Another deafening crack rang out, followed by the crunch of breaking bone and a scream torn from Weevil's throat.
Vane's fist smashed into Weevil's face, sending the giant reeling through the air like a cannonball. His massive body crashed into Bakkin, who barely twisted aside in ti. For all her age, the woman moved with surprising agility.
Boom!
Weevil's body tore into the interior of the warship. The explosion of force split timbers apart and hurled seawater in towering waves. The massive vessel shuddered, a gaping hole punched through its side.
Inside the wreckage, Weevil howled in pain. Vane's strike had landed squarely on his face. He knew without a doubt that the bones in Weevil's jaw had cracked under the blow. The man's unnatural body might endure, but even he could not ignore such agony.
Still, Vane wasn't fooled. This simpleton's resilience was monstrous. He would recover quickly.
"Weevil…"
Bakkin froze. Her weapon, her son, had been buried in the wreckage. Now Vane's cold gaze fell on her.
"Don't co near !" she shrieked, voice shrill with panic. "I'm Whitebeard's lover, the woman of the strongest man in the world!"
Her words rang desperate, but she clung to them like a shield. To invoke Whitebeard's na was to wield a threat few would dare test.
But Vane only advanced, his eyes narrowed.
Before that oaf claws his way back out, I should rid myself of this parasite.
It was obvious: Weevil's bloodlust and destruction stemd from this woman's manipulation. Vane knew Whitebeard would never have chosen her. The very idea was laughable. She was nothing but a vile pretender, a parasite feeding off another's na.
"You disgust ," Vane said flatly, his shadow falling over her trembling form.
"I am Whitebeard's lover, you bastard!" Bakkin scread again, stumbling back until her spine struck a wooden bulkhead. Trapped, she bared her teeth, hiding fear behind bravado.
"That fool might believe you," Vane muttered. "But I don't."
He raised his hand. With a thought, the [King's Treasure] activated. A barrage of spectral weapons materialized and fired in unison.
Bakkin shrieked as the hail of projectiles rained down. She was no Logia user, no Haki master. For all her quick movents, she was helpless before overwhelming power.
Her scream ended in a flash of steel and gunfire. When the smoke cleared, only her severed head remained, preserved intentionally by Vane. The navy needed to see her, to know she was truly dead.
Her lifeless face stared upward, hair disheveled, sunglasses shattered. Fear, resentnt, unwillingness, and regret froze into her final expression.
She was gone.
Just like the marines she had mocked as they died, Bakkin refused to et death with peace.
"Mom… it hurts… my nose is gone…"
Thirty seconds later, Weevil's voice echoed from the wreckage. The giant clawed his way out, his body battered but functional. His swollen fra and spindly legs made him look almost grotesque, a distorted parody of strength.
"Where is my mother?"
He stumbled forward, eyes darting. Then Vane lifted his foot and contemptuously kicked Bakkin's severed head across the deck. It rolled to land before Weevil, who instinctively caught it in his massive hands.
"No… no… this can't be!"
"Mother! Mother!!"
His wails shook the sky, an unholy mix of grief and rage that made the air itself feel heavier.
"It's ti to deal with this fool," Vane said, his expression unreadable. He could already sense what would follow. This idiot would go mad. And when he did, his strength would surge beyond reason. Best to end it quickly.
Vane flashed forward, fist slamming into Weevil's gut. The blow cracked the very air, quake energy bursting outward. Weevil's massive belly dented inward under the force, his body straining to absorb it.
"Elastic… but it won't save you," Vane thought, already drawing back for another strike.
The warship splintered around them. Quake shockwaves ripped through decks, scattering corpses of marines like broken dolls.
Weevil staggered, retreat forced by sheer power. His face twisted with rage. He wanted to counterattack, but without his massive blade he felt exposed, half his strength stripped away.
Clenching his fists, he tried to et Vane blow for blow, but his arms were too slow. Vane's fists hamred into him again and again, every strike fueled by Haki and quake power.
Weevil coughed blood, clutching at his stomach as if his insides were being torn apart.
"I'll kill you!" he roared, voice breaking, but the threat was hollow. Without his weapon, he was like a cannon without shot.
And still the punishnt rained down.
As the battle raged, the sea stirred again. From the north, another warship cut across the waves, closing to within five hundred ters.
"Finally… we found him."
At the bow stood a broad-shouldered man with purple hair, a telescope in hand. His scarred face hardened as he took in the sight of the clash.
"Don't worry. He's still fighting."
The man lowered the telescope, his jaw tightening. This was Black Arm Zephyr, the forr admiral. Behind him stood rows of cadets, eyes sharp, awaiting his command.
They had received orders only hours before. Edward Weevil had attacked another warship. Zephyr's unit was closest, so he had set out imdiately. But this was no re mission.
For Zephyr, it was personal.
Years ago, Weevil had massacred his students, nearly all of them slain. Only two survived—Ain and Binz. And Zephyr himself had lost an arm to the monster.
Now, fate had drawn them together again.
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