Chapter 247: Sword Control Technique
Just as the ship approached the nearshore waters, they encountered another pirate crew head-on.
Rhodes and the others stood on deck, speechless as they watched the pirates charging directly toward them.
Had they somehow failed to notice that this ship was clearly exceptional, or that the speed difference between their vessels was enormous?
BOOM!
Two cannonballs splashed down on either side of the ship, sending massive waves crashing against the hull.
"The cannons on New World pirate ships pack considerably more punch than those in Paradise," Rhodes observed carefully, a contemplative expression crossing his face.
"It's not merely superior weaponry," Jinbe added. "In the New World, dual-type Haki is relatively commonplace. Without mastering both Armament and Observation Haki, survival becomes extraordinarily difficult."
Rhodes nodded, watching the approaching pirate vessel with calm detachment. "Without sufficiently developed Haki, one might achieve regional notoriety, but reaching the absolute pinnacle—standing among those who truly overlook the seas—becomes impossible."
After speaking, Rhodes couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Armament Haki's potency correlated with physical strength, though the relationship wasn't absolute.
Initially, cultivating Armament Haki to match one's physical limits proved relatively straightforward, but advancing beyond that point grew exponentially more difficult.
There existed a fundamental bottleneck.
Otherwise, the world wouldn't have only one "Garp the Fist." Kaido and Big Mom possessed superhuman physiques potentially equal to Garp's, yet his Armament Haki remained unmatched—the absolute pinnacle.
Despite Rhodes' current strength and physique being only marginally inferior to Jinbe's, his Armament Haki lagged several levels behind.
At best, he could compare to powerful pirates like the Supernova captains, but couldn't match fighters like Doflamingo or Jinbe, who stood just below Admiral-level. As for those catastrophe-class monsters like the Admirals themselves? The gap remained vast.
Hearing this analysis, Law and Robin both displayed thoughtful expressions.
At that moment, the pirate ship closed to firing range, and shouting erupted from across the water:
"Listen up! If you value your lives, stop your ship immediately and surrender all your valuables!"
Accompanying this demand came enthusiastic cheering from the pirate crew.
"Boss, we're so lucky! We've barely been sailing and already found a merchant vessel!"
"Yeah! Following Captain Hurley means we're gonna live like kings!"
The atmosphere aboard the enemy ship seemed remarkably cheerful.
Bepo found the situation somewhat amusing.
After all, their own ship carried two Shichibukai and a Supernova.
These pirates were "lucky" indeed.
Meanwhile, as the pirate ship drew closer, the figures standing on their deck became increasingly visible.
"Hey, check it out—fish-men! That blue-skinned guy looks pretty muscular; he'd fetch a decent price at auction!"
"Whoa, Boss! There's a real beauty over there!"
"Wait, Boss... this ship looks kinda familiar..."
Several pirates called out, excitedly making observations.
However, they completely failed to notice how utterly horrified their captain's expression had become.
"That's... the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law..."
"Former Shichibukai, Knight of the Sea Jinbe..."
"And the Thunder God Swordsman who fought Whitebeard himself..."
Captain Hurley recognized them all, his face draining of color as his legs trembled violently.
Finally, as the two ships drew alongside each other, he collapsed to the deck, screaming in absolute terror,
"TURN AROUND! FULL REVERSE!"
"Boss, this is a mistake! We didn't mean to—"
"JUST RUN!"
"Why are we running?!"
"Don't ask questions, JUST RUN!"
"But Boss, we're on a ship in the middle of the ocean—where exactly do we run to?!"
"..."
An awkward silence descended.
The navigator desperately attempted to turn the rudder and steer away, but discovered the ocean currents below behaving strangely, making directional changes impossible.
Finally, the two vessels came together.
Rhodes and his crew leaped lightly onto the pirate ship's deck.
"Good afternoon."
Looking at the pirates with their incredibly varied expressions of mounting horror, Rhodes smiled pleasantly, revealing perfect white teeth.
His demeanor appeared friendly enough, but the pirates—Captain Hurley included—seemed to perceive demons emerging from hell itself. Cold dread seized their spines as sweat poured down their foreheads. They had clearly recognized Rhodes and his companions.
How did we run into these monsters?! the pirates lamented internally.
Two Shichibukai and one Supernova.
This lineup possessed sufficient strength to potentially challenge even a Yonko's territory.
Meanwhile, they were just an unremarkable pirate crew struggling to survive in the New World.
Captain Hurley, despite sporting a bounty of 270 million berries, had earned that figure through sheer brutality rather than combat prowess—arson, murder, robbery, and worse.
"S-Sir... Sir Rhodes..."
Faced with imminent death, Hurley finally suppressed his terror enough to invoke his powerful patron.
"We... we work under Lord Ziggs! Ziggs of the Explosive Arts! He controls Aurora Island and serves under Blackbeard himself!"
"Ziggs?"
"Who's that?"
Rhodes glanced at Jinbe. Among everyone present, only Jinbe possessed comprehensive knowledge of the New World's power structure.
Jinbe considered seriously for a moment, his brow furrowing in concentration.
Bepo tensed slightly—could this be someone genuinely formidable?
Then Jinbe spoke in a measured tone:
"I apologize, but I've never heard of him."
Complete silence fell across both ships.
Robin and the others stared at Jinbe, surprised that the normally straightforward fish-man would deliver such a perfectly deadpan response.
"..."
Captain Hurley appeared utterly defeated, weakly attempting to explain:
"Lord Ziggs is the master of Aurora Island—that island over there. He's one of Blackbeard's subordinate captains, and Blackbeard is currently the most prominent rising power in the New World! He's incredibly dangerous!"
"Blackbeard?"
Rhodes actually laughed at that.
"Did you know that Blackbeard and I have a rather significant grudge?"
"What?!"
Hearing this revelation, Hurley felt certain he must have neglected to check his fortune before departing port this morning.
"Well then, let's test out this newly developed technique."
Rhodes surveyed the approximately seventy to eighty pirates opposite him and drew his blade. He then channeled substantial electromagnetic energy into the weapon, preparing to demonstrate his modified sword control technique.
Bzzzzt.
Because he was utilizing electromagnetic manipulation, Rhodes drew Storm Cutter, which possessed natural affinity with lightning-based abilities.
The moment Storm Cutter left his hand, it began spinning rapidly in midair, quickly transforming into a gleaming silver disk of death centered on the hilt. The blade-wheel swept through the air with an ominous hum.
Though the sword-wheel's speed wasn't blindingly fast, it remained far beyond these pirates' capacity to resist or evade.
Slash—slash—slash!
Blood sprayed across the deck.
In mere moments, over a dozen pirates were cleaved cleanly in half by the silver sword-wheel, their blood painting the wooden planks crimson.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"RUN!"
"It's a demon! A DEMON!"
The pirates finally reacted, consumed by terror and despair. Some quick-thinking crew members attempted diving overboard, but the silver sword-wheel pursued relentlessly, cutting them down before they reached the railing.
Within seconds, this pirate crew—relatively notorious in the surrounding waters—was virtually annihilated, with only Captain Hurley managing to temporarily avoid the attack.
He survived not through superior skill, but through ruthless pragmatism—repeatedly shoving his own crew members into the sword-wheel's path as human shields.
However, as his subordinates were systematically slaughtered, Hurley finally met his inevitable end. The silver sword-wheel shattered his cutlass and then carved through him in several precise strikes.
Whoooosh...
The blade-wheel flashed through the air one final time before returning smoothly to Rhodes' outstretched hand.
Though this sounds like an extended sequence, the entire massacre required only a few seconds.
The less combat-experienced crew members like Bepo barely had time to process what was happening before seeing corpses littering the deck.
"Still too slow," Rhodes assessed critically, examining Storm Cutter. "Limited effectiveness against truly powerful opponents."
Electromagnetism represented a rather specialized ability—it wasn't something one mastered instantly and required considerable time, experimentation, and refinement to develop properly.
(End of Chapter)
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