As a rear admiral who had undergone training at Marine Headquarters, he naturally knew about Haki. He understood its uses and its dangers. The moment that thought crossed his mind, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach.
If even a crew member could use Haki, then the captain, who had yet to lift a finger, had to possess unfathomable strength.
But he could no longer afford to worry about any of that. As a Marine, fighting pirates to the death was both his duty and his honor. It was his fate.
Even though Jorah was well versed in Armament Haki, dealing with this rear admiral still posed a fair bit of trouble. The man had mastered all six Marine Styles. He hadn't perfected any single one of them, but he could execute every single technique.
Especially the Shigan he would fire off at random moments, which Jorah had to keep a careful watch for. Shigan's piercing power was immense, no weaker than a bullet. Even when Jorah reinforced his body with Armament Haki ahead of time, getting hit still stung.
But the damage Jorah was dealing to the rear admiral was plenty impressive too. Even with Tekkai, the Marine couldn't fully block attacks infused with Armament Haki. Every slash that landed drew blood.
However, as the fight dragged on, Jorah's own body accrued significant injuries as well. The sudden, near impossible to react to Soru. The Geppo that let the Marine hang in the air for moments at a time. The blindingly fast Rankyaku. That string of small combos was simply too much for Jorah to handle.
"So this is the Marine Six Styles? Not bad at all."
Off fighting the ordinary Marines, Yuristine could still leisurely appreciate Jorah's battle. It was all thanks to his exceptional Kenbunshoku Haki, which let him sense where the enemy's attacks were coming from one step ahead.
Saral was much the same. Although he didn't rely on Kenbunshoku Haki, he could annihilate anyone he faced in a single instant, so naturally he had the breathing room to watch.
Shirakawa, however, didn't find this kind of fight particularly interesting. Back when he was with the Roger Pirates, he had seen Marines who used the Six Styles far more masterfully than this one. But to the other three, it was a fascinating novelty. Shirakawa believed in Jorah's strength. He would definitely defeat this opponent.
And it was also a good opportunity for the other two to gain experience fighting Marines. If Shirakawa stepped in and took the rear admiral out in one hit, that would really take all the fun out of it.
"Rear admiral, if you don't finish me off soon, all your soldiers are going to be dead."
Just then, Jorah suddenly spoke to his opponent.
Hearing this, the rear admiral snapped back to his senses. He had been so focused on the fight that he had completely forgotten about the soldiers under his command. Now that he took a proper look, fewer than ten of his men were still standing on the battlefield. And every one of those ten was staring at Saral and the others with terror on their faces. A few even shot him looks begging for help.
"Damn it." The Marine rear admiral spat through gritted teeth, as if cursing his own weakness for being unable to protect his subordinates.
"Rear admiral, don't worry about us! Keep fighting! Dying on the battlefield is the greatest end a soldier can hope for!"
One soldier with particularly high morale shouted. His words immediately reignited the fighting spirit of the remaining Marines, each of them wearing an expression that accepted death without flinching.
"Are the people here really this easy to fire up?" Shirakawa had never been a soldier, so he didn't understand the emotions and resolve of military men. He just thought these people were far too simple.
But the Marine rear admiral, upon hearing those words, felt tears spill instantly. Just a moment ago, the thought of surrender had flickered through his mind, but his subordinate's speech had crushed that tiny spark before it could even catch flame.
Shirakawa almost felt like trying to recruit that soldier. A man who could rally his will to fight even in such hopeless circumstances was truly rare. But he also knew that winning that warrior over was impossible.
"I respect you deeply. If you weren't our enemies, I would truly like to share a drink with you all."
At that moment, Shirakawa, who had remained silent for a long while, suddenly spoke.
"Enough talk. Marines and pirates will never stand side by side. Today, either you die or I do."
"What a shame."
With his fighting spirit reignited, the Marine rear admiral's strength saw a sudden spike, putting even more pressure on Jorah. But Jorah could still hold on.
As for those ten Marine soldiers, they were no match at all for Saral and Yuristine. Very soon, each of them collapsed, unwilling expressions frozen on their faces.
Having already prepared himself for death, the Marine rear admiral's attacks grew more and more frenzied, abandoning all defense in a complete life for life assault. Jorah took more and more wounds, but the rear admiral's injuries were far worse. In a short time, he was drenched in blood, with no strength left to fight. His vision had become a blur from blood loss. He propped his sword against the ground to keep himself from collapsing.
"It's over."
Jorah let out a breath of relief and sheathed his blade. Even though the fight had left him battered, he had enjoyed it immensely. When he looked at the rear admiral, his eyes were filled with respect. This man was a true warrior.
In the end, the Marine rear admiral closed his eyes for the last time, standing tall among the corpses of his soldiers.
And with that, the battle ended. Count Riller was slain. The Marine reinforcements had been completely wiped out. The military police had long since surrounded the estate, but not a single one dared to step inside.
"Let's go."
Shirakawa said to his crew. This time, he had played the role of a truly irredeemable villain. Their bounties would probably see another massive leap in response. Last time, he had only eliminated a Marine captain. But this time, not only had they killed a rear admiral, they had nearly annihilated the entire local Marine branch.
Saral stopped Jorah's bleeding. It had to be said, Saral's Devil Fruit actually had the ability to accelerate wound healing. That was a pretty formidable function in its own right.
As Shirakawa's group moved to leave, the crowd blocking the entrance parted on their own, clearing a path. No one dared to stop them. Even if someone thought about taking a single step forward, the sheer pressure radiating from Shirakawa and his crew was enough to scare them back. When they passed some of the ordinary citizens, those people fixed them with looks of pure hatred. Were they blaming them for killing Count Riller, the man who had cared for them most?
Shirakawa didn't know. But he understood that this was probably the kind of look a pirate was supposed to receive. And yet he didn't like it, this feeling of being despised by everyone.
"We'll need to be careful for a while. After stirring up this much trouble, the Marines won't let us off easily."
As they walked back toward the ship, Shirakawa spoke to his crewmates.
"Agreed."
The three of them answered in unison. They understood that what they had done was no small matter. It might very well enrage the entire Marine organization and send shockwaves across the world. After all, cases of a pirate crew wiping out a Marine branch were extremely rare. Most pirates, even when they could beat the Marines, would only knock them unconscious. They generally avoided causing mass casualties. Because the wrath of the Marines was not something any single pirate crew could afford to bear.
/-\
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