HTP: Ch. 37

High above the skies, Itachi gripped the back feather of the phoenix with one hand, and with the other, he held Charlos by the collar.

The obese Celestial Dragon dangled ten thousand meters in the air like cattle about to be slaughtered. His tears and snot stretched into transparent threads under the fierce wind.

"Let... let me go! I'll have my father give you money! A... a billion berries, okay?! Two billion is fine too!!"

At this moment, Charlos' voice was full of pleading and wailing. When the pain had first subsided, he was still arrogant, thinking that even kidnappers wouldn't harm a descendant of the gods. But after being blown around by the freezing wind all this time, he truly felt like he was going to die!

The blue bird spoke lazily, "Sorry, your value is a bit higher than that."

"Then... then I'll give you this slave too!!! And the ones back at my home, all of them!" Charlos pointed at the mermaid girl, snot and saliva flying everywhere.

The mermaid girl, clinging to Marco's neck, shuddered instinctively.

"Silence."

With just one word wrapped in genjutsu, Charlos rolled his eyes and fainted instantly.

The blue bird whistled, "Genjutsu again, huh. Really handy ability. It kinda feels like Conqueror's Haki, but much more precise."

Itachi was also curious about this world's power system and started asking detailed questions. Since they had time on their hands during the flight, Marco began to explain.

Devil Fruits, Haki, and racial abilities made up the core strength of this world.

Then he commented on Itachi, "Your abilities are really strong, but your body is too weak. If you were physically stronger, you'd be even more powerful."

Itachi couldn't argue with that, but he also couldn't change it due to his chronic illness. Realizing that, Marco stopped and said, "Sorry, I forgot about your condition."

"It's alright. Your flames have helped a lot during this time."

"If we find a Devil Fruit that suits you, it might change your constitution. I'll keep an eye out!"

"Thank you."

At that moment, Marco noticed the mermaid girl was still trembling as she clung to him, so he changed his tone to comfort her. "Don't worry. We'll send you home. After all, your king pays us quite a bit every year—plus, Jinbei is on good terms with us. Oh right, what's your name?"

"Jasmine. My name is Jasmine," the mermaid girl widened her eyes. "You know Jinbei?"

Of course, Jinbei was more famous among the merfolk.

Marco laughed and was about to respond, but Itachi suddenly said, "They're coming."

Marco instantly accelerated.

At almost the exact same moment, a yellow laser pierced through the spot they'd just been in! The clouds evaporated, leaving a massive hole, and Kizaru's form reassembled from photons in the distance.

If Minato was the fastest in the shinobi world, Kizaru was the fastest in the pirate world!

Despite acting late, he had already caught up to Marco's group.

Marco shouted, "Hey, hey! We've got a hostage here, you know!"

Kizaru raised his hand. "Oh, but I've got orders from above, so there's nothing I can do."

A man of few words, Itachi activated his ultimate technique without hesitation. Blood tears streamed from his Mangekyō Sharingan.

The ominous black flames of Amaterasu instantly ignited on Kizaru.

Kizaru, sensing it with Observation Haki, instantly turned into light to dodge, but to his shock, the black flames continued to burn even on photons.

The yellow light was devoured by black fire... what a surreal sight.

In the next moment, he reappeared a hundred meters away. The black flames of Amaterasu had gathered on his justice cloak. He quickly threw it off, and it turned to ash in an instant.

Now he was truly taking it seriously. He frowned and said, "So scary~ Isn't it supposed to be a mind-based ability? That fire is way too dangerous."

If it hadn't been for his Observation Haki giving an early warning, he might've been caught off guard. The Marine's intel on this self-proclaimed ninja was clearly outdated.

"Who knows? Maybe it is." The blue healing flames flickered on Itachi's body, and he instantly felt much better. He continued calmly, "An attack of that intensity... that Celestial Dragon would've died from it."

Marco's tone grew somber. "Itachi, looks like the Celestial Dragon isn't worth as much as we thought."

That meant he likely couldn't be used to exchange for Ace anymore.

"No. If he were worthless, the Marine's top combat power wouldn't have shown up." Itachi analyzed calmly.

"Ara ara, this guy's really sharp," Kizaru said, pushing up his sunglasses.

Celestial Dragons were important, but so was the plan for the Summit War.

Given the situation, the Five Elders had already hinted to Kizaru: if the Celestial Dragon couldn't be rescued, then at the very least, the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't be allowed to publicly use him to threaten the World Government.

Thus, the mission became more like a "Russian-style rescue," if they couldn't bring him back alive, they'd kill him instead. But now, the sneak attack had failed. The enemy had powerful countermeasures, so even a Russian-style rescue might not succeed.

And since it was only a hint, no one might cover for Kizaru if he failed. If he couldn't rescue the Celestial Dragon and couldn't eliminate the threat... Things would become complicated.

In the worst-case scenario... he himself might be the one who ends up taking the blame.

What a terrible mission. I should've just pretended to be sick, he secretly complained to himself.

"Hey," he said. "How about you hand over the Celestial Dragon to me? I'll let you leave. You can take the little mermaid with you, too."

He tried to negotiate and even made some concessions.

Meanwhile, Marco was quietly discussing strategy with Itachi. He whispered, "Not good. At best, I can stall a Marine Admiral, but..."

"We can't win," Itachi calmly interjected, his gaze sweeping over the trembling mermaid girl and the unconscious Celestial Dragon. "As things stand, we've become the hostages' protectors instead."

This absurd turn of events made the corner of Marco's mouth twitch. And the opponent was Kizaru, the most troublesome Admirals.

Now they were burdened with two weak points: Charlos and Jasmine.

Itachi spoke calmly, "If we work together, we can fight. I still have one more ability."

Marco raised a brow. "Alright."

At that moment, Itachi released the genjutsu. Charlos regained consciousness and immediately started pleading, "Spare me! I won't do it again!"

Then, upon opening his eyes and seeing Kizaru, he instantly puffed up with arrogance.

"Wahaha! You lowly, filthy pirates! If you apologize now, I might still give you a chance! Become my Slave No. 300 and 301!"

Seeing his reaction upon waking up, Itachi was speechless. In a way, this Celestial Dragon was surprisingly... simple-minded.

He calmly drew a deep cut across Charlos's face with a kunai. "Here's the situation: Kizaru wants to kill us. But if he moves, I'll kill you first."

Charlos screamed in pain, bawling: "Nooo! I'm still so young! I don't want to die!"

Then he turned to Kizaru and yelled, "Hurry up and save me! You're useless! Kill them all already! Isn't that what the Marines exist for?!"