Chapter 1 Encounter
East Blue, 153rd Branch sea area.
On an boundless, azure ocean, a Warship flying the Marine flag slowly appeared on the horizon.
'Captain Ryan, a Pirate Crew has been spotted ahead. It's the Mondo Pirates, with a bounty of 8 million. Should we initiate an attack?'
Inside the cabin, a lean young Marine reported loudly to the person in front of him.
The East Blue is the weakest of the seas, with few pirates having bounties exceeding 10 million. This has led to the generally low combat effectiveness of the East Blue Marine compared to the other four seas. Previously, they only dared to capture pirates with 8 million bounties when accompanied by high-ranking officers from their base.
But ever since this man joined the Marine, his strength has been evident to all. He has led them to capture pirates time and again, and now they no longer take pirates with 8 million bounties seriously.
The man in front had short, neat hair and a lazy, relaxed gaze. He wore a standard Marine uniform, reclined on a chair, a cigar in his mouth, and a newspaper in his hand, checking recent news and newly emerged pirates. By his appearance, he seemed to be around 22 years old.
Upon receiving the information, the man immediately stood up, and his entire demeanor changed. A sharp aura emanated from him, and a strong fighting spirit rose within him.
"Understood, Ensign Anton. It's still the same as before! First, bombard the enemy ship, then, during the boarding battle, I'll launch a decapitation strike against them."
"Yes!"
Ensign Anton saluted Ryan, then quickly left to give orders to the other Naval Soldiers on the ship.
"Attack the pirates ahead! Ready! Fire!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A continuous volley of cannon fire erupted.
The attacked Pirate Crew immediately retaliated, and for a moment, cannonballs flew between the two ships.
"Charge! Eliminate these pirates!" Ensign Anton shouted loudly to the surrounding Naval Soldiers.
"Yes!"
The surrounding Naval Soldiers increased the Warship's power, swiftly charging towards the Mondo Pirates.
"Hmm! What's going on? A single Warship dares to directly attack Captain Mondo. It seems like a bunch of crazy Marines. Little ones, charge and kill these Marines!"
Mondo, the Captain of the Mondo Pirates, known as the 'Bloodthirsty Killer,' stood at the front of his ship, roaring at his pirates.
"Kill them!" The other pirates of the Mondo Pirates waved their weapons, shouting loudly.
The East Blue is known as the weakest of the seas. Generally, pirates with 8 million bounties are not engaged unless several Warships are deployed together.
Now, with only a single Marine Warship, the Mondo Pirates directly engaged the Marine in a cannon battle.
Soon, as the two ships drew closer, the pirates of the Mondo Pirates raised their swords and guns, ready to eliminate the Marines.
"Prepare for a boarding battle!"
"Yes!"
Ryan also came to the bow, holding a standard Marine sword, ready for battle.
"Boom!" The two ships collided.
"Charge! Eliminate the pirates!"
"Kill all these Marines!"
In an instant, fierce fighting erupted.
The members of the Mondo Pirates and their Captain directly charged onto the Marine Warship, attacking the Naval Soldiers.
At the very beginning of the boarding battle, Ryan attacked Mondo, the Captain of the Mondo Pirates. In this type of naval battle, once the Captain of the Pirate Crew is dealt with, the remaining pirates usually surrender.
The Captain of the Mondo Pirates was a man 2.5 meters tall, with highly developed muscles, holding a large axe.
People in this world, if they have trained, are generally tall and strong.
As Ryan charged towards him, Mondo had already raised his axe and directly swung it down at Ryan. He had noticed this Marine long ago; when he dealt with his subordinates, it usually only took one sword strike.
"Die, Marine."
Ryan directly dodged the attack.
Immediately after, Mondo swung another axe at Ryan.
"Pirate! Today is your unlucky day! Remember this day! Don't sail on this day in your next life!"
"Stop bragging! I'm going to chop you into mincemeat!"
Today, Ryan's system level finally reached level 10. After reaching level 10, he discovered that the system had unlocked the Haki branch. He was just about to test the power of Haki when he encountered the Mondo Pirates.
Ryan drew the standard Marine sword he brought from the Warship.
He activated Observation Haki, and immediately the figure of the Captain of the Mondo Pirates appeared in his mind. Ryan continuously dodged his attacks, while at the same time, continuously leaving gashes on his opponent's body with the sword in his hand.
Seeing his attacks constantly dodged by Ryan, and with wounds appearing on his body from the opponent's sword, Mondo roared directly: "Ah! Kid, you've completely enraged me!"
After saying that, his body immediately swelled rapidly, and brown fur continuously appeared on his body.
"I'm a Bear-Bear Fruit user!"
After saying that, he directly threw his axe aside, and several sharp claws extended from his hands, savagely clawing at Ryan.
Ryan instantly dodged to the side and said to the Captain of the Mondo Pirates, who had already transformed into a bear-man: "Oh! I didn't expect you to be a Devil Fruit user. The Marine Intelligence Department didn't discover it."
"Haha! Kid, go to hell!" He had only recently obtained the Bear-Bear Fruit and had not yet displayed this ability in front of others, which is why it wasn't recorded in Marine intelligence.
Mondo, who had thrown away his axe and was using his Devil Fruit ability, gained a huge boost in speed, and his defense also greatly increased.
Ryan continued to maneuver around him, relying on his Observation Haki. The sword in his hand continuously struck his body, but this time it left no wounds, only white marks.
"It seems I can't take you down without using some real skill!"
"Ittoryu: Tenun-Zan."
Immediately after, a silver-white slash flew from Ryan's sword, striking Mondo, who had transformed into a bear-man.
Upon seeing a slash flying towards him, Mondo immediately sensed danger and quickly picked up the axe he had just discarded, holding it in front of him as a shield.
With a bang, Mondo's iron great axe was cut in half, and a huge wound appeared on the hand he used to block.
"Ah! My hand!"
Under Ryan's slash, although he blocked it, his axe was destroyed by the slash, and he suffered extremely severe injuries as a result.
"Ah! You, you're actually a Swordsman. How can someone with your strength still be a Captain?"
Ryan said nothing more and continued to charge forward with his sword.
"Little ones, let's take him down together." Mondo, somewhat terrified, roared at the surrounding pirates.
"Kill!" Hearing their Captain's command, the surrounding pirates immediately charged towards Ryan.
The pirates charging from the front swung their swords at Ryan, while the pirates in the back raised their flintlock pistols, aiming at Ryan, ready to shoot him at any moment.
"Ittoryu: Instant Slash."
Instantly, a silver, lightning-fast figure rapidly flashed in front of these pirates.
Soon, Ryan returned to his original position.
The pirates in front of him only then reacted.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Pirates continuously let out shrill screams.
As more and more pirates screamed, their bodies continuously tilted backward, like sheets of paper cut in half.
At this moment, all the pirates in front of Ryan fell down, with only Mondo still standing.
"How is this possible?" Mondo said, somewhat in fear, looking at the pirates cut in half all over the ground.
"Oh, you're still here! Let's deal with you quickly and head back to base."
Ryan, standing still, spoke these words casually. Then, the sword in his hand instantly transformed into a black sword.
"Ittoryu: Shunji Giri."
In an instant, Ryan, with the sword in his hand, directly bypassed Mondo and appeared behind him.
At this moment, drops of red liquid flowed from the tip of his sword.
"What a fast sword." Mondo, standing behind Ryan, said these words before falling forward.
With one sword strike, Mondo, the underestimated Captain of the Mondo Pirates, was dead.
The other pirates, seeing their Captain cut down by that Marine with a single sword, instantly lost all morale and raised their hands in surrender.
Soon, Ensign Anton and the other Marines gathered the surrendered pirates and locked them up on the Marine Warship.
These pirates, having witnessed Ryan's terrifying strength, had no desire to escape whatsoever. They all stayed obediently in the lower cabins, fearing to anger the killing god above.
At this moment, Ryan also looked at his system panel.