Chapter 42: Unwelcome Reinforcements
Chris remembered the big promise he had just made to Satoru—that he would protect everyone. Looking at the situation now, he might be the one needing help soon. The battle had turned. Most of the pirates, except for a few tough ones, had been taken down. The Marines had started outnumbered, but now they held the advantage.
Many of the cadets were wounded, but thankfully, none had been killed. That was a lucky thing.
Just as they were pushing forward, a new sound cut through the fight—a heavy, dense pounding of footsteps. A lot of them.
Both Marines and pirates stopped fighting. No one knew if the newcomers were friends or enemies.
But when they saw the fierce looks on the new group's faces and felt the cruel aura coming off them, the naval cadets tensed up. This was not the feeling of an ally.
Even the Sin Skull Pirates were confused. They didn't know these people. But judging by the vicious looks, they weren't good guys. If they weren't good guys, maybe they were here to fight the Marines. That could be good for the pirates.
"That's you, right?" a deep, rumbling voice said. "The one who killed my men yesterday."
The speaker was at the front of the new group. He was a huge man, towering and thick with muscle. His voice was flat and hard, full of cold anger.
He was so big that Herac looked like a child next to him. Satoru even wondered if the man had some giant blood in him. How else could someone be that massive?
"I did kill some people yesterday," Satoru answered calmly, not moving from his spot facing Chermo. "But I don't know if they were your men. I just know they were slave traders. Are you slave traders too?"
"Then it's you. That settles it," the giant man said, his eyes narrowing.
Hearing this, Chris's mouth fell open in shock. He had told Satoru yesterday not to cause trouble here. Satoru hadn't listened at all.
The aura coming from these new people was strong. Compared to the Sin Skull Pirates, they were just as dangerous, maybe even more so.
"It looks like your luck has run out," Chermo said to Satoru, a smug grin returning to his face. "You're doomed to die here."
He had been very frustrated fighting Satoru. None of his attacks could land. And Satoru hadn't even been fighting seriously. If only he could make physical contact! That was the condition for his blood control—skin-to-skin touch. Unless the target used Armament Haki to coat the point of contact, his power would work. He just needed one touch.
"I wanted to keep you alive," Satoru said, his voice dropping its playful tone. "But now it's clear I can't afford to."
"Huh?" Chermo was confused.
"Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?" Satoru asked. "Because the Navy doesn't want your Devil Fruit to fall into someone else's hands. It's better to capture you alive and lock you up forever. But now... I can't hold back anymore."
The strength of this new group was no joke. If Satoru kept playing around, some of his classmates might die. To prevent any casualties, he had to end this. Fast.
"Chris!" Satoru called out, not taking his eyes off the two enemy leaders. "Take everyone and get out of here. Now."
"What about you?" Chris shouted back.
"Don't worry about me. You being here will just hold me back."
Chris gritted his teeth. He hated leaving a comrade behind. But he knew Satoru was right. They would only get in the way. "Okay! I got it! Everyone! Fall back! Get out of this area now!"
The cadets hesitated, but discipline won out. They began to pull back, helping the wounded.
The slave traders didn't try to stop them. Killing one Marine was one thing. Slaughtering a whole class of elite cadets was another. The Navy would hunt them to the ends of the earth. Their target was just the white-haired boy. They let the others go.
The Sin Skull Pirates wanted to stop the retreat, but they were now the weakest group on the field. They had no say.
"Now," Satoru said, rolling his shoulders. "This is much easier for me." He turned his head to the giant. "You must be Dralion. The boss of the slave traders."
He hadn't fought the man yet, but he could feel it. Dralion's physical presence was huge. His life force was like a bonfire. In terms of raw power, he was stronger than Chermo. But if Chermo used his Devil Fruit power the right way, he would probably win. The power to control blood was just that nasty.
"That's right," Dralion rumbled. "Now you know the name of the man who will kill you. You can die in peace. When you get to the other side, say hello to my brothers."
"Hahaha!" Satoru laughed. It was a bright, careless sound. "That's really funny. Are you so sure you can beat me?"
Seeing Satoru act so fearless, everyone—pirates and slavers—frowned. They all thought the same thing: either this kid was incredibly powerful, or he was completely insane.
"Then let me see where your confidence comes from," Dralion growled.
Satoru didn't answer with words.
In a blur of motion, he closed a distance of over ten meters and appeared right in front of Dralion.
"Black Flash."
Seeing Satoru appear out of nowhere and throw a punch crackling with black-red energy, Dralion's face turned serious. He quickly crossed his massive arms in front of his chest in a guard.
BOOOOM!
The impact was thunderous. Dralion felt a terrifying force smash into his guard. The next instant, his whole body was flung backward like a ragdoll. He flew over thirty meters through the air before crashing into a giant mangrove tree trunk with a sickening CRACK. He slid to the ground, shaking splinters from his hair.
"Tch," Satoru clicked his tongue, looking at his own fist. "Armament Haki again. Is Armament Haki just common in this era?"
If Dralion hadn't protected his arms with Haki at the last second, both arms would have been shattered by that one punch.
Satoru remembered that in the story, more than ten years from now, in the first half of the Grand Line, almost no one used Haki. It was rare. But here he was, running into users one after another. Maybe the New World had already leaked its influence back into paradise. Or maybe he was just unlucky.
(End of Chapter)
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