"Don't hurt her!"
An old woman lay on the ground, covered in blood, looking pleadingly at Mihawk.
Mihawk stood before her.
With one hand, he gripped the neck of a young girl who was also covered in blood, while his other hand searched her body.
At last, he pulled out three gems.
Then, as though tossing away garbage, he threw the girl down beside the old woman.
Mihawk walked toward the altar.
Just then, a hand grabbed his ankle.
"No, don't break the seal! You'll destroy this world!
Please!"
The girl weakly raised her head, her eyes full of pleading.
Mihawk said nothing. His blade flashed.
One of the girl's arms was severed.
Arriving before the altar, Mihawk murmured:
"I hope you won't disappoint me, Seven-Star Sword..."
On the black sea, Ace lay sprawled on the ground, his body charred and his face swollen and bruised.
He felt like crying.
He had always thought rather highly of himself.
Shortly after setting sail, he had eaten an extremely rare Logia fruit.
And a rare one even among Logias.
Everything had gone smoothly along the way.
He had thought his good fortune would continue.
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, life had slapped him hard across the face.
He had actually been beaten up by a little girl.
And beaten this badly, at that.
Ace struggled for a moment, then sat up.
Looking at Christa, whose clothes were still spotless, only made him more depressed.
This hadn't been a fight at all.
It had been a complete crushing from beginning to end.
That feeling was terrifying.
He couldn't even begin to gauge his opponent's limits.
Aside from facing that damned old man's fists, this was the first time Ace had tasted helplessness and despair.
Ace couldn't help glancing at