Chapter 229: The Slave Mark is Exposed!

"Sister Citron, this joke isn't funny," Smoothie remarked after a while.

Eventually, Smoothie regained her composure. She gazed at Charlotte Citron with a serious expression and continued, "Golden Lion died not long ago, so how could his Devil Fruit ability have appeared on Mikita's body?"

Cinnamon walked up to Citron, shaking her head and also said, "Golden Lion was killed by Gion and Rifan. After the Golden Lion dies, the Devil Fruit will reappear somewhere in the ocean. But no matter how you look at it, it's impossible for it to appear next to Rifan and be consumed by Mikita."

Citron frowned, also looking puzzled. "Smoothie, everyone, I know this is astonishing. I didn't believe that Mikita's ability was the power of Golden Lion's Lion Fruit at first."

"But just now, when I saw the clouds in the sky turn into giant lion heads, I knew I'm not wrong. That woman, Mikita, really possesses the devil fruit ability of the Golden Lion."

"In addition to the power of Golden Lion Shiki Float Devil Fruit, I can't think of any other Devil Fruit that can make a ship fly and manipulate the clouds freely," Citron stated earnestly. She quickly narrated everything she had witnessed during the fight between Mikita and Hancock.

In the consultation room, Smoothie and the others stared wide-eyed after listening to Citron's account. It was difficult to believe, but they knew that Citron would not joke about such matters.

After a while, Smoothie leaped off the hospital bed and hastily put her coat back on. Then, she headed towards the exit of the consultation room.

"Sister, where are you going? Didn't Rifan bid us farewell and allow us to leave?" Charlotte Garrett asked, following Smoothie's footsteps with concern.

"I'm going to verify the situation outside. I want to witness Mikita's ability with my own eyes," Smoothie replied, her expression more serious than ever. She was awed by what Robin had demonstrated, but the revelation that Mikita possessed the Float-Float Devil Fruit ability left her even more astonished. It was a level of surprise that rivalled what Rifan had previously brought!

Although Robin's ability was powerful, it could still be considered within the realm of normal and reasonable strength. But the fact that Mikita could wield the power of Golden Lion Devil Fruit was incredibly abnormal!

Just as Garrett had mentioned, the Devil Fruit had appeared in Rifan's partner's hands shortly after Golden Lion's demise, which was exceedingly unusual. When Garrett heard Smoothie's decision, her expression grew even more somber.

For her, Mikita's ability piqued her curiosity, but she prioritized her safety. Staying there without gaining a sense of security would jeopardize her life. However, seeing Smoothie's determined posture, Garrett realized she couldn't dissuade her and chose to follow along with Cinnamon, Citron, and the others.

Ten thousand meters above the sky, the battle between Mikita and the Kuja Pirates raged on. The elite fighters of the Nine Snake Pirates voiced their frustrations.

"Damn it, this woman is as agile as a snake!"

"You coward, come down and face us if you have the guts!"

"Accursed woman, return our weapons!"

Mikita had seized the weapons of the Nine Snake Pirates using her Float Devil Fruit ability. Among them was even Marigold's weapon.

Hancock frowned, watching Mikita in the air with a serious expression. The high-altitude environment at ten thousand meters was limiting for Hancock, not to mention the other members of the Kuja Pirates.

Mikita, on the other hand, possessed superior Haki compared to everyone else. Combining the Kilo Fruit and Float Fruit gave her exceptional agility, along with her Observation Haki that allowed her to foresee the future.

So Hancock and the other Nine Snake Pirates struggled to land a hit on Mikita. While Hancock attempted to use her charm to exploit any weaknesses Mikita might have, Mikita never gave her an opportunity.

"Damn Black Pearl Pirates! Why do we have to deal with such a troublesome woman, besides Rifan and Robin?" Hancock muttered through gritted teeth, keeping her eyes locked on Mikita.

"Hehe, I thank you for helping me master the power of my Devil Fruit. Since you desire this weapon, please take it," Mikita announced with a sweeping gesture of her hand, conjuring a thick cloud that formed a massive lion's head, lunging toward the Nine Snake Pirates' ship.

Simultaneously, the weapons—swords, guns, spears, and halberds—behind her were enveloped in Armament Haki. These weapons were then propelled toward the distracted Nine Snake Pirates.

Despite the elite fighters of the Nine Snake Pirates possessing strong Observation Haki, Mikita's weapon projectiles were exceptionally fast, bolstered by her powerful Armament Haki and the cloud lion's head.

They struggled to cope with the onslaught of these weapons. Soon, an accident occurred.

"Watch out!" Marigold, who had transformed into a snake woman, rushed forward and pushed away a Nine Snake Pirates gunner named 'Rindo.'

In the next moment, a weapon originally belonging to Marigold was embedded into the deck where Rindo had stood moments before.

Marigold attempted to retrieve her weapon to continue defending against Mikita's attacks. However, another sharp blade whizzed by her side, cutting through her clothing but not injuring her skin. As the straps of her clothes were damaged, her entire dress began slipping off her body.

At the same time, Hancock's vision around her became extremely hazy after seeing the white cloud lion head enveloping the ships of the Nine Snake Pirates.

Therefore, she directly jumped up, stretched her right foot forward and kept turning her body, kicking out strong winds one after another.

Under the influence of the wind and waves, the white clouds began to recede gradually, and the sights of the Nine Snake Pirates began to recover.

At this time, Hancock, who was concentrating on clearing the surrounding clouds, did not notice that the clothes on Marigold's body were torn and fell off.

And the three sisters absolutely don't want the 'tattoo' on their back to be shown in front of the eyes of other people in Daughter's Island, which symbolizes the Celestial Dragons slave's "The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon" will be exposed to everyone because of the dispersal of the clouds.

Marigold's eyes widened, and she tried to pick up her clothes in a panic.

However, the clothes she was wearing were thin, and after being hit by the weapon carrying Mikita Armament Haki, the thin clothes could not help her cover the "Hoof of the Sky Dragon"

Looking at the thinner clouds around him, Marigold became more and more flustered.

At that moment, a powerful force pressed down on her shoulders, and she felt herself forcibly pushed onto the deck.

Just as Marigold was about to struggle, a somewhat familiar male voice whispered beside her ear.

"Don't move if you don't want what's behind you to be seen by others."

Marigold couldn't help but shiver upon hearing this. She slowly twisted her limp neck to look behind her. By this time, all the clouds had dispersed, and the surroundings were clearly visible.

In Marigold's eyes, Rifan had already removed the coat he had been wearing and draped it over Marigold, who lay on the deck of the pirate ship. Rifan himself sat directly on top of the coat and on Marigold's back.

"It's you, Rifan?!" Marigold exclaimed in disbelief.

Rifan nodded slightly, his gaze briefly flicking across the astonished faces of Hancock, Sandersonia, and other elite fighters of the Nine Snake Pirates who were still conscious. Finally, he turned his attention to Mikita, who had fallen from the sky and approached him.

"Rifan... is here?!"

"Damn, do we still have to face off against Rifan?"

"A woman with a bounty of 300 million Berries is trouble enough. Isn't this Rifan, with a bounty of 1 billion Berries, three times stronger than Mikita?!"

"Wait... Look quickly, Marigold-sama's back is exposed!?"

"What, are we all going to be petrified by the cursed eyes?"

"Sandersonia-sama, Snake-hime, what should we do?!"

The elite pirates of the Nine Snake Pirates, upon witnessing Marigold's predicament, wanted to come to her rescue. However, upon seeing the state of Marigold's torn clothing and the bewildered expressions on Hancock and Sandersonia faces, they hesitated.

"What are these guys up to?"

"What curse are they talking about?"

Mikita frowned, her lovely brow furrowing in puzzlement.

"They have their own situation here," Rifan stated.

"Mikita, let me handle this."

"Go back to the Black Pearl."

"After I finish my conversation with Hancock."

"I'll be back."

As Rifan spoke, he raised his hand and used the power of the Float Devil Fruit to override Mikita's control of the pirate ship.

"I understand, Captain Rifan," Mikita replied with a smile. She then glared at Hancock and the others before jumping off the pirate ship and landing in the direction of the Black Pearl.

"Rifan, did you see her back?" Hancock's enchanting voice suddenly sounded from the side.

Rifan turned his head to look and saw Hancock with one hand on her lips, gazing at him with big, watery eyes, an expression of extreme distress on her face.

"Yes, I saw it," Rifan responded with a sly grin as he continued to use the power of the Float Devil Fruit to gather the sail that had fallen onto the deck due to Mikita's attack and wrapped it around Marigold below him. As the large sail enveloped Marigold tightly, the screen in the live broadcast room, which had been blacked out, also lit up.

"He saw it!"

Hancock furrowed her brows as she watched Rifan's actions, feeling an unexplained sense of anxiety and panic. This heightened state of unease only deepened her aggrieved expression, making her allure even more irresistible.

In the next moment, just after Rifan retrieved a candy-shaped pill from the medical kit and popped it into his mouth, Hancock extended her hands forward and formed a heart-shaped gesture toward Rifan.

"Melo Melo Mellow!"

With those words, a pink heart-shaped beam shot out from Hancock's hand and rapidly approached Rifan's body.