Chapter 5

Chapter 5

This situation wasn't good. More and more soldiers were approaching them, and Snow felt like his time had come. Their guns aimed at them and their swords pointing, ready to finish them off. Looking over Caribou, Snow found that he was finishing up consuming everything in the room. He didn't look concerned, as he knew nothing could hurt him.

Snow will have to start training Caribou in using his devil fruit power when they get out of there. He should do this way faster. The soldiers stopped approaching them when Snow stood up and brushed off the dust from his black vest over his white shirt. His legs were shaky, his breathing irregular, and his vision spotty, but he raised his umbrella and opened it.

"Shoot him!" King Chap, all bruised up, yelled behind his soldiers. "Kill him!"

Snow held his opened umbrella with his right hand as bullets hit it. Snow's umbrella blocked and deflected all the bullets aiming at him, while with his other hand, he took out his smoking pipe, filled it with his herbs, and put it in his mouth. Snow felt that his lips were still wet from the blood he coughed up as he lighted the pipe and inhaled the smoke.

The thunderous sound of the discharge of guns slowly subsided, leaving only the smoke that filled the hallway. It mixed with the smoke coming from Snow's smoking pipe. Feeling his chest getting lighter, Snow lowered his umbrella. The soldiers looked surprised that their bullets couldn't get through to him, but they were quickly reloading.

"Are you done, Caribou?" Snow asked as he stared at the soldiers, but his gaze often turned towards Reiju, who stood beside King Chap.

"All done, captain," Caribou replied as he approached Snow. "Keheheheh, I got everything. Not even a speck of dust is left in that room."

"Good, it is time for us to leave," Snow said as he smiled.

The soldiers, hearing his words, prepared to intercept him. They raised their swords while Snow raised his umbrella, closing it before he swung it. The wall to his right broke under the strike, and Snow took Caribou by his shirt. Snow bolted out into the room that he broke into. Even though he regretted not taking King Chap hostage, luck still smiled upon him as he found a window in the room he entered.

Not looking back, Snow threw Caribou through the window before jumping out. Caribou splattered on the ground below, lessening the fall using his devil fruit powers. Then Snow fell on top of him, negating any impact as Caribou became a swamp. Yet, before Snow could enjoy his freedom and make a run, he raised his umbrella above him as he felt a gust of wind.

Snow almost buckled over the pressure from the heel hitting his umbrella. But using all his strength, he managed to push Reiju off himself. Caribou scrambled up, reverting to his normal self, while Reiju landed on her feet gracefully and blocked Snow's path out of the palace grounds. It was ridiculous how strong the girl with pink hair was.

Snow's arm was numb from blocking her attack from above. He didn't know how many more hits he could take from Reiju. He also could hear more soldiers coming towards them, so he didn't have time to waste. He needed to get out here. Yet, it didn't seem to be an easy task. Snow didn't know if Reiju could use haki, so even Caribou wouldn't be safe from her attacks.

"You know, you only need to ask to go out with me. There is no need to chase after me so persistently," Snow said as he couldn't resist Reiju's beauty. "We can skip all the dating stuff and go straight to marriage. I think three children would be enough, but if you want more, I won't oppose."

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" Reiju asked, ignoring Snow's comments.

"Asking you to marry me?" Snow asked back, and seeing that it didn't satisfy Reiju, he continued. "Stealing?

"You took the treasury of this country," Reiju replied as she readied to strike again. "It will cause war once other countries find out about it."

"And?" Snow asked again.

"You are dooming innocent lives of this country," Reiju explained, anger evident in her eyes. "King Chap will be forced to collect outrageous taxes from his citizens to recuperate all he lost to you. They won't be able to live in peace anymore."

"Heh," Snow snorted before he couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing. It was a slow laugh as it hurt his chest. "Heh heh heh."

"What so funny?" Reiju asked as soon they were surrounded by King's Chap soldiers and marines. "Do you think you will be able to escape? Every soldier of this kingdom will fight you. The Marines will stop you. There is nowhere for you to run."

"Run?" Snow asked as he looked around at the weapons pointing at him. "Maybe before, I would have run away, but now, after your words, I can't help but feel bad for the people I will cause trouble for. They will suffer because of me. I am a truly horrible person."

"If you understand, then surrender," Reiju said.

"It would probably be the right thing to do," Snow smiled as Caribou looked at him, horrified at the idea of surrender. "Yet, when has the world become so righteous? Has it changed while I dug up thousands of graves for my family, friends, and neighbors? Did King Chap do the right thing for them as he trapped us on that dying island and forced us to die out slowly? There is no justice. There is only power."

"What are you doing?" Reiju asked as Snow took the black pineapple from his pocket.

"Tell me, do you know what power his devil fruit will give me?" Snow asked before taking a massive bite of it without waiting for an answer.

It was crunchy, and it tasted awfully metallic. The insides were soft mush like it was rotten. But Snow finished the fruit in a few bites. Snow didn't know what he should have expected, but as he looked at himself, he felt nothing different. The soldiers decided not to wait for the effects of the devil fruit to take effect as they started to fire at Snow.

Snow was about to raise his umbrella to block the bullets, but suddenly, he felt light. Lighter than he ever felt. The half-ton umbrella in his hand felt like a feather. When he looked at this body again, his skin turned darker as bronze-colored swirls started forming on his body. The bullets bounced off his body as it felt like they hit iron, not flesh.

Snow had to drop his umbrella as his arms turned into wings with metallic feathers with long iron stems running through them. His feet turned into long and sharp bronze talons. A bronze beak grew out of Snow's face. His eyes become sharp, able to see minute details that he couldn't see before. He could hear the wind around him.

"My devil fruit!" Snow was snapped out from the feeling he had as his body transformed into a metallic bird as King Chap came into view. "You ate my devil fruit. It was supposed to be a gift for the World Government, you damn thief. How can someone as you dare possess one of the few mythical zoan devil fruits?"

"Mythical devil fruit?" Reiju asked King Chap as she was surprised at the new appearance of Snow.

"Bird-bird fruit, model: Stymphalian bird," King Chap answered as he cried out in frustration. "Kill them! They can't leave this island alive. Where are the rest of the soldiers?"

"Sir, the weapons!" One of the soldiers came running to King Chap. "They gone. All of the weapons are gone. Swords, guns, and ammunition. All that is left is what the guards had in their hands already."

"Heh heh heh," Snow let out a long, prolonged laugh through his beak that pierced everyone's ears. "Shouldn't you guys start running?"

With a swing of one of his wings, dozens of half-meter-long feathers with sharp and pointy ends shot out. They pierced through the soldiers like they were made of straw. The feathers were so powerful that they ended up embedded into the ground. The soldiers tried to shoot Snow, but their bullets did not affect him. The bullets could not pierce his iron-like skin.

Seeing the outcome, they drew their swords and tried to cut him. Snow complimented their bravery in his mind as he blocked their swords with one of his wings. The swords got stuck in his feathers. The soldiers were unable to pull them back. With a swing of his wing, he knocked them all down. The feathers were sharp enough to cut them as well.

Snow never felt so good. His body was so light and strong that he felt he could fly with it with a flap of his new wings. Yet, he didn't have time to enjoy himself as Reiju once again tried to kick him, but this time, Snow caught Reiju's feet with his talons. Her powerful kicks felt a lot weaker now. Snow could now easily overpower Reiju as he pushed her back.

"Well, love, it seems the tables have turned," Snow said as he held Reiju in place, not letting her move.

"It isn't over," Reiju replied as she struggled to free herself. "Pink hornet!"

Pink toxic smoke came out of Reiju's mouth, forcing Snow to back off and make distance. But the smoke was faster than him, and it penetrated Snow's iron skin. He instantly felt sick as the toxins in his lungs reacted to the toxins from Reiju. Snow couldn't handle the poison even with his now strengthened body. His already severely damaged lungs couldn't take it anymore and were on the verge of collapse.

"Captain!" Caribou looked at Snow with concern as marines started to approach them. "We need to leave."

"Gravedigger Snow," A massive man with sabers in his hands walked up before the marines. "I, Rear Admiral Chaz, will take you in. Dead or alive."

Spitting out clogs of blood that rose to his throat, Snow raised his head and looked at everyone surrounding him. The Rear Admiral looked serious, taking two devil fruit users seriously as he already had seastone handcuffs prepared. Snow already felt angry looking at King Chap. He felt even more furious now with all the marines looking down on him.

"Heh," Snow snorted. He spread his long wings and spun around, taking his umbrella from the ground with one of his talons. "You only take your dead comrades."

The long, sharp feathers flew from Snow's wings, forcing everyone to fall to the ground to dodge them. Taking Caribou with his other talon, Snow flapped his wings as hard as possible and rose to the sky. He didn't know what he was doing as he flapped his wings harder and harder, rising through the clouds. He didn't stop until he couldn't see the ground under the clouds.

The night sky suddenly didn't look as dark as Snow could see the moon and stars. For a moment, he wanted to enjoy the wind caressing his wings and commit the view to his memory, but he could feel the toxins from Reiju messing with his body. Clumsily, Snow turned and glided towards the boat where Coribou was waiting.

When Snow found the shore their boat was at, he dove down, trying to land. For this first time flying and landing, Snow couldn't complain. Caribou, whose half-body was under the ground, would probably say otherwise. Snow stood up on shaking legs, feeling pretty weak and sick. Still, it looked like he managed to escape, and they were safe for now.

Coribou helped his brother get out of the ground. Snow stumbled into the boat before searching for water to wash up the taste of blood in his mouth. His chest was still tight and worse than ever. He needed to find Law and fast. He could feel that this life was coming to an end. It seems that even a mythical zoan devil fruit couldn't save him. The toxins that Reiju gave him sped up his inevitable fate.

"Let's go before the Marines find us," Snow ordered the brothers to leave this island and go to the next.

With the money and treasure he stole, he should be able to buy a nice ship and hire a crew. Someone should be able to tell me where Law was for the right price, too. Even though he gained immense power and ability from the devil fruit and a lot of money, Snow had to wonder if it was worth getting poisoned by Reiju. Well, if that wasn't worth it, at least he royally fucked King Chap up by stealing everything he was worth. And without weapons Snow would like to see how his soldiers will try to suppress his citizens.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.