A cold wind swept over the port.
Charlotte stood at the harbor, her senses on high alert as a ship approached. She could already feel the unnatural chill emanating from it. There was no doubt in her mind—a Devil Fruit user was aboard.
Sure enough, as the pirate ship neared the dock, a thin layer of ice began to form across the sea's surface. Though the ice wasn't thick, its appearance was enough to spark a suspicion in Charlotte's mind.
"Could it be a Logia-type Devil Fruit? Ice-Ice Fruit, perhaps?" Charlotte wondered.
If her guess was right, this wasn't good. Admiral Aokiji wouldn't acquire the Ice-Ice Fruit until years later. Was this pirate the previous user?
Charlotte frowned. Without a firm grasp of Armament Haki, defeating such an opponent could be dangerous.
The pirate ship finally docked. One by one, pirates leapt off the vessel, brandishing swords and muskets. The last to disembark was the captain—the same man who had blocked Charlotte's earlier flying slash.
He was dressed in dark clothes, a captain's hat tilted over his sharp eyes. As he approached, he sneered at the lone figure waiting for him at the dock.
"Hey, brat. That slash just now... was that you?" he asked, a hint of frost curling at the corners of his mouth.
Charlotte stepped forward, holding her sword confidently. "That's right. I don't welcome pirates here."
The pirate captain blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter. "Hahahaha! You? A kid like you swinging a Hero's Slash? What, did you just crawl out of bed?"
The surrounding pirates joined in his laughter.
"Captain, this kid thinks he can keep pirates off an island. Hahaha! As if it's up to him!"
Charlotte showed no anger. Instead, she raised a hand.
A wave of sword energy thirty meters wide tore through the air, sweeping across the jeering pirates.
BANG!
The laughter died instantly. Over thirty pirates dropped dead in an instant, cut down by a single strike.
Gulp.
Someone audibly swallowed. It was the only sound that broke the silence.
"C-Captain, he's really a swordsman...!" The remaining pirates cowered behind their leader.
"Damn it, I can see that!" the captain snarled.
He took a step forward, eyeing Charlotte more carefully.
"Join us, kid. The Chill Pirates could use a swordsman like you. Do that, and I'll forget what you just did. Sound good?"
Charlotte paused, then erupted into laughter. "Wahahahaha! Who do you think you are? Recruiting me?!"
With that, an intense wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from her body, surging outward.
"Ugh...!"
Groans echoed from behind the pirate captain. He spun around to see his crew collapsing, one after another, unconscious.
"This... this is Conqueror's Haki!" he muttered in disbelief.
A rare gift. One in a million.
Realizing the threat Charlotte posed, the captain gritted his teeth. He couldn't let this slide now. No matter what, he would not allow himself to be humiliated by a child.
White mist began rising from his fists. A blast of icy air spread.
"You're dead, brat!"
With a roar, he launched himself at Charlotte, his form blurring.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"Shave?" she recognized the technique instantly. He could use the Navy's Six Styles.
Even so, Charlotte didn't flinch. She stepped forward and met him head-on, their weapons clashing.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
"That's Armament Haki!" Charlotte noted immediately, spotting the black aura covering the pirate's fists.
"Hahaha! Sharp eye, kid! That's right. This is Armament Haki. I'm Will Werner, captain of the Chill Pirates. Bounty: 600 million berries. Dying by my hands is a privilege!"
Charlotte ignored his boasting. One word had caught her attention: Chill.
Not Ice, but Chill.
So his power wasn't the Ice-Ice Fruit after all, but something else. Maybe the Cold-Cold Fruit? Either way, it wasn't as dangerous.
Relieved, Charlotte parried Will Werner's punch with a strike of her sword, forcing him back. She followed with a sweeping slash.
A wave of sword energy, ten meters long, hurtled toward the pirate.
CLANG!
Will Werner covered his arm with Armament Haki to block the strike, but Charlotte's blade still sliced through, tearing into his defense.
"Hahahaha!" Charlotte laughed.
She didn't want to kill him.
No, she wanted to capture him alive. This man knew how to wield Armament Haki. He could teach her.
She was confident her body could handle the training. What she lacked was the method.
Her excitement surged. The thrill of battle, the opportunity before her—everything was aligning.
She unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, forcing Will Werner on the defensive. He couldn't close the distance. Charlotte refused to give him the chance.
Will Werner, a Devil Fruit user, was dangerous in close combat. But Charlotte's long-range swordplay made him helpless.
"Damn you, kid!" Will Werner cursed as he staggered under the relentless assault.
He hadn't mastered full-body Armament Haki. Charlotte's overwhelming barrage left him no room to counter.
A strike landed on his chest.
He froze the wound instantly with his Devil Fruit powers, halting the bleeding.
Charlotte didn't follow up, not because she was exhausted, but because she feared killing him by mistake. He had to live to teach her.
Will Werner realized he was cornered. With his crew down and his enemy unfazed, he had no escape.
Desperation twisted his expression.
He made one final charge, fists raised in a desperate lunge.
But fate wasn't with him.
Charlotte struck with ruthless precision.
His arms fell, severed. Then she sliced through his legs, cutting tendons and muscle.
"AHHHHH!"
His agonizing scream echoed across the harbor. Even Charlotte winced.
Her Observation Haki flared. She could feel his pain. It stirred something deep inside her.
She shook her head, discarding the emotion.
Looking down at Will Werner, now maimed and helpless, Charlotte exhaled and smirked.
"Armament Haki... here I come."