The Fall of the Five Great Families (3)

Elsewhere in West Blue, at the Camorra Family's stronghold.

This place had once been a symbol of luxury and power, but now it had become ruins and a graveyard. The exquisite garden was riddled with craters, torn belts and shattered bricks strewn together.

The ground was littered with the corpses of enforcers in magenta suits.

At the center of the battlefield lay an especially striking woman.

She had a voluptuous figure and wore a daring red dress. Her once-beautiful face was now pale as paper, her body covered in horrific blast wounds and deep slash marks. She had long since breathed her last.

She was Sophia, the most trusted confidante of Mary, the Camorra Family's leader.

At this moment, the battle was still reaching its climax.

Mary was in a near-mad state. Her once-elegant coiffure had come undone, her eyes were bloodshot, and her luxurious clothing was torn in many places. Yet countless white kimono belts, seemingly alive, were wildly extending from her back, sleeves, lapels, and elsewhere.

These creations of the Belt-Belt Fruit were stretched taut, their edges gleaming with metallic coldness. Like countless venomous snakes and giant pythons, they lashed and stabbed madly from every direction at her three enemies.

Her opponents were three equally powerful women with entirely different styles.

Stussy and Perona moved as elusive as ghosts, always using Soru to evade the belts at the instant before they struck.

Hina continuously kicked out vacuum slashes, precisely intercepting and deflecting the belts aimed at vital points.

"You three damned little bitches!!!"

Mary's voice was shrill and distorted with rage, filled with bone-deep hatred.

"You dared... You dared kill my Sophia!!! I'll tear you to pieces! I'll use your blood to honor her!!"

The three women remained unmoved by her venomous curses. They continued to evade and block calmly, like swallows skimming across a stormy sea.

The belts crashed down wildly, gouging deep pits into the ground and sending shattered stones flying, yet they could never truly reach their targets.

During a coordinated cross-position evasion, Stussy's gaze briefly met Perona's in the air, conveying a silent signal.

The corner of Perona's small mouth curled into a mischievous grin. With a light wave of her hand, a little red ghost floated from her palm, baring its fangs and claws as it drifted toward the frenzied Mary.

"What is that?!"

Mary shouted sharply, and several belts immediately changed direction, stabbing at the red ghost like spears.

Yet the belts passed right through it, as though the ghost were merely an illusion.

The red ghost struck Mary and then... sank directly into her body.

The expected explosion or injury never came.

Mary froze for a moment, then let out a scornful laugh.

"A cheap trick meant to fool people! Such a boring ability..."

Mary had just been about to continue mocking her when an indescribably violent fury suddenly erupted from the deepest part of her heart without warning.

Her vision instantly turned blood-red. The sight of Sophia's death, the enemies' nimble figures, the frustration of failing to defeat them after so long... every negative emotion was amplified without limit, instantly crushing what little reason she had left.

"AAAAAHHH!! Die! You all have to die!!"

Veins bulged across her forehead, her eyeballs protruded, and saliva ran uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth. She had completely fallen into a state of hysterical rage.

Her attacks became more disorderly, but also more frantic and violent, the belts whipping so densely that not even water could pass through.

The pressure on Stussy and Hina suddenly increased. The two quickly moved together and unleashed a stronger Combined Rankyaku. Larger slashes interwove into a net, barely holding back the rampaging belts and creating an opening for Perona.

Perona floated in the air like a calm conductor and waved her hand again. A second, third, and fourth red Angry Ghost appeared one after another, unstoppable as they pierced through Mary's chaotic defenses and slammed into her body in succession.

With every ghost that struck her, Mary's body trembled more violently, her roars became hoarser and crazier, and her attacks grew increasingly erratic. She even began lashing indiscriminately at the surrounding ground and the corpses of her already-dead subordinates.

When the fifth Angry Ghost slowly passed through an incoming belt and finally entered Mary's chest--

All movement abruptly stopped.

Mary's savage expression froze on her face. Her blood-red eyes widened as if they were about to burst, while her pupils rapidly lost focus.

She opened her mouth, seemingly trying to utter one final curse, but only a mouthful of white foam spilled out.

The next second, her eyes rolled back, her limbs flailed, and she fell straight backward. With a bang, she hit the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. There was only breath leaving her body, with none coming back in.

The wildly dancing belts on her body seemed to have had their bones pulled out, instantly collapsing into ordinary scraps of torn cloth.

Stussy smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, walked over to Mary's corpse, and lightly nudged it with the tip of her shoe to confirm Mary's death. Then she looked toward Perona as she floated down, speaking with heartfelt admiration.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Little Perona, that new Angry Ghost you developed is really something. You actually angered someone to death. Even this big sister is getting chills down her back."

Normally, the chances of someone getting angry enough to die were extremely low. But if someone was already in an extreme rage and that anger was multiplied several times over, the odds could be amplified without limit, triggering a rise in blood pressure, causing a cerebral hemorrhage, and ultimately resulting in death.

Perona proudly raised her little face and snorted.

"Horohorohoro~ That was all Adams's suggestion. I only tried to make it happen."

Hina looked at Mary's miserable, unclosed eyes and sighed deeply.

"The abilities of Devil Fruits are truly... amazing. Hina is jealous."

Stussy's eyes shifted as she walked over to Hina's side and lightly bumped her with an elbow. With an ambiguous smile, she lowered her voice.

"Jealous? It's actually very simple~ If you're willing to make just a tiny little sacrifice for someone, then with that guy's abilities... getting you a powerful Devil Fruit would be easy, wouldn't it?"

Hina's pretty face instantly turned scarlet, even her ears flushing pink. She hurriedly waved her hands, her eyes darting away as she stammered.

"Y-You... what nonsense are you talking about?! I would never do something like that!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Stussy smiled like a cat that had stolen cream and leaned closer.

"Is that really what you think?"

"Shut up!" Hina shoved Stussy away with her elbow in embarrassment and irritation, her face so hot she could have fried an egg on it. She hurriedly changed the subject.

"The mission! The mission comes first! Hurry up and clean up the battlefield, then report to that guy!"

Stussy stopped while she was ahead, letting out a smug giggle. After teasing the red-faced Hina a few more times, she took an exquisite Den Den Mushi from her bosom and dialed the number.

TO BE CONTINUED