Chapter 628: A single punch from Suzuki sends Blackbeard fleeing in defeat!
"Crying?"
Zoro lifted his head and stared at Nobunaga blankly.
He froze.
For a moment, Nobunaga standing before him did not feel like a man at all.
He felt like a blade.
That sharpness.
That ruthlessness.
That crushing pressure that made your skin prickle before the edge even touched you.
This was what a sword should be.
Nobunaga's gaze did not soften.
"Do not let anything else cloud your swordsmanship."
His voice was calm, but every word struck like a hammer.
"You have talent. What you need is to temper your inner strength and make your heart strong enough to bear the expectations of your sword."
He paused, then added quietly.
"Or… let them go free."
After saying that, Nobunaga turned his back and walked away.
Zoro's pupils tightened, then widened, then tightened again.
Those words pierced straight through him.
…
This moment would become a turning point for Zoro's growth later.
Ryuunosuke had trained Zoro before, but most of Ryuunosuke's abilities and strength were rooted in the system.
Even if Ryuunosuke possessed terrifying power, that kind of pure, unwavering sword path Nobunaga carried could not always be expressed in words like this.
While Zoro stood there shaking, Shizuku began moving.
The huge bulging eyed fish appeared again and immediately started cleaning the battlefield.
The black substance coating the ground was swallowed in chunks.
The energy inside it surged, gathering rapidly into Shizuku's body as the fish devoured more and more.
Shizuku watched it with a blank little nod.
"Yeah. This kind of work suits me best."
She looked around, then started to turn her head.
"Nobunaga, I'm done cleaning, so can I…"
Her words stopped.
A figure stood in front of her.
Shizuku blinked.
"Huh… who are you?"
A man stepped into her space with a polite smile, like he was greeting someone at a party.
Lafitte, the Demon Sheriff of the Blackbeard Pirates.
He leaned slightly, hat tipped, eyes glittering with sick amusement.
"Little girl, do you want to play with me?"
His voice was gentle, almost sweet.
"I'll treat you well. If you want, you can even join the Blackbeard Pirates."
Shizuku tilted her head.
"Play with you?"
She asked it in a dazed, innocent tone.
"Do you want to fight?"
"Fight?"
Lafitte chuckled and waved one hand.
"No. I just want you."
He smiled wider, as if that made him noble.
"If possible, I would rather not use violence."
He removed his hat and bowed slightly.
"After all, I consider myself a gentleman."
He tried to hide what he was, but his expression made him look even more unhinged.
Shizuku stared at him for a long second.
Then her voice stayed calm.
"You want to steal me away?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"Then fight me first."
She stepped forward, still speaking like she was reciting a rule.
"As the leader said, our Phantom Troupe must be ready to fight at any time."
"If someone tries to take me away, I fight them as an enemy."
The moment she finished, she rushed forward in a single stride.
Bang!
Lafitte did not even have time to react.
Shizuku's fist hit him cleanly.
In that instant, Lafitte's body folded into a hunched shrimp shape, the air exploding from his lungs.
"How… how is this possible…"
His mind went blank.
He nearly passed out.
They had information on Shizuku.
Blackbeard's crew never dared to underestimate the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
And yet this was the part they had gotten wrong.
They had treated her as logistics.
The same way people treated Kobayashi before she ever moved, calling her the ship's mascot because she looked harmless.
Shizuku also looked delicate, sweet, soft, like her name.
But inside the Phantom Troupe, Shizuku's strength was among the top.
She simply rarely had a chance to fight directly.
After being tempered by the Dragon Hunter Pirates, her strength had leapt into a new realm.
It was a miracle Lafitte was not killed on the spot.
Shizuku looked down at him, expression unchanged.
"Honestly, you have absolutely no ability."
She sounded almost disappointed.
"I should have killed you with one punch instead of testing you."
Then she turned away like he no longer existed.
"I'm going to sweep the floor now. You can stay here."
She walked back, controlling the bulging eyed fish again and continuing to absorb the black substance on the ground.
Teach's face twisted with anger as he watched it.
Damn it.
"What is Lafitte doing?"
He snarled.
"He cannot even handle a little girl?"
Whoosh.
Teach immediately withdrew his ability.
In the next moment, the Minks who had been suppressed were wrapped in electricity again.
Red beams of light flared once more from their Red Moon forms.
Teach was trapped in a vicious loop.
If he absorbed their energy, the Minks would tear him apart.
If he did not absorb it, the bulging eyed fish would swallow more of his power until he had nothing left.
Teach's eyes flashed.
"Stop!"
He grabbed the Key of the Gods and raised it high above his head.
"I'm willing to trade the Key of the Gods for the Blackbeard Pirates' safety!"
His voice was loud, urgent, almost pleading.
"I think letting most of the Dragon Hunter Pirates live is enough to keep you from hunting us down, right?"
He had come to pick up scraps.
He had come to steal a bargain.
Instead, he had run into actual members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Even the handyman squad had made him miserable.
A full combat member was something he did not want to experience at all.
Shizuku looked at him as if he were a stranger talking too much.
"The Key of the Gods… for the Dragon Hunter Pirates to stop being hostile to you?"
Her voice remained flat.
"I'm sorry. That decision belongs to our captain."
Then she took a step forward.
"Since you have it, just take it."
As she walked toward Teach, the energy leaking from her body became terrifying.
A huge machine manifested behind her.
It looked somewhat like the bulging eyed fish, with the same oversized eyes, but the presence it gave off was far heavier.
Nobunaga's voice cut in immediately.
"Shizuku, let me do it."
He moved between them without hurry.
"I'll just take what's in his hands."
He glanced back at her.
"Your ability will basically go out of control, and I'll be affected too."
As he spoke, Nobunaga slowly drew his sword.
A circular domain began to spread outward, faint at first, then sharper, more complete, like an invisible blade drawing a boundary.
Once that circle fully covered the area, if Teach was inside it, Nobunaga would only need one move to kill him.
Teach felt it.
He felt death become a measurable distance.
His face went ugly.
"Withdraw!"
He roared, backing away.
"Dragon Hunter Pirates, just you wait!"
His eyes burned with hate as he prepared to flee.
"If you cannot return from that world, I will clean this ocean for you!"
As he spoke, Teach activated his Dark Acupoint Technique.
At the same time, he threw the Key of the Gods out of his hand.
Because if he held onto it, he might not even be able to escape.
Survival came first, even if it meant discarding everything.
Nobunaga watched Teach vanish.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"So that guy really knows how to run."
He bent down and picked up the Key of the Gods from the ground.
Then he looked to the side.
"Captain, why don't you just give the order to kill this guy?"
In truth, Nobunaga had already noticed Ryuunosuke's presence the moment he arrived.
But earlier, his attention had been on Zoro first.
.....
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