One Piece: Investing In Whitebeard At The Start.

At this moment, Vane was already waiting on the ice. He had sensed Esdeath's resistance just moments ago. That powerful presence only made Vane more focused, more eager.

She had no one left to follow. Originally, Vane thought the [Investment System] might force her to obey him directly or place her under some kind of control. But that didn't sit right with him.

He would earn her loyalty with strength. Nothing less.

"Has she arrived yet?"

Suddenly, a burst of red light flared five meters in front of him. A graceful figure appeared, landing steadily on the ice.

"This place… ice?" Esdeath muttered, confused at first. But she quickly recovered, her gaze sharpening.

"You're the one who dragged me here by force, aren't you?" she asked, adjusting her cap.

"That's right," Vane replied simply.

"Tell me your name," she said, eyes narrowing. "You've caught my attention. Or rather, your power has."

She wasn't alarmed. Not even close.

"I'm Vane," he said. "The one you'll serve in the future."

"My allegiance?" Esdeath scoffed. "You expect me to be loyal to you?"

Ever since she became a queen, she'd never once considered bowing to anyone. And now this young man dared suggest it?

"Of course," Vane said coldly.

Words wouldn't be enough. Not with a woman like her.

Vane disappeared in a blur.

Lightning-fast, he reappeared in front of Esdeath and launched a punch straight at her.

"So fast!" she gasped.

Her combat instincts kicked in. She twisted her body, narrowly dodging the strike. But Vane's punch wasn't normal.

It carried the force of a shockwave—like something from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

The air cracked violently near her abdomen. Though she avoided the impact, she hadn't moved her feet. The ice beneath them shattered from the force.

"What kind of ability is this? You split the atmosphere?" Esdeath's eyes widened.

She barely regained her footing before a massive wave of pressure slammed into her stomach. Her body flew backward, completely out of control.

Despite her own formidable power, she couldn't match his raw physical strength.

Her world didn't follow the same power system as this one. Here, strength was shaped by very different rules.

"Some kind of Teigu… no. It's different. This can split space and air itself?"

She rose to her feet, pale-faced, hand over her stomach. She was in pain, but she didn't flinch. That wasn't her way.

"If you surrender, I'll tell you exactly what kind of power this is," Vane said.

He vanished again.

Esdeath frowned. The boy's refusal to answer irritated her. She raised a hand, forming a thick ice wall as a barrier.

That wasn't teleportation. It was the Six Powers technique, "Shave." Not true instant movement, but traceable—if you had sharp instincts.

And Esdeath did. Her combat sense was as sharp as Observation Haki.

She predicted where Vane would appear and raised her ice wall in that direction.

But the moment his fist hit, the wall shattered like glass.

"Damn it! Is his fist really that strong?!"

Esdeath barely had time to react. Another punch came flying. She twisted to dodge, but Vane caught her with a spinning kick, using her own momentum against her.

Boom!

She blocked with both arms, but still staggered back several steps.

"Unreal. That's just pure physical power?!"

She wasn't underestimating him anymore.

"How about becoming my subordinate?" Vane asked. "You're strong, but I have the power to counter you."

"Counter me?" she asked. "Defeat me?"

"Exactly."

"Then show me."

Esdeath crouched, pressed her right hand to the ice, and summoned a wave of sharp, cone-shaped spikes. Vane dodged easily.

He'd seen this move before—he used it on Akainu last time.

"So you dodged that one. Try this."

With a grin, she raised her hand again. A giant black ice sphere formed in the sky—like a meteor falling straight toward Vane.

He looked up, eyes flashing.

Interesting.

He reached his right hand toward the sky and punched hard.

The atmosphere cracked open.

"What?! What ability is that? Some kind of Teigu?"

To Esdeath, all great power came from Teigu. And her Ice Teigu was the most powerful of them all.

"This isn't some Teigu. It's power from another world," Vane said.

Under her shocked gaze, the massive ice ball shattered in mid-air, cracks racing up from the bottom until the entire thing exploded into fragments.

"How is this possible?" she whispered.

Her strongest move, destroyed effortlessly. She couldn't believe it.

"Power from another world. What do you think?"

Vane smiled calmly. "I know that in your world, you grew tired of being invincible. What's the point of being strongest in a boring world?"

"Join me. Serve me. I'll show you a world filled with monsters stronger than you. You'll never be bored again."

"Serve you?" she echoed, a cold smile on her lips. "That's quite the offer… kid."

She launched another attack. But the result didn't change.

Vane anticipated all her moves.

Even her ultimate technique, Mahapadma, which froze time and space, didn't faze him.

Because he had the same ability.

"You… copied my Ice Teigu?" she said, stunned.

"That's right."

Esdeath's voice was almost a whisper. "But how?"

"Because you're someone I summoned," Vane said. "I know your powers. I know your history. I even share your abilities."

He walked toward her step by step, hand outstretched in invitation.

"Join me. This world is far more exciting than yours ever was. You had no worthy opponents back there. But here? This world is ruled by monsters."

A challenge. A promise. An invitation.

Vane extended his hand.

---

[System Notification: Esdeath's loyalty is wavering. Potential for full allegiance detected.]

__

Send Powerstones, it motivates me.