One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 283: Backstab! The Demon King's Terrifying Doll

In the New World Seas, the wind howled.

The Red Fox is navigating through strong winds.

Shanks stood atop the dragon's head, his black cloak billowing wildly in the gale.

"Boss."

Ben Beckman stubbed out his third cigarette.

He looked at the life card in his hand. What was originally a slowly burning piece of paper now had charred edges and was burning at a sudden speed. Instead of blue smoke, it was emitting eerie black smoke.

"Uta's aura is slowly changing."

"It's no longer just a matter of life force being lost; Uta's aura is being devoured, and in its place comes the scent of that demon."

Shanks did not turn around.

"Faster."

The Four Emperors' voices were hoarse, with an imperceptible tremor.

"Hang in there, Uta, we'll be there soon."

Meanwhile, amidst the ruins of the battlefield...

A huge hole was burned through the sky, and two enormous meteorites overlapped and pressed down on the ground.

In the shadow of despair, purple light and pitch-black musical notes soared into the sky.

"Smash it all!"

Douglas Barrett's roar drowned out the thunder.

On his shoulder, the demon-transformed Uta let out a shrill scream, and the phantom of "Tot Musica" behind him swung its huge claws.

Countless black musical notes transformed into tangible drill bits, crashing into the meteorite's core along with Barrett's domineering torrent.

Boom!

A loud bang exploded.

Two enormous meteorites exploded in mid-air.

Barrett was panting heavily.

The thick purple armor he wore had been removed, revealing his strong, blood-stained body.

Although he was disheveled and covered in blood, his eyes shone with an alarming intensity.

"Haha...hahahaha!"

Barrett looked at the falling meteorite fragments and let out a wild, arrogant laugh.

He clenched his blood-soaked fists, his depleted but still raging power surging within him.

"Do you see that? This is my power! It can even shatter natural disasters! In this world, there is nothing that absolute power cannot break!"

He was fascinated by the thrill of teetering on the edge of life and death.

He turned around and looked at the girl whose figure was swaying precariously in the ruins.

Although this young girl is crazy, she does have the power to match her ambition.

The kind of singing that can bring inanimate objects to life and distort reality is an excellent aid.

Barrett grinned, revealing a ferocious yet approving smile. He was about to say, "Well done, little girl. Next, it's time to clean up that naval junk," but the words caught in his throat.

Not right.

It's too quiet.

Uta lowered her head, her long, red and white hair obscuring her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

Everything froze, transforming into jet-black blades, all pointing in one direction.

"Hey, big guy..."

Uta's voice rang out.

"Since it's that strong..."

Barrett's Observation Haki is giving a frantic warning.

The image of my heart being pierced flashed through my mind.

A sign of death!

"What?!"

Barrett's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively wanted to activate Armament Haki for defense.

but!

At this distance.

"Then play with me forever."

puff!

There were no signs whatsoever.

Uta's slender arm transformed into a sharp claw wreathed in purplish-black demonic energy, piercing into Barrett's back and exiting through his chest!

Blood splattered on Uta's pale face.

She looked up.

Those eyes had no whites, only eerily rotating purple halos, unfathomable in their depths.

Her lips gradually parted, stretching all the way to her ears, revealing a twisted, broken smile filled with pure malice.

"you"

Barrett looked down at the black hand emerging from his chest.

The black demonic energy, as if alive, surged wildly into his body through the wound.

"What...are you...doing...?"

Black musical notes surged wildly into the wound, spreading along his veins.

His strong, steel-like muscles began to twitch irregularly, and lines of black runes resembling musical scores appeared on his skin, while countless worms burrowed beneath it.

That is the power of the "Demon King of Song".

"I'm so lonely, I'm all alone."

Uta tilted his head, watching Barrett struggle, the purple halo in his eyes spinning faster and faster.

She reached out her other hand and stroked Barrett's rough face with the tenderness of a caress, as if she were stroking a beloved doll.

"Become my number one toy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uta abruptly pulled his hand away.

"Ugh..."

Barrett's eyes rolled back instantly, and his massive body crashed to the ground.

A sickening, bone-grinding sound rang out.

Barrett, lying on the ground, had his limbs twisted in a bizarre way that defied human joints, and then sprang up like a marionette.

He hung his head, his arms swinging limply.

The aura emanating from him changed.

There is no trace of human presence left!

Naval positions in the distance.

Kizaru stopped what he was doing and was about to let the light particles he was playing with dissipate.

His eyes narrowed to slits behind his brown sunglasses, and his flippant expression vanished.

"Oh no, this is troublesome."

Kizaru looked at "Barrett" who had stood up again, his tone unusually solemn.

"The monster's internal digestion is over, and the situation is even worse than before."

Beside him, Fujitora's hand holding the cane sword trembled slightly.

In his perception, the raging fire that represented Barrett had been completely extinguished in that instant.

Instead, there is a bottomless black abyss.

The abyss was devouring everything around it; even light could not escape.

"What an evil power..."

Fujitora gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Is that little girl no longer human?"

"roar------!"

The puppet Barrett suddenly raised its head and let out a non-human roar.

With his roar, the shattered remains of the combined robot behind him instantly flew up, drawn by the demonic energy.

Snap! Snap! Boom!

Countless metal fragments reassembled in mid-air, with black musical notes acting as both the adhesive and the power source.

In the blink of an eye, a mecha that was larger and more ferocious than before stood on the ground.

It was completely black, its size had doubled, and it emitted an ominous black light.

Modified version: Combined Giant.

The puppet Barrett stood on the giant's shoulder, its eyes empty, but a broken smile identical to Uta's on its lips.

He raised his hand, and the massive black mech moved in sync, aiming the heavy cannon, powerful enough to shatter an island, at the naval position below.