Chapter 36: Escape
"That bastard—what's going on?!" Queen, now half-buried in the ground, roared in shock. He thrashed violently, crushing the Earth Clone beneath him with a powerful kick. Bracing both hands against the earth, he tried to climb out.
But Ayaan had already begun forming hand seals. With a smile, he declared, "It's too late. You have no chance—Suiton: Takigakure no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Waterfall Technique)
After his earlier encounter with Black Maria, Ayaan realized how ridiculously effective Water Release was in the world of One Piece. Aside from Devil Fruit users with extremely high physical prowess or exceptional Haki mastery, most would be rendered helpless upon contact with seawater or flowing water—especially in large volumes.
A massive torrent of water burst forth, and Queen's eyes widened in horror. Half-trapped in the earth, he had no way to dodge. In an instant, the wave crashed over him, soaking his entire body.
Ayaan clapped his hands with a satisfied smile. "Looks like that went smoothly."
He formed another hand seal, creating a Water Clone, which swiftly cast Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique), trapping Queen in a large, swirling sphere of water.
"I'm not sure how deep his mechanical modifications go," Ayaan muttered. "Some of them might still function underwater, since machines aren't affected the same way Devil Fruit users are."
With that thought, he prepared to use his Baku Baku no Mi ability again—aiming to paralyze or disable Queen's cybernetic components.
But before he could approach, there was a sudden BOOM!
A massive figure came crashing down in front of him—encased in ice. Ayaan blinked. "Is that... Ivory Jack?"
Upon closer look, he realized it was Jack the Drought, frozen mid-transformation in his half-beast mammoth form.
With a roar, Jack broke free of the ice and shouted, "I'm Drought Jack! Not some damned Ivory Jack!"
THWACK!
A large kanabō (spiked club) came crashing down on Jack's skull, slamming him face-first into the dirt.
Ayaan shook his head, sighing, "If you keep being so stubborn, you'll soon turn into Headless Jack."
A pale, slender hand retrieved the kanabō. Standing on Jack's head was Yamato, gripping her club and staring in awe at the sight of Queen trapped in a water prison.
"You're amazing, Ayaan. I didn't think anyone could handle someone like Queen solo!"
Ayaan raised a brow. "You were wearing seastone cuffs back then, right? That's a huge handicap."
Yamato grinned. "True. But now, aside from my father, even King the Wildfire might not be able to beat me."
"ROAR!" Jack yanked his head out of the ground again. Ayaan calmly summoned another Water Clone, which trapped Jack in yet another Water Prison.
Although Yamato had previously seen Ayaan use clones, she had never witnessed his Water Release abilities firsthand. During training, he refrained from using ninjutsu that would give him an unfair advantage.
Still, she'd heard whispers from the Spade Pirates about Ayaan being able to manipulate water. Seeing it for herself now was something else entirely.
"Incredible," she said with sparkling eyes. "If you can control water like that, no Devil Fruit user can fight you, right?"
Ayaan shook his head. "Not quite. It makes things easier, but not every Devil Fruit user is weak to water the same way."
Take Yamato, for instance—her Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Ōguchi no Makami (Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Great White Wolf Deity) allowed her to manipulate freezing elements. She could easily counter Water Release.
"Oh, right!" Yamato exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "We have to find Ace. Uncle King isn't someone to underestimate. He's way stronger than Jack!"
Before Ayaan could respond, BOOM! The water sphere containing Queen exploded violently.
Queen burst free, shattering the clone with a single strike, then extended a mechanical arm that reached into the other water prison and yanked Jack out.
"What the—? Where do you think you're going!?" Yamato shouted. She leapt into action, half-transformed into her beast form, and unleashed a freezing slash.
Queen reacted fast—he grabbed the injured Jack and used him as a human shield. Yamato's icy blow struck Jack's forehead and launched both of them backward.
Before either Ayaan or Yamato could pursue, Queen transformed again. Fire blasted from beneath his feet as rocket propulsion activated, and he shot into the sky—carrying the unconscious Jack.
"Did that guy just... fly away?" Yamato said in disbelief.
Ayaan narrowed his eyes. "Beast Pirates or not, Queen's cybernetics are way beyond what anyone should be able to build. If he can launch his head and neck like a missile, he's probably more machine than man at this point."
"Maybe he's just a robot wearing dinosaur skin," he muttered.
Yamato was still frozen in place. "I can't believe they just ran off like that…"
Ayaan, still watching the fight in the sky, replied, "Good riddance. Saves us the trouble. There's no point in defeating them if Kaido isn't here."
Yamato nodded slowly, her expression serious. "If my father does show up… we're still not strong enough."
"Exactly," Ayaan said, exhaling. "Which means we keep training."
His gaze returned to the sky, where a fierce battle between Ace and King was still unfolding—fire against flame, wingbeats shaking the sky.