Blazing Firelight

"Shoot, shoot quickly!"

Bang bang bang~

A string of gunshots rang out, and countless bullets flew into the sky.

With such dense gunfire, an ordinary person would have been shot down long ago.

However, Lin Qi, relying on his peak-level Geppo, could maneuver in mid-air, perfectly dodging every attack.

Conversely, every bullet he fired accurately and heavily wounded a Pirate.

Lin Qi hung in the air like a sharp sword above everyone, forcing the Pirates below to constantly guard against his sniping, unable to fight at full strength against others.

As a result, although Tina seemed surrounded, she could hold on for a while with her sharp swordsmanship.

As a small contingent of Marines arrived, their pressure greatly reduced.

"Junior, excellent marksmanship."

Major Nizer, who had arrived, saw that only two people were holding back a large number of Pirates and couldn't help but praise them.

Bang~

A bullet, like a magical stroke, blew the head off a Pirate. Lin Qi found his marksmanship rapidly improving in the face of life and death.

"Unfortunately, my stamina is still too weak."

Lin Qi landed on a rooftop, panting heavily. The stamina drain from Geppo made him feel as if he had run ten laps around Marine Headquarters.

However, the Pirates had already gone mad with bloodlust. Seeing Lin Qi finally descend, they roared and swarmed towards him.

"Roar! Kill that brat!"

"Damn Marines."

Lin Qi used his long sword to fend off the Pirates climbing up.

As the pillars below were cut down by the Pirates, the house collapsed with a roar, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

"Lin Qi!"

Tina quickly charged towards the ruins. Although she disliked this frivolous man, she couldn't just watch her companion die before her eyes.

"I'm fine, take care of yourself."

At this moment, Lin Qi rolled out of the smoke from the ruins. His right arm had a bloody wound, slashed by something unknown.

Seeing that nearly half of the Pirates present were rushing towards Lin Qi's direction, Nizer's mouth twitched.

This kid, is his mockery that strong?

"Quick, everyone around, go help him."

Afterward, a large number of Marines arrived and quickly eliminated the pirates here.

"Boom!"

Just as Lin Qi killed the One-armed Pirate in front of him, he was drawn by a huge explosion in the distance before he could rest.

"Is that Teacher Zephyr?"

Tina and Lin Qi looked at each other, and despite their fatigue, they rushed towards the direction of the explosion.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw the sight before them.

"I am Blood Axe Jonard, a Great Pirate with a bounty of 230 million, a man destined to be the Pirate King! How can I fall here? Don't joke with me, you mere Old Man!"

The ferocious giant, five meters tall, roared covered in blood. As soon as he raised the Great Axe in his hand, Zephyr punched him into the ground, his life or death unknown.

"Boom!"

Just when Tina thought everything was over, a huge explosion suddenly occurred where Jonard was, engulfing Zephyr.

"Teacher Zephyr!"

No one expected it to turn out this way. Tina's pretty face hurt from the strong wind generated by the explosion, and she anxiously gazed in the direction of the explosion.

While Tina was in a daze, a long sword suddenly stabbed out from the Soil beneath her feet.

The speed was too fast, and the angle of the sneak attack was too tricky. Tina didn't even notice it until Lin Qi pushed her away.

Blood splattered.

Although he saved Tina, unfortunately, Lin Qi's other arm was also cut.

Only then did Tina realize belatedly that she had narrowly escaped death.

"Tina is angry!" She quickly thrust the long sword in her hand into the ground, but it seemed to hit nothing.

"Stop stabbing, the opponent has already left," Lin Qi said, sitting down on the ground with a pale face. "If I'm not mistaken, that should be an Ability User."

"How can you be so sure the enemy has left?"

Tina still stared at the ground with a frown.

"Idiot, it's because Teacher Zephyr is already here."

At the center of the explosion. Zephyr walked out of the flames, his entire body covered in Armament Haki, even his clothes.

Seeing this, Tina's tightly furrowed beautiful eyebrows finally relaxed.

"Thank you, Tina feels very guilty."

Looking at Lin Qi's bleeding arm, Tina tore off a piece of her cloth and crouched down to give him a simple bandage to stop the bleeding, her expression somewhat guilty.

"I can help you once, but I can't help you every time. Be careful," Lin Qi said with a smile.

"What a vengeful man," two red blushes appeared on Tina's face.

These were words she had said to Lin Qi not long ago, and she didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly.

However, thanks to Lin Qi's teasing, Tina's guilt lessened considerably.

"Are you all alright?"

Zephyr's tall figure blocked the firelight, bringing a cool breeze.

"I'm fine, Lin Qi is just injured because he saved me," Tina shook her head. "What was that explosion just now?"

"That pirate implanted a bomb inside his own body. It explodes when his heart stops beating."

"You must be careful when facing pirates like this in the future. They are ruthless to their enemies, and even more ruthless to themselves," Zephyr said.

"We understand, Teacher Zephyr," Tina nodded, thinking of how Lin Qi had just saved her, and appeared lost in thought.

Soon, all the pirates in the village were wiped out.

Rear Admiral Momonga arrived, dragging a man who was tied up and looked shifty-eyed.

"Teacher, thanks to you, many villagers survived," Momonga threw the man in his hand to the ground.

"This guy is a Devil Fruit Ability User. He needs to be sent to Impel Down."

If a Devil Fruit Ability User is killed, their Devil Fruit will be reborn elsewhere in the world.

To slow down the rebirth speed of Devil Fruits, the World Government requires that any enemy encountered who is a Devil Fruit Ability User must be sent to Impel Down.

"What kind of Devil Fruit Ability User is he?"

Seeing that Lin Qi was asking, Momonga replied, "Zoan type, Mouse-Mouse Fruit, Field Mouse form."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi walked towards the man with a "kind" expression. "You were the one who ambushed us underground earlier, weren't you?"

"N-no," the man swallowed.

"But your eyes have already betrayed you."

Lin Qi patted the man's shoulder kindly, "Before you're sent to the Prison, I'll tell everyone not to bring you any Meal. I hope you don't starve to death."

"..."

The man lay on the ground with no will to live. The Beard on his face twitched, as if he could already foresee his tragic Fate.

Leaving a few Marines to handle the Follow-up Issues, the rest boarded the Ship for the Return Trip.

The Scene shifted. Lin Qi lay in the Warship's Medical Room.

Hina's rough Bandages had been removed. Lin Qi's arms were each wrapped in delicate Bandages by the Physician.

"Alright. Don't use your arms forcefully before the Wound heals, and don't get them wet."

"Thank you, Doctor."