One Piece: Ulquiorra Template

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Offer

"Kid, he's got the makings of a real menace on the seas. A future king, some might say. Shouldn't the Marines be snuffing out threats like that before they fully ignite?" Ian pressed, his gaze unwavering as it locked with Gion's.

The Magnet-Magnet Fruit, with its power to command metal, was a prize indeed. Absorbing it, wielding it himself – it would be a boon to his defenses. A flicker of irritation sparked within him at her decision to apprehend rather than eliminate.

"I'm afraid I can't divulge the specifics. Marine intelligence, you understand... But you haven't answered my question. What exactly transpired here?" Gion descended gracefully, her voice a blend of silk and steel.

Ian, however, had a hunch. It concerned Impel Down, a grim fortress looming large in his future plans, a place overflowing with the very essence he craved.

The World Government, in its wisdom, incarcerated a multitude of dangerous criminals within Impel Down's depths. Yet, they shied away from outright executions, and for a very particular reason.

Many of these prisoners held the power of Devil Fruits. To execute them would mean those abilities would resurface, potentially wreaking havoc in the hands of someone new.

Take Byrnndi World, the self-proclaimed "Destroyer of Worlds." While a formidable pirate in his own right, his true terror stemmed from the More More no Mi.

Such devastating powers couldn't be allowed to run rampant. Their resurgence could unleash another cataclysm upon the world.

This, Ian surmised, was the logic behind Gion's decision to spare Kid. While not yet a force of nature, his Magnet-Magnet Fruit posed a significant threat, warranting capture over immediate elimination. Lethal force would be a last resort.

But, if she knew of Ian's ability to absorb, potentially replicate, and even erase Devil Fruits altogether, she might even seek his assistance in dealing with Impel Down's inmates.

After all, these dangerous criminals were volatile elements, ticking time bombs. Who could predict when another incident like Shiki's escape might occur? They couldn't be left to fester indefinitely.

"Tell me," Gion's voice softened, laced with a hint of unease, "did you... eliminate all these pirates? Why? It's... excessive."

Her gaze swept across the scene – the auction house reduced to a mangled ruin, strewn with pirate corpses and crimson pools.

Even for a seasoned Marine like herself, the sheer scale of the slaughter, orchestrated by a single individual, was unsettling. The vibrant red of spilled blood painted the ground in a gruesome tableau.

A lone figure in white, a specter amidst a blazing inferno of death and destruction.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Thankfully, the slaves held captive in cages had been spared the carnage, though their eyes were wide with terror, their faces etched with the trauma they had witnessed.

Despite his ragged appearance, Ian's white attire remained remarkably clean, untouched by the surrounding gore. Its pristine whiteness seemed to mock the carnage.

An angel of death, cloaked in innocence.

"Pirates are a blight that deserves eradication. I was a victim, moments away from losing my life at their hands. Fate, however, granted me the power to exact retribution. That's all."

"..." Gion found herself unable to refute his words. Such tragedies were commonplace in the brutal world of One Piece. Innocent lives shattered, futures extinguished by the rapacious greed of pirates.