“Fire!
Fire!” As the two ships were boarded, Ensign Zabu shouted frantically at the pirates rushing toward them.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A volley of gunfire wounded many pirates, but they seemed impervious to pain, continuing their frantic charge.
“Aim for their heads.” Lucas watched the hypnotized pirates, recognizing this as Jango’s handiwork.
As a hypnotist who could even hypnotize himself, Lucas was willing to call Jango the strongest…
hypnotist.
Clack!
Facing the charging pirates, Lucas made his move.
He unleashed three consecutive “Steel Tempest” strikes, cutting down several pirates.
However, just then, Lucas’s Observation Haki detected a figure that had appeared silently behind him.
“Judging by your attire, you must be the highest-ranking officer on this ship.” A voice came from behind Lucas.
Lucas turned around to see a refined-looking man wearing rimless glasses, a suit, and a slicked-back hairstyle, with steel blades attached to his fingers.
It was Kuro of a Hundred Plans.
“Kuro of a Hundred Plans!” Lucas said calmly.
“Since you know who I am, prepare to die!” Kuro said, his figure instantly vanishing.
He reappeared behind Lucas.
Silent Step was said to be on par with Soru in terms of speed, but even more stealthy and agile.
Had Lucas not possessed Observation Haki, Kuro might have caused him some trouble.
Clang!
Just as Kuro of a Hundred Plans closed in, Lucas turned and used his sword to block Kuro’s cat claws.
“How is this possible?” Kuro of a Hundred Plans was shocked to see Lucas so easily block his Silent Step.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Lucas said, swinging his sword to strike at Kuro again.
Swish!
Kuro vanished again, reappearing from the other side.
Clang!
Clink!
Clang!
Lucas and Kuro traded blows at high speed, their figures becoming a blur across the deck.
“Damn it!
In that case, taste my Shakushi!” Seeing that he couldn’t take down Lucas, Kuro of a Hundred Plans decided to unleash his Shakushi, a technique even he couldn’t fully control.
Shakushi was essentially an upgraded version of Silent Step, just as Geppo was an upgraded version of Soru.
However, perhaps because Kuro’s physical strength was insufficient, he couldn’t control Shakushi precisely.
As he moved in arcs resembling a ladle, he killed not only many Marines but also his own pirates.
It was clear that Kuro cared nothing for the lives of his own subordinates.
“Run!
The Captain has gone mad!” After Kuro killed many pirates with his Shakushi, some of the pirates regained their senses and rushed toward their own ship.
Seeing Marines dying one after another at Kuro’s hands, Lucas used Geppo to engage him.
However, Lucas had only been learning Rokushiki for a year, and since he specialized in Shigan, he wasn’t very proficient with Geppo.
After fighting for a while, Lucas figured out Kuro’s trajectory.
Relying on his Observation Haki, he anticipated Kuro of a Hundred Plans’ next landing spot.
He positioned his sword there to wait for him.
Kuro couldn’t control the Shakushi technique, so when Lucas’s sword intercepted his path, it was too late for him to change direction.
It was as if he were deliberately throwing himself onto the blade.
Squelch!
With the sound of a blade piercing flesh, Kuro came to a halt.
He took a few steps forward as blood poured down his suit.
“How…
is this possible?
Was it a coincidence?” Kuro asked, filled with bewilderment.
“You’re just a frog in a well who has never seen the second half of the Grand Line,” Lucas said calmly.
The death of Kuro of a Hundred Plans triggered a realization within Lucas; it was the second effect of his system.
The previous small-fry, including the Cat Brothers, hadn’t triggered it, leading Lucas to briefly think the system was fake.
He then turned his gaze toward the Black Cat Pirates ship.
“The Captain is dead!
Hurry, sail the ship!
Run!” Jango was the first to notice Kuro had fallen and urged them to flee.
“Kuro…
Kuro of a Hundred Plans is dead!” At that moment, Ensign Zabu also saw Kuro fall and became excited.
Lucas watched the Black Cat Pirates ship begin to move and pull away, but he was in no rush to use his Devil Fruit ability.
During his battle with Kuro of a Hundred Plans, he felt that his sword intent hadn’t been fully spent; instead, it was accumulating, creating an uncomfortable urge to release it.
Lucas gripped his sword with both hands, his sword intent growing increasingly intense.
A gale began to howl around him, whipping his black hair.
The momentum of this sword grew ever stronger!
“Face the wind!
Hasagi!”
Lucas suddenly shouted and swung his sword upward.
Whoosh!
A whirlwind several meters wide erupted from his sword.
As it traveled, the whirlwind rapidly expanded, sweeping toward the Black Cat Pirates ship with unstoppable force.
“A…
a tornado!” The members of the Black Cat Pirates were stunned.
What was happening to the world?
Why did a single sword swing turn into a tornado?
Meanwhile, Ensign Zabu and the other Marines watched with their mouths agape in astonishment.
After a while, the tornado slowly dissipated, leaving the Black Cat Pirates ship in ruins.
The hull had snapped in the middle and was slowly taking on water and sinking.
“Vice Captain!
What do we do?
What do we do?
The ship is finished!” some of the Black Cat Pirates members asked Jango in a panic.
“Yo!
Yo!” Jango uttered those two words, then dove headfirst into the sea.
“Close in and kill them all,” Lucas ordered.
He breathed heavily as he spoke.
That strike was a variation of the second form of Gale Swordsmanship.
He had never been able to pull it off before—or if he did, it was just a tiny whirlwind.
But after his fight with Kuro, for some reason, Lucas felt he could finally pull it off, and the results were quite impressive.
Ensign Zabu and the other Marines no longer dared to question Lucas’s orders and quickly steered their ship toward the wreckage of the Black Cat Pirates ship.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Following Lucas’s order to take no prisoners, the Marines aimed their muskets and fired frantically at the pirates jumping into the sea, sending sprays of blood into the air.
Lucas looked into the distance at Jango, who was swimming frantically away, leaving a white wake like a fish in the waves.
He had always assumed Jango was a Devil Fruit user, but it turned out he wasn’t.
Lucas sheathed his sword, pressed his palms together, and said, “Come forth, Yarukiman Mangrove!”
As he spoke, a massive shadow appeared beneath Jango, who was nearly a hundred meters away.
A giant tree crown burst from the seabed, lifting Jango into the air as the branches of the Yarukiman Mangrove ensnared him.
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[3/10].
Now Available: Chapter 50: The Evil of Pirates