"Bingo!"
Klein grinned. "Correct answer."
"Sir Klein, now's hardly the time to be smiling!" Os was drenched in cold sweat, his face pale as a sheet. His back was already soaked through.
Bang bang bang—
Bang bang bang—
The barrels turned skyward, firing like they were shooting birds. Under the hail of bullets, Klein's body moved like a drifting leaf. Even as bullets grazed his clothes, not a single one hit him. He moved like a dancer pirouetting on a bullet's edge.
But the man he was holding—Os—looked like his soul was about to abandon his body.
"Os, it's time to put your sniping to the test. Think you can hit those shooters?"
"M-Me?"
Os blinked in surprise, then quickly steadied himself. A confident glint surfaced on his delicate features.
"Of course. My sniping's top-tier."
In one smooth motion, he unstrapped the sniper rifle from his back. His demeanor flipped entirely—face calm, posture composed, hands steady as they held the rifle.
This sniper was... cold.
Target locked.
Finger on the trigger.
Bang—
One fluid motion. Clean, efficient. A pirate on a rooftop collapsed, groaning in pain as he rolled on the ground, clutching his crotch. His face was contorted in agony, veins bulging as he endured a pain worse than death.
A direct hit to the "little guy."
"..."
Even Klein felt a chill between his legs watching that, his crotch tensing involuntarily.
He offered a silent prayer for the pirate and gave Os a complicated glance.
Most people say, "Shoot the horse before the rider."
But this guy?
Shoot the bird before the man??
Who the hell taught him sniping like this?
Os was in the zone. One shot, one bird. Pirates started ducking for cover like frightened chickens.
Seeing the fate of their comrades, the pirates all felt their own "birds" go limp. Cold sweat streamed down their backs.
"Dammit! That guy's too ruthless!"
"When they land, I'm skinning that sniper alive!"
"No honor at all! Just kill a man properly!"
"The morning sun rises, the evening sun sets!"
"Catch him and crush his eggs! Smash his bird!"
"...."
In an instant, pirates who weren't even from the same crew suddenly became more united than ever. Their eyes burned with shared hatred.
"Great shooting!" Klein said, though it was clearly forced.
Bird sniping? This Os guy had really perfected it.
Os beamed. "Finally, I'm of use to Sir Klein."
Carrying him, Klein landed gracefully on the street. He looked around at the buildings and shouted:
"Hey—Ayer! These small fries aren't going to cut it. Why don't you bring out your real helpers?"
The sound of glass shattering rang out. A pirate leapt from a second-floor window, spinning a dagger in his skeletal, bony fingers with unnatural agility.
"Hey, you the one who's been going around arresting pirates on Sabaody these past few days? Klein is it?"
Os's face paled. "Bounty: 45 million Berries. Ripper Jack!" he exclaimed.
Then, from the shadows, emerged a towering pirate with a captain's hat and a broadsword. "Jack, quit the chatter. Pirates killing Marines is routine."
"Bounty: 52 million Berries. Black Crow Pirate Captain Edward!" Os shouted again, drenched in sweat.
At the far end of the street, a bizarre man appeared. His arms hung past his knees, and his earlobes resembled those of a Buddha statue. His greedy eyes locked onto the sword at Klein's waist—Amenonuhoko.
"The sword at that guy's waist... I want it," he said with a wide grin.
"Longarm Warrior Gerard! Bounty: 55 million Berries!"
A white tiger with hanging jowls leapt from a rooftop. On its back sat a dwarf.
"The Marine prodigy... his flesh will make perfect tiger chow!"
"Beast Rider Dwarf Hall. Bounty: 48 million Berries!"
Pirates with bounties in the tens of millions and even a few million filled the street, surrounding Klein and Os completely.
Each one carried a weapon gleaming with murderous light, grinning bloodthirstily.
Over a thousand pirates radiated bloodlust and killing intent.
Os trembled, cold sweat pouring from every pore. "S-Sir Klein, b-be careful. These guys are all savage, heartless pirates."
"They're monsters!"
Klein's expression didn't change. "Hey, Ayer, I know you're there. Why don't you show your face?"
Hahaha— Rear Admiral Ayer appeared with Captain Bill, his eyes cold and lifeless as he stared at Klein like a corpse.
"What a shame. Just graduated... You had a promising future. But now? You pissed off the pirates. Got yourself hacked to pieces."
"The greatest prodigy of the Marines? That headline's gonna sell like crazy."
Klein covered his face, barely containing the grin spreading ear to ear.
He couldn't hold it in. His body shook with laughter. "Pffft—hahahahaha!"
"Man, I've gotta thank you. Gathering such a big batch of pirates just to hand me money. Pwahaha!"
"Sorry, I really couldn't hold it."
Lining up to donate to me? You guys are something else!
"Madman. Lunatic!" Ayer's face darkened. "Why the hell are you still laughing at a time like this?!"
Ripper Jack bared his teeth. "Final madness before death, maybe? Most people I torture end up losing their minds."
"...."
Os was shaking all over. The killing intent from all sides made him feel like he'd plunged into an ice bath. "S-Sir K-Klein, I... I'll hold them off. You run..."
"And tell my dad... I'm sorry... I didn't get him a proper—"
"Mmmpf—"
His mouth was promptly covered by Klein's hand. "Quit raising death flags. It's not that bad."
"Do you know what these people are in my eyes?"
"...?" Os's knees buckled.
"Trash."
That one word hit Os like a hammer. His pupils contracted sharply.
Then he realized—
If even these pirates were just trash in Klein's eyes... then what was he?
Below trash?
That stings, man...
"Trash?" Ayer sneered and raised his hand. "Everyone, attack! Kill him!"
"Klein, you've only got yourself to blame. You were too greedy!"
He'd already offered one hundred million Berries, and this guy still refused to leave Sabaody Archipelago?
Greed gets you killed!
No respect at all!
On all sides, pirates let out guttural laughs—cold, murderous, perverse.
"Die, Marine genius!"
"In numbers alone, we crush you!"
"Two hands can't fight a thousand fists!"
"5000 vs 2... Advantage: Us!"
(TN: This is a parody of a quote from Chinese general Chiang Kai-shek.)
"Marine! Sabaody is our final stop before the New World. No one can stop us!"
"Catch him alive! Wash his little flower clean—I wanna taste what a Marine prodigy's like! Jie jie jie jie—"
"...."
Weapons raised, the pirates charged like a stampede. Even the ground trembled.
"Shut up!"
Klein's expression turned icy. The word hit like thunder, exploding in every heart.
He snapped his eyes wide open. His black pupils instantly turned blood-red, unleashing a storm of black-and-red lightning that spread like wildfire.
Heaven-shattering. Earth-rending.
A crimson cage of lightning engulfed the entire street.
"Conqueror's Haki – Tremendous Shockwave!"
A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, exploded outward in all directions. Color drained from the world—everything plunged into a lifeless, frozen black-and-white void like a scene from hell.
At that moment, Klein's Marine cloak flared dramatically behind him. The word 'Justice' faced the sky.
Yet in this terrifying world, everyone retained their color—but their bodies froze in place.
Someone with a sword mid-swing.
Someone charging forward.
Someone aiming.
Someone throwing a punch—
All frozen like statues.