Jigu descended into the dark brig, his heavy footsteps echoing through the cold wooden walls. The damp air carried the scent of salt and wood, but the proud, chained woman before him still held her head high, even with her body battered and bruised.
Jigu stopped just outside Alvida's cell, studying her with mild amusement.
"You know," he said casually, crossing his muscular arms, "I've met only two other women with faces as pretty as yours—Hancock and that mermaid princess." His eyes gleamed as he tilted his head. "You could be the third."
Alvida remained silent, her expression cold, deviant.
Jigu chuckled, hand on his side, taking a step closer. "But that doesn't mean I won't mess up that pretty little face."
His hand shot forward like a whip, striking her across the face with a brutal backhand.
CRACK!
Alvida's head snapped to the side, blood dripping from her lips. She coughed violently, spitting a mix of saliva and blood onto the dirty floor.
Jigu squatted down, watching her with a disappointed sigh.
"Where's the fruit?" he asked, voice laced with irritation.
Alvida wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her trembling hand but refused to answer.
Jigu's expression darkened. THUD! His fist drove into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs. Alvida gasped, choking, her body convulsing as she hunched forward.
She tasted more blood, but even as her body screamed in agony, she grinned through crimson-stained teeth.
"Go to hell," she rasped.
Jigu sighed again, shaking his head. "Such a shame." He grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. "If you weren't so stubborn, you might've actually enjoyed life on this ship beside me." He took in the smell of musky coming from her thigh. "And no cockroaches would dare to lay a finger on you."
He released her with a shove, letting her collapse to the floor, and stood up.
"We'll talk again soon," he said as he turned to leave. "And next time, I won't go easy on you."
The heavy door slammed shut behind him, leaving Alvida alone in the darkness, her breath ragged but her spirit unbroken.
***
FWOOOOSH!
A streak of blue and white flame cut through the sky above East Blue's waters at supersonic speed, leaving behind a scorching wake that hissed as it touched the sea below. Jacob's eyes burned with fury as he locked onto the massive pirate ship ahead—its fox figurehead standing out against the endless blue horizon.
A new power surged through his veins. The white fire licked at the edges of his blue flames, flickering wildly as if awakening to its true potential. But Jacob paid no mind to it now.
All he cared about was that ship.
All he cared about was Alvida.
His prisoner, one of his girls, his home—they had dared to touch them.
They would burn.
BOOM!
Jacob ignited his flames and rocketed forward. The ocean split beneath his speed, leaving a fiery trail as he closed the distance in mere seconds.
On the deck of the ship, Jigu stood, still wiping Alvida's blood from his knuckles, when he heard the roaring inferno behind him.
He turned—just in time to see death descending from the sky.
A comet of white and blue flames was coming for him. No. For them.
Jacob snatched him.
Jigu struggled, limbs thrashing as Jacob held him and threw him beneath the waves. The vice-captain of the Hanafuda Pirates sank deeper, his lungs burning as seawater flooded in. His eyes bulged in horror, realizing that he wouldn't resurface.
Jacob looked at his disbelieving eyes.
The ocean claimed another fool.
FWOOOSH!
Jacob rocketed upward, his flames propelling him toward the ship. He landed hard on the deck, splintering the wood beneath his feet.
The moment his boots touched the planks, he unleashed hell.
Flames exploded outward, engulfing everything in his path. Pirates screamed, some trying to run, others leaping into the sea in sheer panic. It didn't matter. Jacob's fire didn't stop.
He carved a path through smoldering corpses and blackened ruins, his senses locked onto one thing.
Alvida.
He kicked down the door to the lower decks, finding her slumped against the wall, covered in blood. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, pain, lust, and cruelty. Chains rattled as Jacob approached.
Her eyes fluttered open.
"...Took you long enough, Fire Brat," she murmured her voice weak but laced with its usual sharpness.
Jacob shattered her cuffs. Her sea stone cuffs.
When he grabbed her wrist, he expected her body to become slippery. But it wasn't; it was smooth but not slippery.
His eyes narrowed. "Your skin is not slippery? "
Alvida's bloody lips curled into a weak smirk. "Why would it be, Brat? "
Jacob stared at her, then, without a word, lifted her onto his back.
She was light. Too light.
As he ascended back toward the deck, she weakly whispered into his ear, "Burn them down. Nobody lives."
Jacob smiled.
FWOOOOOM!!!
Jacob ignited himself into a fiery beacon. He unleashed a wave of white-blue fire and circled the pirate ship at high speed. He called this move, Supernova.
The ship erupted.
Flames devoured everything. The mast snapped like a twig, the sails disintegrated, and the deck collapsed into an inferno.
The Hanafuda ship was no more.
Jacob shot into the sky, Alvida on his back, watching as the fire sank beneath the waves, reduced to embers and ash.
***
A week had passed.
Syrup Village still bore the scars of battle—charred remains of homes, blackened earth, and wreckage scattered across the land. But life was returning. People rebuilt, their spirits rekindled by the gold Jacob left behind.
Five hundred million berries—enough to restore their home to its former glory.
Jacob stood at the edge of the village, arms crossed, watching as three familiar kids stood before him.
They were different now.
Tamanegi's body had become more flexible, his skin patterned with scales—his forked tongue flicking out unconsciously. When he transformed, his upper body elongated, his limbs contorting into the coils of a massive king cobra.
Piiman had changed, too. His canines were sharper, his fingernails curved into claws, and his body swelled with muscle when he shifted, his tiger stripes looked cool.
But it was Neji who made even Reiju and Nojiko flinch.
A Chalichothere.
His transformation was massive. He was a towering, prehistoric beast with thick, stone-like skin and brutal strength. His sheer bulk and power sent a shudder through Reiju's spine as she recalled Jigu, the monster who nearly killed her.
Jacob grinned, crossing his arms.
"Looks like you brats hit the jackpot."
Tamanegi hesitated. "...You're not mad?"
Jacob raised a brow. "Why would I be?"
"We ate them on accident!" Piiman blurted. "We don't even know how to use them properly!"
Jacob smiled. "Then learn."
He tossed each of them a bundle of dials—Jet Dials, Impact Dials, Axe Dials, and a few more for versatility.
"Use these. Train hard. Get stronger." Jacob's voice became grave. "Protect this island. Because next time, there might not be anyone here to save you."
The three boys nodded, determination in their eyes.
Jacob smirked, tossing them a small Den Den Mushi.
"If things get too dangerous, call me."
With that, he turned toward the massive cloud construct floating above. Nami, Carina, Kuina, Nojiko, Reiju, Kaya, Desire, Porche, Conis, Raki, and the newly freed Alvida waited for him.
Nami's fingers twitched eagerly, ready to command her flying fortress.
Jacob glanced at Syrup Village before launching himself skyward, landing aboard the cloud with a burst of bluish-white flame.
"Let's go."
Nami grinned, tapping her feet.
The cloud rumbled before surging forward, carrying them toward their next adventure.