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T-Bone blinked hard, finally realizing something shocking: his commanding officer didn't have a single wound on him.
Rosinante was stunned too.
The man had clearly taken a bullet, yet there wasn't even a scratch.
At the same time, five or six hundred meters away near the harbor, the gunman who had fired the shot stared through his scope in disbelief.
"That hit him. I swear it hit him."
"Even for a Marine officer, he shouldn't be completely unharmed!"
He hurried to readjust his sights, trying to line up another shot, but in the very next second, the young officer in his scope vanished.
"Gone?!"
The gunman froze.
Almost instantly, a flash of white appeared above his head. The word "Justice" swung into view, dazzling the eyes of the pirates beside him and sending them into a panic.
"Marines!!"
The gunman jerked his head up. His heart stopped.
Too fast.
They were at least five or six hundred meters apart, yet that young officer hadn't even needed a full second to reach him. His speed was beyond human reaction.
"You've got good aim."
Kyle looked down at him from midair, meeting the rifleman's eyes as he spoke in a quiet, cold voice.
At the same time, his right leg rose.
Iron Body, localized.
His entire leg trembled as his blood surged, turning it as hard as forged steel.
A heartbeat later, his leg dropped like a giant cleaver.
"Tempest Kick."
It was just a basic Rankyaku, nothing special… except for the speed and the power behind it.
After his fight with Rayleigh, Kyle's physical abilities had skyrocketed. He was no weaker than the world's top fighters now. He hadn't tested his Doriki, but by his estimation, it had easily surpassed ten thousand.
The air trembled. The blue, crescent-shaped slash swelled as it ripped forward, expanding tens of meters in an instant, glowing so bright it hurt the eyes.
It slammed into the pirate ship below.
A sharp crack tore through the air.
The blade of compressed wind sliced the ship clean in half. Pirates shrieked as debris exploded around them. The gunman who fired the shot didn't even finish screaming—Kyle's attack split him from head to hip, cutting him neatly in two.
By the time the shattered ship hit the water, Kyle was already standing calmly at the port.
"Sir!"
T-Bone yelled excitedly and leapt off the warship to follow.
Rocinante stared at the destroyed pirate ship, throat dry. He finally understood why Sengoku had insisted he accompany this man.
He had never witnessed power like this in his life.
"Rocinante."
The young officer's voice drifted over.
"Here!"
Rocinante straightened instantly and answered loudly.
"Stay close. Don't wander off in chaos like this."
Kyle swept his gaze across the battlefield.
Rocinante immediately vaulted forward to keep up.
The three of them moved deeper into Sabaody Archipelago. All around them, pirates and Marines were fighting. Violence spilled through the streets from the inner islands all the way to the harbor.
Clearly, the pirates had made a huge mess this time. Some had already broken through the blockade and were trying to escape.
A gunshot cracked through the air.
Kyle raised an arm, blocking the bullet that was aimed at Rocinante's head.
A metallic clang rang out, sparks scattering off his palm.
Rocinante froze, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead as he stared at the twisted bullet pinched between Kyle's fingers.
If he hadn't blocked it, Rocinante would already be dead.
T-Bone stared in awe. This officer's mastery of the Rokushiki was beyond anything he'd imagined.
He'd never even heard of someone moving freely while maintaining Iron Body.
"Stay sharp, cadet. I can't babysit you every second."
Kyle flicked the bullet away.
A pirate holding a rifle let out a grunt and collapsed, a hole punched clean through the center of his forehead. His companions recoiled in horror.
"Yes, sir!" Rocinante shouted.
Kyle kept walking, ignoring most of the chaos around him. His target wasn't the random criminals—it was the supernovas responsible for the riot.
Anyone who attacked them was cut down effortlessly. T-Bone swung his blade as well, taking out several pirates on his own.
The pirates quickly realized these three weren't people they could touch.
Not long after, Kyle arrived at a Marine encirclement and met with the commanding lieutenant commander.
"Rear Admiral Kyle, Naval HQ. I've been sent to assist."
"Rear Admiral Kyle? You're that prodigy from the rumors?!"
The lieutenant commander lit up with excitement, then quickly delivered a report.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan is directing the operation on the island. The disturbance was started by five supernova crews. Each captain has a bounty over two hundred million."
He handed Kyle a sheet of intel.
"You're in charge of apprehending the supernovas. The smaller pirate groups looting during the chaos aren't a threat. We can handle them."
Kyle skimmed the list. There were five notable supernova crews scattered across the archipelago—skilled swordsmen, Devil Fruit users, a few monsters among them.
The bounties ranged from one hundred million to three hundred million. Individually manageable, but together they were tearing the island apart.
"Leave it to me."
Taking the transponder snail for communications, Kyle set off again with Rocinante and T-Bone.
He didn't bother meeting Vice Admiral Jonathan. There was no need.
"Of the five crews, four are real pirates. Each one has at least a thousand civilian deaths on their hands. Execution would be too kind."
He paused at the last name on the list.
"But this one…"
The Evanstone Pirates.
Five members: a cook, a navigator, a sniper, a swordsman, a shipwright. All strong, all with bounties above fifty million.
And their captain, Evanstone—three hundred and twenty million. A sniper with terrifying skill.
But unlike the others, they had no civilian casualties. In fact, they'd helped people in the towns they passed.
"Evanstone. Born in the North Blue, the white city of Flevance."
"Parents died from noble oppression when he was eight. Went to sea at sixteen. Rose to fame immediately."
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
Rocinante, who had been relaying intel through the transponder snail, suddenly looked up.
"Sir Kyle! The Rocks Pirates have been located ahead. Our units have them completely surrounded!"
Kyle looked forward.
Marine squads were creeping in carefully from all directions, tightening the encirclement around a cluster of buildings that sat unnervingly silent.
"Let's get this over with. I don't have time to waste."
The moment he said it, he disappeared.
He had a schedule to keep. The sooner Sabaody was cleaned up, the sooner he could head for the New World.
"..."
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