A growing sense of unease gnawed at Jerry's heart, especially after Modis took her battle stance.
"Damn it, what the hell is with this cat?"
The surrounding pirates didn't even need to be asked—they were already paralyzed in place, stunned and rooted to the spot by the chilling, hellish aura pouring off of Modis. They didn't dare move a muscle.
At this rate, there wouldn't even be a fight. They might as well surrender outright.
Jerry didn't dare underestimate her anymore. He activated his Devil Fruit ability immediately—partial Zoan transformation. His body swelled several times over in an instant. From his previously scrawny form, he now filled out to normal human size, gray fur sprouting across his body. The most noticeable feature was his massive front teeth, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
But seeing him transform like this only made Modis more excited. In a flash, she dashed toward Jerry, her claws wrapped in black flames as she swung with brutal force. Her oversized paw was nearly as large as Jerry's beast-form body. Jerry crossed his now-beastly arms in front of his chest, hardening them with Haki to try and block the blow.
Zzzzz!
A tooth-grinding screech of impact rang out. Jerry was sent flying by the single strike, smashing through several buildings before disappearing into a thick cloud of dust and rubble.
...
Standing beside Kaito, Kalifa pushed her glasses up by the bridge and stared warily at Modis, who had just unleashed a terrifying display of power. Judging by the strength and speed of that attack, this cat was already stronger than she was, and she'd been trained as a secret agent since childhood.
Where in the world did Uchiha Kaito get something like this?
In Kalifa's eyes, Kaito's background was becoming increasingly mysterious.
...
Back on the battlefield—
A loud boom echoed as Jerry burst out of the rubble, looking like a total mess. During his beast transformation, his upper clothes had already been torn apart by the swelling of his body, leaving only a pair of pants. Now even those were basically shredded, barely clinging to his body.
But the worst damage was to his chest—deep claw marks raked across it. Strangely, though, there was no blood; the wounds were already frozen over with a solid layer of ice.
This ice wasn't helping him at all. Jerry alone knew the truth—biting cold was seeping from the wounds and spreading through his body, invading his muscles and bones. His blood was slowing, and even his thoughts were growing fuzzy.
He slapped himself across the face to stay awake, then locked his gaze on Modis, who was now calmly licking her paw a short distance away.
He understood perfectly—if this dragged on any longer, he was going to die here.
And that young Marine behind her hadn't even made a move yet.
If the pet cat was this terrifying, what kind of monster was its master?
He didn't dare imagine it. All he could do now was unleash his most powerful move and try to end this fight quickly, then find a chance to escape.
With that thought, Jerry went berserk, pushing his Devil Fruit to its limits. His body swelled even further, eyes bloodshot, nose extending, ears stretching out, and his two front teeth growing absurdly huge. He dropped to all fours.
This was the full Zoan transformation of his Animal-type Devil Fruit.
Jerry had fully transformed into a massive gray rodent with monstrous front teeth.
With a piercing screech, his gleaming white fangs were coated in jet-black Armament Haki.
This was his ultimate move.
He locked onto Modis's throat, then kicked off with his hind legs, launching like a bolt of lightning. The speed was so fast that none of the pirates around could follow his movements.
Well—except for Kaito.
Watching the now fully-beast Jerry, Kaito noted to himself that Zoan transformations really did provide a serious boost to physical abilities. At that speed, he actually had to focus a bit to keep track.
But Modis wasn't phased in the slightest. She gave two disdainful meows, and the fur on her neck instantly flared out, transforming into a thick eruption of black flames that poured outward in all directions.
Jerry's fangs made contact with the black fire—and froze instantly. The chilling frost spread from his teeth across his entire body.
His heart seized in panic. Just as the ice was about to reach his face, he gritted his teeth and abandoned the attack, diving down and aiming straight for the ground instead.
CRACK!
His once-prized fangs shattered the moment they struck the earth, reduced to fragments.
With his front teeth gone, Jerry faceplanted directly into the ground. If it weren't for the toughness granted by his full-beast form, that impact alone would've knocked him out cold.
Even so, the injuries he'd taken and the loss of his fangs made it impossible to maintain his transformation. His body shrank down, reverting to human form, where he lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.
...
Seeing their captain in such a sorry state, the Blood Rat Pirates' lackeys dropped their weapons and turned to flee.
Say what you will about pirates—they rarely stuck around for loyalty.
A crew reflects its captain, after all.
Of course, Kaito wasn't going to let this trash get away.
A glimmer of violet light passed through his Rinnegan.
He raised his hand.
One Universal Pull followed by Almighty Push—a combo special.
The fleeing pirates all froze mid-step. Blood poured from their ears, noses, eyes, and mouths. Like limp rag dolls, they collapsed where they stood.
This application of his abilities was tailor-made for clearing out fodder. The opposing forces of Almighty Push and Universal Pull compressed their internal organs without ever touching them directly. They didn't even have a chance to scream.
It all happened in an instant.
So fast, Kalifa hadn't even registered what was happening before every pirate in sight was dead.
Realizing that this might only be the tip of the iceberg when it came to Kaito's strength, a cold sweat formed on her brow. She snuck a glance at his glowing purple eyes.
"So… this is his power? What a terrifying man. Hard to believe he's only seventeen!"
Behind her, the Marine soldiers who'd been little more than bystanders up until now blushed with awe. None of them had expected this young Marine captain, fresh from headquarters, to be so overwhelmingly strong.
Only someone like this could command their respect.
...
Jerry, lying sprawled on the ground and watching all his men die before his eyes, let out a twisted smile, more painful than crying. In a crazed mutter, he whispered:
"Short-sighted… So short-sighted… Hahaha…"
Squish!
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Modis had silently appeared above him. Even in Jerry's beast form, he was barely the size of her paw. Now that he'd reverted to human form, he was nothing.
With a single savage paw strike, Modis obliterated the infamous Blood Rat Jerry, bounty: 120 million Belly. He vanished from the world, leaving only a bloody smear behind.
Looking down at the scraps stuck to her paw pads, Modis made a sound of disgust. She summoned black flames to freeze and purify the filth, then exhaled gently. The frozen mess disintegrated into icy dust and scattered on the wind.
Letting out a couple proud meows, Modis shrank back down to her small black cat form, leapt with grace, and landed back on Kaito's shoulder. Kalifa and the surrounding Marines instinctively took a few steps back.
Watching her affectionately rub against Kaito's cheek, they found it hard to believe this cute little thing was the same giant monster cat that had just torn Jerry apart.
Kaito gave her a playful pinch on her fuzzy little butt, making her mewl in flustered protest. Then he turned and issued orders to the Marines behind him.
"Battle's over. Don't just stand there—clean up the battlefield."
Snapped from their daze, the Marines all scrambled into motion, eager to tally the bodies and gather spoils. They hadn't done much during the fight—no way they could afford to slack off now and risk disappointing this terrifying young officer.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo