Chapter 29: Fireball Jutsu Shows Its Might! Nami's Reverse Scale
Everyone walked out of the villa and immediately began to act.
Nami followed closely behind Tatsuya, muttering as she ran:
"Hey, Tatsuya, you should have taken the chance to ask for more treasure! After all, it was such a dangerous deal... wait!"
Nami's footsteps suddenly screeched to a halt, her face turning pale instantly, as if she had remembered something terrifying.
"Treasure... my treasure!!"
Having realized the situation, Nami instantly turned into a screaming chicken and roared at everyone:
"Isn't our ship docked at the North Coast?! Those pirates are right there!!"
"Go save my... no! Go save our treasure!! That's tens of millions of Berries!!"
As she spoke, the flames of money seemed to burn in Nami's eyes, and her legs turned into wind-fire wheels as she sprinted off in one direction.
"Hahaha! How interesting! Nami runs so fast!"
Luffy held his straw hat and followed with a hearty laugh.
"Hey, you're running too fast! Wait for me!" Zoro glanced in the direction Luffy was running and immediately took off to follow.
Only Tatsuya walked behind at a leisurely pace.
"Huff... huff..."
At this moment, Usopp, who had been panting behind, finally caught up and called out to Tatsuya.
"Hey, you're called Tatsuya, right?"
Usopp bent over, hands on his knees, and asked somewhat nervously.
Tatsuya stopped, turned his head, looked at him expressionlessly, and then said quietly:
"Ah, I'm not. I'm Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King."
"..."
The air was silent for a second.
"You bastard!! Do you think I'm deaf?!"
Usopp instantly flew into a rage, pointing at the straw-hatted figure ahead and roaring.
"That idiot in the straw hat is Luffy! I've been hearing it all night!"
After venting, Usopp took a deep breath and straightened up. Though his eyes were still a bit shifty, his tone was exceptionally firm.
"Anyway... let me help you. Even though I'm scared, I... I also want to protect this Village..."
Then, to hide his fear, he proudly pointed his thumb at himself, striking a classic bragging pose:
"After all! I am the great pirate who leads eighty million subordinates—Captain Usopp!"
Tatsuya looked at the long-nosed man whose legs were still trembling slightly, tilted his head in confusion, and a faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"No one said they disagreed. If you want to come, then come, Pirate Usopp."
Having said that, Tatsuya ignored him and immediately walked in the direction Luffy, Zoro, and Nami had gone.
He had only taken two steps.
"Hey!! That's the road leading to the Village!!"
Usopp shouted anxiously from behind at Tatsuya's retreating figure.
"The North Coast is in the opposite direction! What is wrong with you people?!"
Tatsuya's footsteps paused.
He silently turned his head, looked in the direction where the three had already disappeared, and helplessly facepalmed.
"These directionally challenged idiots."
...
On the other side, the North Coast.
The night was thick, and waves crashed against the rocks.
A pirate ship with a giant cat head on its prow—the "Bezan Black"—had already docked at the shore.
"Charge!!"
"Kill them all!!"
A large number of grinning pirates, holding scimitars and torches, poured off the ship like a black tide and stepped onto the beach.
"Ooh! Avenge Captain Kuro!"
"Blood-wash this Village!!"
Jango adjusted his heart-shaped sunglasses and jumped off the ship with several confidants.
Just then, a sharp-eyed pirate pointed at the shore not far away and immediately reported:
"Lord Jango, there's a ship parked over there!"
Jango turned to look.
Though the night was deep, by the light of the torches, a medium-sized sailing ship flying a skull flag could indeed be seen docked there.
"Ah, that must be the pirate ship of those guys who injured Captain Kuro."
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Jango's eyes, and he pointed casually. "A few of you, go burn it for me! Cut off their retreat!"
"Hehehe! Understood!"
"Yes! Burn them all!"
Several nearby pirates immediately grinned, holding torches, and charged toward the Straw Hat ship.
Then, Jango turned around, faced the dense crowd of pirates on the beach, and shouted loudly:
"Oh! Boys! Our Captain Kuro was ambushed and seriously injured! This is a disgrace to the Black Cat Pirates! What should we do?!"
"Kill them!!"
"Burn this Village!!"
The crowd was furious, their battle cries shaking the sky.
Jango nodded with satisfaction, just about to give a few more stirring speeches.
At this moment, an extremely cold voice came from the deck of the pirate ship; it was Kuro, who had forced himself out of the cabin.
"Jango! No more nonsense! Attack immediately! Kill them all!!"
Kuro held his severed arm, his face pale, but the hatred in his eyes made one shiver.
"Yes! Captain!" Jango shuddered and immediately waved his hand. "Kill them all!!"
"Ooh!!"
"Charge!!"
Dozens of pirates immediately brandished swords and torches, screaming as they rushed up the only slope leading to the Village.
This slope was narrow and steep, a natural bottleneck.
Just as the pirate in the lead stepped onto the middle of the slope, preparing to rush up in one go.
Above, a dark figure stood there quietly.
Who was that?
Before that pirate could react.
The dark figure's hands turned into afterimages, rapidly forming hand signs.
Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."
A voice as calm as still water rang out in the night sky.
The next moment.
Tatsuya's chest swelled high, and then he suddenly opened his mouth and spat.
"Whoosh—!!!"
A ball of incredibly hot Chakra fire erupted, swelling as it met the wind, instantly transforming into a massive fireball several meters in diameter.
Carrying rolling heatwaves and a destructive aura, it ruthlessly crushed its way down the narrow slope toward the pirates below!
At this moment, that fireball was like a sun rolling down from hell.
The pirate in the lead immediately widened his eyes, his pupils filled with nothing but that expanding crimson mass.
"W-What is this!!"
But he would never get an answer.
Because...
"BOOM!!!!"
The massive fireball instantly swallowed several pirates in the front row.
And its power did not diminish; aided by the narrow terrain of the slope, it acted like a bowling ball, using its immense impact to send the crowded pirates behind flying and knocked back.
Flames exploded, and heatwaves swept through.
The wails didn't even have time to sound before being drowned out by the explosion.
After all, this position was simply too perfect for a linear, large-scale Ninjutsu like the "Fireball Jutsu."
Silence.
A deathly silence.
The battlefield, which had been full of killing cries just a moment ago, instantly fell quiet.
Only the "crackle" of burning torches remained.
The pirates below scrambled up from the ground, looking at the lingering flames still burning on the slope, and stared in terror at the black-haired youth standing at the top.
"Who... who is he..."
"Why can a human spit fire from their mouth..."
"Is he a monster?!"
Kuro on the ship stared fixedly upward, his cold eyes filled with more wariness than hatred.
Looking at those red eyes shining in the firelight, he gritted his teeth:
"It's him!!"
The top of the slope.
Usopp, who had arrived panting, watched this scene, swallowed hard, and looked at Tatsuya beside him in shock.
"So... so powerful..."
Is this a real pirate?
Then, his eyes darted around, and to hide his earlier shock.
He immediately leaned his arm proudly on Tatsuya's shoulder and shouted down with borrowed authority:
"Hey! Pirates down there! Did you see that?! This is the territory of the great pirate Captain Usopp!"
"If you don't want to die, get lost already! I have eighty million subordinates just like him!!"
The crowd of pirates below were uncertain, looking at each other before all turning to Jango.
"Lord Jango, what should we do?"
Jango was pale with fright.
"Eighty million? That's too terrifying." He believed it.
Everyone had black lines on their faces. "Lord Jango, he's obviously bragging."
"Eighty million people is just too ridiculous!"
"What? Was I tricked?"
Having been tricked, Jango's face darkened, and he reached into his coat to pull out that sharp Hypnotic Ring.
"Don't be scared by him! He's just a Devil Fruit user! As long as we avoid that fireball..."
Just then.
The few pirates Jango had sent to burn the ship came running back, shouting excitedly and dragging heavy objects.
"Captain Kuro! Lord Jango! We're rich!!"
"There's a lot of treasure on this ship!!"
With that, the pirates laboriously threw several bulging bags onto the beach.
The mouths of the bags burst open, and the glittering gold and jewels shone under the firelight, dazzling everyone.
"Huh?"
The pirates below immediately stared intently at the treasure; their fearful eyes instantly became incredibly greedy, and their eyes lit up.
"That's... tens of millions of Berries, right?!"
"We're rich!!"
On top of the slope.
Usopp watched this, his eyes darted around, and he suddenly thought of a "brilliant" idea.
He cleared his throat and shouted down:
"Hey! Pirates down there! If you leave now, that treasure is yours!"
"Consider it travel expenses rewarded to you by this Captain!"
Upon hearing this, Tatsuya's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"You fellow, you actually plan to use our money to bribe the enemy?"
Tatsuya unceremoniously slapped away Usopp's arm from his shoulder, just about to teach this long-nosed guy a lesson.
However.
"Whoosh—"
A sharp sound of breaking wind suddenly rang out from behind Tatsuya.
Immediately after, a slender wooden staff, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, bypassed Tatsuya and struck Usopp squarely on the back of the head.
"Thud!!!"
That dull thud sounded painful just to hear.
"Aaaah!!!"
Usopp let out a scream, and his whole body was sent flying like a top, slamming heavily onto the ground.
"Who... who gave you permission to touch my treasure!!!"
A voice filled with killing intent rang out.
Nami appeared like a descending Yakshini, her hands gripping the long staff tightly, her entire body emitting a black aura even more terrifying than the previous Fireball Jutsu.
She glared fiercely at Usopp on the ground, then looked down at the pirates who dared to touch her treasure, gritting her teeth:
"That's my money!!! You bastards!! All of you, go to hell!!"