“Iron Body!”
“Shigan!”
“Tempest Kick!”
Boom!
A flying slash launched from his leg swept past, striking the metal hull support without hitting its target.
On the deck, two imposing figures turned into blurs, constantly shifting and darting around.
Major Therne unleashed the martial arts of Rokushiki, attempting to suppress Skyler…
However, the physical fitness and reaction speed displayed by this pirate…
…were equally shocking to him.
Rich combat experience!
Fists fitted with brass knuckles clashed again and again with the black blade, sparking fire…
producing the clanging sound of clashing metal.
The Major’s attacks were fierce and packed with power.
Meanwhile, the swordsman’s blade was nimble and sharp…
swung at a blazing speed.
He blocked every single punch completely with the blade, leaving not the slightest opening for his opponent.
As the battle reached a fever pitch, Major Therne’s heart sank deeper and deeper with every passing second.
How could this be?
This Demon skyler had been subdued by him in a single move before, yet now he was locked in a dead heat with him.
Even with the use of Rokushiki, he was not confident he could win this fight.
“These damned bastards!”
Major Therne shouted furiously, throwing a punch that smashed a corpse to pieces.
He felt deeply annoyed.
Although these corpses posed no real danger, they undoubtedly served to distract his attention.
“Iron Body!”
In the next second, his muscles hardened throughout his body, and Skyler’s blade struck him.
It failed to leave a wound, but sliced a tear through his Marine coat.
Above them, a few surviving soldiers were still firing down at him, but the incoming bullets were effortlessly deflected by Skyler with his blade.
“Haa…
haa…
haa…”
The battle paused briefly, and the two stood facing each other.
Skyler smiled as he watched the Marine major’s chest heaving, breathing heavily.
Frequently using martial arts consumed an immense amount of stamina.
The corpse puppets he controlled had all been destroyed by his opponent.
Although he could only control up to eight at a time, as long as fresh lives kept dying under his blade, Skyler could replenish them endlessly…
maintaining his count of toys at eight.
“How could a guy like you be willing to serve under Tils as a mere minor executive?!” Major Therne glared at Demon skyler.
Information on the Marine side indicated that this young man had been a pirate for only a short time and was merely the lowest executive in the Tils Pirates…
yet he was heavily relied upon by Captain Tils, who seemed intent on grooming him to be his second-in-command.
“He gave me a piece of bread…”
Skyler recalled the memories of his original self from a year ago and said calmly.
With that, his figure flickered.
He vanished from the Major’s line of sight.
Shave!
Major Therne’s expression changed, and he was about to dodge…
but a flash of blade light rushed toward him a step ahead.
The tip of the sword struck squarely at his knee joint.
“Ah!”
Major Therne cried out involuntarily and collapsed.
“His sword speed got faster…
When fighting me just now, he intentionally slowed down to make me adapt to his rhythm, and then suddenly accelerated to catch me off guard?” Cold sweat broke out on the Major’s forehead as the thought crossed his mind.
Not only did he possess extraordinary swordsmanship and martial arts, but his combat experience was also outstanding…
Most importantly, this Demon skyler kept a cool head even in the heat of battle.
A person like this…
“The Rokushiki you learned is incomplete, so physical exhaustion affects you severely.
With that slash just now, you realized it.
You wanted to use Shave, but in your rushed reaction, you couldn’t pull off the defensive Iron Body.” As Skyler spoke, he twirled his blade and suddenly held the hilt with a reverse grip.
Assuming a sheathing posture!
End this quickly…
The Marines must already have reinforcements heading this way.
Soaring Dragon Flash!
Major Therne gritted his teeth and forced himself up, standing slowly on one leg.
Looking up, he saw Skyler facing him a few meters away, in a draw-sword posture.
An invisible sharpness made Major Therne’s skin sting with a faint pain.
“Draw…
slash!”
Skyler whispered softly.
His figure flashed past Major Therne like a phantom…
drawing and sheathing his blade in one seamless motion.
“So fast!”
Major Therne had sensed it, but…
this man’s blade was even faster, so fast that he only glimpsed a flash of dark light.
It was the lingering reflection of the sword ray.
Skyler stood still behind him.
With a thud, Major Therne’s arms drooped limply, and a red line ran from between his eyebrows all the way to his lower abdomen, beading with blood.
Finally, he collapsed to the ground.
“Not bad…
Against ordinary field-grade officers who aren’t elite talents heavily cultivated by Marineford, my win rate should be comfortably above sixty percent.” Skyler turned back, glanced at the Major’s corpse, briefly reviewing the battle that had just taken place in his mind, and remarked.
Then, he walked toward the main ship cabin on the upper deck.
After a while, having scavenged some supplies and changed his outfit, he lowered a small raft speed boat.
He left the warship behind.
He…
had regained his freedom once more.
…
Over an hour later, another ocean-going warship finally appeared on the calm sea.
Standing at the bow was a woman wearing a purple suit with eye-catching pink hair.
The white coat draped over her shoulders fluttered behind her with the speed of the sailing warship.
A pair of stylish sunglasses rested on her forehead, but her expression was grave.
Because they had received notification…
that an escort squad taking criminals to Impel Down had encountered an emergency—it seemed a pirate had escaped from the cell…
and subsequently lost contact with friendly forces.
This woman was none other than a Major of Marineford, Tina, also known as Hina.
She had joined the Marines in the same term as Smoker, and they were on good terms.
She was a user of the Cage-Cage Fruit.
Bars could sprout from various parts of her body to bind and attack targets.
Hina had already spotted the warship that called for backup, floating motionless on the sea a kilometer away…
Shortly after, the vessel pulled alongside, and a large group of soldiers boarded.
However, the scene before their eyes caused everyone to gasp in shock.
Dead…
Every single one of them was dead!
Hina walked over to a corpse with an expressionless face, kneeling down to inspect the wound; it was a clear slash mark.
“Ma’am…
w-we found Major Therne and Sub-lieutenant Diman.
They…
are already…
dead,” the adjutant ran over, swallowing hard as he reported in panic.
“Who was the pirate being escorted?”
Hina slowly stood up, lit a cigarette for herself, and took a gentle puff.
The adjutant immediately handed over a file.
Hina opened it, revealing a photo and personal details.
Member of the South Blue Tils Pirates, Demon skyler.
Age: 18.
Government bounty: 2,000,000.
“Two million?” Hina blew out a cloud of white smoke and slowly closed the file.
“Notify headquarters.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Meanwhile, on the other end, Skyler sped across the water on his raft, riding the wind and breaking the waves.
He held a newspaper in his hand displaying the date and recent major news events.
‘Spade Pirates, Grand Line Supernova Fire Fist Ace, after being defeated by the Whitebeard Pirates, became Edward Newgate’s son, and has now been officially appointed as the Commander of the 2nd Division!’
On the page, an eye-catching headline took up the front page.
Accompanied by a photo of the Emperor of the Sea, known as the strongest man in the world, and the full crew of the Whitebeard Pirates led by Whitebeard.
“So that means…
Luffy setting sail isn’t far off either.”
Having figured out the timeline, Skyler casually tossed the newspaper aside.
Thoughts spun in his mind.