After Black Maria got a clear look at the people in front of her, her expression turned even uglier—ugly to the extreme.
She knew Yamato.
Kaido's "son," that lunatic who ran around yelling about becoming Kozuki Oden.
During the battle of Onigashima, they'd crossed paths more than once—had even fought—so there was no way she wouldn't recognize that face.
But the man standing beside Yamato… she had no memory of him at all.
And yet he had relocated her—silently, instantly—from a hideout guarded layer upon layer, to this kind of place.
This man's strength was terrifying beyond measure.
Black Maria reached that conclusion almost immediately.
The man in front of her was the one who had brought her here.
Without the slightest hesitation, she flicked her smoking pipe to the ground.
Her right hand shot up to her hair, and she yanked free the samurai sword she'd been using as a hairpin.
Shing—!
The sound of the blade leaving its sheath was crisp and piercing.
Pitch-black Armament Haki surged, coating the entire sword in an instant.
Her eight-meter-tall body moved.
Despite her massive frame, she was shockingly agile—so light she barely made any sound at all.
All that came was a razor-sharp gust of wind as she lunged straight for Rei Ao.
"Bastard! What the hell did you do to me?!"
Black Maria's voice boiled with rage.
Her blade came down with crushing force, cleaving toward the top of Rei Ao's head.
She had been one of the Flying Six of the Beast Pirates—her strength was nothing to scoff at.
With this strike, even a slab of granite could be split clean in two—let alone flesh and bone.
Kozuki Hiyori let out a frightened scream and clapped her hands over her eyes, not daring to look.
Yamato froze for a beat, instinctively reaching for the kanabō on the ground.
But before she could move, Rei Ao lifted a hand and stopped her.
Rei Ao didn't budge.
He stayed right where he was, that same casual smile still on his face.
Even as the enormous blade chopped down at him, his expression didn't change in the slightest.
Not until the Haki-wrapped edge was less than ten centimeters from his head—
only then did he slowly raise his right hand and extend a single index finger.
Ding—!
A clear metallic chime rang out.
Rei Ao's fingertip tapped lightly against the exact center of the blade.
The next second, the sword—still carrying a heaven-shattering momentum—locked in midair, unable to advance even a fraction.
A terrifying rebound force shot back through the steel.
Black Maria felt as if her hand had slammed into a mountain cast from seastone.
Her palm split open at once, blood running down along the hilt.
Her entire arm went numb, completely losing sensation.
She couldn't hold on anymore.
Clang!
The sword flew from her grasp, spinning away—
and buried itself deep into a nearby boulder, leaving only the handle exposed.
Black Maria staggered back four or five steps before she barely managed to steady herself.
She stared at her bleeding hand, then at Rei Ao—who hadn't even had a corner of his clothes flutter.
Her face was filled with disbelief.
That strike just now had been full power—she'd even layered Armament Haki on top of it.
Who… what… was this man?!
A storm surged through Black Maria's mind.
She grit her teeth and frantically drove her Devil Fruit power.
She was an Ancient Zoan user—Spider-Spider Fruit, Model: Rosamygale grauvogeli.
As long as she transformed, her strength would skyrocket severalfold; even if she couldn't win, she could at least find a chance to escape.
But the moment she tried to draw on that power—
she realized the familiar force that had flowed through her body for years… was simply gone, as if it had vanished into thin air.
No matter how hard she pushed, there was no response at all.
It was like someone had sealed her inside an airtight cage.
Black Maria's face went instantly pale.
She refused to believe it and tried again—so hard her face flushed red—
but her body still didn't change one bit.
Forget a half-human, half-spider form—she couldn't even produce the most basic thread.
"My Devil Fruit…"
Black Maria's voice was thick with shock—and there was a faint, unmistakable edge of panic she couldn't hide.
She snapped her head up, eyes locked on Rei Ao, and roared:
"What did you do to me?! Where's my Devil Fruit power?! What did you do to it?!"
Watching her flail in confusion, Rei Ao let out a low chuckle.
He slowly withdrew his finger, took two steps forward, and stopped right in front of her.
The eight-meter-tall woman loomed over him like a hill.
He had to tilt his head up to see her face clearly.
And yet the pressure radiating from him completely crushed hers.
Even with that ridiculous size difference, he still looked like the one in absolute control.
Rei Ao's gaze drifted lazily—from the reddened corners of her eyes, down her slender neck…
then lower, to the breathtaking curves wrapped in her kimono—
and finally back to those emerald-green eyes, trembling with fear.
He flicked his tongue over his lips.
A teasing smile curled at the corner of his mouth—sharp, possessive, and predatory.
Nice.
Really, really nice.
He remembered this woman.
Up close, she was even more stunning.
Eight meters tall, yet her proportions were absurdly perfect.
Everything that should be full was full; everything that should lift, lifted—her skin so white it looked like a freshly peeled egg.
Even furious and panicked, she couldn't hide that seductive allure carved into her bones.
And that outrageous height…
You could come up with all kinds of new games with that.
A mess of improper thoughts flashed through Rei Ao's mind.
The smile on his face only deepened.
He looked at Black Maria and spoke slowly, his voice magnetic—yet carrying an unquestionable, ironclad dominance:
"Stop wasting your strength. I've sealed your Devil Fruit. Around me—if you're a dragon, you coil; if you're a tiger, you lie down."
"You bastard!"
Black Maria spat through clenched teeth.
When had she ever suffered humiliation like this?
Dragged to some unknown place for no reason, her Devil Fruit sealed—then stared at like merchandise…
It was nothing short of disgrace.
"Bastard?"
Rei Ao smiled and lifted an eyebrow.
"Once you're following me, you'll find out exactly whether I'm a bastard or not."
As he spoke, ignoring Black Maria trembling with rage, he turned his head and looked toward Kozuki Hiyori.
The young woman was still shaking, clutching her kimono tight, her face bloodless.
But in those almond-shaped eyes, there was still a trace of stubbornness—she hadn't cried…