I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 298 The Defeat of "Ship King"

Jack's arrival did not escape the notice of Uchiha Hikaru and the others.

To be precise...

It did not escape the radar detectors installed on the "Blue Planet".

This detection system was transplanted by Bulma from the Celestial ship. Originally designed to detect unidentified flying objects in space, it was far more sensitive than ordinary radar. When the two ships were still tens of kilometers apart, Bulma had already captured the relevant information and then forwarded it to the chat group.

Bulma: [Photos][Photos]

[Bulma: After being at sea for so long, this is the first time I've seen a ship native to this world! This ship probably belongs to another pirate; it seems to be very slow, and the materials don't look very good.]

Bulma: Huh, why is it getting closer to us? Is it targeting us? Hmm... it seems to have some hostile intentions...

[Nameless: ...This ship looks familiar... Yamato, do you have any clues?]

[Oni-hime: It's Jack!]

[Oni-hime: I recognize this ship, it's Jack's "Mammoth"!]

"Um?"

on the deck.

Uchiha Hikaru, who was sitting on the side of the ship, fishing with a fishing rod, looked up and his mind began to stir.

Others might not know who Jack is, but she knows him all too well—

That's the fourth-in-command of the Beasts Pirates, the infamous "King of Ships" in the pirate world. He dared to challenge three Admiral-level fighters—Fujitora, Sengoku, and Tsuru—all by himself, and even injured the formidable Zunesha... With such a formidable record, even Kaido himself would have to call him "Big Brother."

And now...

"No wonder I didn't see him on Ghost Island before, turns out he's out there."

"Looks like this guy has spotted us."

At this time.

Yamato was also in the group chat, introducing Jack's identity to Bulma and the others. Bulma visibly relaxed when she learned that this guy was Kaido's subordinate.

[Bulma: It turns out it's someone I know. I thought they were an enemy. As long as Yamato explains, everything should be fine... right?]

[Oni-hime: This...]

[Oni-hime: Actually, Jack and I aren't that close...]

[Bulma: Huh? Not good, do you mean we had a fight before?]

Seeing Yamato stammering, looking like he didn't know what to say, Uchiha Hikaru sighed and interjected:

[Nameless: Ahem, although Mr. Kaido tacitly approved of Yamato leaving the Beasts Pirates, this act is essentially a betrayal, and others might not understand it that way. Besides, Jack has a very volatile temper and might not listen to us.]

Having said that, Bulma began to realize what was going on.

She had genuinely believed that Kaido had peacefully sent Yamato away from Onigashima, but now it seemed that things weren't so simple.

Bulma: Hmm... Should I activate the ship's missile defense system to force Jack to leave? Their ship isn't going too fast; I'm confident I can only damage the edges and not sink them.

[Bulma: After all, she's someone Yamato knows. It wouldn't be good to just do things directly. Besides, if a Devil Fruit user falls into the sea, they'll drown, right...?]

[Brand: Um, if Bulma and Hikari find it difficult, how about we leave it to me and Akame? We've improved our strength a bit recently, and if he's weaker than Yamato, we should be able to defeat him.]

Anonymous: That's fine too.

Originally, Uchiha Hikaru intended to have Esdeath deal with Jack by sending a meteor shower from the sky.

Anyway, this guy has fish-man blood in him, so he won't drown even if he falls into the sea.

But since Brand is willing to take action, that saves us trouble.

At that moment, Uchiha Hikaru handed the fishing rod to Naruto next to him, then got up and went to the bow of the boat.

now.

The outline of the "Mammoth" can already be faintly seen on the sea several kilometers away.

Although it wasn't very clear, Esdeath and the others immediately showed wary expressions as soon as Jack's massive 8-meter-tall body came into view.

Theoretically, body size and strength are not necessarily related. For example, in the world of Akame ga Kill!, there are many guys who are huge but weak. But the tallest of those guys is only a little over two meters, less than a quarter of Jack's height. Jack's mountain-like body is still quite imposing from a distance.

"An enemy?"

Esdeath glanced at Uchiha Hikaru and asked.

"I suppose so, but you don't need to do anything. Just leave it to Brand and the others to handle."

Uchiha Hikaru paused, then added, "However, I might need your help before the battle begins."

"?"

As former enemies, Esdeath and Brand, though no longer as hostile as they were in the Akame ga Kill! world, still harbor some resentment towards each other.

But because Uchiha Hikaru spoke, Esdeath didn't say anything, but walked to the bow of the ship and clasped her hands together.

"Frozen Purgatory!"

The power of "Demon Essence" surged.

This moment.

A strong gust of cold air suddenly rose up and blew out from the deck of the Blue Planet, instantly sweeping across the sea and sky for several kilometers around.

Amidst the howling wind, snowflakes drifted down, and then the turbulent sea began to freeze rapidly. Patches of white ice rose from the water, then transformed at a visible speed into sheer cliffs, spreading simultaneously above and below the surface. Large schools of fish were frozen solid in the sea, their scales reflecting a dark silver light in the setting sun.

It only took about ten seconds.

On the sea, a massive iceberg, hundreds of meters high and stretching for several kilometers, suddenly appeared. The Blue Planet was at the beginning of the iceberg, while the Mammoth was at the end, completely encased in layers of ice and snow, making it impossible for it to move forward!

"……alright."

Esdeath released her hand seal and glanced at Brand behind her.

The latter sighed with a complex expression: "General Esdeath's strength has indeed increased again."

"but……"

"Possessed by an evil spirit!!"

With a low shout, Brand activated his armor combination mode.

Theoretically, the upper limit of "Possessed by Evil Spirits" is not much lower than that of "Essence of Demons." Moreover, Uchiha Hikaru could clearly feel that Brand's current aura was much stronger than when he participated in the martial arts tournament, so the claim of "improved strength" seemed to be true. If he could receive further guidance from the Cat Sage or Kami, he might be able to advance even further.

Leone also activated the "Lion King" half-orc form.

As for Akame...

Instead of using "Muramasame" this time, she drew another longsword and charged out with her two companions.

the other side.

After his initial shock, Jack roared and jumped onto the iceberg, then ran all the way to the top of the iceberg, where he fought Brand and his group.

The other crew members on the "Mammoth" stood frozen in place, staring at the massive iceberg before them, hesitant and uncertain.

"This ability to create ice and snow... Could the people on that ship be Aokiji?!"

……

"The market is open! The market is open!"

"Let's take a gamble and see how long it takes Brand and his team to win."

On the Blue Planet.

Uchiha Hikaru casually pulled over a table and started a betting pool.

Unfortunately, most of the people still standing here, including Kikyo, are good kids who don't dabble in gambling or drugs, so there were very few people responding at first. Only Esdeath and Naruto came closer; the former threw down two gold ingots, while the latter rummaged through his frog wallet for a moment and laid out nine banknotes on the table to show his support.

Afterwards, Hisahito Itadori and Miko Yotsuya also came over and put several thousand-yen bills on the table.

—Of course, it's in Japanese yen.

This kind of gambling game, where even the currency measurement wasn't standardized, was naturally very informal. However, Uchiha Hikaru was just looking for fun and didn't intend to use this game for fun. So, he solemnly accepted everyone's chips, tallied the time they had agreed to, and set the odds for each person.

"...Sister Guang, does what we're doing constitute gambling?"

Naruto was a little uneasy: "That white-haired old man said that gambling is a very bad thing, and it can make people lose everything..."

"ha?"

Uchiha Hikaru was slightly taken aback: "The 'uncle' you're talking about is Jiraiya?"

It's really hard to believe that a perverted old man who peeps at girls showering every day would say such things to educate children...

"Well, a little gambling is harmless. It's okay to gamble with friends occasionally, just don't get addicted."

Uchiha Hikaru ruffled the blond-haired boy's hair, then remembered something else: "Oh right, where's my fishing rod?"

"Over there."

Naruto pointed with his finger, then scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Nezuko wanted to try it out, so I gave her the fishing rod... I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your permission, Hikari-neechan."

really.

As Uchiha Hikaru's gaze swept over her, Nezuko grinned at her while gripping the fishing rod tightly with both hands, as if she had caught a fish, and the two were locked in a stalemate.

—The frozen seawater in Esdeath begins at the front of the "Blue Planet," so the sea surface on the stern side remains normal, with schools of fish swimming underwater. And what Nezuko has caught is a rare, large fish; even with her demonic physical abilities, she hasn't gained an advantage yet.

However, there's no need to worry.

Tanjiro was standing right next to her, keeping an eye on his sister's condition while occasionally glancing at the battlefield on the iceberg; he seemed very busy.

This situation did not last long.

Several minutes later, Mi Douzi finally pulled hard, lifting a large, several-meter-long, bluish-gray fish high into the air and tossing it onto the deck. As the fish thrashed about, its tail tip slapped against the metal sheet, making a clanging sound.

In a little while.

The battle on Brand's side is also gradually coming to a conclusion.

(End of this chapter)