Journey to One Piece

286. Have you seen a tiger?

"Kenny... What in the hell are you?" Monet gasped as the surroundings shifted, a palpable and invisible pressure bearing down on her. Though everything appeared normal, she felt like she was facing something utterly primal.

Her breath caught as the air thickened around her. She watched, heart pounding, as Ken advanced toward her. With each step, the atmosphere seemed to sizzle and crackle, his spiritual power radiating off him like an overwhelming wave. The icy air she commanded wavered in the face of this intense heat. She felt small and fragile, akin to a snowflake about to dissolve in the blaze of a raging fire.

Ken didn't even need to release his Shikai, but the heat emanating from his Ryūjin Jakka was enough to cause the entire area to grow warmer. For a breathless moment, time seemed to hold its breath, ensnared in the interplay of two elemental forces poised for a collision. Monet's heart thundered in her chest, each beat mirroring the impending clash. She steadied herself, her breath mingling with the biting cold that hung in the air.

Then it transpired. Ken drew nearer, each step resolute. Yet, Monet found herself unable to move. She felt like a child standing before enraged parents, knowing a punishment was imminent, yet helpless to escape. In Ken's presence, she felt smaller than a speck of dust, her fear too paralyzing to overcome.

"Before you came here... I saw the fear in your eyes. You've witnessed us, and that should have been evidence enough for you to flee... But you stayed..." Ken intoned. "Have you ever seen a fierce animal that didn't strike at the prey it had set its sights on?"

"W-what?" Monet stammered, terror coursing through her. She didn't know how to respond.

"Because I haven't," he stated.

With those words, he surged forward, cleaving Monet in two, reducing her body to separate parts. As he did so, the places he touched were incinerated. She cried out in agony, not only from the act of being severed, but from the searing pain that followed. Ken hadn't employed Haki in the assault; he aimed to instill fear in her until the very end.

Monet lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to reform her body. Seeing Ken standing there, fear coursed through her, preventing her from pulling herself together completely. She couldn't find the strength to become whole again. Ken, observing Monet's struggles, activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and transported her into her own dimension.

A valuable Devil Fruit shouldn't go to waste. It was, after all, a Logia-type, and Ken wasn't inclined to give up on such an opportunity. He then turned his attention to the Den Den Mushi camera that had been spying on them. Though mostly obscured by snow, one lens still provided a view.

He offered the camera a smile before continuing on his way. He knew Momonosuke was here, and it would likely be Luffy's first encounter with him. As for Jinbe, he might come face-to-face with the severed head of Kinemon. Both interactions promised to be somewhat troublesome, so it was best for others to handle introductions.

Moving through a series of rooms and corridors, Ken eventually arrived at a heavily fortified chamber. Intrigued, he sensed no presence inside. He drew his sword and effortlessly shattered the door.

Upon entering, he found the vast room empty, save for a table in the center. Atop the table rested a glass cuboid containing something resembling a fruit. Ken scrutinized it closely, momentarily puzzled.

"Could this be a Smile Fruit? It certainly looks like one, but why is it kept under such tight security?" Ken wondered, struggling to find an explanation. He surveyed the surroundings, but nothing clarified matters. Suddenly, it struck him like a thunderbolt.

This was undoubtedly a Smile Fruit, and its rigorous containment stemmed from it being a Mythical Zoan. A replica of Kaido's fruit, the one Vegapunk labeled a failure due to its transformation not matching Kaido's in color, even though in essence they were identical.

Without hesitation, Ken pocketed the fruit. He'd decide whether to consume it later. After securing the fruit, he left the room and resumed his journey down the corridor, eventually reaching the exit. There, he spotted Law conversing with the men outside. It was Smoker and the G5.

"Yo... It's been a while since I've seen your face," Ken greeted, observing Smoker in conversation with Law. Law and the others turned around, surprise evident. They were taken aback because they hadn't sensed anyone approaching. Someone like Ken should have been detectable through Haki, but there was nothing.

He seemed like a specter. Nevertheless, they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Punisher!"

"Punisher Kenny."

Law was growing increasingly irritated by the situation. He had been working to dismiss G5, and now Ken's arrival complicated matters. In response, Smoker lunged at Ken with a punch, his knuckles imbued with Haki.

Smiling, Ken deftly evaded the attack with a slight movement of his feet. Smoker wasn't finished, throwing another punch, this time with his opposite hand, only for it to be sidestepped once again.

"Why are you here? Straw Hats?" Smoker demanded, witnessing how Kenny effortlessly dodged. 

"Why? Is your name written on the door that I can't be here. Even the Navy isn't allowed in this place so why did you come?" Ken said. Law got irritated about how it was transforming and said. 

"Room!" 

A huge bluish transparent dome appeared and covered a great deal of distance around. 

"Shambles." 

And in the next second, the personalities exchanged between Smoker and Tashigi. It was so fast that the people around couldn't even react. And as he did so he cut off the connection of the cameras that had been looking at him. 

"What the hell happened?" Smoker said as he himself in the body of Tashigi. 

"What is this?" Tashigi cried out seeing herself in the body of Smoker. They were horrified but then again they have heard of this before.