"Should I push even harder...? Even with all these consecutive attacks, I still can't catch him."
You dodged it! You just grazed it! I know you did!
"And there's not a single crack in his smile... Interesting. It's been a while since I've found a head worth severing."
Iiiiiii
Damn it! I thought it was over!
I accelerated to the very limit of my vision, but this bastard kicked me once and started laughing even harder, then caught up to me and sliced off one of my hands. What the hell is this guy? He's completely shrouded in killing intent!
Robin worked so hard to craft this with Toya and the others, and you bastard!
What is this, my second life?
Did I do something to deserve this!?
Sure, back when I was a rookie, I tried to sell you out, hung you upside down, poured oil on your crotch, and set it on fire, but that was just harmless fun, right!? It was self-defense, right!?
Help me! Please, just dial down the difficulty of my life once in a while!
"That's exactly why it's such a shame. If you had been able to wrap yourself in ki, you would have become an even more formidable enemy."
Then can you let me off the hook!? Please!!?
"Then, how about a wager? Marine hunting."
The only silver lining is that, unlike Moria, the weight difference isn't that overwhelming.
That said, unlike Moria, his attacks are lightning-fast, so I have to stay completely focused to read them. But being able to shift the starting point of his attacks like I did back then is a huge advantage.
"You're stronger than me."
"That's true... But you lack the finishing blow."
Yeah.
Every time, I rack my brains about everything, and I've grown strong enough to handle marines at the West Sea level without much trouble, so why do I keep facing dangerous monsters like Moria and you?
"Then, here's the deal."
"If I keep overwhelming you until my allies return and secure the rear, will you spare them?"
I know it's pathetic, but I have no choice but to beg for my life and let my comrades escape.
To be honest, I want to plead for my own life, but if I do that, my head will be chopped off without a second thought.
To protect my comrades, I have no choice but to stake everything I have, except my comrades, against this grim reaper.
...
Yeah! This is it! I'm going to die!
It's such a beautiful night with the moon shining so brilliantly. It's almost too perfect a night to die!
Ha ha ha ha! I'll beat you to death, God!!
"...Very well. Come on."
"Alright, I'm coming."
The perfect darkness and silence of this night.
And the eagle's eyes I learned from focusing so intensely I nearly died.
Maybe, I can do this.
"―Shakushi"
***
"Daz! You're exposing yourself too much! Taking all the attacks alone won't matter if your allies can't reach the front lines in time!"
"Kuh..."
Daz and the others had discovered the underground entrance to the collapsed building and advanced with unstoppable momentum.
The labyrinthine passages were mapped out by Perona's ghost reconnaissance and communicated through Robin's abilities.
Utilizing this intelligence, Daz and the Black Cat Pirates' combat units continued their advance.
Though dangers still lay ahead, the former marines of the Black Cat Pirates, who had resolved to fight as pirates, or more accurately, as Kuro's subordinates, were transformed.
The soldiers hired by the mafia to block their path and reinforce the defenses were also defeated by Daz, who acted as a shield, and Hack and Amis's unit, who coordinated the others behind him.
However, despite his relentless advance, Daz's expression was more grim than in any previous battle.
"Amis."
"Yes."
"Is that man... strong?"
"I think he's probably stronger than anyone our captains have ever fought. Before I was captured, there was a rumor that the then-commander-in-chief had been killed in battle..."
What flashed through Daz's mind was the enemy he had fought before, who used zombies.
More precisely, it was the image of the smuggling ship that had been sunk with a massive hole blasted through it before he had even engaged that enemy.
"...Quickly dispose of the small fry, rescue the settlement team members as soon as possible, and escape. For now, forget about retrieving the cargo."
"For now?"
"If we clear the outside, we can retrieve it later."
And Daz kicked down the final door.
"Damn it! They made it here! Those bastards are useless!"
There, for some reason, was a man lying on the ground with blood flowing from his head, a man in an expensive-looking suit cursing beside him, and many mafia soldiers standing behind them. There were also imprisoned fish-men and girls who appeared to be around the same age.
"A hidden warehouse with only one entrance to prevent the captured humans from escaping backfired. That's why you lost your escape route."
Daz's observation made the suit-wearing man shout angrily, "Shut up, you brat!"
"You bastards! Kill them all! This place is lined with Sea Stone! No ghosts or limbs will manifest in here!"
The mafia man believed that the Black Cat Pirates' swift actions were due to their abilities.
He wasn't entirely wrong.
When it comes to who is the most active member of the Black Cat Pirates, Perona, the powerful ability user, would be the first to come to mind.
"So what?"
However, the ones who understood that best were none other than all the members of the Black Cat Pirates themselves.
And the veterans fighting against Gecko Moria and his army understood that there were opponents who couldn't be defeated by abilities alone.
That's why everyone had honed their skills to the point where they could handle anything.
"Indeed, Perona and Robin's support won't reach here."
Everyone knew that without strength, they would be taken, and that's why everyone had been training themselves, no, even before that, they had been forging themselves.
"But that's all."
"Don't think you can stop us with your measly strength."
***
For the girls, pirates were warriors.
As warriors, they must be strong.
If they weren't strong, they weren't warriors.
The strong were permitted to take, and the weak were not permitted to resist.
That was why, even though they were still apprentices, they had trained themselves to the point where they were allowed to board the ship.
As warriors, they would trample the weak, take everything from them, and return to their homeland to receive the honor of being warriors.
But even then, they couldn't defeat nature.
Seeing the sluggish naval forces of the Grand Line, the emperor of her island, the pirate emperor, judged that there was an opportunity and decided to advance into the New World. However, due to abnormal weather and currents beyond imagination, she and her sisters fell and were shipwrecked.
Fortunately, all three survived, but what awaited them was unimaginable captivity.
Bound by double restraints made of Sea Stone and a special alloy, they were not allowed to resist. If they opened their mouths, objects were thrown at them, and if their faces were injured, their value would decrease, so they were beaten with whips and batons on their stomachs and backs.
They came to understand what it meant to be taken away.
And they also realized that there was no future for them beyond this point.
That's why this scene was hard to believe.
"What... happened..."
"I told you. We can't be stopped."
The men who had once dominated them and sought to hand them over to an even greater authority had been wiped out in an instant.
"Victory isn't decided by numbers or weapons alone."
"Damn... justice... you're just playing at being heroes..."
The fantasy they had clung to, that if they were fully prepared, they could escape this agony, had become reality.
— Hack-san, I found the key bundle! Free everyone immediately!
— I'm sorry. Everyone, I'm sorry for making you wait! I've come to rescue you!
One after another, the other strange beings who had been imprisoned like them were freed.
"I'm sorry. Were you scared? I'll unlock you soon, so please wait."
A woman in a black suit with short hair rushed over to them and tried to unlock their chains.
"Amis-sama, according to our comrades, it seems the keys to those chains are inside the safe. The safe key!"
"Understood. Everyone, once the enemy soldiers are restrained, begin the search!"
"We are not heroes of justice. As the captain said, we are also those who survive by plundering."
They must be ability users.
A man who was roughly the same age as her, whose hands and feet transformed into blades, cut down one after another of the men into a sea of blood, ignoring bullets and blades. He looked down on the man who had tormented them so much.
"Pirates."
***
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