章節 288: Blast from the Past
Terror.
That was the only appropriate word to describe the emotional states of the Neo Marines in this moment.
The ship heaved and swayed and jerked about, not allowing even the most experienced sailors to have steady footing; the blood coating the deck only made staying on one's feet that much more difficult.
However, the kraken's jostling of their vessel was the least of their worries. The young girl whom they meant to subdue with numbers now that she was weakened by her reduced age wasn't affected by the poor foothold at all. That made it that much easier for her to rip into their ranks like a rabid tiger.
That wasn't an exaggeration, either. They didn't just have to watch out for her deadly sword and spear, but her teeth as well. She'd bitten off Jenkin's ear barely half a minute into the melee without any hesitation. The terrible look on her face with her teeth coated in Jenkin's blood made more than a few of them piss themselves in fright.
Despite the stab wound in her chest, Ain regretted letting Cherry go the first time she "returned" her. Now she couldn't get a hold of her and anytime she saw an opportunity to hit Cherry with her devil fruit, one of her comrades would inexplicably fall into the attack instead.
"AHHHH!" a Neo Marine had his eye gouged out.
*CRACK*
Another had his spine crushed just above the waist.
*Schlop*
A severed hand hit the deck.
It was clear to everyone that before she had her age reduced, Cherry had just been playing with them.
'How is this happening?! Nobody has ever stayed this strong after being returned to childhood!' Ain couldn't fathom why this was happening.
Worst still, Ain was pretty sure that Cherry was slowly aging back up. She seemed to be a few centimeters taller than when she was first returned.
That was an accurate assumption as whilst Cherry could not unravel the effects of the devil fruit instantly due to her missing cultivation, she could still use her remaining vast stores to wear away at the effect with brute force over time.
"DIE!!!" a shout came from below the deck as it exploded upwards in an eruption of lava.
Cherry was forced onto her back foot for the first time since being aged down, desperately dodging out of the way of the former admiral's attack. Akainu might be in bad condition, but he was a world above Cherry without her cultivation.
"Ahhhh!" Ain cried out, throwing herself forward at Cherry; hand glowing pink.
Cherry thrust her spear at Ain, but the blue haired woman only dodged enough to avoid a lethal hit and carried onwards. Her hand swiped against Cherry shoulder, undoing all the work she'd done to remove the devil fruit's effects and then some.
Cherry stood before them roughly at the age of nine or ten years old. They both knew that one more hit from Ain in the short term would end the fight for certain, and not with Cherry's victory.
Akainu climbed out of the hole in the deck. It wasn't certain if the liquid flowing from her mouth was molten rock or boiling blood, perhaps both.
"Time to choose your end, pirate! Will you burn or will you choose oblivion?" Akainu spoke domineeringly.
Those words confirmed Cherry's guess as to what would happen if she had no more age to be taken away. She suspected it wasn't quite so simple, though. Likely, this was a devil fruit whose effects ended when the user was knocked unconscious or killed.
In this case, even if one were to be de-aged to nonexistence, they would come back when the effect was forcibly ended. Of course, popping back into existence in the middle of the Grandline without a ship was as good as a death sentence for most people, but Cherry isn't most people. Not to mention that she was only a little ways off shore from Dressrosa.
Worst case scenario, Cherry would pop back into the world several decades from now, Ain having died of old age. Not a great outcome, but better than being torched by Akainu with her mortal body. So given the choice, she'd choose Ain's way out.
Robin would probably still be around then, too, as she was a cultivator. So not all would be lost.
Not that Cherry was planning to lose.
Binz rained shuriken down onto her. All the potted plants he could use were already shredded beforehand, leaving him with just his weapons skills. At least that's what Cherry expected until seaweed started to crawl up onto the deck towards her ankles where she had landed after dodging.
*Thunder!*
Binz toppled over in the middle of his dance as a bolt of lightning struck him in the face.
Akainu didn't care one bit about preserving the ship and haphazardly threw globs of lava at Cherry. Ain was accustomed to fighting in such an environment after Akainu's insistence that she trained with him to be able to do so.
Cherry was able to dodge around the lava and avoid Ain's energy shots, but it left little room for counter attacks. There also weren't any opportunities to flee as they ensured there was no path overboard.
The ship lurched upwards into the air as Takako picked it up with the intent of flipping it and sending all of them into the water where the two devil fruit users would be helpless.
Zed abandoned his efforts against the Kraken and charged Cherry in a three pronged flanking maneuver with Akainu and Ain firing with his devil fruit from a distance.
'Well, shit…' Cherry thought to herself.
At this point she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She could probably kill one of them admirals, but the other one would definitely kill her right after. Dodging Ain's energy shot would leave her open for the admirals to hit her as well.
'I'm sure Luffy and the others can do something about this before too long.' Cherry thought, leaning back directly into Ain's devil fruit shot.
Cherry was hit by the pink blast, to the surprise of all three who hadn't expected that unusual choice. She shrank down to nothing in but a moment, leaving only her clothes behind.
…
The End.
Or not..
'This feels weird.' Cherry thought to herself.
Though, feeling anything when you shouldn't exist was strange in and of itself, she had to admit. It wasn't a physical sensation, she was certain of that much; nor was it any of her five senses.
In addition she felt as if she were behind some kind of thin veil, or barrier. Such a fragile thing, she thought, but she wasn't in any position to burst through, right?
For a while, she couldn't quite place the feeling. It was oddly familiar, something nostalgic. Then she remembered in a moment of epiphany.
…
A calm came over the remains of the Neo Marine fleet. The kraken fled into deeper seas, allowing them to take stock of their situation. Their losses were bad and they would almost certainly have to flee themselves, lest Whitebeard come finish them off.
Akainu only basked in his victory for a short moment before realizing that they'd lost so much and only killed one damned pirate. Zed was similarly quite downcast for their losses this time with so little to show for it.
Ain was tending to her long term friend and comrade in arms, Binz, who was fortunately still alive, though still unconscious.
Akainu picked up the spear that lay where the wretched woman once stood. A powerful weapon, if he could work out how to use it. Maybe he could force Vegapunk to figure it out for him, though that would be quite the task if the man's defenses were as strong as he expected.
"Ah, I understand. How unexpected." a voice reverberated over the sea. Every man, woman, and child amongst the two fleets and Dressrosa heard it plain and clear, as if it were right next to them.
Space itself fractured over the Neo Marine fleet. An unfamiliar woman stepped through the crack, and along with her came a "breeze" for lack of a better term for it.
Her skin was like pristine porcelain and her hair and eyes glittered like gold. A pure white kimono formed around her body as she stood in the air like it was solid ground, then took a deep breath with a smile.
As the breeze swept over all who were present, they felt like it was the first time in their lives that they had ever taken a breath of fresh air, like they'd been breathing smoke and poison up until now in comparison.
"HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!" the woman's laugh carried with it a powerful presence that crushed the will to stand before her into dust.
Even Whitebeard nearly buckled beneath the pressure, though his pride that refused to bend to anyone bolstered his will enough to resist. His crew was not so lucky as they hit the deck and gasped for air.
Akainu and Zed were much closer to the woman and received the full brunt of it. They didn't even have the leisure to breathe heavily and feared they might literally suffocate from the woman's presence alone.
The Neo Marines that were still conscious weren't any longer, unable to even maintain simple thoughts in the face of this woman. Strangely, Ain was the only one completely unaffected. At least it was strange until the woman spoke.
"I haven't felt like this in a long while. Thanks for giving me a taste of my old strength, girl. Don't think I'll forgive you that easily, though. I'll just keep you awake long enough to crush some pests. Maybe I should pay a visit to Mary Geoise while I'm at it?" the woman said with a dangerous glint in her eye.
'That's Harpin D. Cherry?!' Zed, Akainu, and Ain screamed in their thoughts.
章節 289: Little Sister
The mysteriously refreshing breeze swept over Dressrosa causing the people to feel energized and the wounded to feel a bit more comfortable.
This was all around a positive thing, they thought, even though they couldn't really wrap their little head around it. They questioned those thoughts only a short moment after, though.
"HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"
The laughter that echoed across the entire country seemed to be filled with some profound authority that demanded submission.
Fortunately, the island nation was far enough away from the epicenter that nobody felt too pressured by it, but it still left quite the impact in their hearts.
To someone else, though, this laughter flooded her with relief.
Cabernet had immediately panicked to the point of hyperventilating when her connection with Cherry was suddenly cut off completely.
The tether between them was a constant in her life, much like her own heartbeat. It went unnoticed most of the time, but when it suddenly vanished she was filled with a sense of doom and emptiness. It was the first time in her short life that she felt truly and utterly alone.
"What's wrong, Cabernet-chan?!" Sanji was the first to notice, with his constant attention towards his lady comrades.
Cabernet was inconsolable though, only able to say "... Cherry… Cherry…"
It didn't click immediately for most of them, but Robin knew the full extent of the twos' connection.
Before she could reveal that Cherry was in danger, though, the breeze washed over them and the laughter came. As Cherry's lover and friends, they naturally knew the way she laughed by heart; although it sounded somewhat off and the pressure within it was new.
"CHERRY!!!" Cabernet raced towards the laughter at top speed, tears of relief streaking down her face.
The tether had not returned, but there was still a sisterly bond between the two of them. So long as Cherry was okay, Cabernet was sure that the blood bond could be fixed as well.
…
Cherry landed on the deck of the Neo Marine ship in front of Akainu and Zed. That's how it looked to the two admirals and Ain, at least. To the spectating Whitebeard Pirates, the ship actually rose out of the water to meet her.
Telekinesis was the bread and butter of high level Celestial Energy Cultivators, and Cherry was going to use it as much as possible. She didn't realize how much she missed such a simple thing. Manipulating blood bound weapons just didn't feel the same and couldn't scratch that itch. Vital Energy Cultivators couldn't use it until the divine realms, annoyingly.
"None of that now, girl. I'm not finished with you yet." Cherry said, giving a casual flick of her hand that sent a stream of vibrant green energy in Ain's direction.
Ain had just deliberately worsened the stab wound through her chest in an attempt to forcibly end her devil fruit's effect through death or unconsciousness via blood loss. She had already tried to end the effect on Cherry the normal way, but it wasn't working for reasons she couldn't understand.
When the verdant energy hit her, her wounds healed at a visible pace. Even her fatigue vanished and old aches from previously healed wounds vanished as well. She had never felt healthier, and so she despaired.
Cherry's gaze fell onto the two former admirals. "Shall I give you the same choice you gave me, Akainu? Burn or disappear?"
Akainu inwardly sneered at the idea that he could be burned, but that feeling went away the moment Cherry produced a flame in her palm half a meter from his face.
The flame was dark purple with white streaks and the heat coming off of it felt like it might melt the skin off of his face without even touching him. This wasn't normal by any means, as his body was naturally immune to heat well over a thousand degrees.
"I'm a blacksmith, so I'm quite good with fire. Maybe I'll refine your body into a pretty bracelet for Robin, hmm?" Cherry added, giving the impression that she was deadly serious.
"You killed my son…" Akainu barely managed to spit those words out.
"No, I didn't. I was there when he was killed, but it was Wilson Alexander who did the murder." Cherry said, seeing recognition for the name in Akainu's eyes. "Then again, just being near the scene of a crime makes someone guilty in your book, right? Just like how you massacred every last man, woman, and child in Ohara because a few scholars poked their noses in the World Government's business."
Akainu wasn't phased by that accusation. He lived and breathed hypocrisy, after all; hypocrisy was just another tool to attain his goals.
What did phase him was the name Wilson Alexander. As an admiral he was privy to information that most were not, including the existence of the grandmaster assassin that could only be commanded by the Gorosei. Even for the obscenely wealthy like them, it was a great expense. Although, Akainu didn't know the exact price; just that it was high enough for the Gorosei to be hesitant to call upon the man.
Akainu never cared for the motive behind his son's murder, but now that he was presented with more information on the subject, his mind naturally started to draw lines.
'She claims to be a blacksmith. My son was a blacksmithing prodigy. That explains what she was doing there, but it's not a motive to kill him. Revenge for Ohara on Nico Robin's behalf? No, she condemned my killing of those uninvolved with the scholars. My son was an innocent boy, ignorant of the world; she isn't the type to kill him just to slight me.' Akainu's mind raced.
*sizzle*
White hot pain brought him out of his thoughts. Cherry had split off a tiny cinder from the flame in her palm and it landed on his thigh.
"Pay attention when I'm speaking to you, please. No matter what, we're already bitter enemies to the end. You can puzzle out the truth later… in hell." Cherry's voice was cold enough to contrast with the searing heat of the cinder burning into his leg.
Cherry took a gentle breath in as if she planned to blow the hellish flame onto him. Before she did though-
*BAM*
Cherry was tackled to the ground, leaving the eerie floating flame to drift downwards and disintegrate the deck. It continued until its light could no longer be seen as it sank beneath the surface of the water and destroyed the water as it went, leaving not even steam behind.
"Cheeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!!!!" Cabernet cried as she wrapped her arms around Cherry's waist and held on for dear life.
The oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly. Akainu, Zed, and Ain still couldn't move as they were now held in a telekinetic grip, but they could breathe much more freely now.
Cherry watched the tears dripping down the young ship woman's face and was filled with a sense of guilt. "What a great fool I am…"
It hadn't even occurred to her that the broken tether with her blood bound artifacts would be so devastating to Cabernet. Of course, blood bound artifacts weren't normally conscious entities, but that was no excuse.
Cherry pulled Cabernet into a hug and caressed her head. "I'm sorry, Cabernet. It's all my fault. I didn't mean to scare you."
The bloodlust had left Cherry's eyes and now were only filled with sorrow. The three Neo Marines didn't know if this was a good thing or not, but they were bound to find out sooner rather than later.
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