Chapter 155: Revenge Even So! The Straw Hat Pirates' Warning
The setting sun dyed the sea around Water 7 a tragic and vivid blood-red.
On the deck of the Going Merry, the atmosphere was heavy.
"Does it hurt? Usopp."
Chopper, eyes brimming with tears, carefully treated the shocking wound on Usopp's forehead.
"Hiss... It's, it's fine."
Usopp pulled back his neck; though he was grinning and grimacing in pain, he forced himself not to cry out, fearing he would once again become a burden in everyone's eyes.
"This little injury... compared to the wounds I got on Skypiea, it's nothing... I am a brave warrior of the sea after all..."
His voice grew smaller and smaller, finally turning into a suppressed cough.
Not far away, Zoro sat on a pile of ropes, holding a cotton cloth, slowly wiping the Wado Ichimonji in his hand.
That blade, known as an 'O Wazamono,' reflected a cold, grim light under the sunset.
"Hey."
Zoro didn't look up, his gaze still fixed on the blade, his tone calm:
"Even though the money was saved... this debt can't just be left like this, can it?"
"Of course not."
Tatsuya stood by the ship's rail, looking out at the complex urban districts in the distance.
His gaze was bone-chillingly cold:
"This isn't the East Sea, nor is it the first half of Paradise. Water 7... is a lawless zone where all sorts of people are mixed together."
"On this island, if we show even a hint of weakness, those greedy hyenas will think we're easy prey to be bullied, and trouble will keep coming to our door."
Tatsuya turned around to look at his companions, his voice deep:
"They must be made to know... the people of the Straw Hat crew are not to be touched. If you touch them, you have to pay the price."
Luffy, who had been keeping his hat brim low and remaining silent, finally moved.
He slowly stood up, reaching up to press down on the Straw Hat atop his head. The shadow covered his eyes, leaving only his tightly set mouth visible.
"Let's go."
Luffy's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried the unquestionable pressure of a king:
"To kick their asses."
...
Evening, Backstreets of Water 7.
This was the dark side of the glamorous water city, the territory of bounty hunters, thugs, and Ship Dismantlers.
The streets, usually noisy and chaotic, had now fallen into an eerie silence.
The air seemed to have frozen.
Four figures walked side-by-side down the center of the narrow street.
Luffy walked at the very front, his red vest swaying slightly in the evening breeze.
The silly grin that usually hung on his face had vanished without a trace, replaced by a suffocating low-pressure aura.
To his left, Zoro had untied the green bandana from his waist and was slowly tying it around his head.
As the bandana was tightened, the Shura known as the 'Pirate Hunter' officially awakened.
To his right, Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
Through the swirling smoke, his exposed eye was filled with a gloomy ferocity. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and every step he took was heavy and powerful.
And walking at the back was Tatsuya, merely carrying his black blade, which was already fully unsheathed.
The pitch-black blade seemed as if it could swallow the surrounding light.
He just casually dragged the sword along the stone road, the tip scraping the ground and making an uncomfortable grinding sound.
"Hey... who are those guys..."
"This aura... you've got to be kidding me..."
The small-time thugs who had been drinking and playing cards by the roadside saw the terrifying aura emanating from these four, and they were scared sober.
That feeling of being targeted by a wild beast made them instinctively tremble.
They hurriedly scrambled and crawled into the depths of the alleys, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.
...
By the coast, the Franky House.
Inside this huge building cobbled together from discarded ship parts, the lights were still brightly lit.
The underlings of the Franky Family didn't know that the Shinigami had arrived; they were still inside loudly celebrating today's haul.
"Even though we didn't get the money, we gave that long-nose a good beating! That felt great!"
"Hahaha! Next time we see them, we've gotta..."
"BOOM!!"
A loud explosion interrupted all the laughter.
The heavy steel gates of the Franky House suddenly buckled inward.
Outside the gate.
Luffy stood before the gates. There was no opening speech, no nonsense.
His arms stretched backward, extending to their limit of dozens of meters, like a giant siege crossbow ready to fire.
"Gomu Gomu no——"
Luffy snapped his eyes open, fury erupting within them:
"Cannon!!!!"
BOOM!!
His palms were like heavy artillery rounds leaving the barrel, carrying an overwhelming shockwave as they slammed into the gates.
The steel gates, strong enough to withstand Cannon fire, along with half the surrounding wall, were blown into flying shards and dust in an instant.
"Cough, cough! What happened?!"
"An enemy attack?!"
Amidst the swirling dust, those four devil-like figures slowly stepped into the mess of a hall.
"It's... it's the Straw Hat crew!!"
Someone recognized Luffy's Straw Hat and screamed in terror.
"What are you afraid of! There's only a few of them! Boys, grab your weapons! Take them down!!"
Zambai, as the second-in-command of the Franky Family, although feeling weak in the knees, still shouted with forced bravado.
"Kill them!!"
Dozens of underlings carrying swords, guns, axes, and wearing armor surged toward the four people at the door like a tide.
"Hmph."
Zoro gave a cold snort, bit the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, held a sword in each hand, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
He was like a spinning top, charging into the densest part of the crowd.
"Two-Sword Style: Rhino Cycle!!"
Clang—!
Zoro spun at high speed in the crowd, the sword intent from his twin blades turning into a small tornado.
"Waaaah!!"
The dozen or so people besieging him were instantly swept into the air.
When they hit the ground, the weapons in their hands—whether iron bars, machetes, or axes—were all cleanly sliced through.
What broke along with them were their ribs.
"Don't get in the way."
On the other side, Sanji had his hands in his pockets, not even taking them out.
Facing the enemies charging at him, he leaped up on one leg, his body rotating upside down in the air.
"Party Table Kick Course!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
His feet were like two flexible whips, moving so fast they were mere afterimages.
Precise and ruthless, every kick was guaranteed to hit the enemies' chins, necks, chests, or other vital points.
"If you were a steak, you'd be tenderized by now."
Every person kicked flew out like they'd been hit by a cannonball, screaming as they were deeply embedded into the walls or the ceiling, so stuck they couldn't be pulled out.
In just one minute.
The number of people still standing in the hall was very few.
"Mon... monsters!!"
Zambai watched his subordinates being dealt with instantly; the crushing gap in strength finally made him feel true terror.
"Run!!"
He turned around, wanting to escape through the back door.
However.
"Whoosh—"
A wall of blazing fire rose before him without warning, blocking his path.
Tatsuya stood in the firelight, his black trench coat blown about by the heat wave.
He thrust his black blade into the ground beside him, his hands forming seals like phantoms, moving so fast it made one's eyes blur.
Snake - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger!
Tatsuya took a deep breath, Chakra accumulating in his throat.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!!!
BOOM!!!
A massive orange-red fireball over five meters in diameter roared forth.
He controlled the angle of the fireball, slamming it hard into a huge load-bearing pillar on the second floor of the Franky House.
"BOOM!!!"
A violent explosion sounded, and flames shot into the sky.
The pillar snapped, and the entire building groaned under the unbearable weight, beginning to teeter and sway.
Countless stones and wooden beams fell, creating a chaotic field of rubble.
"Waaaah! The house is collapsing!!"
Zambai was knocked to the ground by the shockwave of the explosion. Just as he tried to crawl up...
"Where do you think you're going?"
A cold voice sounded behind his ear.
Before Zambai could react, Tatsuya's figure had already used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish and reappear behind him the next second.
"Since you beat up my crewmate, you should be prepared to have your bones broken."
Tatsuya didn't use the blade's edge.
He held the hilt in a reverse grip, pitch-black Armament Haki wrapping around the metal weight at the bottom of the hilt.
Thud! Thud!
Two dull, heavy strikes.
Tatsuya used the hilt to lightning-fast and brutally strike Zambai's shoulders and knee joints.
CRACK!
"AAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"
Zambai let out a scream like a slaughtered pig, his whole body collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud.
Though he wasn't dead, he felt as if his body no longer belonged to him, the intense pain causing tears and snot to flow instantly.
"Can't take even this?"
Tatsuya stepped on his chest, looking down at him from above.
Reflected in the flickering firelight, Tatsuya's Sharingan appeared even more eerie:
"That was just a warning."
"Tell your boss, and tell everyone on this island..."
Tatsuya leaned down slightly, the black blade in his hand lightly patting Zambai's sweat-drenched cheek:
"If you dare reach your claws toward my crewmates again..."
"I will shove that fireball from just now down your throat."
"Understood?"
Zambai nodded frantically, his eyes filled with terror toward this man.
...
The battle had lasted only three minutes.
Every member of the Franky Family had lost their fighting capacity, lying scattered and groaning amidst the burning ruins.
The once insufferable Dismantling House was now nothing but a mess on the ground.
Luffy stood atop the highest pile of rubble, looking at the sea of fire, and let out a heavy breath of turbid air.
The fury in his heart had calmed down slightly.
Though it couldn't undo the harm Usopp suffered, at least... they had settled the score.
"Let's go."
Luffy turned and jumped down from the rubble.
He spoke coldly to several survivors who were playing dead in the ruins:
"Tell your boss Franky... this debt is cleared."
The four turned and left.
Behind them was the burning Franky House, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky, serving as the most striking warning in the night of Water 7.
On the way back.
Zoro retied his bandana, glanced at the silent group, and couldn't help but speak up:
"Although the fight was satisfying... the problem with the going merry..."
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
Tatsuya interrupted him, his voice returning to its usual calm:
"What Usopp needs right now isn't revenge, nor is it money."
Tatsuya looked up at the less-than-full moon in the night sky and sighed:
"What he needs most right now... is even just a little bit of validation."
"This was a battle for 'dignity.'"
"For him, and for us, it was the same."
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