"Devil Fruit Ability again!?" Krieg roared, frustration boiling.
One hit—just one!
With his strength and the spear's detonation, he could kill the man.
"Told you, your eyes deceive you." Hiroto shook his head.
"Die, damn you!"
Krieg's spear shot out like lightning while Hiroto was still speaking.
A fierce wind-pressure scoured the deck and the blow halted inches from Hiroto's face.
Crack… Crack!
To Krieg's disbelief, the golden spear fractured into a hundred pieces, each break mirror-smooth.
Not the fire dragon from before, more like… a slash?
The absurd notion formed and Krieg croaked, "You… drew your blade?"
"Yes."
Impossible!
Krieg screamed inwardly, he'd never seen Hiroto draw nor seen the cut.
To his eyes, Hiroto had never moved.
"I warned you, eyes lie." Hiroto's tone was flat, stating the obvious.
"Just like now."
Crack!
Krieg's cloak and armor split open, the cuts as clean as the spear's.
Pain and blood followed.
"You—"
Krieg stumbled back, about to speak when fresh agony flared as more gashes tore through cloak and armor.
Still, he saw no motion from Hiroto, as though the man had stood there all along.
Why?
What did it mean that eyes could deceive?
Krieg racked his brain for an answer, suddenly realizing who stood before him.
Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto with a bounty of 40 million berries.
A blade so fast it defied his understanding.
A monster who could annihilate a fleet single-handedly.
"Pathetic. Can't even see?" Hiroto sighed, disappointed in Krieg's caliber.
Everyone knows that when a fan spins fast enough, its blades look "slow." If it exceeds the eye's limit, it seems "motionless." But anyone foolish enough to touch it learns a brutal lesson.
What Krieg couldn't grasp was simply Hiroto moving faster than his eyes could track—Instantaneous Burst.
Hence Hiroto's boredom. Step by step, he had outgrown the East Blue. No opponent here was worth his notice. Even the Arlong Pirates were merely a slight nuisance.
'Time to sail on?'
The question lingered as Hiroto turned to Krieg.
Kenzan Mantle and Wootz steel armor crumbled.
Krieg stared in terror at the monster.
Thud!
He dropped to his knees again. "I lose! I truly surrender! Take whatever you want, only spare my life!"
Krieg wept and kowtowed, cunning and cruelty were swept away by raw fear. He still had schemes, pawns to use, but against such a creature, they meant nothing.
Life and death rested in this man's hand.
"I like a certain line: once you pull the trigger, bet your life on it."
Hiroto vanished, reappeared, and used Gluttony.
Krieg's struggles ceased.
[Entry – Monstrous Strength (Blue) acquired!]
Krieg's head tumbled free before the crew's horrified eyes.
Blood gushed, painting the deck and the headless body toppled, hands landing beside the severed head—so it looked as though Krieg offered his own skull.
Hiroto glanced at the pirates, shook his head, and slashed.
A blazing Flying Slash rose, cleaving the ship and burying everything in roaring flames.
Five minutes later, Krieg's armada was annihilated.
...
Before Krieg had even clashed head-on with Hiroto.
On the Going Merry, Koushirou flicked his long sword almost lazily, sending arcs of air that shredded every shell falling from the sky. It wasn't difficult for him, and he could feel the pressure drop almost immediately.
Fireballs were already blooming on the distant sea—no doubt Hiroto's handiwork.
'He isn't a pure swordsman, relying a little on outside tools, but that's flexibility. Swordsmanship doesn't advance by being rigid.'
Koushirou watched the distant explosions and the faint crimson dragon-shape, admiration flickering in his eyes.
Just then, sudden footsteps rang out.
Zoro, guarding the Going Merry, turned instantly toward the sound.
A man with heavy dark circles under his eyes vaulted onto the rail. He carried an iron club like a crutch and behind him swarmed a band of pirates.
"This the place?"
The moment Gin boarded, he locked onto the source of those deflected shells.
Hard to believe—it was a mild-looking, spectacled middle-aged man.
Must be one of those legendary Devil Fruit Users. No ordinary human could wield that power, only one of the bizarre and mighty Devil Fruit Abilities could explain the impossible scene.
Noticing their arrival, the man stopped attacking. Correspondingly, the barrage from that sector died, distant booms and flashes now the only signs of battle.
Gin spared it one glance and looked away. Whatever happened over there, Krieg would triumph—he was certain.
Superior ships and guns were the only truth on these seas!
Now he had to remove the enemy blocking that truth.
"You… the 12-million-berries Man-Demon Gin!?"
Binmock recoiled in terror at the grim-faced man, the Krieg Pirates' undefeated battle Captain.
He instinctively stepped back, looking past Zoro… toward Koushirou.
The slight made Zoro's face darken. Hanazuru left its sheath, blade leveled at the intruders.
At the helm, Nami cowered behind Koushirou, then waved frantically to Carina.
"Get over here!"
"No."
Eyes sharp, Carina planted herself at Zoro's side.
Surprised, Zoro shot her a sidelong glance, then smiled in understanding.
Not a bad comrade.
"Pirate Hunter Zoro, bounty nine million." Gin swept his gaze, settling on Zoro, recognizing him.
His heart sank—this was Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto's ship. That Devil Fruit User must be Hiroto's crew as well.
A 40-million-berries bounty monster surrounded by monsters.
Still, Hiroto himself wasn't here. Only the Pirate Hunter stood in the way. Cut down Zoro, then the bespectacled man—simple.
Krieg's order would be carried out, even if it cost every life here.
Twelve million against nine million—the advantage was his.
"Die!"
Gin lunged without hesitation.
His iron club whirred like a fan, power enough to shatter stone swirling within.
"The Captain's struck—charge!"
The pirates roared and surged after their Captain.
"Underestimating me, huh?" Zoro's eyes went ice-cold, fingers tightened on Hanazuru as he slipped into that state.
Breath of All Things.
He kicked off, a razor arc of steel flashing out.
At the same instant, Carina stamped a bare foot and shot into the yelling mass.
Among them were pirates worth tens of millions. Blades flashed and flintlocks barked. Yet every strike slid aside as if hitting an unseen wall.
"Hey, what're you doing!"
"I... I don't know! My sword… slipped!"
"Damn it, who shot me!"
In the confusion, their blades skated off and bit into comrades. Bullets veered, felling several of their own.
Carina moved like a ghost, friction under her control, hands clamped round a pirate's neck.
One dropped his sword, grabbing for her, but she twisted using his own force. A slide of her bare foot snapped his neck.
Two dozen pirates dissolved into chaos.
On the other side, the fight ended even faster.
Gin slammed against the wall, his club severed, a savage gash across his chest. Blood gushed, drenching his torso.
Ignoring the wound, he stared in disbelief at the cut iron.
Steel… cut through?
Zoro stood over him, Hanazuru's point kissing Gin's throat.
Carina, using the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, snatched a weapon and began cutting the rest down. The Smooth-Smooth fruit was utilitarian, yet its boost let her handle foes worth under ten million without strain.