Robin and Golia quickly joined the battlefield.
Wayne never took his eyes off the enemy ship. These were his crewmates, after all. While he wanted them to hone their skills, he had no intention of allowing unnecessary casualties.
With Buffalo and the senior officers joining in, the Black Cat Pirates quickly fell into a disadvantage. Only four or five of them including their captain, Locke were still holding their ground. The rest were either cut down or lying unconscious from serious injuries.
Death was the norm in pirate battles.
There were no bloodless crews in the world of piracy, not even Wayne's. This wasn't a comic book where hundreds of battles end with barely a handful of deaths. In the real world, pirates died by the dozens sometimes hundreds in a single skirmish, especially those on the bottom rung of the food chain.
Wayne's crew may not have been as powerful as the senior officers, but even the average crewmate could take on seven or eight low-tier pirates without much trouble.
Among the chaos, one man stood out Kuro. He was clearly in trouble.
To be precise, things were looking grim. His coat had been slashed to ribbons, and fresh claw marks streaked across his face. He was quickly being pushed to the brink.
It wasn't that Kuro was weak. On the contrary, Locke was simply that strong. Wayne noticed that despite not using any weapons, Locke was still able to inflict deep wounds with just his claws.
That left two possibilities.
One: Locke was a member of the Mink Tribe but he didn't have the look.
Two: he was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
Buffalo noticed Kuro's dire condition as well. After knocking out the pirate in front of him with a heavy blow, he rushed over to assist.
Ever since that awkward eye contact at dinner, Buffalo and Kuro had shared a kind of silent camaraderie or at least Wayne liked to think so.
Kuro scowled as Buffalo joined the fight. "Who asked for your help? I can handle him!"
Buffalo scratched his head. "Give it a rest. If I hadn't stepped in, you'd probably be dead already. Don't become the first casualty among us Devil Fruit users. That'd be tough to explain to the boss."
Kuro grunted and didn't argue further. He knew Locke had the upper hand in speed and strength, and even his own signature Ten Blades couldn't match the strange claws of his opponent.
Locke, on the other hand, grew visibly more alert. That sharp-suited fighter was already no pushover now there was another brute with Devil Fruit powers?
Things were getting complicated.
"No more games!" Locke growled. "Time to get serious!"
With a roar, Locke's body began to shift. His short frame swelled from a modest 160 centimeters to over two meters tall. His limbs grew thick with muscle, his ears lengthened, a soft layer of fur spread across his body, and his brown eyes sharpened into feline slits.
"I'm a Zoan-type! The Ancient Beast model of the Cat-Cat Fruit: Saber-Toothed Cat Form!"
Locke grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp feline fangs. He pounced, claws extended, aiming directly for Kuro's chest.
"Fast!" Kuro's pupils contracted. "Tekkai!"
He tensed his body, invoking Tekkai Iron Body in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
But regular Tekkai was no match for the claws of an ancient predator.
Blood burst into the air. Kuro's eyes rolled back as he collapsed, unconscious.
Now only Buffalo stood between Locke and victory.
And that's when Locke's true instincts kicked in.
It was the nature of a cat. They didn't kill prey immediately. They played with it. Toyed with it. Tormented it.
As the Saber-Toothed Cat Fruit user, Locke had inherited that nature perfectly.
"I'm going to tear you apart... piece by piece," he hissed with a twisted grin, licking the blood from his claws before lunging at Buffalo.
Wayne narrowed his eyes. This guy wasn't just strong his Devil Fruit clearly wasn't a common type either.
Still, Kuro was only unconscious, not fatally wounded. The real danger now lay in the battle between Locke and Buffalo.
Locke darted with eerie speed. Buffalo had power, bulk, and endurance but he couldn't even touch Locke. Meanwhile, the saber-toothed pirate's claws slashed deep, leaving crimson streaks across Buffalo's body.
"That's enough. Buffalo fall back," Wayne called out.
In the next instant, he was beside him.
Wayne could see clearly now if this continued, Buffalo would surely lose. Locke's fruit ability was the perfect counter to his brawling style.
"Boss, I..."
Buffalo's face twisted with shame. He felt like he'd let Wayne down. To think he couldn't even beat some no-name pirate? How could he call himself the right hand of a Warlord?
"You've done well, Buffalo. Now take Kuro to the infirmary. Leave the rest to me."
Wayne spoke with calm reassurance.
Buffalo gave a reluctant nod and carried Kuro off the deck.
But Locke wasn't about to let his prey slip away.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
He lunged again, claws extended to block their retreat.
"Ittoryu: Horizon Slash!"
Wayne unsheathed Raksasha from his hip. A blade of energy burst forth, slicing clean through the edge of the pirate ship and cutting Locke off from his pursuit.
Locke froze, staring at the gaping hole in the deck. His eyes narrowed as he turned toward Wayne.
"That was a flying slash… you're a master swordsman!"
Locke stared hard at Wayne's face. Then recognition struck.
"You… you're Warlord Wayne?! Damn it! You were pretending to be weak? You were baiting us?!"
He looked around frantically. The rest of the Black Cat Pirates had been completely wiped out. Even his most trusted officers had fallen to Robin and Golia.
Wayne blinked.
Wait, what?
Baiting? When did I ever do that?
You're the one who picked this fight!
He looked Locke dead in the eye.
"You dared to target me? Then I hope you're ready to pay the price."
"Thirty Million Volts: Thunder Grasp!"
With a flick of his wrist, purple lightning arced across Wayne's arm. In the air, the electricity formed the shape of a giant hand that shot forward, reaching for Locke like a vengeful god.
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