading her chest like an assault.

Cuckoo struggled to get away, but in her current abstract-painting form, she could not muster even a bit of strength.

And it seemed as though two voices were arguing in the depths of her heart. One kept telling her to lie there a little longer, while the other desperately agreed, leaving her unsure which one to listen to.

"It's you! I've heard your voice before!"

Diamante was the first to react. He cried out in shock, "You're the one who enraged Doffy!"

"Those dog ears really do work well." Kane sneered and looked at Diamante with contempt. "The master is trash, and his subordinates are the trash of trash."

"You arrogant bastard!"

Diamante flew into a rage. The longsword in his hand moved like a ribbon fluttering in a gale, tracing bizarre and unpredictable arcs as it stabbed toward Kane!

A sneer remained on Kane's lips. Holding Cuckoo, he stood unmoving as a mountain, as though he could not see the sword coming for him.

He knew Diamante was a Ripple-Ripple Fruit user who could turn steel into cloth like a flag. The clothes on his body were steel cloth transformed by his Devil Fruit ability.

But... steel?

Take it up with my Barrett!

Bang!

Suddenly, an earth-shaking blast erupted from the woods beside Kane!

Amid the blast, Diamante's wrist exploded apart. The hand gripping his sword spun through the air.

The sudden turn of events startled everyone. Only when Diamante's severed hand hit the ground with a slap did he feel the piercing agony. He let out a miserable scream and dropped to his knees!

"My hand! You damned bastard! My hand..."

Bang!

Another deafening blast rang out, and Diamante's other hand fell to the ground as well. The indescribable agony made him pass out instantly!

Lao G, who had just assumed a punching stance, was also dumbfounded. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead as he froze in place, not daring to move. His voice trembled slightly.

"Y-you... what did you do?"

"Just cleaning up some trash."

Kane saw the fear in Lao G's eyes, but he had no intention of sparing him. With a thought, four clones pulled the triggers of their Barretts at the same time.

Boom!

Four thunderous blasts merged into a single clap of thunder. Four bloody holes burst open across Lao G's body. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed before he could even let out a groan, unconscious.

Kane glanced over and noticed that the Barretts, which had blown off Diamante's arms, had only left Lao G with four penetrating wounds. His brows rose slightly.

As expected of a martial fighter who specializes in qigong-based physical combat...

His vitality is far stronger than Diamante's...

It seems the Barrett isn't much of a threat against truly powerful people...

After thinking it over, Kane decided that was only natural. The pirate world was not without powerful firearms, but he had never heard of anyone standing at the pinnacle of humanity being killed by a gun.

Still, in terms of firepower, it was more than enough to deal with some of Doflamingo's subordinates.

With these thoughts turning in his mind, Kane walked expressionlessly toward Jora.

She had been wounded by Cuckoo and now lay limp on the ground. She watched Kane draw closer step by step, her face filled with terror as she cried out in panic.

"Y-you, don't come any closer! Doffy will be here soon, and when that happens..."

"You won't live to see that."

Kane coldly cut Jora off and smashed Seastone shackles hard against her head.

Jora screamed, rolled her eyes back, and fainted. The Devil Fruit ability imposed on Cuckoo instantly dissipated.

The next second, the shriveled abstract-painting figure in his arms became full and soft again. The heavy sensation made Kane instinctively tighten his hold, and then a warm, supple touch filled his palm.

Kane instinctively savored the sensation, finding it soft, springy, and exceptionally pleasant to the touch.

"Cough, cough..."

Cuckoo coughed, then leaped out of Kane's arms as if afraid of being burned by his hand. Lowering her head, she strode away to retrieve the sword she had thrown.

Yet beneath her blonde hair, the tips of her ears had turned bright red, the blush spreading beneath her collar.

A moment later, Cuckoo returned to Kane's side with her sword fastened once more at her waist. Her expression had returned to normal as she asked curiously,

"Kane, what just happened?"

[Cuckoo's favorability has reached 62. The second ability copy may begin.]

The prompt flashed before Kane's eyes. He did not begin the copying process immediately. Instead, he helped Cuckoo sit down, crouched to bandage her wounds, and casually explained,

"I ran into four pirate hunters from Sniper Island. They originally wanted to hunt Barrels, but they happened to get trapped inside the Birdcage too."

"I made a deal with them. They would help me deal with Doflamingo, and I would help them leave the Birdcage and hide their existence from the Marines."

Cuckoo blinked. She knew Kane was not telling the truth.

But she did not press him. She merely lowered her head to look at Kane, seeing how serious he was. Even while speaking, his hands moved carefully, as though he were afraid of hurting her.

As he held her injured calf in his hands, a strange tingling sensation slowly spread upward through her body. She could not help pressing her lips together as random thoughts crowded her mind.

Cuckoo took several deep breaths to calm herself and tried to put on a joking expression.

"Little Kane, what do we do next?"

"Stall for time."

After finishing the bandaging, Kane tied a bow around Cuckoo's ankle with the bandage. Then he carefully examined her calf, as though checking whether he had wrapped it securely.

But Cuckoo blushed at his actions. She pulled back her calf and lowered her pant leg to block Kane's view, yet she still felt the spot he had been watching tighten strangely.

Kane, meanwhile, remained expressionless as he hoisted Diamante and the other two onto his shoulders and sprinted toward the cellar where Hina was hiding.

"Let's go. That commotion was pretty loud. Doflamingo will probably come after us."

Not long after Kane and Cuckoo left, a burly figure carrying an enormous shield descended from the sky and crashed onto the ground with a boom.

Immediately afterward, ripples spread across the ground. A man in sunglasses emerged from the earth as if leaping out of water, lit a cigarette, and surveyed the area.

"Tch, we were a step too late. They got away..."

"This is bad. Doffy will probably be furious..."