The moment the battle began, the members of the SWORD Forces sought out their respective opponents.
Black Maria was the first to bear the brunt, becoming Jack's target.
But as one of the Flying Six, while there was a gap between her and Jack, it wasn't so vast that she'd be instantly crushed.
Moreover, both were close-combat specialists, both wielders of Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits...
So, for a short while, the fight actually reached a stalemate.
However...
Black Maria wielded her signature weapon, the Wanyudo.
While Jack fought bare-handed.
So anyone with eyes could see that victory was only a matter of time.
With these two towering figures at the center, the others around them clashed within seconds.
Who's Who gripped his dagger, ready to charge into the enemy ranks when suddenly—as the possessor of the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Saber-toothed Tiger—his feline instincts screamed of imminent danger.
He instinctively ducked, and two daggers sliced through the air right where his eyes had been.
Judging by the height, they had been aimed precisely at his vision.
He had done this very thing countless times before.
First, use speed to rob the opponent of their sight, securing an overwhelming advantage… then end the fight with a cruel, taunting slaughter.
But this time, it seemed he had become the one being toyed with.
"This is… really pissing me off."
"Pissing you off? I'll send you flying straight to heaven, you bastard!"
Though he had dodged the daggers, an orange-haired girl wielding a massive hammer disproportionate to her small frame leaped high and brought it crashing down.
As a former CP9 prodigy, Who's Who obviously know Rokushiki—Soru!
BOOM!
The hammer struck the ground, but he had already vanished.
"Tch, what a slippery damn cat." Marigold sneered.
"Marigold! Stay sharp!"
Sandersonia's voice rang out from behind her.
Marigold turned just in time to see Who's Who—who had dodged her attack—somehow appear at her back in an instant…
But her sister instantly intercepted the pink dagger aimed at the nape of her neck.
"Your speed… isn't quite right, is it?" Who's Who, now in his hybrid beast-man form, narrowed his feline pupils to pinpricks.
"A Devil Fruit?"
"Care to guess?"
Sandersonia parried the strike, using the recoil to flip gracefully through the air before landing atop Marigold's hammer.
"Sister… isn't two against one a bit unfair?"
"Father always said this is called justice's two-on-one. If they don't like it, they can call for backup." Sandersonia smirked.
"But from the looks of it… they don't have that luxury right now."
...
"So you're the legendary Marine unit… I've heard so much about you!" Sasaki tightened his grip on his spiral drill blade, glaring at the man before him—head bowed, holding a straight greatsword.
"If you're gonna fight, raise your head! Face me like a man!"
"Hm?"
The man grunted, then suddenly lifted his face.
T-Bone's withered, zombie-like visage filled Sasaki's vision—instantly striking fear into the heart of even one of the Flying Six with a presence rivaling Conqueror's Haki…
"A ZOMBIE?! The Marines are recruiting corpses now?!"
"That's incredibly rude!" Shu stepped out from behind T-Bone's towering frame, shaking his head with a grin.
"T-Bone just looks like a zombie!"
"A living man who looks like a zombie?! That's even sadder!"
Sasaki's soul-crushing retort pierced straight through T-Bone's heart.
"How dare you insult my best friend like that!" Shu feigned sorrow as he removed his glove, and the metal of the Beast Pirates' flagship began corroding into rust.
"You ill-mannered pirate… I'll have your head as an apology for T-Bone's zombie face!"\
"You're the one who keeps bringing it up! You clearly love mentioning it, you bastard!"
...
"One of the Three Disasters of the Beasts Pirates, 'Wildfire' King, member of the Lunarian Race, user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan type, Pteranodon model, with a bounty of 1.39 billion Berries... Did I get anything wrong?"
Rosinante stood before King.
Though significantly shorter, his composed demeanor didn't falter in the slightest.
"Your face... seems familiar to me?"
"Probably because you've seen me before, standing behind Doflamingo."
"...You're that quiet guy who wore clown makeup, aren't you?" King frowned. "But I remember—you're Doflamingo's own brother, right?"
"Unfortunately, I never considered Doflamingo a brother. On the contrary, he's the man who killed our father... The only reason I didn't kill him myself is because I knew our father wouldn't have wanted that." Rosinante smiled faintly.
"Of course, it's also because I knew that living on would bring him a fate far worse than death... I suppose I have a bit of a cruel streak."
"How terrifying... The Marine's brainwashing is insane! Turning brothers against each other." King raised his broken blade.
"And yet people still say pirates are the worse ones?"
"Save your attempts at sowing discord. I simply chose the right path—and was fortunate enough to have a guiding light along the way, one I could call 'brother.'" Rosinante nodded with a serene smile.
"So... even though I've never been fond of fighting, I now have every reason to take you down."
As his words faded, his smile vanished, and his aura shifted abruptly.
The ever-gentle and kind Rosinante now radiated a killing intent that rivaled even Hawkeye's as he faced "Wildfire" King.
"To be honest, I'm not in the best mood today... After all, we were forced to retreat earlier—the first time in SWORD Forces' history that we've ever retreated voluntarily."
"So... consider yourselves my punching bags."
With that, the deck beneath his feet instantly transformed into gold, spiraling upward and coalescing around his hands into...
A pair of massive golden power gauntlets.
"Gold? The Gold-Gold Fruit? What a flashy ability."
"Is that so? If you think this is just flashy, then your understanding of gold is far too shallow."
Rosinante sneered.
The gauntlets roared to life, releasing a burst of steam.
Then, he swung his fist forward with devastating force.
Armament Haki, thermal radiation, and shattered gold fragments combined to create a blinding golden inferno midair.
"Golden Burst!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator