Blood splattered across the deck, pattering like the gentle tapping of death's rhythm.
The earlier clamor faded instantly, plunging the entire sea into a deathly silence, with only the sea breeze carrying the scent of blood past their ears.
Krieg's eyes widened, bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Ivan. Only now did he truly grasp the power of the man before him.
After all, Gin's bounty was a full twelve million Berries, only five million less than his own, and he was Krieg's most capable fighter.
Even if Krieg had fought Gin himself, without relying on poison gas, it would have been a fierce battle to defeat him.
Yet before this man, Gin couldn't even resist, killed in the blink of an eye.
"Damn it, damn it!" Krieg gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping his throat.
Why was this guy so strong?
Krieg's face stiffened, and he instinctively took a step back before suddenly throwing his head back in a mad laugh:
"Ahahaha, that Gin was truly useless, unable to even handle a little Marine brat.
Listen up, all of you! Whoever kills this guy, I'll reward them with a hundred million Berries and promote them directly to an officer of the Krieg Pirates!"
With such a heavy reward at stake, even knowing they were no match for Ivan, the pirates' eyes turned red. Like a pack of starved beasts, they charged recklessly at Ivan.
After all, even in the future Shampoo Archipelago, two nameless pirates had tried to kill Kizaru with flintlocks.
And now, in the less knowledgeable East Sea, it was only natural that these pirates, blinded by greed, would still choose to swarm Ivan.
But what they didn't notice was that as they charged, Krieg had quietly retreated to the back.
He intended to use his underlings as cannon fodder, to wear Ivan down first.
When Ivan was exhausted, he would personally step in and cut down this formidable enemy in one fell swoop.
Of course, if Ivan was killed by his underlings, that would be even better!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of gunfire erupted, bullets whistling through the air as they rained down on Ivan.
Ivan held his longsword, flicking it lightly to slice every bullet in half.
Then, he murmured softly: "Azure·Forward Slash!"
His figure blurred into an afterimage, moving at an extreme speed.
Amid the dense onslaught, he effortlessly dodged every attack, his form ghost-like as he brushed past pirate after pirate.
With each pass, a spray of blood would bloom from a pirate's body, crimson and eerie, like Other Shore Flowers blooming wantonly across the deck, opening the gates to the world of death!
At first, the pirates paid no mind, still charging fearlessly at Ivan.
But slowly, the smarter pirates began to realize that dozens of their comrades had already died, yet not a single drop of blood stained the Marine's uniform.
Too terrifying, the gap was too vast!
With such an immense disparity, no matter how desperately they fought, they couldn't harm this Marine.
Their charge was nothing but suicide!
"Aahhh, I don't want the reward anymore, he's a monster!"
When the first pirate turned and fled, the demoralized pirates wailed and scattered in all directions, not daring to approach Ivan again.
Soon, Ivan stepped over the blood, coming face to face with Krieg, a cold smile on his lips as he said lightly:
"It seems the so-called 'East Sea Overlord' is only this capable. Well then, please die, Mr. Krieg."
Krieg shifted his gaze from Ivan to the bloody hellscape behind him, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
He was furious at his own fear, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't drive it away.
Rage, fear, resentment, despair… all these negative emotions exploded in his mind, stripping him of all reason: "You bastard, don't look down on me!"
He pressed a mechanism, and dozens of dark muzzles instantly sprang from his armor, all aimed squarely at Ivan.
Krieg's eyes were bloodshot, his expression maniacal as he roared with all his might: "Taste this, M・H・5 Poison Gas Bomb!"
But before he could press the firing switch, his vision suddenly spun.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the familiar body clad in golden armor, and then saw Ivan standing behind it, as if he had appeared out of nowhere.
In his final moment of consciousness, Krieg finally realized: Ah, so I… am already dead…
After killing Krieg, Ivan unleashed several Flying Slashes, separating Krieg's body from the golden armor.
He bent down, picked up the armor, and casually tossed it to Tashigi, who had just jumped onto the warship, before slowly turning around.
Facing the numerous warships, Ivan swept his short hair back into a slicked-back style and declared coldly:
"It's time to end this!"
Buzzzzz!
A piercing sword hum suddenly erupted, shaking the surrounding air.
Ivan's longsword was enveloped in a deep, dark blue-black hue: "One Sword Style·Black Azure·Asura!"
The blue-black slash cut through the rain, destroyed the warships, split the ocean, and dominated everyone's vision.
The entire world began to tremble, the sea conquered by a powerful force.
When the roaring and trembling finally subsided and the sea returned to calm, everyone stared dumbfounded at the scene before them, forgetting even to breathe.
Dozens of warships had been sliced in half by the Flying Slashes, countless pirate corpses littering the shattered decks.
The sea had been split apart, countless warships swept into the newly formed oceanic canyon by the waves.
Roronoa Zoro leaned on Wado Ichimonji, standing at the edge of Baratie's deck railing, staring fixedly at the scene, muttering in confusion and frustration:
"Is this what a true powerhouse is like… How can he be this strong… How can the gap between us be so vast?"
…
Five thousand people was never a small number.
Especially when all five thousand were battle-hardened pirates.
For the next three hours, Ivan raced tirelessly across the battlefield using Blue・Moon Step, killing every pirate in sight.
Even so, amidst the chaotic battlefield, a few scattered pirates managed to escape. But Ivan didn't mind these small fry—without the protection of their pirate crew, they would soon be captured by other Marines.
After finishing all this, Ivan lay back on a sun lounger, panting heavily as he gulped down cola and grilled meat.
Three hours of continuous combat had exhausted him, even with his current physical condition.
Of course, the later skirmishes against the pirate underlings didn't require much stamina—most of his energy had been spent on that single slash that completely shattered the pirates' morale.
That slash was entirely worth it.
Without it, dealing with pirates who still had the will to resist would have been far more troublesome.
After resting briefly and recovering his strength, Ivan left Zoro behind at the Baratie Floating Restaurant and, under
the awed gazes of everyone, began his return voyage.
Speaking of which, upon returning this time, he should finally get to see the legend of the pirate world, the Heroic Marine Vice Admiral Garp!