Chapter 31: Is This All? Just a Roadside Pebble!
Zoro pulled the three swords from his waist with a reverse grip, bit the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, and walked in front of Tatsuya with a look of annoyance.
"Ah, what a pain. That bastard Luffy—there was only one road, yet he still managed to run in the wrong direction."
He assumed the Three Sword Style stance, his eyes sharp as he looked at the two strangely-styled pirates blocking the way—the Nyaban Brothers, Buchi and Sham.
"Hey, Tatsuya. Leave these two kittens blocking the way to me."
Just then.
"Waaaaah—!!"
Luffy's piercing shout suddenly came from behind.
Everyone turned to look, only to see two tall trees being pulled to their limit.
Luffy was hanging in the middle, and then he suddenly let go with both hands.
"Gum-Gum Slingshot!!"
"Swoosh—!!"
Luffy flew straight down the steep slope like a cannonball, his speed incredibly fast.
"Boom!!!"
Accompanied by a loud crash, Luffy smashed into the group of pirates who were still forming ranks behind them like a meteor from the sky.
The massive impact instantly overturned a large number of pirates, and screams rang out one after another.
Jango, who had just woken up and was shakily standing up while clutching his head, hadn't figured out what was happening before he saw a red figure rapidly enlarging in front of him.
"Eh?"
"Thud!"
Luffy's knee slammed accurately into Jango's face.
"Master Jango!!!"
Poor Jango's eyes rolled back again as he was sent flying like a ragdoll, foaming at the mouth and falling completely unconscious once more.
"It's not that red-eyed demon!"
"Damn it! Kill this Straw Hat kid!!"
Although the Nyaban Brothers in front were agile, they only narrowly avoided being caught in the wake of Luffy's "human cannonball."
The two of them broke into a cold sweat as they looked at the mess behind them.
"These people... what kind of monsters are they!"
Sham, the fat cat, gritted his teeth and looked at Zoro with fierce eyes. "Never mind the back for now. That green-haired swordsman is here. Let's teach him a lesson first!"
"Who are you calling a green-haired swordsman!!"
Veins popped on Zoro's forehead, and his gaze instantly became terrifying.
Before he finished speaking, the twin blades in his hands were already sweeping toward them, carrying a fierce wind.
...
The chaotic battlefield did not affect Tatsuya.
His gaze bypassed the brawling crowd, aided by the flickering light of the surrounding torches.
He accurately locked onto the gloomy figure at the bow of the pirate ship below—Kuro.
On the bow, Kuro also seemed to sense that gaze. He looked up and met those eyes emitting an eerie red light with a vicious glare.
Their eyes met, and killing intent filled the air.
Tatsuya's lips curled into a smiling arc as he whispered to himself:
"Then I'll—capture the leader to catch the bandits."
The next moment.
He took a deep breath, and the Chakra in his body instantly surged through his entire being, his leg muscles tensing.
"Crack!"
The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked, and Tatsuya turned into a bolt of black lightning.
Ignoring everyone around him, he quickly charged toward the bottom.
"Tsk, another one coming to die..."
Sham, who was preparing to ambush Zoro, keenly noticed Tatsuya's figure and instinctively tried to block him.
"Watch me tear..."
However, before he could finish his sentence.
Tatsuya's fast-moving figure had already reached him like a ghost.
Sham's pupils shrank suddenly, and his eyes widened.
How could he be this fast?!
Before he could make any reaction.
Tatsuya didn't even look at him; he simply raised his foot and stomped hard on that disgusting cat face!
"Bang!"
Sham's entire face instantly deformed as it was stomped into the ground by the massive force.
His hands rose feebly and then quickly fell, silent once more.
"Sham!!" Buchi, who was nearby, turned pale with shock.
Using the force of the stomp, Tatsuya's speed increased rather than decreased as he bypassed him and continued to charge forward.
"St-stop him!!"
A few pirates who were lucky enough not to be hit by Luffy looked at the red-eyed youth charging like a god of death and tremblingly raised their swords in an attempt to block him.
"In the way."
Tatsuya's eyes were cold as he flicked his wrist.
"Swoosh, swoosh!"
Two Kunai flew out with the sound of breaking air, instantly piercing their throats.
Immediately after, he lowered his body to dodge a sword strike, then sent someone flying with a whip kick that collapsed their sternum.
Using the momentum of his spin, he thrust the long sword in his hand, piercing through the heart of another person beside him without any resistance.
The last pirate blocking the way watched his companions die instantly and was so terrified that he trembled, his legs going soft as he knelt on the ground.
"Please... d-don't kill..."
"Pfft."
A flash of sword light passed, and Tatsuya finished him off casually, stepping over the corpse without looking back.
Just a roadside pebble, not worth mentioning.
The entire battle lasted only a few short seconds.
By now, Tatsuya had reached the shore.
"Kill this Straw Hat kid."
"Damn! What kind of ability is this again!"
"Hee hee hee! Gum-Gum Gatling!!"
Most of the pirates on the beach below were distracted by the chaos Luffy was causing; no one noticed the arrival of the Shinigami.
Tatsuya looked at Kuro, who was standing at the bow clutching his severed arm, and his smile widened.
"Kuro, I won't let you escape this time."
He stepped hard on the head of a pirate charging at him, using it as a springboard, and then leaped high into the air.
Holding his sword with both hands in mid-air, his body like a fully drawn bow, he slashed down fiercely at Kuro on the pirate ship!
This strike was incredibly heavy, accompanied by a massive sound of rushing wind.
If it hit, the heavily injured Kuro would surely die.
"Don't... underestimate me!!!"
Kuro looked at the figure in the air and roared in extreme anger.
As a great pirate with a very high IQ, when had he ever been so belittled and pushed to such a desperate situation by a brat!
But he was Kuro of a Hundred Plans, after all; he didn't let anger cloud his judgment and try to tank the blow.
"As long as I dodge it..."
Kuro was about to evade and instinctively looked up at Tatsuya.
In that instant, he met those crimson eyes with rotating tomoe.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (Weakened Version)."
Kuro's body suddenly froze, as if countless invisible nails had pinned his limbs, making him unable to move.
"What... sorcery is this?!"
But his survival instinct reacted with startling speed.
"Puncture!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kuro slammed his remaining right hand hard into the unhealed sword wound on his chest.
"Ah!!"
The intense pain instantly stimulated his nerves, causing him to snap out of the illusion's paralysis.
"Shakushi!!"
At the very moment the sword's edge was about to touch the top of his head, Kuro activated his high-speed movement technique, the Silent Step.
"Swish!"
His figure vanished into thin air, narrowly avoiding the lethal slash.
"Boom!"
Tatsuya's long sword struck the deck, sending wood chips flying.
"Die!!"
Having escaped death, Kuro instantly appeared behind Tatsuya's flank, his eyes filled with madness.
He swung the sharp five-bladed Cat Claws on his right hand, slashing fiercely at Tatsuya, whose momentum was spent.
However.
With the Sharingan, Tatsuya had already clearly seen the trajectory of his movements.
"Clang!!"
Tatsuya turned around, and the long sword in his hand accurately blocked the fierce strike.
Their faces were inches apart.
Tatsuya applied force with his arm, his Chakra exploding, easily pushing the one-armed Kuro back several steps.
He casually twirled his sword and looked at the panting Kuro with a smile, his gaze landing on the other's remaining right hand.
"Oh, quite a fast reaction."
Tatsuya's tone was clearly smiling, yet it sent shivers down one's spine.
"It seems... I'll have to cut off this hand of yours as well!"