Jay and Bonez's eyes turned red as they launched attacks at each other simultaneously.
Jay's nunchaku struck Bonez hard, sending him flying, while Bonez's knife-hand strike left a wound on Jay's body.
The pain snapped them both back to their senses.
"That singing just now\... something was wrong with it. Hypnosis?"
Jay immediately realized the problem. Seeing that Lafitte was trying to flee, he hurled one of his nunchaku with all his might.
The spinning nunchaku flew through the air with a sharp whistling sound, hurtling toward Lafitte.
Lafitte, already airborne, heard the sound and quickly shielded himself with his wings.
The nunchaku struck his wings and bounced off.
But that brief moment was all Jay needed.
Holding the other nunchaku, Jay leapt up. Using a derived technique from the Breath of Love, his weapon moved with serpent-like precision.
With just a flick, it coiled around one of Lafitte's legs.
"Got you."
Jay bared his white teeth in a fierce grin.
Lafitte was startled and instinctively opened his mouth, attempting to use the same trick again.
Boom!!
With a sudden burst of strength, Jay yanked downward, and Lafitte plummeted from the sky like a shooting star.
His back slammed into the ground with a heavy thud, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood!
Since when did the West Sea's branch marine have someone this tough?
A ruthless glint flashed in Lafitte's eyes. He opened his mouth again, revealing rows of sharp teeth, ready to use his "Siren's Howl" to forcibly seize control of the battlefield.
But just as he opened his mouth, before he could utter a sound, several black gunpowder balls dropped around him.
They flared with bright light...
"Damn it!"
BOOM!!!
"…Weren't we supposed to recruit him?"
Bonez walked back to Jay's side, glanced at the thick black smoke, and said:
"So… you just went and killed him?"
"What do you think of that guy's strength?" Jay asked.
Bonez thought back on the earlier fight and gave his evaluation: "Very strange ability. If I were fighting him one-on-one without knowing his powers in advance, there's a high chance I'd fall for it."
He paused, then added confidently, "But I'd still be the one standing in the end."
Confidence wasn't a bad thing.
Jay chuckled, then responded to the original question, "If that guy died that easily, then he wasn't qualified to be our comrade."
Bonez found the logic sound and nodded.
As the smoke began to clear, it turned out Lafitte hadn't been blown to pieces.
But he was far from unscathed, his protective wings were now pitch-black, and he had multiple injuries across his body.
Under Jay's watchful gaze, however, he noticed that Lafitte's wounds had already stopped bleeding and were beginning to heal.
What's more, Lafitte's appearance had changed significantly. Aside from the mouthful of sharp teeth, his lower body had sprouted feathers, and his legs had transformed into bird claws.
"A human face with a bird's body…"
Jay's mind started forming theories about Lafitte's Devil Fruit.
Bonez was about to step forward, but Jay stopped him.
"Let me handle this. We've wasted enough time."
Jay tossed aside his nunchaku and removed his shirt, revealing a nearly perfect physique.
[Demon Back], Activate!
A terrifying aura suddenly burst out from him.
Due to the angle, only Bonez could see the demonic face on Jay's back!
It was absolutely stunning!
How could someone have such a perfect muscle structure?
Bonez had to admit, he was jealous.
Meanwhile, Jay, now unleashing his full strength, began his performance.
Boom!
He stomped hard with his right foot, shattering the ground beneath him.
Using the explosive force, Jay closed the distance to Lafitte in an instant.
With a loud thud, he broke through Lafitte's guard, grabbed his head, and smashed him through seven or eight trees.
Lafitte wasn't defenseless, his bird claws were extremely sharp and left bloody gashes across Jay's body.
But that was all.
They were just flesh wounds.
Jay's high-density muscles were incredibly tough, offering strong defense.
Snap!
Jay suddenly grabbed Lafitte's clawed foot and grinned viciously.
"What is this, are you giving me a massage or scratching an itch?"
Then, he swung Lafitte into the air, recreating the iconic "Hulk smashes Loki" scene.
Left, right, left… left, right, left…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lafitte was completely overwhelmed by the brutal force.
He tried multiple times to activate his Devil Fruit ability and counterattack, but before he could utter a sound, he was slammed down again.
Or rather, he never even got the chance to speak!
Finally, Jay started spinning him around like a windmill…
After smashing through an unknown number of trees, he let go.
BOOM!
Bloodied and battered, Lafitte couldn't escape. He crashed through a thick wall and ended up back in the church.
"This time, you can test whether my blade is faster, or your hypnosis is."
Before Lafitte could catch his breath while slumped against the wall, Bonez already had his blade pressed to his neck.
If Lafitte made even the slightest move, he'd be decapitated in the next second.
Knowing when to yield, Lafitte immediately deactivated his Devil Fruit power and reverted to his human form.
Even then, Bonez remained cautious.
The memory of being hypnotized was still fresh and incredibly unpleasant.
He definitely wasn't going to fall for it a second time.
Just then, Jay walked in, casually slinging his discarded shirt over his shoulder, his bulging muscles radiating pressure.
"Welcome back. Want a cup of tea?" he said teasingly.
Lafitte coughed up two mouthfuls of blood before replying, "From what I remember, the West Blue didn't have Marine officers this strong."
"So… you're from Marine Headquarters? It doesn't matter if you don't answer. Cough... Looks like the Devil Fruit I stole really is a precious one."
"But you found out too late, and came too late. As you can see, I've already eaten it. Even if you kill me, you won't get what you came for."
Jay's expression remained calm, but inside, he was shaken.
So that's what happened!
This guy had stolen something from the Marine, something very valuable. A Devil Fruit.
That explained his strange reaction when he realized they were Marine.
"Do you know what kind of Devil Fruit you ate?" Jay asked, darkening his expression.
Lafitte grinned. "At first I didn't. I thought it was just a regular Zoan-type Devil Fruit. But once I ate it, I realized I was wrong."
"After that, I spent a lot of effort researching Devil Fruit encyclopedias, but couldn't find any records of this fruit."
"So, I believe it's an unknown Devil Fruit. Based on the traits and powers it revealed, I've given it a name myself…"
"The Bird-Bird Fruit: Mythical Zoan Type, Siren Form!"