'Boom!'
The clash sent a terrifying gust of wind roaring across the deck, bulging the sails of the warship like storm-tossed waves.
A figure was hurled backward at impossible speed, crashing into the pirate ship with a resounding crack—tearing a massive hole through its hull.
"Cough… cough…"
Damon spat blood onto the deck, struggling to rise, his eyes wide with disbelief.
A rear admiral with such overwhelming strength?
"Not bad. You can block my sword—you have some skill," Yuno said lightly, stepping into the air as if gravity were nothing.
"Damn it! Who are you looking down on?!" Damon roared, rising to his feet and charging once more.
But Yuno had no intention of prolonging the fight.
He lifted his sword, summoning a ferocious GETSUGA TENSHO STRIKE.
Damon met him head-on. The silver slash fell like moonlight—cold, precise, and lethal, carrying a sharpness that seemed to cut through reality itself.
"Get out of my way!" Damon bellowed, coating his iron claws with thick Armament Haki. Crossing them in defense, he struck at the oncoming blade.
Yet Yuno's strike was beyond his reckoning. Damon's attack shattered on contact, leaving him vulnerable.
The silver slash expanded outward, brilliant as moonlight, leaving no space to evade.
Still, Damon refused to die so easily. Armament Haki engulfed him, turning his entire body jet black.
With a single, merciless sweep, the blade passed through him, hurling him backward into the pirate ship. Both vessels split asunder beneath Yuno's strike.
Damon collapsed among shattered planks, like a fallen beast.
Yuno scanned him. Not dead—but barely clinging to life.
"Beast Claw" Damon, bounty: 127 million berries… defeated.
A soft ding echoed in Yuno's mind.
[Ding! Defeat a pirate with a bounty over 100 million berries. Reward: 100 achievement points.]
Yuno shook his head. Achieving points was getting harder. Even a 100-million-berry pirate now only yielded 100 points. Lesser pirates? Likely worthless.
During this period, the Quincy had made modest gains, but nothing remarkable.
Current status:
Host: Yuno
Achievement Points: 1670
Slash: Swordsmanship (Proficiency 86)
Zanpakutō: Zangetsu (59), Hyorinmaru (50)
Hakuda: Hakutsu (81), Gen-ryu-style combat (52)
Walk: Shunpo (80)
Kido: Hado IV: Byakurai (100), Hado 33: Sokatsui (100), Hado 63: Thunder Roar Cannon (100), Bakudo 30: Shitotsu Sansen (76)
Special: Shunko(67), Artificial Gigai (0/1)
Most skills had only marginally improved through use. Some barely changed at all.
Seeing Zangetsu at 59, Yuno spent 50 achievement points to round it to 60.
Round numbers were milestones, offering noticeable power boosts.
He rarely spent points lightly—especially after experimenting with Byakurai, where proficiency over 80 cost 100 points per increase.
Then he remembered: reaching max proficiency in Byakurai had cost him less than ten points.
A "beginner's bonus" perhaps?
If so, unlocking Byakurai alone had been a massive missed opportunity.
Yuno winced at the thought, feeling like he had just lost a fortune.
But then he thought again—given his current physical condition, he couldn't wield such a powerful ability. A wave of relief washed over him. Shaking his head, he turned his gaze back to the glowing skill interface.
This time, several Zanpakutō lit up on the screen. Familiar names—Zanpakutō that had proven their strength in the original Bleach stories, like Senbonzakura—appeared unlocked. Yet Yuno had already claimed Hyorinmaru in a lottery. On second thought, he decided not to unlock any others.
He glanced around but didn't find many that appealed to him. Besides, he didn't need to push his strength further right now. He would save them for later.
Increasingly, Yuno noticed a glaring imbalance: the rate at which he earned achievement points far exceeded the rate at which he spent them.
...
After defeating Damon, Yuno wasted no time. He immediately set about suppressing the remaining pirates.
In just over ten minutes, every pirate was either dead or captured. It was a complete victory for the Navy—and their losses were minimal, only a handful of casualties.
The Navy paused briefly, clearing the spoils of war.
Just then, a dripping marine, tasked with salvaging the treasure, trotted over and handed Yuno a wooden box.
"Captain, these are the spoils we seized from their ship!"
Yuno raised an eyebrow and opened it. Inside sat a Devil Fruit. Its surface was pale purple, adorned with strange spiral patterns. It resembled a cylindrical pineapple with tiny wings extending from its front and back. The crown of leaves was unlike anything he had seen—diamond-shaped, crystalline, and eerily beautiful.
He flipped it over in his hand, studying every detail. This was only the second Devil Fruit to pass through his hands.
"Found this on their ship?" he asked the soldier.
The marine saluted. "Yes, sir!"
Then he turned and left.
The Navy distributed spoils according to merit. As the highest-ranking officer present—and the one who had killed Damon—Yuno naturally had the first claim. Under his watchful eyes, no one dared touch the fruit.
Yuno rubbed his chin, considering it. What should he do?
Devil Fruits captured during missions were usually consumed or traded for merit. At Marine Headquarters, countless items could be exchanged for such merit, and a single Devil Fruit's value could rival that of defeating and capturing a pirate with a 200-million-berry bounty.
After a moment of thought, Yuno set it aside. His system control panel rendered the Devil Fruit's powers unnecessary. Worse, consuming it would leave him unable to swim. And what of the Quincy clones sharing his body—would they gain access to its powers too?
Though curiosity flickered within him, he suppressed it.
With the spoils cleared, Yuno oversaw the transfer of surviving pirates—including Damon—to a holding cell beneath the warship.
The warship set sail once more. This journey was smooth. After several days, Yuno and his companions finally arrived at the G7 branch base.
Hundreds of G7 navy officers awaited below at the harbor. Seeing Yuno at the front, they exchanged startled glances. So young…
A colonel stepped forward, saluted, and said, "I'm Hill, acting base commander of the G7 branch. Welcome, Rear Admiral Yuno!"
"Hello, Colonel Hill. I'm Patino Yuno. I'm here to serve as the base commander of the G7 branch," Yuno replied.
Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the weight of his presence.
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