Brothers United, Their Edge Cuts Through Metal

East Blue, Some say: the sea is like a capricious woman, calm one moment and hysterical the next!

Roman never experienced the sea in his previous life, but in this life, he wholeheartedly agreed.

Even after three years of sailing and fighting on the sea, he still had to grip the ropes beside him to avoid being thrown into the ocean.

The sky was a mass of dark, oppressive clouds, and the fierce wind made the Jolly Roger snap and crackle. Waves surged and fell, layer upon layer. Just looking at their rising and falling momentum conveyed an irresistible, majestic power between heaven and earth.

Viewed from above, the pirate ship 'Wave Rider', with a displacement of four hundred tons and a crew of fifty, looked like a falling willow leaf, bobbing and weaving in the vast ocean, seemingly on the verge of being swallowed by a single wave at any moment.

Just then, a brilliant flash of light suddenly appeared in the distant sky, and the might of nature descended with a roar.

Under this lightning, everyone on the 'Wave Rider' had their skin tinged with a sheen, and the swords in their hands gleamed with an exceptionally dazzling light! The lookout in the crow's nest shouted loudly:

"Target sighted!"

"Bearing 3 o'clock, distance twelve nautical miles!"

Standing ramrod straight at the bow of the ship, in the midst of the wind and waves, was a middle-aged man wearing a deep black tricorn hat. With a shing, he drew the rapier at his waist and ordered:

"Hard to starboard! Raise the mainsail, full speed ahead!"

Under the command of the sharp-eyed captain, the 'Wave Rider' truly lived up to its name, slicing through the sea and gliding forward like an arrow. Even the towering waves did not affect its speed.

Before long, the target of the pirate ship appeared in everyone's sight: it was an armed merchant ship. Although the sailors on board were frantically throwing barrels and miscellaneous items into the sea, the 'Wave Rider', with its speed advantage, was gradually catching up from behind.

"Prepare to~~~~fire!"

The middle-aged captain raised his rapier again.

With a forceful downward swing, the 'Wave Rider' suddenly tilted to the left, and at the same time, several tongues of flame spat from its right side!

Through the billowing white smoke, several whistling cannonballs hurtled towards the merchant ship ahead and to the right! However, an armed merchant ship daring enough to venture out for transport was naturally not an opponent that could be easily subdued by mere solid iron balls.

In reality, such an attack was more about probing than causing damage.

It was to test if the enemy had any 'experts' capable of intercepting cannonballs!

After firing several rounds and confirming that the opponent had no 'experts', the middle-aged captain tilted his chin and directly ordered them to close the distance and prepare for boarding!

For the captain of a pirate ship, this was their preferred method. Because a successful boarding would not only allow them to plunder as much wealth as possible but also capture the entire merchant ship. Of course, the risks of boarding and the crew's casualty rate were also quite astonishing.

Despite the towering waves and rolling whitecaps, the 'Wave Rider', relying on its incredible speed, quickly sailed parallel to the bulky merchant ship on its right.

As grappling hooks flew across and latched onto the enemy's ship's railings, the sailors on the armed merchant ship continuously fired back, but the harsh weather severely hampered the use of their flintlock guns.

Meanwhile, the pirates on the 'Wave Rider' let out excited roars and quickly set up gangplanks, preparing for close-quarters combat, but:

Whoosh—

A figure had already leaped across the distance between the two ships, landing with a thud behind the line of sailors formed by the merchant ship.

"Who are you?"

Amidst the startled cries of the merchant ship's sailors, the young man who landed behind them... yes, although the newcomer had a well-proportioned build, and the muscles beneath his thin sailor's uniform were clearly defined, his handsome face indicated:

He was indeed a young man.

And that face... in a different setting, the sailors might have mistaken him for a young noble out for an outing. However, with a cutlass in one hand and a shield in the other, he certainly didn't look like a good person.

"Take him down!"

At the command of a merchant caravan leader, the surrounding sailors immediately charged at the young man. Several cutlasses were swung down at him without hesitation! In this critical moment, inappropriate laughter erupted from the 'Wave Rider'.

"Hahaha, they're dead—"

"How dare they attack Captain Roman,"

"Brilliant..."

Amidst the pirates' unrestrained laughter, the besieged youth softly 'muttered to himself':

"You attacked first,"

Clang!

The metal shield in his hand... no, a circle thicker than three centimeters could no longer be called a 'shield' but a 'steel plate'. With a casual sweep, it instantly pushed back the three cutlasses that were swung at him!

Under the immense force, the three cutlasses instantly shattered into pieces. Like three bombs detonating, fragments filled with powerful kinetic energy shot out in all directions with a piercing whistle!

Puff puff puff,

The thick deck was instantly cut and scored by the fragments, leaving long scratches with a piercing tearing sound!

Even more tragic were the few sailors who had initiated the attack. Under this 'attack' that resembled a shotgun blast, their bodies were sliced by the high-speed spinning fragments like rags, and streams of blood shot backward instantly!

Bang, bang, bang,

This was followed by the sound of soft bodies collapsing, and:

Swish—

A flash of silver sword light spun around the young man, and several sailors' heads flew into the air. Their confused eyes hadn't even registered what had happened before their attacker pounced on the nearby merchant ship sailors like a leopard.

A tiger entering a flock of sheep!

The fight... no, it could no longer even be called a fight.

Whether in strength or speed, the youth known as 'Captain Roman' by the pirates far surpassed ordinary people. The cutlass in his hand moved like lightning, and with every swing of the hundred-pound shield, a merchant marine would cry out in pain... or be sent flying backward before they could even scream!

"Oooohhh—"

"Quick, quick,"

"Don't let Captain Roman kill them all by himself~~~"

As Roman instantly cleared a large section of the deck, the pirates on the Wave Rider roared and stepped across the gangplank. After another bald combat captain chopped down over a dozen merchant marines in one go, the merchant side's morale collapsed, and they yielded the deck.

Bang,

"Well done, Roman."

At this point, the middle-aged captain also crossed the gangplank. He first nodded to Roman, who held a cutlass in one hand and a shield in the other, then turned to look at where the merchant ship's sailors were fleeing: the cabins!

It seemed the other side hadn't given up resisting...

"Follow."

The middle-aged captain, standing as straight as a spear, placed his hand on the sword hilt at his waist and strode towards the stairs leading to the cabins with a steady and elegant gait. The pirates behind him roared and followed, raising their weapons.

As soon as they descended the stairs, they were met by a line of resistance formed by over a dozen merchant marines. They utilized the narrow terrain of the cabin passageway, with gunmen kneeling in front and sailors standing behind, holding their flintlock guns upright, forming a multi-layered, dense formation. The moment they saw anyone enter, they pulled the triggers without hesitation.

Since the middle-aged captain, who was at the front, was undoubtedly the leader of the pirates, almost all the lead bullets poured towards him!

However, a cruel and bloodthirsty grin spread across the middle-aged captain's face. Facing the whistling bullets, he drew the silver rapier at his waist in an instant and moved it with dazzling speed, parrying and thrusting!

Swish, swish, swish—

His movements were so fast that they were beyond the range of the human eye. To most of the pirates, it appeared as if silver streaks of light suddenly materialized around the middle-aged captain! Then, the lead bullets aimed at him were deflected with pata, pata, pata sounds, embedding themselves deeply into the surrounding cabins.

Slicing bullets with a sword, blocking firearms with a cutlass!

At this moment, the world was not some fairy tale, but rather—

A mark of being 'superior'!

Following this, the middle-aged captain's forward momentum did not decrease. He strode directly past the makeshift defenses constructed by these sailors.

Behind him, these dozen or so merchant marines wore expressions of terror and disbelief!

They stood frozen in place. After a few seconds, blood spurted from the vital points on their throats, foreheads, and chests, and then they slowly fell.

"Captain is mighty—"

"Captain is invincible!"

"Hahaha, daring to oppose our captain with a bounty of 30 million, I truly admire their courage!"

"And Captain Roman, with a bounty of 10 million..."

The pirates behind them were accustomed to such scenes. They first cast a reverent glance at their captain, then swarmed forward, professionally looting the bodies. They then used the deceased's clothes to wipe the blood from their weapons, dragged the corpses onto the deck—

And tossed them into the sea to feed the fish!

Roman and the other bald combat captain followed the middle-aged captain's footsteps. All resistance along the way was as fragile as paper before the three of them.

The captain attacked and killed at high speed, the bald giant possessed immense strength and destroyed terrain, while Roman provided tight defense and blocked damage—

Thus, the three of them broke through like a bamboo, arriving before an exquisite door.

Bang!

The door was kicked open by the bald combat captain. He then strode in and faced the merchant captain wearing a tricorn hat, raising his blood-dripping axe.

"You can't kill me!"

The captain clutched a small box tightly, desperately trying to 'intimidate' the intruders.

"I am from 'JOKER'—"

Pfft!

The bald combat captain brought his axe down, instantly cutting off the captain's unfinished sentence.

"What did he say?"

Roman, who entered last, frowned.

"He said..." The bald giant rubbed his smooth, shiny scalp and said uncertainly, "He said he was a Clown?"

"Just the barking of a loser."

The middle-aged captain waved his hand, casually stepping forward to pick up the box from the ground and opening it. After all, the two present were his confidants; even if there was any treasure—

Crunch,

As the box opened, a purple fruit appeared in the eyes of the three.

The fruit had circular patterns on it, looking like:

A Devil Fruit!

In an instant, the air in the captain's cabin froze.