Upon boarding the warship, a middle-aged man in a justice cloak, a suit, a longsword at his waist, and sporting a Mohawk hairstyle approached with a confident stride. His looks weren't much to speak of.
"I heard from the men—it's truly an honor to be able to act alongside Teacher Zephyr."
Seeing him, Zephyr smiled. "Mole, I haven't congratulated you yet on your promotion to Rear Admiral."
"Not at all. If I've achieved anything, it's all thanks to your guidance back then, Teacher."
After a few words of courtesy, Mole looked at the three standing behind Zephyr and asked, "And these are?"
"Oh, I plan to bring them along for some real combat experience."
Zephyr's face carried enough weight that Mole asked no further questions and nodded in acknowledgment.
Before long, the warship hoisted its sails and set out to sea.
Though this wasn't Akira's first time on a ship, the sight of the massive vessel in motion always filled him with awe.
Looking out over the endless ocean, a sense of ambition stirred within his chest.
---
Time passed peacefully on the sea. After all, few dared to attack a Navy warship.
Three hours flew by unnoticed.
As they neared their destination, Zephyr and Mole stopped chatting, and the atmosphere on the warship grew solemn.
"Rear Admiral, we're about fifteen minutes from the target," a soldier reported.
Mole placed his hand on the longsword at his waist and ordered, "Prepare all personnel for battle!"
"Yes, sir!"
The salty sea breeze now carried a strong scent of gunpowder as soldiers began loading their flintlock rifles.
Akira seized the chance to approach the soldier who had spoken with Mole earlier. By the time he returned, a flintlock pistol now hung from his belt.
"Fire! It's a huge fire!"
Blazing flames lit up the night sky, casting the darkness in a blood-red hue.
As the warship docked, screams and wails echoed from the village—some from women, others from children.
It had been less than four hours since they received the report, and yet the village was already a living hell.
"Those bastards!" Mole drew his blade and issued a cold command: "Move in! Rescue the villagers! Kill any pirates on sight!"
Boom!
Before Mole finished his sentence, Zephyr launched forward like a cannonball, blasting a two-meter-wide crater into the ground.
Akira and Tina followed close behind, soaring toward the village with Moonwalk.
Blood. Blood everywhere. Corpses strewn across the streets. Under the raging firelight, the pirates' twisted, vile faces were illuminated.
"Damn it, looks like a few old geezers are still hiding here."
A drunken pirate stumbled out of a wine cellar, dragging two trembling elderly people by the arms. With a casual swing of his blade, he decapitated them.
Two heads rolled across the ground, their faces still frozen in terror.
"Out of the way, brat! You just ruined my good mood!"
In the middle of the street, a child sobbed uncontrollably over his father's corpse. An annoyed pirate walked past and smashed the child's head with a hammer, leaving behind a mangled mess.
"Hehehe! Look what I found—a decent-looking woman!"
The pirate shoved the woman down onto a straw mat with a lecherous grin as she struggled desperately.
"No! Please… I'm begging you, let me go!"
"Shut up, you wench! If you behave, maybe we'll let you live after we've had our fun!"
Another pirate joined in, tearing at her clothes.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out—the pirate's head burst open, and his body collapsed in a heap.
Up in the air, Akira calmly reloaded his flintlock with a lead ball.
"Bullseye." As if expected, Akira showed no surprise.
Those three months he'd spent practicing marksmanship when he first joined the Navy had finally paid off.
With no talent in martial arts, he'd decided early on that sniping from a distance was the safest route—and he had clearly made the right choice.
Turns out, he had a real knack for firearms.
Swish—
Tina appeared behind another pirate and drove her longsword straight through his back, saving the woman.
"Don't be afraid—you're safe now. We're here," Tina said softly.
"The... Navy?" The woman, tears streaming, brushed her hair out of her face.
"Yes. Now get to the edge of the village—our main force is right behind us."
Bang! Bang!
After shooting two more pirates, Akira landed and drew his sword. He couldn't keep using Moonwalk indefinitely; his stamina wouldn't last.
As two hundred Navy soldiers joined the battle, the pirates quickly realized something was wrong.
"It's the Navy—they're here!"
"Kill them all!"
These pirates were truly brutal. Instead of fleeing, their first reaction to the Navy's presence was to fight back.
As four sword-wielding pirates closed in on him, Akira whispered, "Shave!"
He shot forward like lightning, breaking through their formation and piercing one pirate's chest with a sword.
Bang!
"Watch out!"
A gunshot rang out. Tina suddenly leapt behind Akira, using her sword to deflect the shot—though the force made her blade lurch sideways.
"Thanks." Akira gave her a sincere nod.
Some of the pirates clearly had skills—one had taken advantage of the brief stiff pause after Akira used Shave to fire a shot at him.
At the exact moment of the gunshot, he'd felt a tingling at the back of his neck—likely a precursor to awakening Observation Haki.
But without Tina, he couldn't be sure he'd have survived.
"Hmph! I can help you once, but not every time. Stay sharp," Tina said, her voice melodic and clear.
"It's Captain Yule! Captain Yule is here!" the surrounding pirates cried excitedly.
A man perched atop a distant rooftop scowled, lowering his sniper rifle. Even with Observation Haki, he'd failed to kill the brat.
At that moment, an iron jitte flew toward him—it was Smoker, who had traced the gunshot to this spot.
"Tch. Another little brat."
Yule didn't take Smoker seriously. A kid who hadn't even awakened Haki? He could dodge him with his eyes closed.
Sure enough, within a few moves, Smoker was being pushed back hard.
Had Yule been using a blade instead of a rifle, Smoker might've been dead already.
Luckily, Mole arrived just in time to intercept Yule.
"Go help elsewhere—I've got this."
Reluctant but silent, Smoker clenched his jitte and left.
Having learned his lesson, Akira didn't dare use Shave carelessly again. Instead, he floated in the sky using Moonwalk, taking potshots like a flying kite.
Bang!
Another pirate fell to Akira's gunfire.
Below, the pirates could only watch him rain down fire, helpless to respond. Their frustration boiled over—some were nearly foaming at the mouth.
"Someone shoot that bastard down!" a pirate bellowed in rage.
---