Blood surged skyward as the body of Graphite Bath slowly collapsed to the ground. His head rolled into the sea, sending up a splash tinged with pink.
"!!!!"
The sudden death of Graphite Bath made the pirates charging toward Yoriichi Tsugikuni stop in unison. A few meters ahead of him, more than a dozen pirates of varying attire stood frozen.
Each of them held a blade in hand, staring in stunned silence at Yoriichi. Their eyes flickered with disbelief as they glanced between him and the headless corpse lying at his feet.
"He... he's dead?"
"Graphite Bath, with a bounty of 330 million Berries, was just killed like that?!"
"Who is this kid?!"
The pirates were shaken. They couldn't believe what had just unfolded before their eyes. A bounty of 330 million Berries was no small feat on this sea.
To put it in perspective, after the Enies Lobby incident, the future Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates only had his bounty raised to 300 million. And in this era, before Roger had even ushered in the Great Pirate Era, pirates with bounties that high were extremely rare.
A pirate with a bounty of 330 million was undoubtedly a great pirate.
And yet, such a pirate had just been killed with a single slash by a nameless kid.
This shocking scene happened right before their eyes.
"You... who the hell are you?!"
One pirate finally came to his senses, realizing the red-haired youth before them was no ordinary person.
Yoriichi turned toward the voice. He was now staring at a "well-dressed" woman holding a thin rapier, her posture alert and wary.
"Desire Woman, 150 million Berries, Subani Corman."
The moment he called out her name, Yoriichi's blade lifted sharply—and came down just as fast.
Vrrrmmmm!!
With a piercing hum, a blade of black energy, crackling with red lightning, shot from Yoriichi's katana and streaked toward Subani Corman.
Her lips parted slightly, unable to form a word, before the slash landed squarely on her chest.
She didn't even feel pain. Her consciousness blurred, her gaze drifting upward, and in that last moment, she saw not Yoriichi but the clear blue sky above.
Subani Corman, dead.
With just two attacks, Yoriichi had claimed the lives of two great pirates. His terrifying power made the remaining pirates' scalps go numb.
Many of them had bounties close to Graphite Bath's. Some even had lower bounties than Subani Corman. While bounty amounts weren't absolute measures of strength, they still gave a general indication.
Typically, 50 million was a tier, 100 million another, then 300 million, 500 million, and finally 1 billion.
At 1 billion Berries, a pirate was typically considered first mate to a Yonko.
At 1.5 billion, one could be called a Yonko themselves. When Luffy's bounty reached 1.5 billion, he was dubbed the Fifth Emperor.
Of course, the original Four Emperors all had bounties above 3 billion. But in terms of pure strength, the difference between 3 billion and 5 billion wasn't always that large. At that level, strength varied more by individual.
The two pirates Yoriichi had casually cut down today? In the future, either of them would easily qualify as a Supernova!
So even if bounties weren't everything, the sheer power of Yoriichi Tsugikuni—who had just taken them out with one slash each—was unquestionably overwhelming.
The pirates weren't fools. After witnessing these two instant kills, they realized they had kicked a steel wall this time.
"My name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
"Rear Admiral, Marine Headquarters."
"Pirates, there's no need to worry about my name... because you're all going to die soon."
Yoriichi stood calmly with his blade, eyes cold as he looked upon the pirates surrounding him. His expression betrayed no fear of being outnumbered.
Surprisingly, the pirates didn't see this as arrogance. Instead, they grew even more cautious, fearing they'd be the next target of that merciless blade.
"Fuhahahahaha!"
"Kid, you really don't take the Flying Pirates seriously, do you?!"
"Then take that arrogance with you... to the depths of hell!"
At that moment, Golden Lion Shiki's loud laughter echoed from above. His pirate ships, suspended in the air by his ability, were already converging overhead.
Shiki had no intention of protecting his subordinates. He gathered the ships with his power and hurled them toward the coast where Yoriichi stood.
In an instant, the sky was covered in shadow. All Yoriichi could see above was a rain of massive ships.
"Captain?!"
"Lord Shiki?!"
The pirates cried out in alarm. As Shiki's attack descended, they all scrambled away from Yoriichi, fleeing with whatever techniques they could muster.
In just a few seconds, the shore was empty except for Yoriichi.
As countless ship hulls came crashing down, Yoriichi calmly sheathed his blade. He looked up at the falling fleet, sensing Shiki's presence with his Observation Haki. Conqueror's Haki already cloaked his arms.
[Breath of the Sun – Dominance – First Form: Iai Slash]T/L: (New form, not an error)
The instant the ships fell, Yoriichi vanished from the ground. A heartbeat later, a long rift appeared across the center of the massive "disc" formed by the clustered shipwrecks.
Yoriichi burst from the split in the sky and rocketed toward Shiki.
As he reached the Golden Lion, his katana slashed directly at Shiki's neck.
[Second Form: Instant Slash]T/L: (New Form)
The red blade, wrapped in crackling lightning, plunged downward toward Shiki's throat. But just as it was about to hit, a water jet shot in from the side, catching Yoriichi completely off guard.
It struck him squarely, blasting his body away and into the ocean below.
At some point, a massive sea, suspended in the air had formed beneath Shiki's feet. It spanned several kilometers. The water jet that struck Yoriichi had come from this floating ocean.
Now, Yoriichi was swallowed into that suspended sea.
"A Devil Fruit user, submerged in seawater, what can you do now? Hahahahaha!"
Clutching his aching right arm, Shiki roared with laughter as he watched Yoriichi sink into the ocean below.
But what he didn't realize was that the Yoriichi now "trapped" in the sea had already adjusted his stance. Knees bent slightly, body coiled like a spring, ready to move.
BOOM!!
With a muffled burst, Yoriichi vanished from the floating ocean.
Shiki's laugh froze on his lips.
Before he could react, Yoriichi appeared in front of him. Instinctively, Shiki crossed both swords to block, but it was too late.
From the empty air, a blade wreathed in fire flashed straight toward him.
CLANG!!!
The sound was deafening. Yoriichi's blade struck the exact center of Shiki's crossed swords.
Staring at the familiar face before him, Shiki's eyes blazed with hatred.
He growled, "Impossible!"
"You, aren't a Devil Fruit user?!"
As he blocked the strike, the sword strapped to his severed arm tugged at the old wound. The pain cleared his mind.
Shiki's thoughts raced. Why wasn't Yoriichi affected by the sea? And why did the wound left by Yoriichi's blade continue to burn?
That crimson slash from before... it still pulsed with pain.
The wound from Yoriichi's fiery sword tormented Shiki's nerves constantly. It was driving him mad.
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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