“According to the latest reports delivered by the News Coo, that flag belongs to the Jackal Pirates.
Their Jolly Roger depicted a jackal-like skull.
Their captain carried a bounty of 30,000,000 Berries, and once the rest of the crew was included, capturing or killing the entire pirate band would be worth nearly 50,000,000 Berries.
That was hardly a small amount of money.
Generally speaking, Kael preferred to capture Devil Fruit users alive whenever possible.
The Marines paid roughly twenty percent more for Devil Fruit users brought in alive.
There was a practical reason for that.
Once a Devil Fruit user died, their fruit would eventually reincarnate somewhere in the world.
If the Marines obtained it, fine.
If another pirate got their hands on it, however, that simply created another unpredictable threat.
After all, there were no truly useless Devil Fruits.
Only useless users.
Years of experience had taught Kael one important lesson: Never let a pirate crew worth nearly fifty million Berries sail past you.
Pirates who built their reputations through slaughter and pillaging had already chosen what kind of lives they wanted to live.
To Kael, men like that weren’t unfortunate victims.
They were walking bags of Berries.
There was an old saying about staring into the abyss and having the abyss stare back.
Pirates preyed upon others.
Eventually, they would meet someone who preyed upon them.
Most pirates raised their notoriety through violence, theft, and murder.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Some great figures of the sea received bounties simply because their existence threatened the balance of power, or because they pursued truths the rulers of the world desperately wanted buried.
Kael studied the distant pirate ship and nodded.
“That’s them.” Then he lost interest.
“They’re nothing special.” He glanced toward Quinn.
“Send Mihawk.” Quinn hesitated.
“Young Master Mihawk?” A trace of concern appeared on the guard captain’s face.
“But he’s never been through a true life-or-death battle.” “A pirate crew worth nearly fifty million isn’t exactly harmless, even in the first half of the Grand Line.” Kael rested one hand against the railing.
“I’m here.” His tone was casual.
“He won’t get hurt.” Quinn immediately lowered his head.
“Understood.” He hurried away with several guards.
The sailors below deck adjusted their heading while others hauled the sails into position.
Wind filled the canvas.
The Arbiter surged forward.
Its speed more than doubled, the old royal vessel skimming across the sea like a cannonball.
…
Aboard the Jackal Pirates’ ship— Their captain, Jackal, had come from the West Blue and built a crew numbering more than three hundred men.
Their vessel was a massive three-masted ship standing nearly eighteen meters tall.
It was a floating fortress by ordinary standards.
“Listen up, boys!” Jackal stood at the center of the deck.
A thick beard covered most of his face, while a long scar ran down across his right eye, giving him an especially vicious appearance.
He was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user who could transform into a jackal or a jackal-human hybrid.
In either form, his strength, speed, senses, and physical resilience increased dramatically.
“Sabaody is right ahead!” Jackal grinned.
“They say it’s one of the most dangerous places near Marine Headquarters.” “But it’s also crawling with slave traders and rich merchants.” His grin turned uglier.
“We hit the place once, take everything we can, then escape through one of the side routes.” “We stay away from the main shipping lanes for a while and let the heat die down.” One of the pirates laughed.
“Then we’ll be swimming in money!” “Or we can just disappear into Sabaody itself!” “Nobody seriously controls most of Groves 1 through 30.
We could hide there for months!” “Seriously?!” The crew erupted into laughter.
“Then Sabaody sounds perfect!” “Hahahahaha!” Not one of them realized that danger was already closing in at frightening speed.
By the time the lookout finally spotted the approaching vessel and screamed a warning— It was too late.
CRASH!
The reinforced bow of the Arbiter slammed directly into the Jackal Pirates’ ship.
Wood splintered.
The entire vessel lurched violently.
Then a figure leaped from the Arbiter.
Whoosh!
A young swordsman dressed in white trousers and a black coat landed lightly on the enemy deck.
Every pirate nearby turned toward him.
“What the hell?!” “Who are you?!” “Another pirate?!” Jackal’s expression changed.
He studied the young man standing before him.
A massive cross-shaped black blade rested on his back.
His bearing was cold and distant.
His eyes were sharper than any blade.
Jackal frowned.
“Who the hell are you?” Mihawk looked at him.
Just once.
A chill immediately ran across Jackal’s entire body.
Every hair on his skin stood on end.
Instinct took over.
His body began to swell.
Muscles expanded.
Dark fur spread across his limbs and torso.
Within moments, Jackal had transformed into a towering seven-meter humanoid beast.
“ROOOAR!” His jaws opened wide.
A violent burst of air exploded outward from his roar, spreading across the deck like a shockwave.
Mihawk’s eyes widened slightly.
“A monster…?” For just a moment, the sight caught him off guard.
He immediately reached behind himself and drew Yoru.
At the same time, pirates rushed him from every direction.
Shouts.
Threats.
Weapons.
Footsteps pounding across the deck.
Enemies everywhere.
For the first time, Mihawk’s concentration shattered.
Which one do I attack first?
Am I really supposed to kill them?
He had lived through war.
He had known loss.
He had known isolation.
But the Mihawk of this era had not yet hardened his heart enough to kill without hesitation.
And when the heart hesitated— The sword followed.
Clang!
A pirate dressed like a first mate lunged forward and brought his weapon down in a brutal overhead strike.
Mihawk raised Yoru horizontally.
The weapons collided.
Crack!
The pirate’s blade shattered on impact.
Even so, Mihawk was forced several steps backward.
Jackal’s eyes lit up.
Then his face twisted into a cruel smile.
“Hahahaha!” “So you’re just some brat playing bounty hunter!” He lowered his body.
“Die!” ROAR!
Jackal exploded forward.
His enormous body became little more than a blur.
A shadow swallowed Mihawk’s vision.
Blood-red light gleamed across the beast’s claws as they tore grooves into the deck beneath him.
“Blood Jackal Piercing Claw!” The attack descended.
Then— BOOM!
A golden slash appeared without warning.
It crossed the entire pirate ship in an instant.
There was no time to dodge.
No time to react.
The flying slash passed straight through Jackal— And kept going.
For one frozen second, nothing happened.
Then— Splat.
Jackal’s enormous body split cleanly in two.
So did everything else in the slash’s path.
The golden flying slash continued beyond him, tearing completely through the vessel and leaving behind a perfectly smooth cut from one side of the ship to the other.
The ship groaned.
Then half of it began sliding away.
Mihawk stood frozen.
A calm voice reached him from across the water.
“Mihawk.” Kael stood aboard the Arbiter, his sword lowered.
“Focus on the fight.” “Don’t panic.” Mihawk’s grip tightened around Yoru.
His breathing slowly steadied.
Brother…
Around him, the surviving pirates stared in horror as half their ship collapsed into the sea.
Their captain’s severed body disappeared beneath the waves with it.
Thud.
One pirate dropped to his knees.
Then another.
Before long, men all across the remaining half of the deck had collapsed in terror.
What…
What kind of monster had just attacked them?
Add to library.
Send some Power Stones.