"Gyahahaha! Pretty sharp senses there, Marine. Too bad you're still going to die!"
The source of the suffocating killing intent stepped out from behind the massive mangrove root, practically radiating arrogance.
"You've got the wrong guy, 'One-Eyed' Wally. I'm not a Marine," Bardock replied evenly.
He had seen this man's face while skimming through the bounty posters at the base. Wally was barely 1.8 meters tall, but he boasted a hefty bounty of thirty-five million Berries and was a known swordsman. On the Grand Line, short pirates with high bounties were notoriously tough to deal with. More importantly, the very first pirate Bardock had captured was Wally's subordinate, "Iron Hook" Hawke.
'Is he here for revenge?' Bardock wondered. 'But I never leaked my real identity...'
"Don't play dumb with me!" Wally sneered, his face twisting into a hideous scowl. "I literally just watched you use the Marines' Rokushiki!"
It was because of the Marines' relentless, suffocating pursuit that Wally had been forced to flee to the Sabaody Archipelago in the first place. He was desperately trying to reach Fish-Man Island just to escape them and slip into the New World. In his mind, every single misfortune that had befallen him on this island was the Marines' fault. He wanted nothing more than to storm the Grove 66 Base and slaughter them all, but he knew he wasn't strong enough. The base's combined forces would crush him.
But a man's luck couldn't stay bad forever. Look what the sea had delivered right to his feet: a young, lone Marine. To have mastered Soru at such a young age, this kid had to be the prized pupil or son of some Marine VIP!
Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!
Wally's killing intent spiked, thick and suffocating. Bardock didn't hesitate. He instantly activated his Devil Fruit, shifting into his full Monkey King Beast Form. His base human defense was still too weak, and swordsmen were famous for their terrifying, lethal attack power. Since he had never actually fought a real swordsman before, playing it safe was the smart move.
Unlike other Zoan forms like bulls, sheep, lions, or tigers, the Monkey King form possessed a humanoid structure. This allowed Bardock to perfectly execute all of his human martial arts techniques without any awkward physical limitations. Because the Beast Form was just so incredibly practical, Bardock rarely ever used his hybrid Human-Beast form, only occasionally utilizing partial transformations for his Fiery Golden Eyes.
"A Devil Fruit?!" Wally roared, his single eye bloodshot with pure, unadulterated jealousy. "You lucky little bastard! Damn Marines! Just die!"
Despite clawing his way through the Grand Line for years, Wally had only ever heard rumors of Devil Fruits; he had never even seen one in person. Yet this snot-nosed kid had already eaten one. It drove him utterly mad.
Wally lunged, his sword flashing in a vicious, diagonal slash aimed from Bardock's bottom left to top right—a strike meant to cleave the boy cleanly in two.
Bardock didn't panic. Moving with explosive speed, he ducked cleanly under the whistling blade and swept his leg out, aiming a crushing blow directly at Wally's shins.
But Wally wasn't a thirty-five-million-Berry captain for nothing. As expected of a veteran who had survived countless bloodbaths, he retained his combat instincts even in a blind rage. Using the forward momentum of his own slash, Wally leaped effortlessly over Bardock's sweeping leg, landing safely out of range.
Their first exchange ended in a complete stalemate.
'Dammit,' Bardock clicked his tongue. He had left his rented house without a weapon, putting him at a massive range disadvantage. It was a harsh reminder: always carry a weapon in Sabaody, because you never knew when a fight would break out.
Wally immediately recognized his reach advantage and pressed the assault, unleashing a relentless flurry of thrusts and slashes. Bardock was forced on the defensive, weaving and bobbing through the storm of steel.
'This isn't working,' Bardock thought, his golden eyes tracking the blade. 'I need to break his rhythm. Wait... he's missing his left eye. His left side is his blind spot!'
Soru!
Bardock vanished, reappearing directly in Wally's blind spot on his left side. Without a shred of hesitation, he threw a devastating straight punch directly at Wally's groin—a classic, undeniable low blow. If the strike connected, Wally would instantly lose all combat capability.
Unfortunately, reality wasn't that simple. Before Bardock's fist could even make contact, a silver arc flashed in his peripheral vision, and he was violently swatted away by the flat of Wally's blade.
"You're too green, kid!" Wally mocked, resting the sword on his shoulder. "Did you really think I don't know my own weak spot? It was bait. I've slaughtered fifty-six cocky idiots just like you."
"Man, that was close," Bardock muttered, picking himself up and brushing the dirt off his golden fur. He was incredibly thankful he had shifted into his indestructible Monkey King form. That slash had been terrifyingly precise; he had almost been chopped right down the middle—a literal Bar-dock split.
"Impossible..." Wally stared at the blade of his longsword, White Iron, in absolute disbelief. It was a renowned blade, bordering on the quality of a Skillful Grade Sword, yet there wasn't a single drop of blood on it.
"It's armor," Bardock lied effortlessly, patting his chest. "I'm wearing armor under my shirt."
"Do I look like an idiot to you?!" Wally snapped, pointing the tip of his sword at the massive tear in Bardock's shirt. The gap clearly revealed nothing but thick, shimmering golden fur.
"Oh, wow. Would you look at that? Clothes actually rip in this world," Bardock quipped sarcastically. "I guess only the Pirate King's Supreme Grade Sandals are truly indestructible."
"Don't get cocky, brat! Watch me cut you to ribbons!" Wally didn't rush in. Instead, he slowly lowered his stance and sheathed White Iron at his hip, his hand hovering over the hilt. The air around him grew heavy. It was an Iai stance—a draw-slash technique. His next attack was guaranteed to be a devastating, all-or-nothing ultimate move.
'Yeah, right. Like I'm going to just stand here and let you charge your ultimate attack,' Bardock scoffed internally. This wasn't a magical girl anime; he wasn't going to politely wait for the transformation sequence to finish.
Soru!
Bardock teleported right in front of Wally, throwing another lightning-fast kick aimed squarely at the pirate's crotch.
"Draw!"
The instant Bardock reappeared, Wally's blade exploded from its scabbard in a blinding arc of silver light, entirely bypassing Bardock's kick and slicing straight through his torso. The residual shockwave of the slash continued onward, completely severing a massive mangrove root behind him.
"You fell for it again, you little shit!" Wally roared in triumph. "Hahaha! I finally did it! I'm a Master Swords—"
Wally's victory speech was cut short as his eyes practically bugged out of his skull. He dropped his sword, clutching his groin with both hands, and collapsed to the dirt, convulsing in absolute agony.
"Who do you think I am?" Bardock sneered, standing over the agonizing pirate. "Did you really think I'd fall for the exact same trick twice?"
Having learned his lesson from his previous reckless attack, Bardock had pushed his Fiery Golden Eyes to their limit, analyzing Wally's muscle twitches. He had known instantly that the draw-slash was just another trap. So, Bardock beat him at his own game. The literal microsecond Wally's blade swung forward, Bardock used Size Manipulation to shrink to his absolute minimum size, completely dodging the blade. The moment the steel passed over his head, he instantly expanded back to his original size, driving his foot directly into his target.
Ignoring the whimpering pirate, Bardock bent down and picked up White Iron. It was a beautiful, double-edged rapier with an ornate handguard, looking remarkably similar to Cavendish's sword, Durandal. He gave it a few test swings. The balance was perfect—infinitely better than the cheap blade he had bought in the shopping district.
"Hey. Do you happen to know a guy named 'Iron Hook' Hawke?" Bardock asked casually, looking down at Wally.
Wally fought through the blinding pain, looking up through tear-filled eyes. "Wait... did he—"
"You know too much."
Swish.
A flash of silver cut through the night air. Wally's severed head rolled across the grass, his face frozen in an expression of utter, profound confusion—he looked like a man who desperately needed a question mark floating over his head.
Bardock had decapitated him for a very pragmatic reason: Wally really did know too much. Bardock had only recently learned that the Marines actually interrogated the pirates they brought in. He couldn't risk Wally surviving, getting arrested, and screaming to the Marines that a kid with a golden monkey Devil Fruit was using Rokushiki around the archipelago.
Furthermore, Bardock's combat tactics tonight hadn't exactly been... honorable. While it was true that in a life-or-death battle, you should use whatever works, repeatedly kicking a man in the groin wasn't exactly a heroic aesthetic. When he eventually became a legendary figure on the seas, he absolutely did not want "The Nutcracker" recorded in his dark history.
As Bardock cleaned up the scene, he noticed a heavy metal briefcase tucked behind the severed mangrove root. He popped the latches. Inside were neat stacks of crisp Berries. After a quick count, it totaled roughly twenty million.
'Twenty million here, plus his thirty-five million bounty...' Bardock did the mental math, a massive grin spreading across his face. 'That's fifty-five million Berries in a single night! Plus, I got a top-tier sword out of it! I have enough funds to lay low and train in peace for a long time.'
He glanced down at the body. 'So that's what it takes to break through to becoming a Master Swordsman? How interesting.'
He wrapped Wally's head in a spare cloth, packed away his loot, and turned his sights toward the Marine Base.
'I can't use the Chopper alias for this one,' he thought, adjusting his grip on the bloody bundle. 'The MO is completely different. Chopper uses a blunt weapon; this guy was decapitated. I need a new identity. Alright... Kakarot. I'll go by Kakarot.'
As Bardock walked out of the shadows, his body began to warp and stretch. For the first time, he fully shifted into his golden-furred, heavily muscled Human-Beast form.