"The Zero Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Jack's eyes narrowed, filled with murderous intent.
The Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates had long been enemies, clashing countless times across the seas. Minor skirmishes happened nearly a hundred times a year, but this encounter was different. Jack could feel it.
This boy had to die.
"What's so great about killing Blackbeard?" Jack snarled. "All of you, attack! Kill him! Who do you think I am? I am Jack! A mere Zero Division Captain is nothing to me!"
At his command, the pirates surged forward. No longer underestimating their opponent, they drew weapons and launched their assault.
Sheepshead charged again, his ram's horns massive and glinting with Haki. Ginrummy's eyes grew sharp, her blade wrapped in Armament Haki as she slashed for Ashveil's head. Holdem's mechanical blade roared with flames, the lion on his belly baring its fangs before spitting out blazing fire.
"Hellfire Blade!" Holdem roared, striking down with the burning weapon.
"Kill him! Don't let him escape!" the pirates shouted, their voices blending into a frenzy as they swarmed Ashveil.
Ashveil's lips curved into the faintest of smirks. "Small fry think they can kill me? What a joke."
Buzz!
A vast and oppressive aura burst forth from him, sweeping across the warship in an instant.
Conqueror's Haki!
The invisible force poured outward like a stormy ocean, crashing down on everyone present. Pirates froze in place, their bodies trembling as the pressure suffocated the deck.
Jack's forehead broke into cold sweat, his dead eyes widening in disbelief. "This… this is Conqueror's Haki?!"
Only Kaido himself wielded such a terrifying will. How could this boy possess it?
Buzz!!!
The air itself vibrated as the pressure intensified.
Over five hundred pirates went wide-eyed with fear, their earlier jeers vanishing. One after another, they collapsed to the deck with heavy thuds, dust rising around their unconscious bodies.
In less than a second, every grunt lay defeated.
Jack's shock deepened. This mission to Dressrosa was critical—he had brought only the elites of the Beasts Pirates to transport the SMILE fruits, including powerful Gifters. These were fighters with years of training, some with bounties over 100 million. Yet, before Ashveil's overwhelming Haki, they were nothing.
His gaze darted to the three Headliners. "Sheepshead! Ginrummy! Holdem! Keep attacking!"
But they didn't move.
Furious, Jack slapped Sheepshead on the shoulder. The ram-headed pirate collapsed instantly, unconscious.
"What?!"
"Ginrummy! Holdem!" Jack roared.
Before he could finish, both of them crumpled to the ground as well, dazed expressions frozen on their faces.
The entire squad, Jack's handpicked elites, gone in an instant.
Only Jack remained standing.
His dead eyes widened further. For the first time in his life, Jack saw Conqueror's Haki powerful enough to fell Headliners of this caliber.
Ashveil exhaled slowly, his eyes calm. "Not bad. It took them a full second to fall. A Four Emperor's crew really is a cut above ordinary pirates."
He had deliberately spread his Haki wide, lowering its density to cover more enemies at once. Against regular pirates, the effect would have been instant. The fact that Jack's elites lasted even a moment was worth acknowledging.
But to Jack, the words were like salt in an open wound.
His face twisted with rage, veins bulging across his arms. These were the elites he had spent ten years cultivating. His pride. His strength. His army.
And in less than a minute, Ashveil had shattered it all.
"Bastard! Impossible!" Jack bellowed to the sky. "Kid, I won't forgive you! I am Jack!"
Enraged beyond reason, Jack raised his twin scimitars, black Armament Haki coating the blades.
"Die! Unforgivable!"
His swings were swift and brutal, cutting arcs of compressed air as the blades came down with murderous force.
Ashveil's eyes narrowed in disdain. "What a joke. After seeing this much, you still think Armament alone can break me?"
Clang!
The scimitars slammed against Ashveil's Haki barrier with the sound of steel striking steel. The air shook, but Ashveil's defense stood unmoved, like a fortress of iron.
Jack's eyes bulged, muscles straining as he poured every ounce of strength into the attack. The deck cracked beneath his feet, fissures spreading across the ship as he pressed down.
The blades advanced no more than two centimeters.
"Impossible! I am Jack!" His voice cracked with desperation as his hands trembled violently, sweat dripping from his chin.
Ashveil looked at him calmly and nodded. "Hmm. Not bad, Jack. You've got some strength."
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