To inflict such terrible injuries on them while they were using Armament Haki, probably only those renowned swordsmen who have been famous for many years could do it.
A great swordsman who is only seven years old?
Is God playing a joke?
The moment Diamante and the other two's eyes fell on Damon, all sorts of terrifying speculations involuntarily surfaced in their minds.
"This boy is so terrifying, he must not be allowed to stay!"
The thought that a terrifying being comparable to the Four Emperors would emerge in the Navy in the future, posing a strong challenge to the young master's great cause, filled Diamante and the other two with boundless killing intent.
"Even if the three of us die here today, we will rid the young master of this scourge!"
Diamante formed his fingers into claws and scratched at his own injuries.
Diamante was a Paramecia-type user of the Flutter Fruit, also known as the Flag Man. He could turn any object he touched into a light, flowing form like cloth, and could also make clothes out of steel to increase his defensive capabilities.
The moment it touched the wound, the wound, which was constantly gushing blood, twisted and forcibly closed up, stopping the bleeding from continuing.
However, judging from Diamante's slightly pale face and slightly panting breath, this was a temporary solution that only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause.
Discarding the shattered hilt of the sword, Diamante half-squatted down and slammed one hand onto the pirate ship's deck.
"Army Flag!"
In an instant, the originally sturdy ship planks became as soft as silk, and like the ocean, they stirred up magnificent waves, shaking off the sea of fire that had spread across the deck, and putting Damon in an unfavorable position.
At the same time, such undulating terrain was the perfect battlefield for Senor Pink's battles. The Swim-Swim Fruit could overcome complex terrain, and with its combination of power and debuffs, it was enough to give the enemy a hard time.
Just as Senor Pink leaped onto the deck and swiftly approached Damon in a freestyle swimming style, Diamante's lips curled into a sinister smile, and his mind raced with all sorts of thoughts. Just when he thought victory was in his grasp, he suddenly saw Damon standing on thin air, his entire body floating in the air.
The Moonwalk, one of the Six Powers of the Navy, was enough to disregard the terrain advantage created by Diamante.
Diamante felt his heart rate accelerating; if his heart hadn't been so strong, he probably would have already developed a heart attack.
Senor Pink looked up abruptly, his eyes behind his sunglasses fixed on the boy in the sky.
Above the blue sky and white clouds, the sun shone brightly over the world.
The dazzling sunlight seemed to drape the boy in golden armor, his body surrounded by sparks of fire, like a god of flames descending to earth, holding a sharp blade to judge the evildoers of the world, his scarlet eyes coldly and mercilessly surveying the world, as if pondering how to judge this group of people burdened with deep sins.
With a sharp bite of his white teeth, Senor Pink leaped to his feet, his expression resolute as he tightly embraced Damon's waist, saying without turning his head:
"Diamante, take good care of my wife Russian, and also ask me to pass on a message to the young master."
"If there is an afterlife, I, Pink, will still serve the young master loyally!"
Diamante and Lao G seemed to realize something, and a solemn expression appeared on their faces.
Armament Haki-covered arms tightened around Damon's waist like iron bolts. Senor Pink looked up at Damon's unbelievably youthful face, his tone tinged with apology.
"If my child grows up well, he will be as tall as you in a few years."
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, right?"
"I'm sorry, but for the sake of the young master's grand ambitions, please die!"
With a determination to die together, Senor Pink used all his strength to push Damon from the deck into the sea.
Everything changed too quickly, and the two of them, like shooting stars falling into the sea, plunged into the azure ocean with a "plop," creating a wave.
Devil Fruits were also known as the embodiment of sea demons, and were said to be fruits cursed by the sea.
Any Devil Fruit user who fell into the ocean would become weak and gradually sink to the bottom of the sea, eventually suffocating to death due to lack of oxygen.
Senor Pink was puzzled as to why the boy in his arms was not responding.
At this moment, he felt his body become limp, no longer able to hold Damon's waist tightly. As his arms loosened, Senor Pink happened to meet Damon's strange gaze, as if to say:
"Who told you I'm a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
Before Senor Pink could react, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
The Zanpakuto pierced straight into the enemy's heart, exiting from his back and drawing away a mouthful of blood.
Regardless of Senor Pink's character, a pirate was still a pirate. His hands were stained with the blood of civilians, and countless people had been torn apart and their families destroyed by him. Such a person absolutely deserved to die.
With a "thump," Damon, holding Senor Pink, landed back on the deck.
Facing the surprised and uncertain gazes of Diamante and Lao G, Damon raised his left hand, pinched his index finger and thumb together, and said:
"It seems I'm a tiny bit better than him."
The blue waves rippled, and fish swam in the shallows.
A raging fire erupted on the pirate ship. The boy's clothes, soaked by seawater, steamed under the intense heat, obscuring Damon's figure. Only the corpse lying at the boy's feet seemed to recount the perilous scene that had just unfolded.
Diamante and Lao G stared in disbelief at Senor Pink's corpse, and couldn't help but gasp in shock:
"You're not a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
It was no wonder they were so surprised; Damon's behavior since his appearance had been far too deceptive.
Whether it was using his index finger to transform into a fireball and shoot out fire bullets, or unleashing fierce flaming slashes and being unafraid of being touched by ordinary flames, he subtly influenced the senses and judgment of others, leading them to mistakenly believe that Damon was a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
In fact, this was something Damon did intentionally.
Devil Fruits granted users all sorts of strange abilities. Most of the Donquixote Family's Diamond Legion officers were Devil Fruit users. If they went all out from the beginning, even if Damon was not afraid, it would still cause some unnecessary trouble.
For this reason, Damon had been trying his best to play the role of the future Fire Fist Ace since his debut, thereby misleading the Donquixote Family's executives.
One side knew nothing about Damon, while the other side knew everything about the Donquixote Family.
The difference in intelligence between the two sides could be enough to sway the course of a battle.
Senor Pink's decision to take everyone down with him was understandable. If Damon were truly a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, he might already be dead. If Senor Pink were lucky, he might have been rescued by Lao G, thus avoiding death.
Unfortunately, Damon was not as outsiders thought, which made Senor Pink seem rather dull.
Amidst their exclamations, a system notification simultaneously echoed in Damon's ears.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, for reciting a classic line from Lord of the Undead. You have been awarded one chance to draw a prize. Would you like to start the prize wheel?"
A lottery wheel slowly appeared in Damon's sight, with only two categories of prizes: treasures and skills.
Treasures: The Throne of Kings, the Abyss of Hell, the Map of Mountains and Rivers...
Skills: Resurrection, Summon Death Knight, Portal...
[Summon Death Knight]: Summons a Death Knight with superb combat skills, capable of not being instantly killed by enemies. If summoned from a corpse, some of the summoning cost is reduced. (Lacks summoning energy)
Damon's eyes flickered slightly; it seemed that this skill required the Philosopher's Stone as an energy source to activate.
Summoning Death Knights was comparable to Gecko Moria's summoning of zombies, capable of quickly assembling an astonishing army.
Undoubtedly, this skill was suitable for Dragon Ash, the pirate who roamed in the shadows, and also added to the plan that Damon had already conceived.
Just then, a powerful aura suddenly rose from the deck, diverting Damon's attention.
Lao G released an incomparably powerful energy from within his body, creating a gust of wind on the flat ground. The wind even blew away the pointed hat on his head, revealing his bald head and the ferocious blue veins coiled on his scalp.
"I have been practicing energy cultivation since I was a child, training diligently through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, without ever slacking off. Now, after more than sixty years, I will show you the ultimate secret technique of my Earth-Winter Fist!"
"Fight to the death!"
A howl like that of a wounded lone wolf rang out from between the teeth of the middle-aged man, whose body suddenly swelled several times in size. His bulging muscles almost burst through his specially made combat suit, and even the deep, bone-revealing wound that Damon had left on him earlier barely closed under the pressure of his steel-like muscles.
The deck creaked and groaned, as if it too could not withstand the old man's imposing presence.
The Earthly Fist was a closely guarded secret of energy cultivation techniques, and the combat-oriented fist technique that embodied its profound mysteries was even more extraordinary.
To avoid becoming a burden to the Donquixote Family in old age, illness, or injury, Lao G stored up his excess strength from his youth and kept it within his body until he needed it, at which point he would unleash it all at once, restoring his strength and skills to their peak condition from his youth.
The only drawback was that this technique could not be sustained for very long.
The Donquixote Family did not keep useless people, nor did it need any burdens.
This was not a heartless act, but rather the proper thing to do.
Lao G adopted a distinctive starting stance, a look of grim determination etched between his brows.
"If Senor Pink was willing to die for the young master, I, an old man who has lived for decades, can eliminate a great enemy for the young master in the future. Even if I die and enter the afterlife, I can die in peace!"
With a stomp that shattered the deck, Lao G charged forward like a tiger descending a mountain, carrying the momentum of a raging storm. His fists, shaped like the letter G, unleashed a burst of air, followed by ear-piercing explosions.
This punch would decide life or death!
Diamante, as cunning as ever, took advantage of the moment when Lao G was drawing Damon's attention to him. Like a cunning jackal, he bypassed Damon's line of sight and silently came behind him. He picked up a knife from a dead pirate at some point, twirled it, and then unleashed a terrifying sword aura.
"A funeral procession lasting half a month!"
The semi-circular sword energy resembled a bright crescent moon, cutting the decks in its path in two, and even causing the pirate ship beneath it to sway precariously.
The two top executives of the Donquixote Family, with their death-defying resolve, delivered a blow that, while not exactly earth-shattering, was certainly resolute in its force!
Don't be fooled by Damon standing on the deck, seemingly doing nothing.
In fact, that was not the case.
From the moment he returned to the deck, Damon was already poised to act.
With the Eye of God, the Breath of Flame, the Fire Cloud Technique, and the Zanpakuto working together, a suppressed and terrifying power was brewing wildly. The moment Diamante and Lao G made their move, Damon also took advantage of the situation and unleashed this terrifying power.
"Scorching Hell!"
This was the strongest move after the Shikai of Ryujin Jakka. To activate it, one needed not only a strong physique and soul, but also a period of preparation time, and it would instantly unleash a pillar of fire with a temperature of over a thousand degrees Celsius!
With the Witch's Relic Set acting as a mediator, the seven-year-old boy was finally able to reveal a portion of the true power of his Zanpakuto!
"Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!"
One after another, towering pillars of intense heat, as thick as ten people could hug, burst through the deck, forming several pillars of fire around Damon. The flames soaring into the sky even painted half of the sky with the colors of a fiery sunset.
The instant the pillar of fire shot into the sky, Diamante and Lao G's figures, along with their pirate ship, were swallowed up by the rolling red tide.
The massive pirate ship, nearly a hundred meters long, disintegrated, with shattered planks and broken keel gradually disappearing in the blazing flames that resembled a volcanic eruption.
Damon returned to the transport ship and looked at the thick fog formed by the blazing flames evaporating a large amount of seawater. He could no longer see the two Donquixote Family executives.
Even if they were covered in Armament Haki, they would absolutely not be able to survive such a large-scale attack with their flesh and blood.
Damon took out a Den Den Mushi and contacted Vice Admiral Tsuru.
____________________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 56 Edward Weevil
Chapter 57: Fate? It Doesn't Deserve To Be My Opponent!
Chapter 58: Mangekyo Sharingan
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