Capturing Snow Woman

Chapter 131: Capturing Snow Woman

"Who's there? How dare you trespass into Master Caesar's experimental base?" 

Monet spoke, and feathers of heavy snow fell in the room, fluttering around. The temperature inside the room dropped rapidly, reaching below freezing in an instant. White snow covered everything, turning the room into a vast expanse of whiteness.

Reiju's battle suit provided insulation against the cold, while Rodney didn't mind the low temperatures at all. With his Boil Release, his body temperature quickly returned to normal.

"Aren't you Doflamingo's people? And now you're addressing Caesar as Master? This is like being caught between two fires, isn't it, Snow Woman Monet?"

With one sentence, Monet turned pale. She instantly froze the openings and gaps in the walls with ice and glared at him, her face cold, as she asked, "Who are you? Your face... Are you Rodney, the Magician Shichibukai? How could you appear here?" 

Monet was profoundly shocked. She never expected that the person who had come this time would be none other than Rodney, a member of the Shichibukai. She had heard that he had a penchant for targeting other Shichibukai, so was he planning to target Master Doflamingo next?

For a moment, she felt an urge to retreat. She wanted to leave this place quickly and report everything about Rodney to Master Doflamingo.

"On the other hand, you're rather pretty."

Rodney's words made Monet blush, her face turning bright red. 

"Uh, well, it's just okay, I guess. Ah, I mean, I'm just average."

Hey, can you stop acting all embarrassed and flustered like a worm? Speak normally.

"What a person who can't take a compliment." 

Rodney shook his head and said to Reiju, "If I had attacked just now, this person would be done for."

"Sure, I can attack too. Although dealing with Logia users might be troublesome, I can poison her. After all, humans need to breathe."

"Yes, I want to have some fun with her." 

Rodney lunged forward, leaving footprints in the snow as he arrived in front of Monet. Before she could react, Shusui was swung repeatedly, cleaving her into dozens of pieces. 

She turned into snow, falling to the ground and blending in with the snow. Rodney emerged from the snow afterward, saying, "This is quite dangerous, you know? You launched an attack without saying a word. Is there a man like you?"

"Of course there is." 

Zoro had done that before, although he wouldn't have killed Monet, at most scaring her. Rodney had intended to frighten her too and then kill her.

Yeah, that's how ruthless he was. He couldn't use Armament Haki to envelop his weapons yet, so killing Monet required using his fists. She was in for a painful death.

"Tch! Die!" 

Monet's hands turned into two ice spears, and within a breath's time, she launched multiple attacks.

Ding ding ding ding ding!

Rodney easily parried Monet's attacks. Feeling cold beneath his feet, he looked down to see a mass of snow freezing his legs in place. Monet looked triumphant, saying, "Gotcha now! Die! Permafrost!"

Snowflakes surged like waves, enveloping Rodney in an instant and forming a lifelike snow sculpture, just like the real thing.

A gigantic ice and snow monster appeared, its mouth wide open, revealing rows of sharp white teeth, aiming to bite off Rodney's head.

"Hey, did you forget? I am one of the Shichibukai." 

Rodney's voice echoed from within the snow sculpture. Monet, who had transformed into Snow Woman, paused in her actions. She had forgotten that the man she had frozen just now was also a fellow Seven Warlord, just like Young Master Doflamingo.

Damn, she had completely forgotten just now. The attacks had made her overlook his identity.

Realizing this, fear flashed across Snow Woman's face. She felt an unbearable heat approaching, and she heard a low shout, "Boil Release: Unparalleled Might!"

Hiss!

High-temperature steam gushed out, rushing toward Monet.

"Aaahhh!!!"

Monet's face came into direct contact with the steam, melting her body into liquid. Her true form suffered burns from the scalding steam. She reappeared in the snow, rolling in agony.

Rodney walked over, grabbed Monet by the back of her neck, and as his hand cooled down, snow enveloped him. Despite the excruciating pain on her face, Monet managed to say, "Snow Storm!"

A blast of freezing wind gushed forth. While the cold might not be as intense as Kuzan's, it still held considerable power. The winds revolved around them at high speed, creating a snow tornado in the room, resembling a furious white dragon venting its rage.

"Leaf Dragon God!"

A counter-directional tornado appeared within the snow tornado. The two whirlwinds clashed, neutralizing each other and dissolving into nothingness. Holding the unconscious Monet, Rodney descended to the ground. He remembered something and secured her with Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, smiling as he said, "Yet another useful pawn."

"Captain, weren't you planning to kill her?" Reiju asked.

"This person still has some use. Even though we can't use her now, we might in the future. Let's not be in a hurry. We don't mind having a few more idlers on our ship. As for those three, once we arrive at Availiton. We'll sell them."

"It's up to you, Captain. Besides, this woman isn't bad looking. Well, Captain, you can do as you please." Reiju glanced at the unconscious Monet, wearing a wide grin.

"… What do you think I am? She's just a tool. Once she's served her purpose, we can dispose of her."

"Captain, are you really that heartless?"

"If I were heartless, I would have abandoned ship the night Kuzan joined. When those three bastards came to find me, I would have handed you over to them. If you don't have anything meaningful to say, then keep quiet. Alright, let's go. Sister Slug is in hibernation mode."

With a surge of Boil Release, Rodney reawakened Sister Slug, who had been in hibernation. Though it was still a bit cold, Slug Sister had fully recovered.

"Sister Slug, there's another individual composed of gas. Locate them; they're our mission target this time."

"Understood."

Slug Sister focused her senses and whispered, "Lord Rodney, I've detected the gas-based individual. Their existence is quite peculiar. Also, the woman is back to being flesh and blood. Their composition is truly baffling."

"I'm just as baffled. They merely consumed a Natural-Element Devil Fruit, allowing them to transform their bodies into elements. Beyond that, I'm not sure. If you want to figure it out, you can study that guy further." Rodney pointed to Monet, suggesting Slug Sister could use her as a research subject.

"No need for research, Lord Rodney. I'll observe carefully," Slug Sister replied.

She wasn't a devil, so there was no need for dissection and research. She only needed to observe and gather information from the sidelines.

"Then let's forget about it." Rodney lifted Monet and followed Slug Sister's guidance toward Caesar.

Of course, opening the door would still be achieved with Rodney's fists.

A punch shattered the wall, revealing a thick steel door. Drawing Shusui, it crackled with lightning. "One Sword Style: Harmony- Thunderflash Slash!"

After learning swordsmanship for so long, he needed to develop some sword techniques of his own, right?

The Thunderflash Slash, despite its name, was a Steel-cutting technique. It easily cut through the heavy steel door, and with that, they entered. Inside, they were greeted by a hail of bullets.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Facing a barrage of bullets, Rodney conjured a fireball in his mouth, high-temperature Chakra flames incinerating the bullets. He also launched attacks at the gunmen in front of him.

Boom boom boom!

These individuals relied on gas spheres for mobility, so explosions followed.

"Oops, I might have gone a bit too far. I forgot that this guy has the Gas-Gas Fruit. Using fire would have blown up the whole Punk Hazard. Vice Admiral and the others might come after me."

He definitely didn't want to face Sengoku's scowling face. If he blew up this place, he might have to compensate for it.

However, if he did blow it up; they probably wouldn't give him too much trouble, right? Probably...