Jerry's unease grew stronger, especially after Medis revealed her fighting stance.
"Damn it, what's wrong with this cat?"
Not to mention the surrounding pirate crew members—the hellish, cold aura emanating from Medis froze them in place, making them unable to move.
If this continued, there would be no need to fight; they would just surrender. Jerry didn't dare to be overconfident and immediately activated his Devil Fruit ability, going into a half-beast form. His entire body instantly expanded several times over. His originally scrawny frame grew to the size of a normal person, covered in gray fur. Most prominent were his two front teeth, which became enormous and gleamed with a cold light.
However, Medis became even more excited when she saw him in this form. She instantly charged in front of Jerry, her claws wreathed in black flames, and swung them fiercely. Her massive cat paws were almost as large as Jerry's half-beast form. Jerry hardened his beast-form claws and crossed them in front of his chest, attempting to block the attack.
Zzzzt! A teeth-grinding friction sound emerged, and Jerry was sent flying by Medis's single blow, smashing through several houses and disappearing into a cloud of dust.
Kalifa, standing beside Chiga, pushed her finger against the center of her glasses, watching Medis, who had just displayed such power, with apprehension. From the force and speed of that attack, this cat's combat power had already surpassed her own—even after all her years of special agent training.
Where did Uchiha Chiga get something like this? In Kalifa's eyes, Chiga's existence became increasingly mysterious.
Back to the battle.
An explosion sounded, and Jerry leapt out from a pile of rubble and broken tiles. He was as disheveled as could be. His shirt had already torn off due to his expanded beast form, leaving only his pants—and now even those were nearly ruined, barely covering him.
The worst part was his chest, where several deep claw marks ran across it, but strangely, no blood flowed. The wounds had been sealed by a layer of solid ice.
This ice wasn't there to stop the bleeding; only Jerry himself knew that threads of bone-chilling cold were constantly invading his body from the wounds. He now felt the blood flow in his body slowing down, and his consciousness growing hazy.
Slapping himself across the face, Jerry cleared his head slightly. He looked gravely at Medis, who was unhurriedly licking her paws nearby. He knew that if this battle dragged on, he would die here today—and that young Marine behind the cat hadn't even made a move yet.
If the cat was this strong, how strong must the owner be? He didn't dare think further. All he could do now was unleash his strongest move, end this quickly, and look for a chance to escape.
Thinking this, Jerry frantically pushed his Devil Fruit ability further. His body expanded even more, his eyes turned bloodshot, his nose protruded, his ears elongated, and his front teeth became absurdly huge. He shifted fully onto all fours.
This was the complete beast form of a Zoan Devil Fruit. At this moment, Jerry had fully transformed into a giant gray rat with monstrous teeth.
With two sharp squeaks, his pure white front teeth became coated in pitch-black Armament Haki. This was his strongest move:
"Blood Rat: Black Tooth."
Aiming straight for Medis's neck, he pushed off with his hind legs, launching like an arrow. His speed was so fast that the crowd couldn't even see him—except for Chiga, of course.
Chiga looked calmly at Jerry, who had transformed into a large gray rat. The physical boost from a Zoan's complete form was indeed impressive. This level of speed already required Chiga to focus slightly to track.
However, Medis remained unfazed. She let out a disdainful meow, and the fur on her neck erupted into denser black flames.
Jerry's front teeth froze the moment they touched the black flames, and the ice began to spread instantly from his fangs through his entire face.
Panic surged through him. Seeing the ice creeping toward his brain, he grit his teeth, aborted his attack, and slammed down violently.
Crack!
Jerry's proud front teeth shattered into countless fragments upon impact.
The disappearance of his front teeth sent him crashing face-first into the ground. If not for the toughness of his fully beastified body, he might've lost consciousness then and there.
Still somewhat conscious, the combined injuries and loss of his main weapon made him unable to maintain his beast form. He reverted to human form, lying flat and gasping.
Seeing their captain in such a state, the small fry of the Blood Rat Pirates dropped their weapons and fled. Pirates are pirates—loyalty isn't often their strongest trait.
Like captain, like crew.
Chiga wasn't about to let these scumbags get away. A purple glint flashed in his Rinnegan, and he raised his hand.
"Universal Pull."
"Almighty Push."
The fleeing pirates suddenly froze in terror. Then, one by one, blood leaked from their noses, eyes, and ears. They collapsed like rotten sacks of meat.
This combo of opposing gravitational forces had pulverized their internal organs silently, efficiently, and without giving them time to scream.
Chiga's move was so fast that even Kalifa hadn't processed what happened until the entire enemy crew lay dead before her.
Thinking this might only be the tip of Chiga's power, cold sweat ran down her back. She glanced at his glowing purple eyes, thinking:
> "Is this his ability? What a terrifying man... and he's only 17 years old?"
The Marine soldiers nearby, who had just been spectating, had red faces. None had expected that this young-looking Colonel Chiga, freshly dispatched from Headquarters, would be this absurdly powerful.
Only someone like him could truly earn their respect.
Still lying on the ground, Jerry looked at his fallen subordinates and forced a broken smile—one uglier than crying.
"Short-sighted… so short-sighted... hahahaha…"
Splish.
The sound ended abruptly. Medis had suddenly appeared above Jerry. In his weakened, reverted state, he was barely larger than her paw.
Without hesitation, she raised her paw and brought it down.
Jerry the Blood Rat, with a bounty of 120 million Berries, vanished from this world with a single slap—leaving behind only blood.
Looking distastefully at the remains, Medis activated her black flames, freezing the mess. She then blew gently, turning the gore into crystalline shards that scattered in the breeze.
Letting out a smug meow, Medis shrank back into her small black cat form. She jumped gracefully onto Chiga's shoulder.
Kalifa and the Marine soldiers instinctively stepped away from Chiga. Looking at the tiny cat now affectionately rubbing against Chiga's cheek, it was hard to imagine this was the same creature that had just executed Blood Rat Jerry.
Chiga gently pinched Medis's tiny backside, causing her to let out playful meows. He turned toward the Marine soldiers and gave a simple order:
"The battle's over. Don't just stand there—clean up the field."
The soldiers snapped out of their trance, rushing to gather the dead and collect the loot. They had contributed little to the battle, so now was not the time to disappoint this fearsome young officer.
_________
Powerstones??