Dimensional Chat Group: Speed-o'-Light

"Uh, do you mean Blood Demon Rock? The Blood-Blood Fruit user?"

Sandersonia was briefly stunned before realizing who Kizaru was talking about.

"Blood-Blood Fruit?"

Kizaru, who had only casually inquired, was slightly surprised. A bounty of tens of millions of beli was just enough to barely classify someone as a major pirate.

However, Kizaru recalled an earlier encounter with a previous Blood-Blood Fruit user. That individual had left a deep impression on him when Kizaru was still fresh out of the gate.

If not for his Glint-Glint Fruit powers, which were even more overpowered, Kizaru wondered if he would have ever risen to the rank of admiral.

The thought that an ability once wielded by an "old friend" had now fallen into the hands of such a weakling nearly made him laugh out loud.

"Yes, it's quite a troublesome ability. If it weren't for our Seastone weapons, we might not have caught him," Marigold explained, trying to defend her sisters for the lapse in security. Kizaru might not punish them, but Hancock certainly wouldn't be as forgiving.

"Haha, take me to see this guy. After all, it's an 'old friend's' power."

Kizaru suddenly became interested in meeting Blood Demon Rock.

Back in the day, he had been quite envious of the Blood-Blood Fruit's abilities. With just a drop of an enemy's blood, the user could cast a curse that inflicted continuous damage.

If Kizaru hadn't been a Logia user, he might have been defeated by that power.

Unfortunately, after eliminating that Blood-Blood Fruit user, the Devil Fruit didn't reappear on the nearest fruit as expected.

Since missing that opportunity, Kizaru hadn't heard any news of the Blood-Blood Fruit until now. He didn't expect it to reappear in the hands of such a weakling.

Blood Demon Rock was a pirate "born and bred" on the Grand Line. Because of this, he was quite familiar with the Seven Warlords of the Sea, these "legal pirates."

But Rock never imagined he would one day fall into the hands of the Warlords.

Although it wasn't the infamous Pirate Empress who captured him, the female warriors of Amazon Lily were truly ruthless.

The 200 or so subordinates he painstakingly recruited were defeated in a single encounter by just a few dozen Guardian Warriors.

If that had been all, Rock might have been able to cope. After all, to survive under the Navy's radar and earn an 80 million beli bounty, he wasn't solely reliant on his crew.

Among pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, there weren't many who could rival Hancock's two sisters, but Blood Demon Rock happened to be one of the few exceptions.

But Marigold and Sandersonia fought without honor, taking him on two against one.

If that were all, Blood Demon Rock might not have won but could have found a chance to escape.

Unfortunately, his subordinates were utterly useless.

Before Rock could seize an opportunity to flee, his entire crew had been wiped out, leaving their captain surrounded by a group of Guardian Warriors.

"Damn the Kuja Pirates! Damn the Empress! One day, I'll settle the score with these women!"

Rock panted heavily, hiding deep in a storage warehouse. Realizing earlier that he had no hope of escaping, he had deliberately minimized his resistance to conserve his energy.

It turned out to be the right decision.

When Marigold and Sandersonia realized they couldn't subdue Rock even when working together, Sandersonia ordered the Guardian Warriors to attack en masse.

No matter how strong Rock was, he couldn't withstand the combined assault of Hancock's two sisters and dozens of Guardian Warriors. In the end, he was humiliatingly captured by the Kuja Pirates.

While heavily injured and imprisoned, Rock struggled in vain to find an opportunity to escape. Then, for some unknown reason, the women's vigilance unexpectedly loosened.

Seizing his chance, Rock not only broke out of the prison but also used the Blood-Blood Fruit's power to absorb blood and fully heal his injuries.

For a moment, Rock truly believed he was on the verge of freedom—until swarms of Kuja Warriors came after him like a tidal wave.

Facing hundreds of women who had mastered Armament Haki, Rock finally understood true despair.

If it weren't for the Blood-Blood Fruit's exceptional survival capabilities, he would have died ten times over by now.

"Damn it! I've already hit the absorption limit. If I try to absorb more blood now, I'll suffer a rejection reaction!"

While those damn women were still searching for him, Rock checked his condition and came to a grim realization.

Just as Rock was sinking deeper into despair...

The warehouse doors slowly creaked open, and an unusually tall figure appeared in the doorway.

"Let's see if you're hiding in here…"

Seeing the person step into the warehouse, with the shadows of those damn women behind him, Rock prepared for a final desperate attack.

Even if he had to die, he was determined to drag a few of them down with him.

Wait a minute—why did that voice sound like a man's?

Transforming into a pool of blood, Rock lunged out from the shadows. But before he could even see his target clearly, a sandal-clad foot smashed squarely into his face.

'Boom!'

In the blink of an eye, Rock—who had been surging forward—was sent flying like a human cannonball, smashing straight through the warehouse's reinforced wall.

The port warehouses had been designed to double as small fortresses. If the island were ever invaded, the Kuja Warriors could use the warehouses to defend the port.

This alone showed just how thick and sturdy the warehouse walls were.

But despite that, after taking a kick from Kizaru, Rock blasted through the wall as if it were paper, leaving a massive hole in his wake.

'Boom, boom, boom…'

Rock, like a cannonball, smashed through the wall and collided with several obstacles before finally grinding to a halt, carving a trench dozens of meters long into the ground.

If not for the Blood-Blood Fruit's incredible life-saving abilities, even a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user wouldn't have survived that kick.

And yet, despite this, Rock—his face imprinted with a sandal mark—was now hovering on the brink of death.

Even when he had been turned into a pincushion by the Kuja Warriors' arrows earlier, the injuries hadn't been as severe as this single kick.

"Oh my, I may have overdone it a little…"

In his semi-conscious state, Rock thought he heard a voice. Perhaps because he no longer had to waste energy plotting an escape, he was now certain: the voice belonged to a man.

What a cruel irony…

Captured in the legendary "Nation of Women," Amazon Lily, only to meet his end at the hands of a man.

That strike had been absurdly powerful. The opponent hadn't even used Armament Haki, hadn't even been serious. It had merely been a reflexive kick to stop him from getting too close.

"Ugh…"

Rock seemed to want to say something. But with his face now caved in from the kick, speaking—let alone producing any coherent sound—was an impossible task.

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel