Zoro unsheathed the three swords from his waist, biting the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth. He stepped in front of Viktor with an expression of pure annoyance.
"Ah, what a pain. That idiot Luffy... there's only one road, and he still managed to run in the wrong direction."
He settled into his Santoryu stance, his sharp gaze locking onto the two bizarrely dressed pirates blocking the way—the Meowban Brothers, Butchie and Sham.
"Hey, Viktor. Leave these two little kittens to me."
Just then...
"WAAAAAAAGH—!!"
A piercing roar erupted from behind. Everyone turned to see two massive trees on the ridge pulled back to their breaking point. Luffy was suspended between them like a stone in a slingshot. Suddenly, he let go.
"Gomu Gomu no—SLINGSHOT!!"
Zip—!!
Luffy became a living cannonball, screaming down the steep slope at incredible speed.
BOOM!!!
Like a meteor falling from the heavens, he smashed into the center of the pirate formation. The impact sent bodies flying in every direction, accompanied by a chorus of agonizing screams. Jango, who had just groggily regained consciousness and was clutching his head, looked up only to see a red blur expanding in his vision.
"Eh?"
Thud!
Luffy's knee connected squarely with Jango's face.
"LORD JANGO!!!" The poor hypnotist's eyes rolled back again as he was sent flying like a ragdoll, foaming at the mouth as he fell back into a deep, secondary coma.
"It's not the red-eyed demon!" "Damn it! Kill this straw-hat kid!!"
The Meowban Brothers, though agile, only barely managed to dodge the shockwave of Luffy's landing. They looked at the wreckage behind them, cold sweat pouring down their necks.
"These people... what kind of monsters are they?!" The chubby Sham grit his teeth, glaring at Zoro. "Forget the back for now! The green-haired swordsman is here! Teach him a lesson first!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING GREEN-HAIRED?!!" A vein throbbed on Zoro's forehead, his aura turning terrifying. In an instant, his dual blades whistled through the air toward them.
The chaos of the battlefield didn't affect Viktor.
His gaze swept over the brawling masses, following the flickering torchlight until it locked onto a dark, brooding figure standing on the prow of the pirate ship: Kuro.
On the ship, Kuro seemed to sense the stare. He looked up, his eyes meeting the rotating, eerie red glow of the Sharingan. Four eyes met, and the air between them grew thick with killing intent.
Viktor's lips curled into a thin smile. He whispered to himself:
"Well then—to capture the rebels, one must first capture the King."
He took a deep breath. Chakra flooded his system, and his leg muscles coiled like springs.
Crack!
The ground beneath him fractured as Viktor transformed into a streak of black lightning. Ignoring everyone else, he charged straight down the slope.
"Tch, another one seeking death..." Sham, who was preparing to ambush Zoro, noticed Viktor's movement. He instinctively moved to intercept. "Let me tear you—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Viktor's silhouette flickered like a ghost, appearing directly in front of him. Sham's pupils contracted. How can he be this fast?!
Viktor didn't even grant him a glance. He simply raised his foot and stomped with brutal force directly onto the pirate's nauseating cat-like face.
BAM!
Sham's face collapsed under the weight of the blow, driven deep into the dirt. His hands twitched feebly before falling still. He didn't make another sound.
"SHAM!!" Butchie screamed in horror.
Using the stomp as a springboard, Viktor didn't lose momentum; he accelerated.
"S-Stop him!!" A few pirates who hadn't been hit by Luffy tried to raise their blades, trembling as they faced the red-eyed youth.
"In the way."
Viktor's gaze remained ice-cold. He flicked his wrist. Whish-whish! Two kunai sang through the air, piercing the throats of two men instantly.
He ducked under a swing, then delivered a whip-like kick that shattered a man's ribs, sending him tumbling backward. In a fluid spin, his longsword slid forward, piercing the heart of another pirate without resistance.
The last pirate in his path watched his comrades die in seconds and fell to his knees, legs turning to jelly. "Please... don't... kill..."
Slash.
Viktor finished him in passing, stepping over the corpse without looking back. Just a pebble in the road.
The entire exchange took mere seconds. Viktor was now at the water's edge.
"Kill the straw-hat kid!" "Damn it! What kind of power is this?!" "Shishishi! Gomu Gomu no—GATLING!"
Most of the pirates on the beach were occupied by Luffy's chaos; no one noticed the arrival of the Shinigami. Viktor looked up at Kuro, who was clutching his stump on the deck, and his smile widened.
"Kuro, I won't let you escape this time."
He stepped on the head of a pirate charging him, using the man as a stepping stone to leap high into the air. Gripping his sword with both hands, his body coiled like a drawn bow, he hacked down toward Kuro with the weight of a falling mountain.
The strike whistled through the air. If it hit, the heavily wounded Kuro was finished.
"DON'T... UNDERESTIMATE ME!!!" Kuro roared. As a man of immense pride and intellect, he had never been so looked down upon or pushed into a corner by a mere brat.
But he was still "Kuro of a Thousand Plans." He didn't let rage cloud his judgment. He prepared to dodge... and instinctively looked up at Viktor.
In that heartbeat, he met those rotating crimson eyes.
Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique (Weakened Version).
Kuro's body stiffened. It felt as if a thousand invisible nails were pinning his limbs to the deck, leaving him paralyzed.
"What... what kind of sorcery is this?!"
But his survival instinct was legendary. Thwack! Without hesitation, Kuro slammed his remaining right fist into the unhealed wound on his chest.
"AAAGH!!"
The agonizing jolt of pain shocked his nervous system, snapping him out of the Genjutsu's paralysis instantly.
"SHAKUSHI!!"
Just as the blade was about to split his skull, Kuro activated his high-speed Silent Tread.
Flicker!
His figure vanished, the sword missing him by a hair's breadth.
CRASH!
Viktor's blade smashed into the deck, sending splinters flying.
"DIE!!" Having escaped death, Kuro reappeared at Viktor's flank, his eyes wild with madness. He swung his right hand—adorned with the five-bladed cat claws—toward Viktor's exposed side.
However, with the Sharingan, Viktor had seen the trajectory long ago.
CLANG!!
Viktor spun, his longsword perfectly catching the ferocious strike. Their faces were inches apart. Viktor's arm muscles tensed, chakra exploding outward, easily pushing the one-armed Kuro back several steps.
Viktor gave his sword a casual flourish, looking at the gasping Kuro with a pleasant smile. His eyes drifted to the pirate's remaining right hand.
"Oh, nice reflexes."
Viktor's tone was cheerful, yet it sent a chill down the spine.
"It seems... I'll have to cut that hand off too!"
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