"Enough talk—let's get to the fight already!"
Burgess, a straightforward and bold man, hated unnecessary chatter. He cut straight to the point.
"Since you're not going to surrender, I'm coming at you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped forward, dashing toward Lafitte like lightning.
Lafitte twirled his cane and politely said, "You're too slow. You should use your Devil Fruit power."
Whoosh—in an instant, he had moved more than ten meters away.
No one could see how he did it.
Shock.
Everyone was stunned.
"Did you all see that? He actually did it!"
The Sweetheart Queen's beautiful face showed surprise—she couldn't understand it at all.
Betty frowned, deeply puzzled. "I didn't see clearly. It felt like he just disappeared."
"Such speed… I've only seen it in one person."
Baccarat nodded in agreement. "Aside from Chris, I haven't seen anyone that fast. It's truly terrifying."
"So awesome, Vice-Captain Lafitte!"
Paddon didn't care about the details—he just found it fun and clapped joyfully.
"Not bad! Pretty fast!"
Burgess burst into loud laughter. "Then next, I'll get serious!"
Roar—!
A beast-like roar rang out. White-blue light gathered in his mouth, with flashes of lightning faintly visible.
"Looks powerful!"
Lafitte adjusted his top hat, smiling. "You're not the only one with a Devil Fruit."
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a pair of white wings sprouted from Lafitte's back.
Under the sunlight, they gleamed beautifully, dazzling everyone.
"Whoa whoa whoa…"
Paddon gasped, clapping again. "Such pretty wings—looks like fun, teehee~~"
Doc Q coughed, stunned. He hadn't expected Lafitte to be a Devil Fruit user too.
"Looks like this fight is going to be exciting. Don't hold back."
The Sweetheart Queen's eyes sparkled with envy. "If only I had wings that beautiful…"
Betty exhaled smoke and nodded. "Now I get it—why Chris spoke so highly of him."
"With those wings, his movement is even faster. Burgess probably isn't his match."
Baccarat tucked her hair behind her ear and said gently, "This should be a Zoan-type Fruit, probably an Ancient species."
"Mythical Zoans are way too rare. The odds are low."
Burgess was briefly stunned by the wings, but quickly snapped out of it.
Zap!
He fired a laser blast from his mouth—blue-white lightning cutting through the air with immense power.
Flap flap…
Lafitte flapped his white wings, kicked up a gust of wind, and soared into the sky.
Boom—!!
A massive explosion. The trees and flowers ahead were completely obliterated.
Smoke and debris flew everywhere—like the end of the world.
"Impressive power."
Lafitte hovered in the air, looking down at Burgess with a gentle smile. "But your speed… is still too slow."
"If that's all you've got, then I'm sorry—the vice-captain position belongs to me."
With a sudden whoosh, he dashed above Burgess like lightning and swung his cane downward.
"Don't underestimate me, bastard!"
Burgess opened his mouth again, charging another blast.
"You won't get the chance."
Lafitte waved his cane and coldly spoke: "Hypnosis!"
A faint spiritual wave descended on Burgess before he could react—invading his mind.
In an instant, the glowing blast disappeared.
Burgess froze like a statue—motionless, completely unresponsive.
"You've lost, Burgess."
As soon as he heard that voice, Burgess snapped back to his senses—shocked.
Lafitte's cane was already at his throat, just a hair away from stabbing him.
Everything happened so fast—even the spectators didn't catch what happened.
How did he lose so suddenly?
"What happened just now? Why did Burgess stop moving?" the Sweetheart Queen asked, frowning in confusion.
Betty exhaled smoke and said calmly, "Lafitte said the word 'hypnosis'—he's not only a Devil Fruit user, but also knows hypnotism."
"Damn… now I see it. Chris was right—this guy really is a hidden expert."
Baccarat smiled and said, "Of course. Chris isn't the type to be wrong about this stuff."
Doc Q looked at Lafitte with a dark glint in his eye and muttered, "He's so strong… I want to see him fight the captain one day—see who's stronger."
At that moment, Burgess finally understood. He scratched his head and burst into laughter.
"Lafitte, you sly bastard. You've even got hypnosis. I admit defeat! From now on, you're the vice-captain, wahahaha!"
Lafitte put away his cane, gave it a twirl, and politely said, "To become the vice-captain of the Chris Pirates—it's my honor."
"From today onward, I look forward to working with you all."
Thunderous applause erupted from the ship as everyone cheered together.
"Our vice-captain, Lafitte!"
"We finally have a vice-captain—hooray~!"
"Our captain is super strong, and now our vice-captain is awesome too! Who can stop us now? La la la…"
"Let's have a party! Celebrate the birth of our vice-captain—everybody, let's go wild!!!"
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T/N:
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