Hasetsukabe no Koharumaru squared off against Anne Bonny, both of them launching fierce attacks at each other.
Gunshots rang out from her pistols, but Koharumaru dodged swiftly.
Gripping his kunai, he spun his body rapidly, whipping up a whirlwind that forced Anne to step back.
She fired two rounds while simultaneously sheathing her sword, but Koharumaru deflected both bullets.
Charging forward in a zig-zag pattern, he thrust the tip of his kunai straight at Anne, who countered by parrying the blow.
The match was surprisingly well-matched; neither Koharumaru nor Anne was yielding an inch.
They circled each other slowly, stepping with heightened vigilance.
“Looks like you’re actually serious about fighting me, kid?”
“Stop calling me a kid.”
Koharumaru summoned two shadow clones, perfectly replicated versions of himself, signaling that he was finally getting serious.
Anne activated her skill, [Toxic Sword & Gun].
Koharumaru took a few steps back, sensing she was up to something.
A gunshot shattered the air, altering his perspective entirely; the bullet missed him completely, but right behind him, a corrosive liquid hissed and blistered against the ship’s hull.
Anne clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She’s actually trying to kill me, Koharumaru thought to himself, his expression hardening.
“I guess I don’t have a choice,” he muttered, preparing to unleash his full power against Anne.
He signaled his shadows to buy time while he figured out how to summon his weapon, finally fixing his mind on a specific katana.
“Mekajiki no ken (Swordfish Sword)!
Kokonotsu no ryōiki (9 Realms)!”
A sword appeared, its upper edge jagged like a saw.
The hilt bore a lightning symbol surrounded by nine distinct circles.
Electrical currents surged from the blade straight into Koharumaru’s palm, filling him with an extraordinary energy.
Amidst the darkness, lightning flashed and cracked toward Anne.
While she was busy fending off his shadow clones, Koharumaru grew even more focused.
He sheathed his kunai, channeling his energy into mastering the two elemental aspects of the Mekajiki no ken.
He charged forward with all his might, slashing with blinding speed.
Anne’s eyes widened in shock as her blade met Koharumaru’s Mekajiki no ken in a fierce clash of steel and power.
Sparks flew as the two weapons ground against each other.
Koharumaru attacked from the right flank, making it difficult for Anne to read his movements.
Anne growled as her sword was knocked aside.
The eyepatch-wearing captain immediately leveled her pistol at Koharumaru, but he ducked low, launching a vertical counter-attack from below.
He pivoted his right arm, driving the lightning-infused blade upward in a chain reaction of electrical shocks that surged straight toward Anne.
It had been a long time since Koharumaru had used this sword’s true potential, and he briefly wondered if he was even worthy of wielding it like a true samurai.
His gaze was sharp, his grip unyielding, prompting Anne to realize the terrifying depth of his strength.
Just how strong is this guy anyway?
she gritted her teeth inwardly.
Struggling to deflect Koharumaru’s blade, she was finally thrown off balance as the Mekajiki no ken struck her directly, forcing her back a few steps.
Realizing she was cornered, a shadow lunged at her from an oblique angle, narrowly missing her.
Koharumaru’s eyes darted down to the pistol at her waist.
“Just give up, kid.”
In an instant, another shadow materialized, but this one was different.
It took the form of a full-fledged samurai clad in crimson armor bearing the crest of the Taira clan on the chest.
The shadow struck Anne fiercely, making her gasp in pain.
She never imagined a fight with Koharumaru could be this troublesome, though outwardly she remained composed, feeling the surging, positive energy and listening to the rush of the wind mixed with the roar of heavy waves.
A sudden vortex of wind swirled around Koharumaru and Anne.
Both sides lunged forward in a flash, running and shouting at the top of their lungs.
Koharumaru stepped back, feeling a wave of darkness and lightning intertwine, while Anne refused to let him get close.
She stopped in her tracks, taking a few tactical steps backward.
Koharumaru ordered the samurai shadow to attack with everything it had.
Anne gritted her teeth against the overwhelming pressure, accepting the consequence of Koharumaru’s relentless assault.
Suddenly, Koharumaru darted in from the left while the samurai shadow swept in from the right, their katanas flashing through the air.
“I seriously hate dealing with this insane speed!” Anne snarled.
Drawing both a pistol and a sword to defend against the pincer attack, Anne opted for defense.
Her pistol flared with fire-element magic while her blade pressed hard against Koharumaru’s sword.
The electricity crackling along his blade wasn’t enough; instead, Anne’s sword began absorbing the residual energy radiating from the Mekajiki no ken.
Unlocking her first realm, she spun to the right, fixing a sharp glare on Koharumaru as she retreated.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the samurai closing in again.
Stamping her right foot down, she backed away and activated [Toxic Sword & Gun] once more, slashing diagonally from the left.
Anne dodged deftly, but she failed to read the subtle shift in the trajectory of Koharumaru’s Mekajiki no ken.
With a sharp twist of his wrist, he slashed with absolute force, leaving Anne’s body streaked with blood as she groaned in agony.
“Damn it…”
Koharumaru silently sheathed his katana.
He walked over at a calm, unhurried pace and tossed a red health potion straight at Anne.
The glass shattered against her, and her wounds immediately began to heal themselves.
The eyepatch-wearing captain stared at him in utter disbelief.
“You…
why did you do that?”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know?
Your skills are essential to captaining this ship.
If I killed you for no reason, do you honestly think the crew would ever respect or follow me?”
Anne clicked her tongue, feeling a wave of regret for underestimating him, though she knew he was right.
It was foolish to blame someone for a lack of preparedness.
“So…
what do you want from me now?” Anne asked.
Koharumaru paused to think for a moment before a clear thought crossed his mind.
He looked back at Anne, who was furrowing her brows in suspicion.
“I’ll join your crew and use my strength to help you conquer the seas.
But in exchange…
there’s someone I want to defeat.”
“Someone, you say?
You think that person—”
“A man wearing a demon mask.
That’s the opponent I need to face.”
Hearing that, Anne decided to drop the matter, especially since Koharumaru had proven his capability to act as their guide moving forward.
“He’s the right person for the job.
I know you guys might feel uneasy, but trust me, this is for our own good,” Anne said, swallowing her pride as her ego took a heavy hit.
Koharumaru let out a quiet sigh.
He walked over to the crew, raising his kunai toward the sky with a steady, forward gaze.
Anne broke into a wide, confident smirk.
“Time to hunt for some treasure, everyone!”
A roaring cheer erupted as the crew chanted the name of their captain, Anne Bonny.
Unable to hide her amusement, the eyepatch-wearing woman let out a laugh, and the voyage resumed.
However, not everyone was thrilled about the new crew member.
Believing Koharumaru had just invited trouble aboard, four individuals slipped away from the crowd, retreating into a private cabin with scowling faces.
~o0o~
Later that night, Marinora entered the captain’s quarters.
From a distance, she watched Anne engrossed in writing in her logbook.
A dark silhouette stretched across the left wall, cast by the flickering flame of a candle that bathed the room in a warm, yellowish-red glow.
Spread across the desk were navigational maps alongside a sketched portrait of Hasetsukabe no Koharumaru.
Stepping closer, Marinora caught sight of the captain’s broad smile.
Anne unrolled a piece of parchment, her eyes wide with uncontainable excitement.
Her mind was already racing with thoughts of the treasures she planned to plunder and the sheer thrill of acting like a true pirate once she finished dropping off Emilio and Tia.
“I never would’ve guessed you’d recruit a weirdo like him,” Marinora remarked.
“You heard about it from the others, didn’t you?” Anne replied with a sly grin.
Koharumaru was now part of the crew, though his presence was purely utilitarian—based on his sheer utility rather than any emotional bond.
What baffled Anne the most was how quickly Koharumaru had managed to win over the rest of the crew, reminding her of the days when she was first handed a ship and given the rank of captain.
Even so, success only fueled her ambitions; the more she got what she wanted, the bigger her desires grew.
Turning to Marinora, her first mate and trusted confidante, Anne voiced her latest grand ambition.
“Marinora, do you think what we saw back there is something we can actually capture?”
“You mean hijacking that iron-clad ship and making it our own?
Is that what you’re implying?” Marinora guessed.
“Yes!
I’ll never forget the sight of it!
A ship capable of traveling right along the ocean floor!
A pitch-black vessel resembling a dark storm cloud!
I’m certain that thing houses the most powerful weapons in existence.
What do you think, Marinora?” Anne said, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
Marinora didn’t attempt to argue.
The eyepatch-wearing captain was practically vibrating with high-level excitement, eager to recount every single detail of what she had witnessed.
Fortunately, Marinora had already prepared a pot of black coffee without sugar, and the two of them sat sipping it deep into the night.