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Chapter 62 is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
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"Alright, get ready for battle! We need to take down that warship in a single strike and rescue Chris. The Marines in these waters aren't exactly pushovers!"
"The seas haven't been quiet lately, either. Former Admiral 'Black Arm' Zephyr has been out hunting down pirates left and right."
"We could bump into him anywhere, so we can't afford a drawn-out fight with these Marines. Understood?"
Despite Thorsen's hideous and terrifying appearance, he possessed surprising tactical awareness and intellect. It truly went to show: you can't judge a book by its cover, nor can you measure the sea with a bucket. You really couldn't take people at face value.
"Understood, Boss!"
The crew shouted in unison, their expressions hardening with sudden seriousness. Still, they didn't take T-Bone seriously in the slightest.
And even if Shiramizu was there, so what? He was no match for their captain. They simply didn't believe Shiramizu possessed the strength to handle him. After all, how strong could someone from a backwater like the East Blue really be?
Sure, the newspapers painted Shiramizu as a ruthless monster, hyping him up as the most vicious brat of the new generation—but that was just media sensationalism. They didn't buy it for a second.
Besides, Chris wasn't even their top fighter; there were at least two or three guys currently on deck who could have taken him down. To them, Shiramizu was probably just around their level. There was nothing to lose sleep over.
But if they knew that Shiramizu's true power far exceeded their wildest estimations, what would they think then?
"How much further?" Thorsen demanded. He was already on his feet, his massive blade firmly in hand, fully locked into his combat stance.
"Less than five hundred meters!" a diminutive man replied, rubbing his hands together with a look of frantic anticipation.
This was House, epithet "Ghost Rat." His speed was something even Thorsen commended, and he was an absolute specialist when it came to killing. Once an elite assassin for a certain kingdom, he had turned to piracy at Thorsen's invitation.
"Heh... it's been far too long since I've tasted Marine blood," another pirate sneered. He looked like a starved beast, his face practically radiating a singular desire: murder.
Out on the open sea...
"Are you ready?" Shiramizu asked, exhaling slowly as he glanced at T-Bone.
This time, Shiramizu wouldn't have the luxury of looking out for him during the clash. Their opponent was "Saber-toothed" Thorsen, a far cry from the run-of-the-mill, thirty-million-Belly bounties they were used to swatting down.
"Bring them on. I'm ready," T-Bone replied, his expression turning solemn and his eyes burning with sheer resolve.
In the impending battle, Shiramizu would tie up the Saber-toothed Pirates' heavy hitters, but T-Bone would have to handle the rest himself. The Saber-toothed crew was not to be underestimated.
"Then let's begin," Shiramizu ordered. "Warship, full speed ahead! Get us out of this immediate zone!"
"Yes, sir!" the Marines roared.
The helmsman cranked the wheel, pushing the engines to their absolute limit. The warship surged several hundred meters forward, breaking completely free of the pirates' intended ambush radius.
"What the hell?!"
The sudden maneuver left the submerged Saber-toothed Pirates completely stunned.
Thorsen reacted instantly, barking a desperate order: "Surface! Now! They've already spotted us!"
"What?!" the crew cried out, exchanging bewildered glances. They couldn't fathom how their perfect underwater ambush had been exposed.
"It seems T-Bone came prepared. We underestimated him," Thorsen sighed, quickly piecing it together. Their element of surprise had vanished into thin air.
Pop!
The Saber-toothed Tiger erupted onto the surface. The coating bubble enveloping the ship burst with a loud snap, and the massive vessel slammed heavily against the water, kicking up a violent spray of sea foam.
"They came from underwater!"
"How is that even possible?!"
"Is this some kind of Devil Fruit power?!"
The Marine soldiers watched in absolute shock as the pirate crew breached from the depths. It was hard to blame them; Thorsen's entrance was legitimately terrifying. Everyone knew the sea was a Devil Fruit user's ultimate weakness, and the "Saber-toothed Tiger" was a known user. They had been scanning the horizon for sails, but Thorsen had subverted every expectation, striking from the one place deemed physically impossible.
They turned their gazes toward Shiramizu, eyes filled with profound awe. If he hadn't sensed the anomaly in time, their ship would have been ambushed from below and suffered catastrophic losses.
"There's nothing to be surprised about. It's just the standard coating technology from the Sabaody Archipelago," Shiramizu explained, his expression calm and unbothered. "There are coating mechanics all over that island. Any pirate who's passed through there has used it. Once you guys see a bit more of the world, tricks like this won't shock you."
"What? It's just... technology?" the Marines gasped, a faint trace of disappointment flashing across their faces at the mundane explanation.
"So that's Ronel Shiramizu. A promising youth, just as they say," Thorsen remarked from the deck of his ship, eyeing the young Marine with open admiration.
So that's "Saber-toothed" Thorsen? He's not quite what I pictured, Shiramizu thought, sizing up the pirate captain in return. He had expected a brainless, hulking brute, but the reality was far more nuanced.
"Move out!"
Thorsen didn't intend to waste any more breath. He gave a sharp command to his crew and stomped heavily against the deck. His body instantly morphed into his Zoan human-beast form, and he literally sprinted into the empty air.
That's… Geppo! Shiramizu's pupils contracted slightly as he watched Thorsen rocket toward them.
"Howling Moon Slash!"
Without a word of warning, Thorsen swung his massive blade, unleashing a crescent of terrifying sword-ki aimed squarely at the warship.
"Interesting!" Shiramizu broke into an excited grin. The light-particle wings manifested on his back, and with a single step, he launched himself into the sky.
"Photon Cannon!"
Raising his right hand, Shiramizu pulled a mental trigger, firing off a concentrated beam of pure light. The laser collided violently with the flying slash, resulting in a deafening explosion that violently distorted the surrounding air.
"So strong!" T-Bone muttered from the deck, his face completely grave as he watched the mid-air clash.
"Hm?"
Thorsen frowned, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his features as his attack was effortlessly dispersed. He realized he was still underestimating the kid; Shiramizu's strength was easily on par with his own.
"What's wrong? Surprised?" Shiramizu laughed, catching the look on Thorsen's face.
"I am. To think a powerhouse like you would emerge from a place like the East Blue... the people here are truly blessed," Thorsen chuckled. He kicked off the air again, shooting forward like a loosed arrow.
Bang! Shiramizu didn't even blink, raising his leg to block the incoming strike. The impact rang out like thunder, visibly warping the atmosphere around them.
"Tiger's Roar!"
Suddenly, Thorsen threw his head back, inhaled deeply, and unleashed an earth-shattering bellow. The sheer concussive force of the soundwave washed over Shiramizu before he could even brace himself.
"Ugh!"
Shiramizu grunted, a flash of pain crossing his face as the sonic blast caused him to briefly stall in mid-air.
"Saber-tooth Slash!"
A vicious glint flashed in Thorsen's eyes. He wasn't about to let such a perfect opening slip by.
"Photon Barrier!"
But Shiramizu was no pushover. The combat instincts he had honed through brutal life-or-death struggles on the Kuroro Islands were the real deal.
Screech—! Thorsen's blade ground against the barrier of light, erupting in a brilliant shower of sparks and a harsh, ear-piercing whine. Seeing that his strike had failed, the pirate captain immediately tried to retreat.
But disengaging wasn't going to be that easy.
"Photon Barrage!" Shiramizu declared coldly.
A dense, terrifying swarm of light projectiles erupted from the "barrels" of his left hand, instantly draining the color from Thorsen's face.
"Tekkai!" Thorsen roared.
His muscles instantly tensed, exuding a dense, impenetrable aura that made him look as solid as a block of iron. Shockingly, he had mastered another Rokushiki technique.
"Gah!"
But Thorsen had tragically miscalculated the destructive payload of the light barrage. Taking the blast head-on was a mistake; his face contorted in agony, flushing a violent shade of red before he coughed up a heavy mouthful of blood.
Whoosh! Right at that moment, a sharp whistling sound tore through the sky. Shiramizu completely vanished from his spot. He materialized instantly directly in front of Thorsen. His right leg, radiating a violent, blinding light, came crashing down in a merciless axe-kick.
"No!" Thorsen screamed, utterly powerless to stop it.
Like a fired cannonball, the pirate captain was blasted out of the sky, plummeting straight toward the Saber-toothed Tiger.
CRASH! Thorsen slammed into the deck of his own ship with a sickening crunch of splintering wood. The massive vessel lurched violently, sending shockwaves through the surrounding water. Several unfortunate grunts caught in the impact zone were instantly pulverized into a bloody paste.
"Hiss…"
The pirate officers collectively drew a sharp breath. Shiramizu's overwhelming strength was shattering their expectations at every single turn.
"Photon Barrage!"
Clearly, Shiramizu had zero intention of giving them breathing room. He leveled his left hand once more, unleashing another hellish volley of light bullets downward.
"Incoming! Watch out!" the crew shrieked, their scalps going numb with terror. Every pirate braced themselves as if facing their doom; nobody dared to underestimate the young Marine anymore.
In an aerial battle over open water, there was likely no one in the East Blue—or perhaps even the first half of the Grand Line—who could best Shiramizu.
"Hardened Qigong!" shouted the officer with the bloodthirsty face. His muscles began to vibrate in a bizarre, rhythmic pattern, locking together like interlocking shields to form a seemingly indestructible defense.
Swish! House, the diminutive assassin, flicked out twin daggers. He swung them furiously, launching rapid-fire blades of sword-ki into the air to intercept the descending light.
"Gladiator's Punch!"
Another officer unleashed a flurry of blows, his red boxing gloves blurring into afterimages as he attempted to punch the light orbs out of the sky.
If they were fighting on solid ground, they wouldn't have been caught in such a passive, desperate position. At the very least, they wouldn't have to face a bombardment head-on just to protect their footing.
But this was the open sea. If they wanted to avoid drowning in a watery grave, they had to protect the ship beneath their feet at all costs.
Pfft! Unfortunately for them, Shiramizu's light projectiles carried devastating kinetic force. It was far beyond what they could parry. One by one, the officers were struck and violently blown off their feet.
Boom! Boom! Boom! In an instant, the unopposed light blasts rained down like absolute destroyers. Wood chips flew into the air as the barrage easily punched several massive, barrel-sized holes straight through the deck, piercing all the way down to the ship's hull.
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