Thump! Thump! Thump!...
On the ship's upper deck, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed, growing closer, as if someone were descending a ladder. This abrupt change startled the four individuals standing in the corridor. Among them, Hancock was the first to react; she quickly waved her hand, signaling Sephiroth, Sandersonia, and Marigold to press themselves against the wall near the stairs. Clearly, she was preparing to ambush whoever was coming.
Soon after, a bald man, two meters forty centimeters tall, appeared at the top of the stairs. He held a mop in one hand and a wooden bucket in the other, seemingly preparing to descend and clean the deck.
As the bald man stepped onto the last rung of the ladder, Hancock shot forward. She raised her right leg, a swift and lethal kick aimed precisely at the man's groin.
Bats possess hearing six times better than ordinary humans. Sephiroth, having consumed the Mythical Zoan-type Batto Batto no Mi, Vampire Form, now also shared this characteristic.
The next moment...
Splatter!
Sephiroth heard the sound of something bursting with remarkable clarity, causing him to instinctively feel a chill in his groin and immediately clamp his legs together.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
The black-haired girl's deadly attack was incredibly effective. The bald man immediately collapsed into the corridor with a 'thud,' clutching his crotch and screaming loudly.
However, Hancock didn't stop there. She delivered another powerful kick to the bald man's temple, instantly knocking him unconscious.
"Something's happening below, see what's going on!"
"Quick! Move faster! Grab weapons!"
Noisy footsteps sounded from the upper deck of the cabin. Sephiroth could even hear the cocking of firearms and the drawing of swords. In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person living in a peaceful country, and the original owner of this body had never even been involved in a fight before. Facing the approaching battle, the young man was incredibly nervous; he could even distinctly feel his heart pounding faster.
Conversely, the three women displayed the fighting qualities expected of qualified Kuja female warriors. Hancock was the first to rush up the stairs and confront the first wave of enemies. Sandersonia grabbed the mop as a staff, and Marigold casually snatched the wooden bucket. The three women showed fearless resolve in the face of the impending battle!
Hearing gunshots from the upper deck, Sephiroth gritted his teeth and prepared to attack as well. Hiding behind women, seeking protection, and letting the three women fight was something his male pride would not allow!
As the young man was about to step over the bald man's body and ascend the stairs, his steps suddenly halted. Ever since Sephiroth had woken up, his body craved blood, making him feel an urge to suck it. He knew he needed to consume blood to fully awaken the power of the Batto Batto no Mi!
Thinking this, Sephiroth, who was desperate to increase his combat strength, didn't hesitate. As he opened his mouth, two sharp fangs emerged from his upper teeth. Immediately after, he clutched the bald man's right hand and bit down hard.
Sluuurp~!
The vampire fangs pierced through skin and muscle. As he inhaled the blood, a cluster of bloody light exploded violently around him. Instantly, his physique and appearance transformed!
The young man's height increased by almost thirty centimeters, from his original height of about one meter sixty to two meters. His eyes turned blood-red, his ears became long and narrow, sharp claws grew on his fingertips, and a pair of fleshy wings even sprouted from his back, covered in small joints. If he gently flapped them, they would generate buoyancy that would lift him into the air.
The fleshy wings were useless in the cramped cabin; he didn't need them... With a single thought, the fleshy wings instantly retracted, leaving no trace of their previous existence.
After sucking blood, the weakness and helplessness Sephiroth had felt from hunger immediately vanished. Strength continuously poured from every part of his body, making him feel like unleashing it freely.
On the other hand, after the bald man's blood and life force were sucked by the young man, his entire body withered. His skin was full of wrinkles, and his face instantly aged by more than thirty years, transforming him completely into a dying old man. This was the terrifying aspect of the Batto Batto no Mi: its user could maintain their body in its healthiest and prime physical condition by plundering the life force of others.
Whoosh!
In his vampire form, his strength and speed increased again. In the blink of an eye, he rushed to the upper deck.
Sephiroth looked around and found a large room filled with water, food, and various goods. Two corpses already lay in puddles of blood. The three women had taken swords and firearms from the two men and were hiding behind cargo boxes.
As Sephiroth rushed out of the stairwell, on the other side of the cabin, at the doorway, four dark gun barrels pointed at him and pulled their triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
In his haste, he twisted sideways and ducked, hiding behind a pile of cargo boxes. As he dodged, a bullet grazed his left arm, which initially caused a burning and stinging sensation in his nerves, but after six or seven seconds, the sensation disappeared completely. Sephiroth raised his right hand and wiped his left arm. His palm was covered in blood, but the wound on his left arm had already healed as good as new.
The Batto Batto no Mi, by consuming the life force it had absorbed, allowed his body to undergo super regeneration. As long as he had enough life force, he could continuously repair physical injuries! This horrifying recovery ability was unmatched, even by the Marine's expanded Life Return technique of the Six Powers, developed to its peak level.
Hearing the gunfire gradually stop, Hancock, who was across the room facing Sephiroth, threw a pistol to him.
After Sephiroth hurriedly caught the pistol, he carefully examined its model. From its appearance, the firearm in his hand looked very much like a flintlock pistol, but it was actually a cartridge pistol, which could be loaded with bullets in its handle, with a full capacity of six rounds. He opened the magazine to check and found there were still five bullets inside.
"Two people died here, one fell below, there are four people outside the opposite door, and two others are missing..." he muttered to himself. Sephiroth listened carefully to the movements outside the door but still couldn't detect the presence of the other two individuals.
Faintly, he seemed to hear the sound of a magazine being ejected... They were reloading!!!
Thinking this, the young man immediately extended his hand and poked his head out. He saw two men still peeking and aiming into the room. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the trigger twice in quick succession.
Bang! Bang!
Whoa!
Three shots rang out almost simultaneously. Immediately after, there was a 'thud!' outside the door, the sound of a falling body.
"Kevin!... Kevin!... That damned bastard, I'll kill him!"
"Calm down!"
"Don't be impulsive!"
"The captain will be here soon, calm down!"
On the other side, Sephiroth was fully hidden behind the cargo boxes, his eyes twitching slightly as he looked at the wound on his wrist. Just now, when he fired, the enemy across from him had also shot at him once.
Seeing this situation, Boa Hancock frowned and asked worriedly: "How's your wound?"
"It's no big deal... it just hurts terribly!... Hiss~!"
Sephiroth gritted his teeth, extended his left hand, used his index finger and thumb to push his long nails into his wrist, and forcibly extracted the bullet inside. As the blood-stained bullet fell onto the ship's deck, he leaned weakly against the cargo box.
With the rapid depletion of life force, in just about ten seconds, the wound on the young man's left wrist had completely healed, and his face, pale from pain, quickly regained its color.
Even though he could super-regenerate, it was incredibly painful!... Sephiroth muttered to himself as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Thank you for reading!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, early access chapters are available for supporters.
You can find more information on my profile.