50 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
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"Supa Supa Slashing Spider"
--CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!
"What's with this kid!?"
"The bullets aren't working!!"
On the deck of the smuggling ship disguised as an ordinary merchant vessel, combat had begun between Bege's subordinates—who had moved to capture the ship and secure the 'Silent Step' crew.
"Captain's orders. I'll be eliminating you all. Supa Supa Spark Claw"
"GYAAAHHH!"
"This guy's a Devil Fruit user!? Aren't these just kids playing pirate!?"
"I'm a tick. A pathetic tick that deserves to be squashed..."
"I'm so sorry for walking the same earth as you all"
"Why was trash like me ever born..."
"You guys pull yourselves together! They're just a bunch of kids! If we can just deal with this ghost-- I'm so sorry for breathing..."
"Horo horo horo! The Captain warned about a surprise attack, but they're all weaklings!"
"..."
"Hey, Daz. What's with that look?"
"I just understood why the Captain said not to overuse that ability."
Meanwhile, the battle was raging on multiple fronts, Daz Bones was intercepting a group trying to seize the ship where Nico Robin and Perona were aboard, while Perona—in her out-of-body ghost form—acted as a decoy and neutralized the group trying to capture the smuggling ship with her Hollow-Hollow Fruit powers.
"Still, there sure are a lot of them. Where the hell did they all come from? What a pain."
As Ghost Perona floated above their ship, Nico Robin showed her face.
"I only bloomed an ear for Captain-san so I don't know the details, but the other person seems to have some kind of devil fruit too. Soldiers and weapons suddenly appeared..."
"Robin, can't you bloom eyes near the Captain?"
At Daz's question, Robin shook her head.
"I tried to do that earlier to see what was happening, but once they went into that underground storage, I haven't been able to bloom anything new."
"...So that stone isn't just embedded in the door."
Meanwhile, Robin was blooming arms all over the place, carrying ammunition and valuable-looking items back to their ship.
Any gangsters who tried to interfere were either floored by Negative Hollow attacks and became one with the deck, or were blown away by explosions from Mini Hollow Ghost bombs.
"Hm? What's wrong, Robin? You seem unusually happy. You're usually all gloomy the way I like it."
"You praise and insult someone at the same time? That's quite a skill."
Meanwhile, the group that had hidden behind cover thinking it was dangerous to approach—firing bullets at the ship—had just become less than specks of dust.
"Daz-san, Perona-san."
"Mm."
"Horo?"
"I'm... really glad I got on Captain-san's ship...!"
–
"Castle Tank Charge!"
"Silent Step Thrust!"
Bege's caterpillar-treaded charge met with a Silent Step speed kick—they should have pushed back, but instead reached a stalemate.
"I figured you'd be tough, but... you're heavy!"
"Of course! I ate the Castle-Castle Fruit—I'm a castle human!"
Around them lay the gangsters he'd kicked away earlier. Good thing he'd kicked them somewhere out of the way. This Bege guy—I never thought he could fight so nimbly.
"A fragile, lightweight castle wouldn't be a castle at all!"
"Fair point. ...By the way, aren't you going to send out more soldiers?"
"I sent out everyone I could to deal with your crew, but looks like they got thoroughly beaten. You've got some capable subordinates there, Kuro—that guy earlier and now this."
"Yeah, I'm proud of my crew."
So Daz and Perona can easily handle regular soldiers. Just confirming that made this fight worthwhile.
Actually, even though this room is covered in seastone, Perona seems able to fight at reasonable strength in here. If I'd brought her down from the start, we could have ended this immediately.
Though in that case, if there were ambushes outside, Daz would have had to handle things alone.
I really do need someone to guard Robin. Need to find someone trustworthy...
"What's wrong, Kuro!? Lost in thought!?"
"Yeah."
Bege's eyes opened and the defensive crew remaining in his castle fired bullets. Good thing I fought those Marines earlier—I can kick and deflect every single shot at this level.
"I was thinking about our next voyage."
"Then don't worry! Your next voyage will be working with me! I'll prepare something really flashy and fun!"
The caterpillars roared with a "GYURARARARA!" sound. Why caterpillars!? Castles don't have caterpillars!
"Even if we voyage together, it'd be land-based work, right? I prefer the sea!"
Cat Claw—Second Form. I adjusted the Tempest Kick-like technique I learned in that naval battle into a two-hit combo, swinging not just my right leg but immediately following through with my pivot leg.
If one hit doesn't work, then two-- whoa!?
"Too weak, Kuroooo!!"
"Damn, even this isn't enough."
I got knocked back by the castle human's tank charge.
Shit! My weakness—low attack power—is really biting me in the ass! Even learning that Tempest Kick imitation only helped a little against Capone Bege, who ate the Castle-Castle Fruit! He's one of the toughest bastards in the entire series!
I don't think he's reached that level yet, but still—he's not someone I should be fighting in the West Blue!
I need to drastically increase my firepower right now!
While I occasionally heard sniffling or small groans of surprise, all the Marines were quietly watching my fight with Bege.
If someone's expecting something from a mere pirate, I have to deliver—or it's straight into tragic backstory or villain route territory! I have to break through here no matter what!!
But the only ways to boost power in this world, aside from training, are using techniques you haven't used before or creating new ones.
That's why I've kept up my training, but it's too early for opponents this strong to show up! I can't even break through Daz's defense!!
Plus my techniques are basically imitations of the 'Six Powers' that can only be improved through training! A way to boost power immediately without training, using my current skillset--
There's no way! There's no way something that convenient exists!!
--No... wait, there is one!!
–
"You're not just tough... you're strong. I acknowledge you, Kuro."
After repeatedly taking body slams, with damage starting to accumulate in his legs, the pirate's movements gradually grew sluggish.
"When you sent your subordinates away, I thought you were some cocky brat who thought he could take me on alone, but look! All my men have been taken out by you alone! And the ones I sent outside were handled by your crew!"
The gangsters who had surrounded the pirate—and tried to shoot his limbs on the boss's orders—were instantly blown away and now lay unconscious.
"If you'd grown a bit more, your kicks would have incomparably more power. You might have even broken through my castle walls somewhat. That's how much your kicks shake me up. Even my men inside are scared for the first time."
His breathing was rough. Kuro's leg techniques—the 'Silent Step' style that gave him his epithet—were quite stamina-draining techniques. Using them for movement was one thing, but employing them heavily in combat was another matter entirely.
"But too bad, Kuro! Your timing for meeting me was terrible!"
"No, that's wrong. You're mistaken, Bege."
The man standing before the chained Marines remained defiantly upright.
"Crossing blades with a man of Capone Bege's caliber—with such a formidable opponent—was the greatest fortune I could have asked for."
He then tapped the floor several times with his right toes, as if testing it.
"I was always confident in my speed. My attacks worked fine against ordinary humans. So I'd been thinking about what to do when facing 'tough' enemies that my attacks couldn't affect."
Then, using his attacking right leg as the pivot instead of his usual left,
"If I can't reach, then I'll make it reach."
He began spinning in place.
"What the...?"
The gangster's face went from puzzled to disbelieving as he watched the pirate accelerate. The moment the pirate accelerated until his form blurred, his leg began glowing red.
As he accelerated further, the glow intensified and shifted from red to blue.
--ZZZT, ZZZT! ZZZZZZZZT!!!
The glow carried heat and began making sounds like many birds crying—unpleasant to some ears.
When the pirate stopped spinning, lightning crackled around his right leg.
"...So this is what happens with my leg."
"You bastard, was that your trump card!?"
"No, it was a do-or-die gamble."
The pirate adjusted his slightly crooked glasses with his palm and grinned fearlessly again.
"Take this, Gang Bege."
"Gh, Castle Wall--"
--Winter Cat—Purple Lightning Flash
For the first time, the pirate's kick buried itself into the gangster's body—his castle walls that had deflected the pirate's kicks so many times before.
A groan of agony leaked from Bege's mouth along with a trace of blood.
"Ku...rooo..."
"I told you, Bege."
"I'd push through with a pirate's pride."
"Haha... you really are..."
--the best...
–
"Boss!"
"You brat! How dare you do that to Bege-san!!"
Just when I thought I'd finally defeated Bege, the gangsters who'd been acting as gunners and riflemen inside him all came swarming out at once. Either his ability wore off or they just jumped out normally.
Stop, don't shoot. Kicking and deflecting every bullet one by one is getting tedious... I'm tired.
"That's enough. It's settled."
I could kick them all down, but this was a contest between leaders. Going further would be too crude.
"More importantly, focus on rescuing and recovering your wounded. If you don't hurry, things will get even more troublesome."
"What!?"
No really, if we don't hurry this is going to get bad.
"There's no way the buying and selling of Marine slaves could be handled by just the people on this ship. And naturally they'd be extremely careful about information leaks."
There have to be more people on the gangster side, and there should be quite a few people involved within the Marines too.
"Before contacting Capone Bege, I looked around the upper levels of the ship, but I couldn't find any Den Den Mushi. They probably feared location tracking through wiretapping."
Though that also meant they couldn't call for help.
"Even so, they should be doing some kind of confirmation. When a ship that should have completed its trade and returned to port is late... especially with such a dangerous operation. It wouldn't be strange for them to check frequently."
Actually, it wouldn't be strange for another ship to be coming from behind for confirmation.
"We should both get out of these waters as quickly as possible."
The gangsters are looking at each other. Damn, if I were a bit older I'd have more credibility...
"Mister Bege and I clashed carrying our respective reputations. Even though you all were here, boss faced boss and settled things."
"If we keep fighting after it's settled, both Mister Bege's reputation and my reputation gets damaged."
Finally, bringing up reputations—honor—seemed to convince them, albeit reluctantly. I got some tongue-clicking, but when the guy who seemed to be their coordinator muttered "Hey, let's go," they rushed to tend to Bege and their other fallen comrades.
...Alright, now I just need to grab the treasure and escape.
"Marines."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
–
A/N: I never thought coming up with technique names would be this difficult...