Chapter 7 : Crushing the Pirates
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"KILL THEM!"
"GET THE KING!"
"TAKE THE THRONE!"
Across the snowfields, the pirates charged, brandishing their swords and guns. Led by Dahm, they approached the area where Musshuru remembered the castle standing.
"Huh? Where's my castle?"
Musshuru blinked. The massive castle that should have been there... was gone.
In its place...
Stood a strange ship.
Its deck was flat, its sides sheared smooth as if carved by a knife, giving off a cold, silent air. It looked like a steel monster lying in wait.
"Look! There's someone up there!" shouted the crew's sharp-eyed navigator, pointing toward the prow. Amidst the swirling snow, a lone figure stood, looking down at them.
"Is that him?" Musshuru squinted. "The bastard who killed my brother??"
Without a second thought, Musshuru drew a pistol and fired, shouting, "Open fire! Take him down!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunfire erupted as dozens of flintlocks discharged their rounds.
Razor Dahm drew his blade, his voice booming with excitement. "Boys, A hundred million Berries are within our grasp! KILL HIM!"
"YEAHHH!"
"CHARGE!"
Fueled by bloodlust, the pirates swarmed forward.
Jin tilted his body slightly, dodging a stray bullet. Then, he spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the oncoming horde.
"I've been waiting for you."
The silent carrier's bow split open, revealing a massive cannon barrel surrounded by a dense, honeycomb-like array of gunports.
Over the past month, it wasn't just Jin who had been training. The carrier's firepower had also been upgraded by the Munch-Munch Fruit.
It had devoured the castle's entire armory—cannons, weapons, and ammunition. It was no longer the same ship; it was now a floating fortress.
When you're outmatched, you use tactics. When you have overwhelming power, you use it.
"FIRE AT WILL!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The main cannon fired first. With Ai's targeting assistance, a heavy-ordnance shell soared through the air, heading straight for Musshuru.
RATATATATATATA!
The gun arrays unleashed a storm of bullets, a dense, fan-shaped wall of lead that blanketed the open ground in front of them, blasting apart layers of packed snow.
The charging pirates saw this and froze in terror.
HOLY SHIT!
What the hell is that??
You've got more firepower than all two hundred of us combined!
This is completely unfair!
Every single one of them spun around and fled, wishing they'd been born with extra legs, running even faster than they had charged.
Those who couldn't escape the barrage grabbed whatever they could to use as a shield—swords, shields, even their own crewmates.
After the first volley, a third of their forces were dead or wounded.
SHING!
Razor Dahm cleaved the incoming cannonball in two. Seeing his men cut down, the snow stained crimson with their blood, his eyes turned feral.
"YOU BASTARD!" he roared.
He launched himself into the air, his presence like that of a wild beast. He bounded across the snow, dodging bullets as he closed the distance to the carrier.
Any rounds he couldn't evade, he simply cut in half.
Jin was surprised. So there was a decent fighter in this group...
Most of the firearms in the pirate world were on par with 18th-century technology—flintlocks and solid-shot cannons. They were a threat to stronger fighters, but not necessarily a lethal one.
But then again, there was also advanced tech like lasers and genetic engineering. The world's technology tree was a bit of a mess.
Jin's hands started to itch. He flexed his fists. He'd been looking for a real sparring partner, and one had just been delivered to his doorstep. Perfect.
"Ai, you take control. Capture Musshuru and the other pirates first. I'm going to have a little fun with this one."
"Understood, Master!"
Jin leaped from the prow of the ship.
In mid-air, he snapped out a sweeping kick aimed at the approaching bald man.
Dahm skidded to a halt and brought his blade down in a vicious chop.
"Razor Cut: Center Part!"
He was from the West Blue, originally a barber who enjoyed removing customers' heads, earning him a bounty that forced him to become a pirate.
His fighting style was still linked to his old profession—every strike aimed for the head. It was a unique and effective style of his own making.
The razor was incredibly sharp. The mere wind from its edge was enough to slice open Jin's skin, drawing blood.
Jin's expression hardened. This wasn't training anymore; this was a fight to the death. He was instantly on full alert.
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Meanwhile, Ai took control of the carrier.
"Munch-Munch Morph: PIG POWER!"
A bizarre theme song suddenly blared from the ship as it rapidly twisted and contorted, transforming into a giant, steel pig with a gaping maw.
It charged forward at high speed, devouring everything it touched—bodies, pirates, swords, and all.
"Wapol's Munch-Munch Fruit??"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The ground shook as the colossal steel pig drew closer, the sight making Musshuru's scalp tingle with fear. What the hell was that thing?
He instinctively retreated, attacking with his own Devil Fruit ability.
"Shade Dance!"
"Spin Drill!"
"Fatal Bomb!"
Musshuru was the user of the Paramecia-type Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit—a decent ability, but unfortunately, he was pathetically weak.
His mastery of the fruit and his own personal strength were both completely amateur-level.
Ai, on the other hand, was a top-tier artificial intelligence, tempered by Spacetime energy and possessing a degree of self-awareness.
In combat, its analysis, prediction, and logic were flawless. Combined with an Awakened Munch-Munch Fruit, its power was immense.
Musshuru couldn't even scratch the steel pig's defenses. He was chased all over the battlefield before being swallowed whole in a matter of moments.
Against the other pirates, it was a complete slaughter.
For an idea of just how powerful an Awakened Paramecia fruit could be, one only had to look at Uta's Sing-Sing Fruit.
Silence fell over the snowfield.
Musshuru and his entire pirate crew had been wiped out.
Only Jin and Razor Dahm were still fighting.
But after witnessing the power of that "monster," Dahm had lost all will to fight. His only thought was to escape.
Seeing that his opponent had lost his nerve, Jin lost interest. He had Ai coordinate with him, and together, they captured him.
"Keep this one alive. He can be my sparring partner," Jin ordered. "As for the others... throw them all in the boiler for fuel."
When it came to pirates, Jin had no sympathy. It didn't matter why they had set out to sea. The moment they became his enemy, they forfeited any right to his compassion.
"Understood, Master," Ai replied.
A thought occurred to Jin. "By the way, are you sure we can extract a Devil Fruit inside the Munch-Munch space?"
"There is an 80% probability," Ai confirmed.
"This is based on an analysis of the process by which the carrier fused with the Munch-Munch Fruit while under the influence of the temporal magnetic field. A Devil Fruit is an entity akin to a psionic field or a bio-wave—"
"—By subjecting it to a powerful magnetic or wave-based interference at the exact moment of transfer, it can be disrupted and forced to adhere to the nearest suitable host. It is likely that Devil Fruit weapons are created using this principle. By the same logic, it is possible to extract a Devil Fruit from a host, as demonstrated by Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach. However, more samples and data are required for a more detailed study."
Jin grinned. "Good enough for me."
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"Is it over?"
"Where are the pirates? Where's Musshuru?"
"It's the king!"
"His Majesty won!"
Dalton, Jeston, the militia, and the townspeople, hearing the silence from up ahead, cautiously approached.
The pirates were gone.
Musshuru was gone.
Jin was still standing.
Was there any question as to who had won?
In an instant, thunderous cheers erupted.
"HE DID IT!"
"The king won! Those bastards have been wiped out!"
"LONG LIVE THE KING!"
All across Drum Island, firecrackers were set off, fireworks lit up the sky, and gongs and drums were beaten. Every household was overcome with joy.
Their new king was not only wise, but he had also single-handedly defeated two hundred pirates, giving everyone a profound sense of security.
Their happiness was genuine and heartfelt.
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