Chapter 282: I'll Take On Ten! A New Officer Joins!
"Don't go too far, Shiryu, you brat!" Byrrndi World roared. "I may be old, but my hearing is still sharp! You said you were looking for the most irredeemable villains, didn't you?!"
"And you don't count?" Shiryu glanced at him, taking a drag from his cigar. "You old geezer, you have a bounty of 3.9 billion Berries! In terms of bounty, you're in a league of your own on this entire level! To get a bounty that high, you must have slaughtered quite a few towns for treasure back in the day, right? Stop acting so high and mighty."
"Nonsense!" Byrrndi World sneered. "I may have plundered, but I would never stoop to massacring civilians! As for my high bounty, that's just the World Government trying to slander me because they fear my strength! Your files are wrong!"
That actually sounds like the truth. Thanks to Shiryu adding him to the list, Shane had taken notice of the man. He sized him up with interest.
Byrrndi World. A true legend of the old era. True to his name, he had never formed a pirate crew nor sought out crewmates. He was a man who, by his strength alone, stood on par with the likes of Golden Lion Shiki, Roger, and Whitebeard. He had once defeated the former Fleet Admiral and current Commander-in-Chief, "Steel Bone" Kong, in a one-on-one fight. But when Garp arrived, he had been defeated and captured after only a day of fighting due to exhaustion, which was how he ended up in Impel Down.
"Kid," Byrrndi World said, noticing his gaze. "From the looks of it, you've heard of me. What, interested? Want to recruit me?"
"My Observation Haki can see a person's true nature. The aura you have… I've only ever seen it on that man, Rocks. You're truly a remarkable individual!" He ran a hand through his hair and held his head high. "Unfortunately for you, I've been a loner my whole life. I would never—" He suddenly noticed that the man had already turned and walked away to the next cell. His eyes widened, and his beard trembled with rage. "Hey! You rude little brat! An old man is talking to you!"
Shane waved a hand without looking back. "You're old. Just stay here and enjoy your retirement. I have no interest in recruiting antiques."
Some people were worth meeting, but that was it. The thought of recruiting him had never even crossed his mind. Wasting time on an old man nicknamed "The Loner" was just that—a waste of time. Besides, he remembered that this guy needed the Vampire Fruit to regain his youth and a fraction of his former power. Otherwise, in his current withered state, he couldn't even beat the Straw Hats from the Punk Hazard era.
Heh, that little brat! Byrrndi World glared at their retreating backs, and then a smile spread across his face. Even Roger had once knelt before him, begging him to join his crew, and now he was being dismissed by a kid! Speaking of which, this guy really did kill a Celestial Dragon… That means he's completely broken ties with the World Government and is ready for an all-out war. His dream and ambition seem to be on an even higher level than my own. Can he succeed? It'll be hard, very hard…
He slowly sat back down in the corner, his cloudy eyes staring at the cobweb-covered ceiling. "Do your best, and don't become another Rocks, you arrogant little brat…"
Southeast Section.
A little girl with purple hair looked up, her face pale and delicate. "B-big brother… are you going to kill me?" Her eyes reddened. "I… I was framed. All those bad things Shiryu-nii said, someone else did them while pretending to be me. Sniffle, I'm just…"
SWISH!
A flash of a blade. The little girl's head fell to the ground with a piercing scream. "Why! Why didn't you believe me!" In the next second, she was silent.
"Nineteenth, user of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Lolita," Shiryu said, making a note. "She may look like she's eight or nine, but she's actually a fifty or sixty-year-old hag. If Byrrndi World's record was embellished, this woman's is not. Even after coming to Impel Down, a dozen guards have died at her hands because they fell for her pity act."
"I could tell," Shane said flatly, flicking the blood from his blade. He didn't need Shiryu to tell him. In his Observation Haki, the woman's aura of brutality, malice, and resentment was so thick it was like a vengeful spirit from a horror movie. It was impossible to hide.
"Only ten left, my lord," Shiryu said, looking across the way. "The rest are all in this area, so it won't be as much trouble. The twentieth is…"
"Enough!" a roar interrupted Shiryu. From the cell across the way, a one-eyed man covered in chains slammed against the bars, his voice a mixture of terror and rage. "I've had enough! Hey, you two bastards! What do you take us for?! And what do you think you are?!"
"How despicable!" A tall, thin man with dark skin in another cell stood up and sneered. "Not even the World Government took our lives! Since when do pirates get to act as agents of justice?"
"That's right!" The atmosphere grew tense. The remaining Devil Fruit users all stood up, rattling the bars of their cells.
"What's so great about bullying people who can't fight back?!"
"If you've got the guts, unlock our Sea-Prism Stone shackles and fight us one-on-one!"
"Yeah! Shiryu's been hyping you up, but all you do is pick on people in cages!"
Shane remained calm, merely raising an eyebrow. "Fine."
"However," he added with a slight smile, "I don't have time to deal with you one by one. All ten of you, come at me at once."
"What?!" The prisoners looked at each other, then erupted in fury. "You'll take on ten of us?! How arrogant!"
"You think we're small fry?!"
"You said it! Don't go back on your word!"
Shiryu watched with a small, knowing smile. He extinguished his cigar and pulled out a large ring of keys. "Shall I let them out now, my lord?"
"Yes," Shane said, sheathing his sword. "Unlock all their shackles. If they want to die a glorious death so badly, then let's accommodate them."
"Understood." Shiryu strode forward without a hint of concern.
CLANG—!
The sound of cell doors opening echoed through the corridor. Ten Devil Fruit users stepped out, a vicious light in their eyes as they reveled in their newfound freedom.
"Kid, you'd better give it your all! This is going to be fun!" the one-eyed man sneered. His arm muscles bulged, and his skin took on the dark, hard sheen of cast iron. The user of the Iron-Iron Fruit! He could make his entire body, from his muscles to his blood vessels, as hard as steel! And this wasn't even his full power!
"Full body!" The one-eyed man slammed his chest, and an inky-black Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body, making him look like he had been dipped in ink. Double armor, double hardness! "This is my indestructible body!" he roared, charging at Shane. "I'll be the first to smash you into a meat paste!"
The other nine also activated their abilities and charged! One transformed into a three-headed, six-armed monstrosity, another was wreathed in the white flame-cloud of an awakened Zoan, and another sprouted nine eerie tails. The corridor was instantly filled with a chaotic surge of bizarre abilities!
"Death Breath!"
"Hundred-Limb Meat Grinder!"
"Rock Crusher!"
Ten different attacks descended on Shane from all sides, completely engulfing him. Shiryu calmly retreated to the side, lit a new cigar, and took a long drag, shaking his head with pity.
BOOM!!!
In the deafening explosion, dust filled the air. But when it cleared, all the prisoners stared in disbelief—the man was still standing in the same spot, expressionless, not a single scratch on him, not even a tear in his clothes.
"Is that it?" Shane raised an eyebrow, his disappointment palpable. "I gave you all a chance to team up, and this is all you've got? You couldn't even make me move an inch?"
"N-no, impossible!!" the one-eyed man gritted his teeth. "My full-power attack can smash the largest warship to pieces! How could you…"
THUD!
A dull sound. The one-eyed man looked down to see a fist buried in his chest, a massive hole punched clean through. How… I'm the user of the Iron-Iron Fruit, and I have powerful Armament Haki… He looked up in a daze.
BOOM!
In the next instant, his body exploded into a bloody mist.
"One," a calm voice said as Shane's figure vanished.
BOOM!
The next moment, the Corrupt King's chest caved in, and he was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the wall and dying on impact.
"Two."
Shane appeared in mid-air, his right leg swinging sideways like a battle-axe! CRACK! The woman with nine tails's head was twisted a full 540 degrees and embedded in her own chest.
"Three."
These once-feared criminals, who had each ruled their own stretch of the sea, were now like lambs to the slaughter, with no chance to even fight back. In a matter of seconds, six bodies lay on the ground, and less than half of them were still alive.
"Monster… monster! He's a monster!" the ten-meter-tall, three-headed, six-armed figure stammered, his face pale. "That's not human strength!"
"Run! Run!"
"We're no match for him! Run!"
The remaining four prisoners broke, turning to flee deeper into the corridor.
"You think you can run?" Shane sneered. He flicked his index finger, and four terrifying blasts of energy, wreathed in black-and-red lightning, pierced their hearts from behind. He had mastered the Finger Pistol back in the East Blue. Now, by infusing it with Conqueror's Haki, its piercing power had increased more than tenfold!
"…"
The four of them froze, looked down at the blood gushing from their chests, and collapsed.
"Ten," Shane said, retracting his finger, his expression calm as he looked at the bodies on the floor.
Shiryu was still silently smoking his cigar, but his right hand was trembling slightly. He had expected this, but to see it happen, one kill per second… the visual impact was still immense… Is this the power of a Yonko with a bounty over five billion?! He's as invincible as a god!
"My lord, that's thirty Devil Fruit users. Your goal has been reached, right?" he asked, his posture even more deferential than before, as he carefully offered Shane a handkerchief.
"Yes. And my grudge has been settled. This trip was a success. It's time to leave." Shane took the handkerchief and wiped the blood from his hands, then turned to look Shiryu straight in the eye.
"M-my lord?" Shiryu's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. It can't be, is he going to…
"You haven't changed your mind? You still want to follow me?" Shane asked flatly.
"Yes, my lord!" Shiryu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and dropped to one knee without hesitation, his right hand over his heart. His voice was even more fervent, more sincere than before. "I have been in this prison for too long. I have grown tired of this life. Your appearance, my lord, has shown me the dawn of a new life!" Arrogant, heroic, dominant! Seeing it with his own eyes was a hundred times better than hearing the rumors. He was more certain than ever… this man was the king he was meant to follow!
"Heh." Shane chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the terrified prisoners in the surrounding cells. "Then you should know one thing. On my ship, I have no need for bloodthirsty madmen, and even less for scum who prey on the innocent."
"I understand, my lord," Shiryu said, looking up with a grin. "I admit I enjoy the thrill of the kill, but I would never harm an innocent person. All those who have died by my blade were villains who deserved it."
"Are you sure?"
"Before you, my lord, I, Shiryu of the Rain, swear I am not lying!"
Only then did Shane retract his Observation Haki, his eyes narrowing slightly. Shiryu's aura was as firm and resolute as his words, with no trace of hesitation. It seemed he was telling the truth. Come to think of it… I'm here a full three years before Blackbeard. That's three years less that Shiryu has had to rot in this sunless prison. Could that be why his mind hasn't twisted to the same degree as it was when Blackbeard broke him out? It made sense. Shiryu had been imprisoned on Level 6 by Magellan shortly before the Summit War for killing prisoners indiscriminately. If that had always been his nature, Magellan would have dealt with him long before.
"Get up," Shane finally smiled. Under Shiryu's trembling, excited gaze, he extended a hand. "Welcome to the Curtain Call Adventurers, Shiryu."
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