Chapter 7: Ninja Tactics, Killing with a Borrowed Knife!
"Hmm?"
Captain Morgan, who was just about to give a pretentious speech, looked up in confusion.
In the next second, his pupils constricted violently, and his eyes nearly bulged out.
Because he saw "himself"—
That massive stone statue head was hurtling towards him with a whistling wind, crashing down like Mount Tai!
"Bastard!!"
In a life-and-death moment, Captain Morgan displayed the physical prowess of a Marine branch colonel.
He instinctively lunged to the side, performing a clumsy somersault.
"Thoom—!!!"
A deafening boom rang out, and the earth seemed to tremble.
The massive stone statue smashed heavily into the center of the training ground, instantly shattering into pieces.
Debris flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust that completely enveloped the surrounding area for over ten meters.
"Whoa! What a huge commotion!"
Luffy landed on the ground using his rubbery recoil, his mouth agape as he looked at the ruins before him.
Zoro grabbed the three swords Luffy handed him and quickly tucked them into his waist.
Then he pulled out the white wado ichimonji and bit down on it, holding a sword in each hand as his gaze instantly sharpened.
"Thanks, Luffy."
Feeling the familiar touch of the sword hilts, Zoro's aura surged.
"I finally feel alive again."
He glanced at the billowing dust and snorted, "Getting hit by such a big rock, even if that Captain Morgan isn't dead, he must be crippled."
"Not necessarily."
Tatsuya stood to the side, red light swirling in his eyes. "In stories, there's a law of'smoke but no damage'."
As if to prove his words.
"Whoosh—!"
A gust of strong wind suddenly erupted from the smoke, and the dust that was thick enough to block vision was forcibly split open by a giant axe!
Captain Morgan's figure was revealed.
Though he was covered in dust and his proud Marine coat was in tatters...
His predatory, violent aura was even stronger than before.
"You... how dare you do such a thing to my statue!!"
Captain Morgan's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead as he stepped out from the ruins.
"I am Axe-Hand Morgan! I am the only king here! You lowly pirates..."
"Swish!"
Before he could finish, a pitch-black Kunai sliced through the air, enlarging in his eyes as it flew straight for his throat.
"Hmph! Just a little rat who only knows how to sneak attack!"
Captain Morgan snorted in disdain, casually swinging his massive metal axe-hand.
"Clang!"
The Kunai was easily parried, bouncing off to land at his feet.
"You think a child's toy like this can hurt me?"
Captain Morgan gave a cruel sneer.
However, Tatsuya, standing opposite him, showed no disappointment; instead, a cold arc curved at the corner of his mouth.
He formed a "Tiger" seal with one hand and whispered:
"Explode."
Captain Morgan froze for a moment, instinctively looking down.
He saw a slip of paper with strange runes attached to the end of the Kunai he had blocked, now glowing with a blinding red light.
"Boom—!!!"
A violent explosion suddenly erupted at Captain Morgan's feet!
Flames soared into the sky, and debris flew in all directions.
Although the power of the Explosive Tag wasn't enough to kill a powerhouse with his constitution...
Detonating at close range while he was completely off-guard still dealt impressive damage.
"Ah!!"
Captain Morgan let out a scream. His lower body was mangled and bloody, and he was sent flying by the massive shockwave.
"Let's go!"
The moment the Kunai was blown away, Tatsuya's figure blurred, dashing out like a cheetah.
He caught the spinning Kunai in mid-air as it flew back from the impact, gripped it in a reverse hold, and lunged at Captain Morgan.
"Whoa! What a cool explosion! Me too!"
Luffy shouted in excitement, his arm stretching far back, "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!!"
"And me!"
Zoro's eyes flashed with a cold light as he raised his three swords, "Three Sword Style!"
The three of them attacked simultaneously!
"Damned rats! I'll kill you all!!"
In mid-air, Captain Morgan was completely enraged.
Though his legs were dripping with blood, he was, after all, a battle-hardened Marine colonel.
Facing Luffy's rapidly approaching fist, he didn't even dodge, instead reaching out with his intact hand to firmly grab Luffy's extended wrist!
"Got you!"
Captain Morgan roared, and using the elasticity of Luffy's arm, he pulled hard, instantly throwing Luffy off balance with his immense strength.
At the same time, he used his core strength to swing Luffy like a meteor hammer, hurling him towards the incoming Tatsuya and Zoro!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me go! I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy!" Luffy shouted in the air.
This move was incredibly brutal, directly blocking Tatsuya and Zoro's path of attack.
"Tch, what a brute-force monster."
Facing the incoming Luffy, Tatsuya didn't retreat. His forward momentum stopped abruptly, and his hands blurred as he rapidly formed hand seals.
Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram!
Tatsuya snapped his head up, his crimson Single Tomoe Sharingan locking onto Captain Morgan's eyes.
Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!
The previously berserk Captain Morgan suddenly went stiff.
In his vision, Tatsuya, Zoro, and Luffy suddenly vanished.
Replacing them was the image he feared most deep in his heart—
He saw himself being sent to a military court, stripped of his rank, and imprisoned in Impel Down.
And being humiliated like a dog, stepped on by that Captain Kuro with the round glasses.
"No... no! I am the greatest! I am a colonel!!"
Captain Morgan screamed in terror, his eyes losing focus. The hand that had been holding Luffy lost its strength from sheer fear and involuntarily let go.
"Huh? He let go?"
Before Luffy could realize what was happening, he felt a tightening around his waist.
Tatsuya had already rushed forward, catching his uncontrolled body and landing steadily.
"Zoro! Now!" Tatsuya shouted.
By now, Zoro had reached Captain Morgan.
Although Captain Morgan was in a brief daze due to the genjutsu, his instincts as a warrior remained.
Just as Zoro's three blades were about to strike, a sharp sense of danger forced him to twist his vital spots away.
"Pfft!"
Three deep, bone-exposing sword wounds appeared on Captain Morgan's chest, blood spraying out.
"Ah!!"
The intense pain also caused Captain Morgan to snap out of the genjutsu's terror instantly.
Looking at the wounds on his chest, the fear in his eyes instantly turned into a frenzied killing intent.
"I'll cut you into ten thousand pieces!!"
Captain Morgan roared, his giant axe whistling through the air as it swung down at Zoro, who had just exhausted his momentum!
Zoro's strike had lacked power due to hunger; his body was stiff, and he was about to be hit.
"Zoro! Duck!"
Luffy's shout came from behind!
Zoro didn't even think; his body instinctively obeyed the command, and he instantly crouched down.
At the same time, a rubber foot appeared out of nowhere.
"Gomu Gomu No Stamp!"
Luffy kicked the axe handle, the immense force knocking Captain Morgan's axe off course and smashing a large crater into the ground.
Captain Morgan was also jolted backward by the force, leaving his front wide open.
Just as Zoro was about to get up and follow through, a foot suddenly stepped heavily onto his shoulder.
"Hey?!" Zoro was startled.
"Lending your sword for a moment."
Tatsuya's voice sounded in his ear.
Before Zoro could react, he felt his hand lighten as Tatsuya snatched away one of the black swords.
Then, Tatsuya used Zoro's shoulder as a springboard.
His Chakra erupted, and he leaped high into the air, a black blur that instantly appeared above the off-balance Captain Morgan.
His Sharingan glowed intensely red, locking onto the weakest point of Captain Morgan's neck.
At this moment, Captain Morgan's neck looked as if it had a red line marking the cutting path in his eyes.
"Uchiha Style Kenjutsu: Decapitation."
Tatsuya gripped the sword with both hands and, using the downward momentum, sliced cleanly through Captain Morgan's neck.
"Swish—!"
A grating sound rang out, followed by the dull thud of a blade entering flesh.
Captain Morgan's roar came to an abrupt halt.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
In the next second.
A hideous head with a metal jaw flew high into the air, spinning a few times in the sunlight.
Finally, with a thud, it rolled to a stop at Luffy's feet.
And Captain Morgan's massive headless corpse remained in its axe-swinging pose.
After two seconds of stiffness, it slumped powerlessly to its knees, blood geysering from the neck and staining the Marine Base training ground red.
Tatsuya landed steadily, flicking the long sword downward to shake off the blood droplets.
He turned and sheathed the sword back into the scabbard of the stunned Zoro, an elegant smile on his face as always.
Looking at the smiling Tatsuya, Zoro was fuming.
"You really are a bastard!"
"Nice teamwork, everyone."
The entire Marine Base was in a dead silence.