Chapter 17: The Terrifying Devil Fruit Ability

"Is it coming..."

The White Fox murmured, as if sensing something, his voice audible only to the two of them.

Who is coming?

Xia Nuo grew increasingly impatient. This guy was acting all cryptic—were they going to fight or not? He kept talking to himself without making any sense, standing there like a wooden post, leaving others to guess his intentions. He hated riddles more than anything in this world.

Fine.

If he wouldn't speak, he would take the answer by force. With that thought, he made his decision; his wrist flicked, and the bamboo sword thrust forward abruptly.

By the time the White Fox realized what was happening and turned his head, the bamboo sword had already precisely flicked his mask away.

*Clatter—*

The fox mask fell to the ground. A gaunt, weary, and weather-beaten face—that of a man in his early fifties—was revealed to everyone on the giant screen hanging above.

A deathly silence fell over the arena. It was so quiet that the sound of the mask rolling across the floor was clearly audible.

Xia Nuo sensed the shift in the atmosphere and frowned at the face. Was this man famous?

The next instant, it was as if a giant boulder had been dropped into a calm lake. The entire crowd erupted in an uproar! Almost every spectator stood up in shock.

"Hey! No way! If I'm not mistaken, that... that face is..."

"Master Sakuraba!"

"He's actually still alive?!"

What on earth was going on? Wasn't the renowned Mr. Sakuraba supposed to have died in a shipwreck during a storm five years ago?

"Father!!!"

The curtain to the dressing room was ripped open, and Junichi rushed out like a madman. When he reached them, his entire body was trembling. He stared at the gaunt man with wide eyes, terrified that all of this was just a hallucination. "Is it really you? Is it really you..."

"It’s me, Junichi."

The gaunt man extended a slightly trembling hand and stroked Junichi's head, as if he had a thousand words to say.

But in the end, his eyes merely turned red, and two lines of tears fell as he muttered to himself, "Junichi, my Junichi..."

"Father!!!" Junichi could no longer hold back. He buried himself in the man's chest, clutching tightly at his bony frame, and burst into loud, wailing sobs.

"Waaaah, why is this happening? I’m going to cry too..." The host at the edge of the ring sobbed as well, taking off his glasses to wipe away his tears, which made Xia Nuo glance at him in surprise.

He stepped back silently, leaving the center of the stage to the father and son.

"...Junichi, move aside for a moment. Be good. I don't have much time before I lose my struggle against the control and lose my clarity. Let me finish the important things first."

The gaunt man patted his son's head. Junichi wiped his tears, nodded vigorously, and let go. Even though he was reluctant, he knew that some things took precedence.

The gaunt man turned to face the audience.

"Everyone, long time no see. Or rather, it has been a long time since I appeared before you as Sakuraba."

He spoke in a low, gravelly voice. "I believe what you all want to know most is what happened during that shipwreck five years ago, and why I am still alive."

In the audience, the vast majority of people nodded subconsciously.

"It wasn't a shipwreck. It was a carefully planned trap."

Recalling the nightmare, Sakuraba’s eyes filled with pain. "A devil called 'The Carpenter'—or rather, someone who had obtained the power of a devil—set his sights on my body, which was still quite capable. He lured me off the island with a ruse, knocked me unconscious, and then used his ability to control me while I was incapacitated."

The Carpenter?

Most of the outsiders present looked puzzled, but many of the local residents were shocked; they were all too familiar with that name.

This "Carpenter" was a local underworld boss who had risen to power about five years ago. He was notorious for his involvement in shady industries: professional beggars, gambling den thugs, loan sharking, and several brothels on the island.

Most ordinary citizens would avoid him out of fear, yet in the public eye, his status was far below that of the island's true elites.

And Sakuraba was undoubtedly one of those elites.

A rat from the gutter dared to lay a hand on such a person? Where did he get the guts and the ability? Could it be, as Mr. Sakuraba said, the power of a devil?

"Master Sakuraba! Do you mean to say that the guy called 'The Carpenter' is actually a Devil Fruit user?"

There were, after all, well-informed people in the audience who immediately caught the implication and couldn't help but ask aloud.

"That's right!" Sakuraba nodded bitterly. "To be precise, he is a Paramecia-type Puppet Fruit user, capable of..."

"—capable of turning human beings into puppets under my absolute control!"

*Bang!* The doors of the dojo were suddenly kicked open from the outside. Accompanied by an arrogant, boisterous voice, a middle-aged man in a luxurious trench coat appeared in the doorway, chewing on a cigar with a sinister expression.

It was none other than "The Carpenter," notorious in the eyes of the locals.

Behind him followed two other figures.

The audience squinted, only to realize with shock that the two men following him like lackeys were none other than the Town Magistrate and Major Tomt, the highest-ranking officer of the 129th Marine Branch base in the north of the island!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is truly surprising, Sakuraba. It seems I underestimated your willpower and desire to resist."

The Carpenter stared at the gaunt man in the ring with cold, predatory eyes. "Other puppets only need one brainwashing to be left alone, but you are a special case. Every once in a while, you show signs of struggling or breaking free. I re-brainwashed you just last month—what triggered you this time? Let me guess... could it be this brat?"

He shifted his gaze to Junichi. Major Tomt, standing to his right, raised his flintlock pistol expressionlessly, aiming it straight at the boy.

"Major Tomt, what are you doing?! Why are you taking orders from a thug leader, and why are you pointing a gun at a child?!"

A roar of disbelief rose from the audience.

It was a Marine from the 129th Branch, who had come to the city to watch the match during his leave. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was this really the kind, gentle, and upright Major they knew?

"Didn't I tell you? That is the power of the Paramecia-type Puppet Fruit."

Sakuraba gave a miserable laugh. "Your Major, along with that Magistrate, are both like me—secretly controlled by him long ago. In daily life, they look no different from normal people, but the moment the Carpenter wills it, they become puppets who obey his every command."

"Furthermore, it takes one finger to control each puppet. The Carpenter has ten fingers, and naturally, he wouldn't waste any of them."

He looked at the seven other dojo masters to the south, his voice growing even more parched. "So, all of my old friends have, without exception, fallen victim to his poison as well."

The audience erupted in another wave of panic.

The seven dojo masters remained seated, their expressions cold and indifferent, with no intention of refuting the claim. This only confirmed Sakuraba's words.

The surrounding spectators scrambled to their feet as if they had seen a plague, pushing and shoving each other as they fled toward the exits.

Among them were family members and close subordinates of those masters. They suddenly recalled the increasingly strange behavior their masters had displayed over the past five years. Now, finally understanding the reason, they looked at those rows of familiar yet alien backs with a sense of creeping horror.