"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Chiga, who was activating his ability, stopped the Preta Path's absorption because he found that the Preta Path's use didn't achieve the desired effect.
Yes, Chiga had anticipated that the Preta Path of the Rinnegan could absorb chakra in Naruto, and chakra was essentially energy. In the world of One Piece, that would be Haki and the energy within the body.
But Chiga wasn't satisfied with just that. He felt that Devil Fruit abilities also required physical stamina, so why hadn't he sensed this special power when he absorbed it earlier?
Could it be that the source of Devil Fruit abilities isn't actually in the body?
But besides the body, where else could it be?
"I got it!" A flash of inspiration struck Chiga's mind.
"Could it be the soul? That's right, besides the physical body, what else is there but the soul!"
Thinking of it, he acted. For the soul, that would naturally be the Human Path ability of the Rinnegan. Chiga lifted Brand, who had already lost the ability to resist, and with his other hand, he slapped Brand's head and then pulled something out as if grabbing it.
Brand, whose eyes were the only part that could move, watched in horror as a humanoid purple spiritual body was torn from his head by Chiga. His body instinctively trembled.
Indeed, through the Rinnegan, Chiga saw a wriggling mass of black energy in the heart area of Brand's soul body.
He directly activated the Preta Path's ability. The black mass struggled as if trying to escape, but it was clearly powerless against the powerful suction of the Preta Path and was directly absorbed into Chiga's body.
As the ability entered his body, Chiga immediately felt a peculiar energy within him, and this energy quickly surged into Chiga's eyes after entering his body, finally forming a black tomoe on the pattern of his right eye.
Chiga felt the abnormality in his eye. He used Water Release to create a small water screen in the air, and through the screen, he saw an additional tomoe in his right eye.
"Isn't this Sasuke's Rinnegan with tomoe? Although it's only one tomoe." Chiga was overjoyed. He hadn't expected that by absorbing the power of a Devil Fruit, his Rinnegan could evolve further, and so easily!
"Using Sasuke's eye as a reference, one Rinnegan can accommodate six tomoe. So, I have a pair of Rinnegan, which means I can accommodate twelve tomoe, meaning I can absorb twelve Devil Fruits!" Chiga was genuinely happy this time because finding a way to evolve his Rinnegan meant he was one step closer to the Sage of Six Paths' level.
With a casual swipe in the space in front of him, a door appeared before Chiga.
Chiga looked at the spatial door before him with satisfaction and thought, "I didn't expect things to go so smoothly. In that case, I can do what Blackbeard does, and do it even better!"
This battle had yielded much. Chiga no longer dwelled on it and looked at Brand in his hand.
With his soul extracted, Brand's eyes had turned white, and he had lost his life. He was truly dead.
Casually, like throwing trash, he flung Brand's corpse away. Brand met the same fate as the previous lackeys.
Thud! Another fresh human-shaped meat patty appeared on the ground. As for why it didn't turn into a meat paste, are you kidding? He was a pirate captain who had returned from the Grand Line, so is it a problem if his body is a bit tougher?
From Brand's attack to him becoming a human-shaped meat patty, it was actually less than five minutes. The pirates on the ground hadn't even fully reacted before their captain had become the sight before them.
Silence.
Slowly, some pirates began to tremble and speak.
"Run… run away!"
"Devil! He's a devil!"
"Why can he use the captain's ability too?!"
"Why are you still asking so many questions? If you want to avenge him, you go! I'm escaping first!"
The pirates completely broke down, scattering and fleeing like headless chickens.
"Tsk tsk, how ugly." Looking at the rabble below, Chiga felt it was really affecting his mood. He wondered what ability to use to clean them up.
"Well, I'll use this move."
Chiga's eyes lit up as he thought of a move.
Clasping his hands together, with his index fingers pointing up, Chiga took a light breath, then slowly exhaled.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A stream of flames erupted from Chiga's lips, instantly transforming into a sea of fire that covered the entire pirate crew, rushing towards the fleeing pirates and instantly engulfing the entire pirate crew.
"It's fire! It's fire!"
"Save me, it's so hot, so hot!"
"Am I dreaming? Can someone wake me up quickly?!"
"Please, sir, spare my life! From now on, I'll be your most loyal subordinate, no! Your most loyal dog! Please spare my life!!"
"It's over, it's over. I can't believe our Brand Pirates escaped the Grand Line only to be annihilated in the weakest East Blue, hahahahaha!"
Desperate pleas, agonizing screams, and deranged laughter intermittently echoed from the sea of fire.
Chiga frowned, feeling he had been too lenient earlier, so he increased the intensity. Then, the air went silent.
The flames dissipated, leaving only piles of human-shaped charred remains on the ground.
"I need to take these with me. These are all merits." Chiga felt he needed to clean up the scene.
He lightly gripped his hand, and the charred remains on the ground were gathered together, continuously compressed, forming a black sphere. Chiga even thoughtfully separated Brand's corpse, which was still somewhat recognizable.
Satisfied, Chiga looked at his masterpiece and opened his Door-Door Space, throwing these "trophies" inside.
Casually tearing down the Brand Pirates' flag, Chiga then set the pirate ship on fire.
"Now everything is ready. I wonder if these will attract the attention of the Headquarters." Chiga thought,
"Never mind, I'll go first and see." Chiga made up his mind and left the small island where he had rested for less than a day'.