"I know who you are. Young pirate hunter Joestar J. Rodney!" he said with a grin.
"Oh, so you know me, that's good. If you don't want to die, put your hands on your head and face the side of the ship," Rodney replied, already preparing to attack.
Bang!
The wooden stake remained standing as Rodney flashed past like a shadow, stabbing with his White Light Chakra Sabre. He was as merciless as a storm, sweeping away everything in his path. Weak or strong—to Rodney, all were the same.
Gin, the ferocious pirate, was defeated. Rodney's pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. He valued justice, but saw no reason to spare his enemy.
Wiping blood from his Saber's blade, Rodney leaped back, dodging Pearl's flying shield. In the blink of an eye, he attached an explosive tag to it and retreated.
Boom!
Gin was thrown back, his massive body shaking from the explosion, as if struck by a giant hammer.
"Lord Gin!" the pirates cried, looking at the lifeless body of their leader, hoping to hear at least a word of consolation.
"I see Gin has proven useless! Pearl, deal with him. He won't be able to break through your defenses, and I'll provide support," Krieg said contemptuously, watching his lackey die.
"Understood, Chief Krieg. Captain, I am Pearl Ironwall, shield bearer of the Krieg pirates. Mister Pearl, at your service," Pearl said proudly, slamming his shields together, making an unpleasant clanking sound.
"Iron wall? Not so fast. You have a good shield, but I'll make sure you die here," Rodney replied, surprised that the explosive tag hadn't worked.
"Die here? Hahaha!" Pearl burst out laughing, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke. "I've fought in twenty-seven battles. Not a scratch, not a drop of blood. Even the Marines' shells couldn't harm me. Can you kill me? If you can, I'll eat my shield right now!"
"You'll all die. How are you going to eat it?" Rodney objected.
"Of course I won't die. You're the one who will!" Pearl rushed at Rodney with a wild cry, like an enraged bull.
But his strength was brute, his technique primitive. Rodney easily dodged the attack and, clambering up the mast, took up a vantage point. Cannon barrels emerged from Krieg's golden armor, raining bullets down on Rodney.
"Danger, danger!" the pirates shouted.
Rodney, like a tiger among sheep, charged into the midst of the pirates, sowing chaos and destruction. The battle reached its climax.
Boom!
Suddenly, a smoke bomb exploded, knocking several pirates aside. One of them fell at Pearl's feet. He felt a sharp pain in his heel and stumbled, reaching for the fallen pirate.
The pirate rolled over, stood up, grinned, and threw another smoke bomb, shrouding everything in a thick fog. Pearl felt his heart pound in his chest and his legs buckle.
"What's going on? Where did that guy go?" Krieg asked.
"I don't know. Did Rodney escape?" the pirates replied.
— I thought I heard Bara scream.
- I heard it too.
— Where is Pearl?
"Here, Chief Krieg. Pearl... Mr. Pearl, he's dead," the pirates whispered, pointing to a bloody leg sticking out of the smoke.
Rodney disappeared like a ghost, ready to strike at any moment.
Krieg, unsure what to do, growled and shot the pirate who had discovered Pearl's lifeless body. The pirate died, unsure why. Perhaps Krieg suspected him, or perhaps he was simply venting his anger.
"Get ready, kids!" Krieg removed the golden disk from his shoulders and reached for the mechanism behind him.
The disk bore the emblem of the Krieg pirates—a skull with its mouth open to reveal a small hole. Seeing what Krieg was about to do, the pirates turned pale with fear.
- This... this...
— MH5!
— Captain Krieg's most terrifying gas weapon!
— Put on your masks!
— Where is my mask?!
— Mask! Where's mine?!
- Boss Krieg, we're still on board!
- Yes, boss. Could you give us a little encouragement?
MH5, the Krieg gas bomb, could fatally poison anyone who inhaled its vapors. Death occurred within ten minutes. But the bodies of those who were stronger eventually recovered, and the most resilient suffered no effects.
Krieg chuckled, "What are you talking about? This is a battle! Those who die are just unfortunate souls. No matter what method I use, I will emerge victorious! Hahaha! Once I enter the Grand Line, I will surely find the great secret treasure and become the Pirate King!"
He put on his gas mask and flicked the switch.
Thick purple smoke poured from the skull's mouth, filling the deck.
Rodney, standing in the darkness, couldn't help but think that Krieg was a fool for using a gas bomb. After all, Magellan smoked that stuff like cigarettes and ingested all sorts of toxic substances. Both he and his subordinates were fine.
Grabbing a mask from one of the pirates, Rodney put it on and stepped forward, surrounded by poisonous gas.
- Saber.
- Ah!
- Phew...
- No, my... ah!
- Please, spare me!
Screams echoed across the deck, forcing Krieg to retreat. He desperately searched for Rodney, but saw only a shadow before another pirate fell dead.
This guy... is he playing with me?! Maybe a game of cat and mouse?
Krieg, losing control, growled and, using the golden disk as a machine gun, began firing indiscriminately.
- Ah! Captain Krieg, why?!
- No! I don't want to die yet!
- Mom, I want to go home! Wow, the sea is terrible!
In panic, some pirates jumped overboard, joining the deserters. The day was too dangerous.
The once-fearsome might of Krieg's pirate fleet was broken by a handful of brave men. Only Krieg himself, the captain, remained, the embodiment of ruthlessness.
The toxic fog that had shrouded the battlefield cleared, revealing a terrifying sight: Krieg, clad in the Sword Mountain Mantle, adorned with spiked plates. He clutched a blade in his hand, his face hidden by a gas mask.
"There he is," Rodney whispered, looking at Krieg, "the captain whose strength is destroyed, but whose spirit is not broken."
With lightning speed, he threw the kunai attached to the explosive tag. The roar of the explosion shook the air, and Krieg, flying several meters, crashed to the ground, the Sword Mountain Mantle shattering into pieces.
Krieg's golden armor, once seemingly invulnerable, was punctured, and he was wounded. With an effort, he rose and brought two golden disks together, and from their center grew a cannon, enormous and menacing, weighing over two thousand pounds.
"A weapon of destruction," Rodney noted, "it will remain a danger for some time."
"But what's wrong with him?" flashed through his mind. "How could he have been defeated by Hawkeye so quickly, and why did his fleet shrink so quickly?"
Rodney couldn't understand what made Krieg so weak. He sensed there was more to it than just a poor choice of weapon. He realized Krieg wasn't just a mad pirate, but a man haunted by an unknown force.