A yellow flash streaked across Marineford.
It vanished in the direction of Sabaody Archipelago.
Not long after—
A burst of fire soared into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the dock.
Landing steadily on the bow of the ship.
At that moment, Akainu’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
If nothing unexpected happened, this trip… was going to get bloody.
The warship immediately set sail at full speed—destination: Sabaody Archipelago!
…
Meanwhile, at the auction house on Sabaody Archipelago—
As Momousagi’s attacks grew increasingly fierce, Vir was still evading them with ease.
Rayleigh and the others had already left.
Vir watched the incoming sword strikes from Momousagi—layer upon layer, like raging waves—then tore through space and reappeared behind her.
No matter how powerful her attacks were.
As long as she couldn’t break through space itself—
She wouldn’t even touch him.
And that wasn’t just empty talk.
Unless she was fast enough to stop him from activating his ability—
Or her Observation Haki far surpassed his own.
But clearly, neither of those was the case for Momousagi.
By now, everyone else had cleared out.
Only the two of them were left, locked in a one-sided clash.
One attacked, one dodged.
Momousagi was practically boiling with rage at this point.
She felt—no, she knew—Vir was toying with her.
But soon, she realized something was off.
Vir was obviously stronger than her.
Why wasn’t he counterattacking? Why just dodge again and again?
Even if he was messing with her, surely he’d be bored by now?
And more importantly, Vir hadn’t said a word.
Clearly, this wasn’t just teasing.
So… what was his objective?
Meanwhile, Vir silently kept track of time in his mind as he watched the others leave.
Soon, it would be time to drag Momousagi into intercepting Rayleigh.
Momousagi was no match for Rayleigh.
But Rayleigh also couldn’t instantly defeat her.
Vir wasn’t entirely sure of Rayleigh’s strength, but he guessed it was around Admiral level.
And an Admiral couldn’t one-shot Momousagi, right?
So the plan was solid.
Momousagi would stall Rayleigh.
Then Kizaru would arrive.
How would this work?
Simple. He’d teleport with Momousagi.
Then pretend he couldn’t take it anymore—make it look like he was on the verge of death.
Force Rayleigh to act.
And if Rayleigh didn’t care about him?
No problem. Luffy and the others were there. If they carried him away, would Rayleigh just abandon them?
Even if he didn’t care about Vir, he’d still help Luffy.
In other words, Vir had Rayleigh’s script planned to perfection.
Trying to run?
Not on his watch.
But just as Vir was mentally reviewing the finer details of the plan—
That storm-like assault abruptly came to a halt.
Vir’s expression froze.
Momousagi glanced at the dazed Vir and secretly felt a twinge of triumph.
‘You want me to keep fighting you? I don’t know what you’re planning, but if I just stop, what can you do?’
‘I can’t beat you anyway!’
‘I’ll just leave!’
Momousagi didn’t hesitate at all. She turned and headed for the exit.
But how could Vir not see through her?
Done fighting?
Like hell!
Vir immediately pulled something out from his med-kit.
A photo.
Holding it up, he grinned wickedly at Momousagi’s retreating figure.
“You really shouldn’t leave~ Wanna guess what this is?”
Momousagi froze. The moment she saw the photo in Vir’s hand, an ominous feeling crept over her.
But Vir didn’t show her the front.
So she couldn’t be sure.
“This was taken while I was detoxifying you. You looked… graceful, alluring… absolutely stunning~”
Vir gazed at the photo in a dreamy daze, thoroughly admiring it.
While admiring, he started to comment—
“My handsome face is in the shot too, tsk tsk. Eh~ why does it show my tongue? I don’t remember that part?”
“And look—you’re even pouting. What’s that supposed to mean? I didn’t notice it before, but now it’s obvious.”
“Gasp—hold on, is that… drool? Want to take a closer look?”
He waved the photo back and forth while continuing to talk.
But the more he said, the darker Momousagi’s face became.
The implication was crystal clear.
If she left, that photo would go public.
She was an Admiral candidate!
He was just a pirate!
Who had more to lose was obvious!
That bastard! He took photos?!
And… drool?!
She pouted?!
Unforgivable!
Absolutely shameless…
Her body couldn’t move back then—so how the hell did she end up pouting!?
“If I release this photo… I wonder how your Admiral candidacy will—”
Before Vir could finish, Momousagi charged at him again, clearly faster than before!
Her blade’s momentum even fiercer than before!
Target: Vir’s mouth.
Vir couldn’t suppress the smirk on his face.
Here we go.
That’s it.
Kizaru should be arriving soon.
Time for the real show to begin.
And this charge from Momousagi—was the perfect trigger.
Good job, Momousagi!
She was already in front of Vir.
Her sword, Konpira, right at his mouth.
But—
Vir had already turned his head slightly.
This strike was destined to graze his cheek.
At the same time—
Vir swiftly pulled a divine artifact from his med-kit: a chainsaw.
With practiced ease, he revved it to life.
*VRRRRRR~*
Momousagi flinched at the sudden buzzing sound.
Seeing Vir raise a chainsaw—she panicked.
What the hell was he doing?
Was he going to saw her!?
She instinctively tried to leap backward.
But just as she did—
Vir leapt with her, perfectly in sync.
As she prepared to cover her chest with Armament Haki for defense—
Behind her, a space portal opened without warning.
A flash of surprise crossed her face.
Now she couldn’t advance, couldn’t retreat.
Now she was trapped—advance or retreat, both led to disaster.
In that one second of hesitation—
She and Vir were pulled into the portal.
They were inside for less than 0.1 seconds.
But in that split second—
Momousagi was stunned by Vir’s next move.
He took the chainsaw—
And sliced his own chest.
Before she could even comprehend what was happening—
She heard a voice in her ear.
“Lightning Cannon!”
Her eyes went wide.
She knew the power of that technique.
She raised her hands to block it—
And froze again.
It wasn’t aimed at her.
Vir had fired it—at himself!
A reverse Thunder Cannon?!
What kind of twisted move was that?!
What was he even trying to do!?
…
Meanwhile, Rayleigh and the others were rushing through the area.
Suddenly—
A wave of space distortion appeared in front of them.
Rayleigh stopped in his tracks.
Before he could figure out what was happening—
Two figures, one male, one female, emerged.
The woman was mid-motion, hand raised.
The man—
*BANG!*
Was blasted straight at them!
The force was so immense, even Rayleigh was surprised.
He recognized Vir instantly.
Tried to catch him—but the moment their bodies connected—
Rayleigh’s expression changed.
Holy crap!
That power!
How strong did you have to be to launch someone like that?
He barely managed to catch Vir.
But the moment he did—
*SPLURT!!*
A pressurized geyser of blood blasted him in the face!
The force nearly knocked him over.
His head jerked backward instinctively.
He ended up looking skyward, completely soaked.
Rayleigh was stunned.
That amount of blood…
What the hell?!
Vir trembled, barely able to raise his hand.
With a finger, he pointed weakly at Momousagi.
Then, with a voice so feeble it sounded like he was moments from death—
“Uncle… Ray~ avenge… me…”
And then—his head lolled to the side.
Dead?
Rayleigh: “???????????”