Ursa's massive figure took up the entirety of the hallway when at full height, so much so that his arms rubbed against opposite walls. It was a wonder with his size and weight that he could stay crouched the way he was, balancing himself nimbly on the tips of his toes and poking his still unconscious soldier. Aya, in the back of her mind, couldn't help but compare the sight to that of a child crouched over an ant hill, poking it with a stick.

Jackal spoke, making a plea not only for training, as he had said, but for his life. The dog mink wasn't the only one who was aware of the strength of the man called Ursa, the man himself knew just how strong he was and how easily he could crush the mink that had opposed him to vigorously. Yet, even whilst he understood this, his fickle nature made his attention to it waver the more Jackal spoke. However, his ears perked up when the Bandit King had so bravely stated they could be on the same level within weeks.

"Guhuhu..." Ursa laughed, the guttural roll filling the hallway once more. "A cock-sleeve getting too big for her britches doesn't permit you to misunderstand your strength so casually. But..." he began again, gesturing with an open hand to Little Nose at his feet, "you seem to be at least somewhat interesting compared to other minks."

Little Nose had begun to stir. The feeling was slowly coming back to his limbs and he was, with great difficulty, beginning to try and prop himself up with his arm. This liveliness was quickly snuffed out as Ursa put his whole palm over the bloodhound mink's head and crushed it into the floor, popping it like a grape effortlessly. The movement didn't make him blink nor react in any capacity, continuing from where he had just left off.

"I've never seen a mink reverse electro before," he said, taking another momentary pause to put a finger to his face as if he were thinking. "But your life means nothing to me though. If you're here, you must have something of even greater value..." As he trailed off, the devilish grin that lined his panda face was enough to let Jackal know that a single life was worth almost nothing to the Mercenary Kingpin. What Ursa wanted wasn't life, but sacrifice - the willingness to sacrifice something, or someone, that had helped him get so far.

Birkan and Mink:

Ursa:

Yet again, luck strikes for Bazil as he manages to detonate his head before Kuro can reach him with his strike. The resulting explosion caused Kuro to flinch, not because the CP9 agent saw the pirate as a threat, but because he was suddenly worried about his suit amidst all the action. As the area was doused in the burning liquid, the senior agent managed to switch his Busoshoku coverage from his limbs to his suit and head, protecting them from the liquid and enacting an almost armor against it, not that it was necessary. Any liquid that managed to come in contact with Kuro's skin wouldn't be enough to leave any permanent mark and barely fazed the man.

Blanc, on the other hand, didn't have the innate durability of his senior. He hadn't reacted to the explosion, but that didn't seem to matter either. The napalm that came in contact with Blanc would liquefy parts of his body, causing both the liquid glass and the napalm to drip away together. Within a few seconds the logia's intangibility had done its work and Blanc was left unharmed and free of any napalm.

Neither Kuro nor Blanc were fazed by the suffocating air. They'd dealt with far worse in their days as Cipher Pol agents. They simply lifted their shirts to help mitigate some of the harsh breathing, but the fight would be over and done with before breathing the air would reach dangerous levels.

His last ditch effort amounted to almost nothing. The greatest thing Bazil had managed to do was force Kuro's hand so that he could salvage the suit that he was wearing, but because of the effort required to do so, the pirate was no incapacitated by his own means and at the mercy of the CP9 agents that weren't done with him yet. As the marine dogs called in to take out every high-level pirate filth that managed to get too big for their own good, Kuro especially had seen every way a man could attempt to get away with his life, including faked suicide. It was the sole reason he had become a doctor, although it had the bonus of also increasing how deadly he was in hand-to-hand combat.

Devil Fruits were an entirely different breed from traditional escape attempts, but Kuro did his due diligence and stepped up to the downed pirate just the same. As he did so, Blanc continued to watch from above, learning anything he could from his senior. Kuro wrapped his fingers around Bazil's wrist, feeling the pulse and quickly determining that he was still alive. With the pirate unconscious, it was purely up to them as to what they did with the opening they were given.

"It never feels bad doing this," Kuro stated, raising his hand and coating it in Busoshoku Haki once more. With a quick jut of his arm, he directed a Busoshoku covered Shigan directly into Bazil's heart as planned.

Kuro:

Blanc:

During Bazil's spat with the Cipher Pol 9 agents, the auction room had been thrown into disarray. The fire-breathing, bullet-shooting pirate had caused mayhem in spite of Kuro and Blanc's best efforts to keep his behavior contained. Those that had survived any misfiring from Bazil had long since begun to scramble for the exits, with the last few remaining in the room by the time the Cipher Pol agents had taken care of the supernova. It was during this hectic scene that Black Henry had made his move.

While everyone's attention had been drawn to the fight or to getting themselves to safety, Black Henry's only goal had been getting the prize that had made its appearance on stage. Stealthily, he had made and had his hand placed on the Devil Fruit when Kuro had finished the kill, making him the next candidate for the wrath of the Cipher Pol.

Devil Fruit in hand, Black Henry made for the exit with Kuro and Blanc hot on his tail.

Black Henry:

Kuro:

Blanc:

As Jackle dropped the pieces of Pluton onto the floor and began his speech, Ursa's comprehension of the situation changed. His investment into this mink had been bare minimum until this revelation, with the only reason he'd been humoring him so far was a modest attempt at seeing how far the Bandit King was willing to go in order to get the training he desired. If the supernova had been willing to sacrifice his crew, he'd been worth keeping alive. However, these pieces to Pluton changed the dynamic completely; even someone as dull as Ursa was aware of the rumors that surrounded it.

Ursa dropped onto his large, panda bottom sending a small quake through the hallway as he listened to Jackle's next words carefully, this time paying much closer attention. He did, however, wave Aya away after she had finished attempting to whisper in his ear. His large paw almost clobbered the Birkan against a wall as she gave him space again. Ursa took a minute to contemplate the real benefit of having Jackle on board, even if only for a little while, and he couldn't find a reason against it.

Slapping his knees, the panda mink spoke up once again, "Guhuhu... Pluton. My armies would be unstoppable. I could even finally give that bastard Taylor a run for his money." His tone grew serious, in spite of what was acceptance of the deal that Jackle had offered. "You stay, though."

Ursa stood up, once again taking up the entirety of the hallway with his massive figure. He turned, forcing Aya to run or risk being trampled.

"You can bring those pieces to me in the Fourth District if you make it out alive."

And with that, the kingpin left Jackle in the hallway, wounded, to fend for himself. Their agreement said nothing about helping him survive. In a warrior's eyes, such as those of Ursa, survival was up to each individual alone. If the wounded pirate tried to follow, that was a sign of weakness that would be met with a violent punishment.

Birkan and Mink:

Ursa: