"Confirmed... That's everything."
"Understood."
On an uninhabited section of a snow-covered island, Lucci concealed himself within the forest shadows, gripping a compact Den Den Mushi while communicating with his government contact.
After delivering his brief but critical report, he stowed the communication device and surveyed his surroundings carefully. The conversation had been necessarily short and coded, his first contact with headquarters in nearly a week since successfully infiltrating the Hell Pirates. Finding secure opportunities for intelligence transmission remained rare and dangerous.
He had successfully integrated himself into the organization after that carefully orchestrated encounter... and met several core members beyond Dom.
Although he had eliminated Hell Pirates crew members during his "audition," the seas had always operated under the principle that might makes right. Moreover, the Hell Pirates seemed less like a unified force and more like a volatile collection of ambitious individuals held together by fear. The ship harbored numerous contradictions and hidden tensions. The trainee crew members were all notorious pirates from throughout the North Blue, each secretly harboring resentment toward their fellow criminals. Their apparent cooperation stemmed purely from terror of the God Slayer's overwhelming power.
Lucci had witnessed the truth firsthand. On this vessel, only one rule existed.
Absolute submission to the captain.
The God Slayer's commands were law.
Beyond that fundamental structure, this was a chaotic pirate crew with no moral boundaries whatsoever.
Dom, Yuri, and the one called Dolan clearly served as the Hell Pirates' senior officers, while the remaining two, Yingge and Kaka, represented "reserve" combat forces currently in probationary status. Among these five individuals, only Dom displayed unwavering loyalty to the God Slayer. The others harbored their own ambitions and agendas.
He had observed Yurivich closely. The man was an absolute monster.
The way Yuri looked at the God Slayer radiated undisguised enthusiasm and bloodlust. In any other pirate organization, such expressions would constitute outright provocation, but he still obeyed the captain's orders without question. Dolan proved the most mercenary, calculating, and cunning among them. Yingge was the second-in-command, an arrogant and aloof swordsman. Without the captain's restraining influence, Lucci had no doubt that Yingge would eventually attack Dolan. Kaka remained the most unpredictable and arguably the "smartest" of the group.
At least on the surface.
Now, with his addition to their ranks, the reserve team consisted of three members.
The so-called reserve designation referred to those who could advance to officer status once they passed the captain's assessment. Even though they were temporarily classified as official members, the current Hell Pirates remained essentially a startup organization. As they expanded in the future, these individuals' positions would inevitably improve.
Another aspect that concerned Lucci was that beyond the few people he had met, all Hell Pirates members were fundamentally evil. From their activities throughout the North Blue, it was clear that those trainee crew members, empowered by their supernatural enhancements, were committing atrocities across various maritime territories. Just yesterday, rumors had spread that a Hell Pirates squad had attacked a marine base in the North Blue, demonstrating the organization's complete disregard for consequences.
For pirates, openly provoking the Marine and assaulting their installations represented the most reckless possible choice, regardless of motivation.
Even renowned pirate groups avoided attacking marine bases without compelling reasons, because such actions inevitably resulted in the Marine deploying more powerful combat forces and resources in retaliation. But the Hell Pirates dared to cross that line, whether for reputation or simple contempt for authority. Such behavior was absolutely insane.
Completely lawless.
Lucci's personal creed centered on "Dark Justice." The Hell Pirates had to be eliminated from these seas, regardless of the methods required.
As long as the objective was achieved.
He believed he could accomplish this mission!
Wearing his thin black suit, Lucci walked through the snow, his expression thoughtful as he processed the intelligence he had gathered.
"There you are, I've been searching everywhere for you." A familiar voice interrupted his contemplation.
Looking up, he found the blonde-haired Kaka approaching with his characteristic smile.
"So efficient... did you eliminate them all already?"
Kaka drew closer, tilting his head as he observed the corpses and bloodstains of the slaughtered wolves scattered across the snow behind Lucci's position, his expression exaggerated with mock surprise.
"This type of training poses no real challenge."
Lucci replied with casual indifference.
"You're genuinely impressive... No wonder the captain favors you. Among the three of us, you seem most likely to pass the assessment. When Yingge and I first arrived on this island, we both suffered considerably against these wolf packs."
Kaka touched his hair and grinned.
"Did you need something?"
Facing Kaka's enthusiasm, Lucci remained characteristically cold.
"Today is special."
Kaka spoke with mysterious implications.
"Special how?"
Lucci frowned.
"Follow me and you'll understand!"
Kaka took the lead, clasping his hands behind his head as he began walking.
Lucci considered for a moment, then followed.
Soon, they arrived at a large clearing on the island.
From a distance, they could hear tremendously powerful impacts echoing across the landscape.
When they reached the area, Dolan and Yingge had already positioned themselves at the venue's edge to observe. The bonfire burning nearby cast dramatic shadows across their serious faces.
When Lucci looked toward the three figures at the battlefield's center, his eyes contracted and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Dom and Yurivich were attacking a single opponent from opposite sides.
Their target was the captain, Oboro.
Dom and Yuri moved with extraordinary speed, appearing almost ghostlike in their coordination. Although Yurivich possessed a massive frame, his velocity matched or exceeded Dom's capabilities. When his body swept through motion, the power and explosive force alone could lift enormous clouds of snow, creating white walls of displaced precipitation.
The terrifying blade work stirred up "white waves" that rushed skyward with each devastating strike.
Even observers positioned far from the action felt powerful tremors beneath their feet.
What shocked Lucci most was Yuri's fighting methodology. This man had completely surrendered to bestial instincts, immersing himself in pure combat pleasure. He entrusted attack and defense entirely to his natural intuition and primal wildness. Although Lucci disagreed with such an approach philosophically, he had to admit that visually, it possessed a terrible and violent beauty.
Dom represented the complete opposite. He appeared and vanished like a phantom, his body movements and footwork demonstrating extraordinary sophistication.
Lucci had experienced this firsthand. During their previous battle, he had discovered that regardless of his evasion attempts, Dom could close distance and identify optimal angles for devastating attacks. Even simulating the use of Marine Rokushiki techniques like Soru, Lucci doubted he could escape Dom's attack rhythm in any reasonable timeframe.
Dom possessed remarkable insight into body language, landing points, and the "information" conveyed by an opponent's physical positioning.
Although this man's raw physical strength couldn't match Yurivich's terrifying capabilities, his tactical thinking remained razor-sharp. Simply put, he excelled at adaptation and improvisation.
Swish, swish, swish...
The location where the three combatants fought had obviously shifted during their exchange, they were now battling on a steep hillside. With Dom's high-frequency blade work, the falling snowflakes were instantly sliced by multiple sharp auras.
The rapid sounds of air displacement created rolling waves of cutting light.
Stretched white lines appeared in the void itself.
Previously, one of Yuri's devastating attacks had triggered an avalanche, causing thick accumulated snow on the hillside to roll downward like a white tsunami threatening to engulf all three fighters.
But in the next second, the rainbow-colored energy thrown by Dom cut through the snow waves like "white tofu blocks," suspending the fragments in mid-air before they slowly fell to earth.
The avalanche's crushing impact was completely neutralized.
However, while Dom and Yuri's full power display was frightening enough, what truly made Lucci's expression change was the man who remained elegant and composed under their combined assault.
The God Slayer!
This was his first opportunity to witness the "new captain's" strength at close range with complete clarity.
"This guy..."
Lucci couldn't help clenching his fist as he held his breath and concentrated.
"On normal days, Dom and Yuri conduct their own individual training. Even when sparring with the captain, it's one-on-one combat that stops when they reach their limits. Only periodically do they join forces to challenge the captain together. These battles represent rare learning opportunities for us, even as mere observers."
Kaka noticed the "shock" evident on Lucci's face. Although this "newcomer" maintained his calm exterior, his eyes and breathing revealed his true feelings.
"Look at Yuri's expression... He's like a wild beast in heat, completely intoxicated by the violence." Kaka sighed with a mixture of admiration and concern.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaka suddenly noticed Lucci moving forward from his position beside him.
"Hey... Hadori, what are you doing?"
Kaka was stunned.
"We can't intervene in this type of battle. It could be fatal."
"We're not qualified for this level of training yet... You, "
Kaka stared at Lucci's figure as he accelerated toward the battlefield and called out in alarm.
But he stopped speaking halfway through his warning, because he realized that this newcomer's capabilities seemed superior to their own, and not by just a small margin.