Sham and Buchi followed with big grins, happily trotting behind him.
They had no great intelligence, but they had their own small cleverness.
After witnessing Sanji's strength, they knew their position was no longer secure. Just like how Jango had been under Kuro, they could only become minor characters.
But it didn't matter. Sanji could be the deputy captain, and they could be the tag-alongs; neither side would interfere with the other.
Soon, the three of them entered the large, empty dining hall on the first floor.
Buchi frowned, as if noticing something, and suddenly darted toward a trash bin.
He reached inside, grabbed a rat by the tail, pulled it out, and grinned: "Hehehe, boss, I caught the rat you wanted."
Alan and Sham both rolled their eyes at him and shouted angrily: "Who wants that kind of thing!!"
"Oh, oh, sorry."
Buchi blinked blankly and pointed at another trash bin. "There's one more over there."
Alan and Sham once again rolled their eyes and roared: "None of them are it, you idiot!!"
"Eh? Really?"
Buchi blinked in confusion.
Sham covered his face with a sigh and snapped: "Boss means a person, someone sneaking around like a rat."
"Forget it, let's check the kitchen."
Alan sighed and waved his hand, leading the Nyaban Brothers toward the kitchen connected to the dining hall.
At this moment, inside the kitchen…
"They really took out a warship that fast... What the hell is that guy?"
Hearing the noise outside, Gin couldn't help but become tense.
He had just slipped inside a short time ago, eaten something to regain a bit of stamina, and retrieved his weapons.
He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to scavenge some food to bring back to the main ship and regroup with his captain. But he hadn't expected the battle outside to end in an instant.
"Cheh, these Marine guys are useless."
Gin snorted angrily and took out two black Tonfas whose ends were connected to solid iron balls, then he carefully peeked outside.
Fortunately, only three people had come.
Now that he had recovered some stamina, while taking on the entire ship alone was impossible, using these three as hostages to get some food and secure his escape should be doable.
Thinking of this, determination flashed in Gin's eyes. He tightened his grip on the twin iron-ball Tonfas, held his breath, and listened to the approaching footsteps.
Bang!
The kitchen door was kicked open, and the moment the sound erupted, Gin burst out from behind the counter!
The Tonfas spun several times, and the heavy iron ball smashed toward the frontmost figure.
Seeing the attacker's silhouette, Buchi's pupils shrank, and he instinctively raised his ten-claw cat-paws to block.
Clang!
Boom!!
Sparks flew.
Although he blocked it, the terrifying force from the iron ball sent Buchi sliding backward until he crashed heavily into the wall.
"Buchi!"
Sham panicked for a moment, then gritted his teeth and glared at the attacker. His sharp ten-claw paws gleamed with a cold light as he slashed fiercely!
Gin pulled back his Tonfa and sidestepped the claws, then stepped forward, the iron ball swept horizontally into Sham's waist!
However, the Tonfa passed straight through him; no impact followed.
Sham's figure dispersed into an illusion, and Gin's expression changed sharply.
The next second…
Whoosh!
Sham flashed behind Gin and slashed at his back with fury!
Riiip!
Gin hurriedly twisted his body and swung the Tonfa with full force, but still couldn't completely evade.
The sharp claws tore open his clothes and left shallow wounds with a few drops of blood.
But at the same time, the solid iron ball landed squarely on Sham's shoulder.
The powerful impact sent him flying across the kitchen, sliding across several meters of countertop and knocking a pile of utensils to the floor with a clatter.
At this moment, the previously knocked-back Buchi had recovered and took the chance to launch a sneak attack at Gin's back!
"Die, you bastard!!"
Buchi roared as his claws ripped downward with a whistling sound!
Sensing the movement, Gin instinctively raised his right hand and quickly lifted his Tonfa to block.
Clang!!
Relying on his powerful combat instincts, he successfully parried Buchi's attack. Then he spun around and swung the Tonfa in his left hand fiercely!
Boom!
"Gah!!"
The iron ball smashed into Buchi's abdomen. His face twisted in pain, and he couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood as he staggered back toward Alan.
In less than five exchanges, the outcome was already clear.
Gin glared at Alan with vicious eyes. Without hesitation, he spun his weapons and charged forward.
Alan looked at him expressionlessly, hands in his pockets, not moving an inch.
Only when Gin closed the distance and swung the iron ball toward his face did Alan's body suddenly drop low!
He slipped past the iron ball, and at the same moment, his right hand shot out of his pocket at a speed Gin couldn't see.
Bang!
With fingers curved and palm facing upward, Alan's wrist bone smashed upward into Gin's jaw with brutal precision!
Crack!
Gin's teeth slammed together with a sickening crunch, as if they were about to shatter. Blood squeezed out from between them.
His eyes rolled upward while his pupils trembled violently.
One strike nearly knocked him unconscious.
And in the ringing chaos on his mind, only one incredulous thought remained, so fast!!
…
Gin flew backward, his vision spinning wildly, then the back of his head slammed into the rock–hard floor, his mind going blank for a moment.
Fueled by sheer survival instinct and battle awareness, Gin clenched his teeth and forcefully dragged back the consciousness that was almost knocked out of his body.
With a kick-up, he bounced back onto his feet.
Looking again, he saw Alan had already returned to the exact same posture as before.
Both hands in his pockets, standing tall and straight in place. Like he had never once taken him seriously from beginning to end.
"You didn't even bother taking your hands out... Are you looking down on me?!"
Gin growled in anger, his expression turning increasingly grim.
Alan didn't answer. He simply stared at him with a blank expression.
He truly wasn't looking down on Gin, quite the opposite. This stance was his fastest opening technique.
The draw–fist technique followed the same principle as Iaijutsu: hands in pockets mimicking a sword sheathed, accumulating power for the fastest, explosive strike in an instant.