Amine's heart hammered against his ribs. This wasn't a game anymore. Without his 'Shield-Patch', those arrows would turn him into a pincushion.
"If you kill me..." Amine roared, forcing himself to sit up despite the agonizing pain in his chest. "You'll never know about the 'Celestial Dragons' plan for the Warlords!"
The mention of the Tenryubito made the air freeze. The Kuja warriors hesitated. They knew that name. They feared it.
"How does a dying brat know of the World Nobles?" The leader stepped forward. She was Margareth. Her eyes were suspicious but curious.
Amine took a gamble. He reached for his broken stylus. It didn't glow, but he used it like a physical tool, drawing a symbol in the dirt—the 'Hoof of the Soaring Dragon'.
The reaction was instant. Several warriors gasped, stepping back in horror.
"Take him to the prison," Margareth commanded, her voice trembling slightly. "If he knows the 'Mark', only Snake Princess can decide his fate."
[SCENE SHIFT: THE KUJA DUNGEON]
Hours later, Amine was chained to a cold stone wall. His fever was rising. Without the System to regulate his temperature, the jungle infection was spreading. But something else was happening.
In the darkness of the cell, Amine looked at his hands. They were trembling, but not just from fever. Small, jagged sparks of Violet Electricity were flickering under his skin.
"The System is down... but the 'Code' is still in my blood," he realized. "I don't need a Stylus. I need to 'Re-compile' my own DNA."
He closed his eyes, focusing on the pain. He started to treat his own body as the 'Hardware'. He didn't mold chakra or mana; he tried to 'Flow' his remaining data into his nervous system.
[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION: INTERNAL-HACK INITIATED.]
[Converting 'Scholar-Knowledge' into 'Physical-Will'.]
[Result: Armament Haki (Incomplete Fragment).]
His chains groaned. The violet sparks turned black for a split second.
Suddenly, the heavy iron doors of the prison blasted open. A wave of overwhelming, crushing pressure flooded the room. It was like a physical weight on his soul.
[WARNING: SUPREME-ADMIN DETECTED.]
[Entity: Boa Hancock – The Pirate Empress.]
Amine looked up. Standing in the doorway, draped in red silk and surrounded by an aura of absolute beauty and lethal power, was the woman who could turn his world to stone with a single glance.
"Who is the insect that speaks of the Dragon's mark?" her voice was a melody of pure arrogance.
Amine didn't look away. He couldn't. "I'm the one who knows how to 'Delete' the mark from your back, Empress."
The room went silent. The death-sentence was written in the air.