"They're coming! Board and seize the enemy ship! All hands, to battle—"
Germa 66.
The soldiers, prepared through Vinsmoke Judge's cloning technology, know no fear.
They simply do not have fear.
Therefore, they do not waver.
On the battlefield, the only time one's words are cut off mid-sentence is—
"Get back, grun—"
when they are about to die.
A young pirate in a black suit and glasses had appeared out of nowhere.
With a single flash from the bizarre gloves fitted with five blades each, the commander-type clone soldier who had been giving orders was cut down.
At the same time, a pillar of water, carrying a single plank as if it were a surfboard, shot up onto the deck.
The clone soldiers, identifying it as an enemy, all aimed their weapons. Those with rifles began firing, but every single shot was cut down in mid-air... not one of them pierced the plank.
The pillar of water, which had gushed up like a fountain, followed gravity and crashed onto the deck along with the plank.
The moment it landed, the man on the plank, and the plank itself, cut down the surrounding clone soldiers.
Mihawk mused aloud, "…I see. With just the first strike that cut down three men, you instantly measured the distance?"
The soldiers who had dodged the sudden flying slash by a hair's breadth raised their short spears and moved into a combat stance.
But the instant they did, the five men in the front line were cut down in an instant.
Mihawk added, "They're certainly tough. I'm sure their muscles and bones have been altered. They're harder than any enemy I've cut before, and the blade doesn't pass through easily. I'd intended to cut them clean in two."
Kuro called over, his voice laced with exasperation as he dispatched several squads with silent slashes, "I thought you win in a more 'smart' way, but you're pretty vicious."
"One cannot always be elegant when surviving a desperate situation," Mihawk replied simply.
"Well, I guess you're right," Kuro conceded.
The swordsman readied his famous blade, and the pirate adjusted his glasses with his palm.
Mihawk declared, "Then—let's go."
Kuro responded, "Shakushi."
--
This is… a "musou" state…!!
This is fun! This is too much fun! This is the best, HYA-WE-GOOOOO!!!!
Lately, apart from the small fry who don't count, I've only been fighting Mihawk, so I hadn't realized, but I've gotten this strong!
"Enemy vital signs—"
"Unable to capture! We must use a wide-range attack and hit our own—"
The enemy soldiers, making no attempt to flee, are trying to capture me by any means necessary.
Some use their allies who are being cut down as human shields to try and grab me.
Some, the moment they are cut, tense their enhanced muscles to their limit, trying to stop my movement, blades and all.
Some try to take me down, along with their own allies, with a wild spray of Gatling gun fire.
But all of it is slow. Too slow, and too fragile.
At this rate, forget Mihawk or Daz, even Toya could blow them away with one of the area-of-effect attacks unique to Fish-Man Karate.
Amisu can even project her slashes now, so she could cut them down from the start.
So, even if this is Germa, their proficiency isn't that high twenty years in the past, huh?
If this were Mihawk, he'd be reading my movements and placing slashes where I'd be, or he'd be striking at the exact instant I slowed down to change direction, or a slash I'd sworn was horizontal would somehow come from above.
But these guys can't do that.
Their physical abilities are high, but the fine-tuned judgment needed to fight a superior opponent—no, they're probably capable of it, but it's too slow to execute.
If you're going to shoot your own allies to kill me, you need an attack that is far wider and denser, or it's meaningless. And the very toughness of the Germa clone soldiers just gets in the way, lessening the effect.
If you want to stop me, try showing me a 360-degree omnidirectional slash in an instant, like Mihawk.
The first time he did that, I fell into a light despair.
He said something about "getting an idea" from watching my Shakushi and then immediately created a combat-ready technique. He's a monster.
…It's true this is fun, but I can't just have fun. In reality, as a standard military force, they're beyond troublesome.
In fact, if this were the Marines, they could probably scatter a unit led by a Vice-Admiral.
If it were my crew, the members from the 2nd and 3rd ships could probably just barely hold their own in an equal-numbered fight. The crews of the ships after that… well, they wouldn't win. It's impossible. They'd be unilaterally slaughtered.
I have to cut down as many as I can, as fast as I can, or our casualties will increase.
Focusing on clearing the grunts was the right call.
We have skirmish support from Hancock and her sisters, and Perona's Mini-Hollow bombings—as expected, the Negative Hollows weren't useless, but they were less effective—but for the regular crewmen, this will be their first trial.
I yelled, "Robin, what's the battle situation!"
Her voice replied from behind my ear, "'Captain-san and Mihawk have created an opening. Daz and the Imperial Guard are boarding now and pushing the breakthrough wide.'"
"What about Hancock's group?" I asked, dodging a spear.
"'Intercepting soldiers who are trying to cut the ladders and ropes—Ah, Toya's unit is moving to support them now,'" Robin reported.
Good, if the Imperial Guards can deploy, they'll move to hold the line.
First, we have to finish cutting down this ship's forces and make it our foothold… Trying to take on these giant ships with just our own small ones is a struggle just to get on board.
…Mihawk has given his seal of approval on their strength. Maybe it's time I teach Amisu and the others some of my leg techniques.
I commanded, "Robin, keep monitoring the situation. As soon as the Imperial Guards and the soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd ships are deployed on this side, have Hack or someone else bring you and Perona over. We don't have the spare strength to dedicate to defense this time."
"Got it," she replied, "What's the target for Bege's ship and the 6th and 7th?"
"Have them concentrate on any ship that makes a move," I ordered. "Buy us time however you can until we take this ship. If it looks impossible, report immediately. I'll run across the air and board it myself."
Robin replied with an "understood," and by the time our brief conversation ended, I wondered how many I had cut down.
My Cat Claws, dyed black with Haki, feel no strain.
The sharpness hasn't dulled at all.
This is also thanks to Robin, who read all sorts of books and listened to Mihawk's advice to select the best materials for the blades.
I glanced to the side and saw Mihawk with a terrifyingly ecstatic look on his face, dicing the Germa forces to pieces.
What is that, a slasher-flick? How horrifying...
–
"Hoh. So he's on a rampage as well," Mihawk muttered to himself.
The deck of the giant ship—a wide deck that likely served as a temporary holding area for the numerous soldiers meant to board enemy vessels—had become a battlefield.
Mihawk saw, on the opposite side of the ship from his own position, enemy soldiers being tossed into the air with mortal wounds, as if struck by a tornado of blades, and he let out a small breath of admiration.
"This is a slaughter," he continued, a faint smile on his lips. "To think he refined his skills this much in such a short time."
It was a good trend, the man who was both Kuro's guest general and his master thought, satisfied with Kuro's rampage.
The aversion to taking lives that Kuro had originally possessed.
It was important for one who needs to fight, but too much of it dulls the will to battle. Now, that aversion had been worn down to a moderate, healthy level.
Mihawk sensed that Kuro's spirit, as a warrior who leads and also fights, was settling into its most perfect balance.
These clone soldiers probably can't even see him.
Mihawk thought back to the pirate who had challenged him, even after knowing the difference in their strength, all while he effortlessly cut down the enemies pressing him with their numbers.
For Mihawk, it had been an invaluable encounter.
A warrior who was approaching the realm of god-like speed, something he likely wouldn't have believed if he'd only heard rumors.
And a pirate who did not hesitate to pick a fight with the World Government head-on.
A sharp voice cut through the din, "Imperial Guard, draw swords! We're expanding the battle line! Forward!"
A unified roar answered her, "Sir!!!"
"Hm, so they've come," Mihawk noted.
Come to think of it, they are also one of my invaluable encounters.
They were the ones who taught him the joy of teaching swordsmanship, something he had never experienced.
The growth of those who led units, like Amisu, was particularly remarkable. Several of them could even keep up with him for a few minutes, even when he was serious (albeit with a practice sword).
And without exception, every member of the Imperial Guard he trained grew stronger each time they were defeated.
They were still far from his level, but they were a collection of elites who, if they continued their polishing, might one day be able to reach him.
Even now, a mere two or three members of the Guard could easily crush an average pirate crew.
At this level, Amisu and the others won't be defeated. The problem is the other soldiers.
Amisu and the others, whom Mihawk trained, occasionally trained the other crew members.
Because of this, the Black Cat Pirates' crew was more stable as a fighting force than other crews, but they weren't exceptional. That would change with time, but for now, they were "upper-middle" at best.
"Very well," Mihawk declared to the oncoming soldiers, his smile widening. "I'll shift gears a little. Try and keep up, soldiers of science."
"Amisu, there's a red mist and a horrible sound and smell coming from over there, is that by any chance Mih—"
"That's just his hunting ground!" Amisu's voice snapped back, "Do not go near it! Hold your positions!!"
–
"What is this disgrace!!?" Judge roared.
They were the strongest soldiers, equipped with sufficient strength and durability, even if they were an early batch. The strongest army, formed from them.
And that very unit, which Vinsmoke Judge had personally guaranteed, was being scattered like dust.
"I understand that fighting on a ship deck is a hindrance to deploying our full force," he bellowed. "But our numbers are overwhelmingly superior!?"
Losing to a wanted pirate was one thing. That was still within the realm of understanding.
He knew it would be difficult to win easily against a pirate who had surpassed a 100 million bounty at such a young age.
That was why his initial strategy had been to first grind down the enemy crew members.
But—
He slammed his fist on the railing. "And now they can't even get past the grunt's defense!?"
A group using katanas, all clad in black suits.
They boarded right after the captain, 'Silent Step', and the one who seemed to be the 'Marine Hunter', so they were likely the elites among the crew. But the forces Judge had sent to crush the enemy's beachhead were being cut down one after another, unable to defeat a single one of them.
While that was happening, more enemy soldiers boarded the ship, and before he knew it, half the deck of the ship that had been guarding the fleet's perimeter was now enemy territory.
A clone soldier reported, "Your Majesty, the enemy ships holding at mid-range and continuing to fire are—"
"Ignore them!" Judge snapped. "If they can't pierce our armor, they're just peashooters!"
Grabbing his spear, Judge stood up.
He ordered, "Sink the ships that are approaching! Thin out their soldiers and send all forces to that ship!"
"Sir!"
As he secured his equipment, Judge internally vowed to crush his clients, Mogwa and the others, by any means necessary after this affair was concluded.
Judge declared, "I am heading out as well! We must stop 'Silent Step' Kuro at all costs!"
If they sink the ships, the soldiers will be reduced.
The problem was the named combatants like 'Silent Step', but even they could be mobbed and beaten if their supporting soldiers were eliminated.
That judgment would have been correct against any normal pirate crew, and in truth, if Germa had brought its full strength, even 'Silent Step' would have been helpless.
But his wife, pregnant and having ingested poison due to a certain dispute, could not be brought to a battlefield. Furthermore, the battlefield was in the West Blue, a sea that could not be reached simply by crossing the Red Line from the North Blue.
For that reason, he had brought only a small, elite force.
Even so, it should have been enough power to easily crush a country or two.
But the King of the Germa Kingdom had not yet realized just how terribly outmatched he was by this specific opponent.
–
A/N:
Current Guard Strength:
Captain Amisu: Roughly 100 million bounty level
Acting Command/Captain's Aides (Toya and 4 others): 70-90 million bounty level
Regular Guard (20 members): 20-40 million bounty level