289 Little Sister

The mysteriously refreshing breeze swept over Dressrosa causing the people to feel energized and the wounded to feel a bit more comfortable.

This was all around a positive thing, they thought, even though they couldn't really wrap their little head around it. They questioned those thoughts only a short moment after, though.

"HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

The laughter that echoed across the entire country seemed to be filled with some profound authority that demanded submission.

Fortunately, the island nation was far enough away from the epicenter that nobody felt too pressured by it, but it still left quite the impact in their hearts.

To someone else, though, this laughter flooded her with relief.

Cabernet had immediately panicked to the point of hyperventilating when her connection with Cherry was suddenly cut off completely.

The tether between them was a constant in her life, much like her own heartbeat. It went unnoticed most of the time, but when it suddenly vanished she was filled with a sense of doom and emptiness. It was the first time in her short life that she felt truly and utterly alone.

"What's wrong, Cabernet-chan?!" Sanji was the first to notice, with his constant attention towards his lady comrades.

Cabernet was inconsolable though, only able to say "... Cherry… Cherry…"

It didn't click immediately for most of them, but Robin knew the full extent of the twos' connection.

Before she could reveal that Cherry was in danger, though, the breeze washed over them and the laughter came. As Cherry's lover and friends, they naturally knew the way she laughed by heart; although it sounded somewhat off and the pressure within it was new.

"CHERRY!!!" Cabernet raced towards the laughter at top speed, tears of relief streaking down her face.

The tether had not returned, but there was still a sisterly bond between the two of them. So long as Cherry was okay, Cabernet was sure that the blood bond could be fixed as well.

…

Cherry landed on the deck of the Neo Marine ship in front of Akainu and Zed. That's how it looked to the two admirals and Ain, at least. To the spectating Whitebeard Pirates, the ship actually rose out of the water to meet her.

Telekinesis was the bread and butter of high level Celestial Energy Cultivators, and Cherry was going to use it as much as possible. She didn't realize how much she missed such a simple thing. Manipulating blood bound weapons just didn't feel the same and couldn't scratch that itch. Vital Energy Cultivators couldn't use it until the divine realms, annoyingly.

"None of that now, girl. I'm not finished with you yet." Cherry said, giving a casual flick of her hand that sent a stream of vibrant green energy in Ain's direction.

Ain had just deliberately worsened the stab wound through her chest in an attempt to forcibly end her devil fruit's effect through death or unconsciousness via blood loss. She had already tried to end the effect on Cherry the normal way, but it wasn't working for reasons she couldn't understand.

When the verdant energy hit her, her wounds healed at a visible pace. Even her fatigue vanished and old aches from previously healed wounds vanished as well. She had never felt healthier, and so she despaired.

Cherry's gaze fell onto the two former admirals. "Shall I give you the same choice you gave me, Akainu? Burn or disappear?"

Akainu inwardly sneered at the idea that he could be burned, but that feeling went away the moment Cherry produced a flame in her palm half a meter from his face.

The flame was dark purple with white streaks and the heat coming off of it felt like it might melt the skin off of his face without even touching him. This wasn't normal by any means, as his body was naturally immune to heat well over a thousand degrees.

"I'm a blacksmith, so I'm quite good with fire. Maybe I'll refine your body into a pretty bracelet for Robin, hmm?" Cherry added, giving the impression that she was deadly serious.

"You killed my son…" Akainu barely managed to spit those words out.

"No, I didn't. I was there when he was killed, but it was Wilson Alexander who did the murder." Cherry said, seeing recognition for the name in Akainu's eyes. "Then again, just being near the scene of a crime makes someone guilty in your book, right? Just like how you massacred every last man, woman, and child in Ohara because a few scholars poked their noses in the World Government's business."

Akainu wasn't phased by that accusation. He lived and breathed hypocrisy, after all; hypocrisy was just another tool to attain his goals.

What did phase him was the name Wilson Alexander. As an admiral he was privy to information that most were not, including the existence of the grandmaster assassin that could only be commanded by the Gorosei. Even for the obscenely wealthy like them, it was a great expense. Although, Akainu didn't know the exact price; just that it was high enough for the Gorosei to be hesitant to call upon the man.

Akainu never cared for the motive behind his son's murder, but now that he was presented with more information on the subject, his mind naturally started to draw lines.

'She claims to be a blacksmith. My son was a blacksmithing prodigy. That explains what she was doing there, but it's not a motive to kill him. Revenge for Ohara on Nico Robin's behalf? No, she condemned my killing of those uninvolved with the scholars. My son was an innocent boy, ignorant of the world; she isn't the type to kill him just to slight me.' Akainu's mind raced.

*sizzle*

White hot pain brought him out of his thoughts. Cherry had split off a tiny cinder from the flame in her palm and it landed on his thigh.

"Pay attention when I'm speaking to you, please. No matter what, we're already bitter enemies to the end. You can puzzle out the truth later… in hell." Cherry's voice was cold enough to contrast with the searing heat of the cinder burning into his leg.

Cherry took a gentle breath in as if she planned to blow the hellish flame onto him. Before she did though-

*BAM*

Cherry was tackled to the ground, leaving the eerie floating flame to drift downwards and disintegrate the deck. It continued until its light could no longer be seen as it sank beneath the surface of the water and destroyed the water as it went, leaving not even steam behind.

"Cheeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!!!!" Cabernet cried as she wrapped her arms around Cherry's waist and held on for dear life.

The oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly. Akainu, Zed, and Ain still couldn't move as they were now held in a telekinetic grip, but they could breathe much more freely now.

Cherry watched the tears dripping down the young ship woman's face and was filled with a sense of guilt. "What a great fool I am…"

It hadn't even occurred to her that the broken tether with her blood bound artifacts would be so devastating to Cabernet. Of course, blood bound artifacts weren't normally conscious entities, but that was no excuse.

Cherry pulled Cabernet into a hug and caressed her head. "I'm sorry, Cabernet. It's all my fault. I didn't mean to scare you."

The bloodlust had left Cherry's eyes and now were only filled with sorrow. The three Neo Marines didn't know if this was a good thing or not, but they were bound to find out sooner rather than later.