Black Cat Pirates Attack

Ronan extended his right hand, gripping the cold spear shaft.

"Up!"

He grunted, putting strength into one arm.

The iron spear, weighing over a hundred pounds, was steadily lifted by him.

That heavy, dragging sensation filled Ronan with a long-lost sense of security.

This is the first truly significant heavy weapon in my life, across both past and present, no longer a fragile, easily broken wooden stick.

"Good spear!" Ronan exclaimed.

Then, he took a step back, aligning his waist and stance, his spine twisting like a great dragon. The force instantly coursed through his arm and into the spear.

"Crack!"

Ronan flicked his wrist, and the spear shot out like a black dragon emerging from the sea. The spear tip vibrated violently in the air, emitting a sharp crackle like a thunderclap!

It was the sonic boom produced by the spear's rapid vibration compressing the air!

Whoosh—whoosh—

Immediately after, Ronan began to wield it.

The spear seemed weightless in his hands as he shook, hooked, thrust, and jabbed...!

Simple movements, yet they stirred up a gale.

The cramped blacksmith shop was instantly filled with flying sand and stones, dust kicked up by the wind from the spear.

The heavy iron spear cut through the air, emitting a heart-stopping "woo woo" sound, like a fierce tiger's low growl.

"So... so powerful a weapon!"

Luffy, standing nearby, had eyes that had already turned into stars, his mouth agape. "So cool, Ronan! I want to play with that too!"

Zoro's pupils also contracted slightly, but his focus wasn't on the weapon itself, but on Ronan's aura as he wielded it.

That sense of unity between man and spear, that terrifying explosive force contained in every strike, made the battle-hungry cells within him stir wildly.

"Is this your true strength?"

Zoro's hand unconsciously went to his sword hilt, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. "Ronan, after we deal with the Black Cat Pirates, we absolutely must have a good spar."

Ronan stopped wielding the spear and stood, resting it on his back. He looked at Zoro and gave a meaningful smile. "I was thinking the same thing."

He was calculating furiously in his mind:

Zoro was the future greatest swordsman in the world. Having such a top-tier sparring partner come to him, combined with the triple Cultivation Multiplier from the combat mode, was practically a mobile experience bank. It would be a waste not to "farm" it.

"Such a heavy weapon..." Usopp swallowed hard, looking at the thick spear shaft, his face turning pale.

"Let alone getting poked by the tip, just getting casually smashed by the shaft would probably break every bone in my body..."

Nami, watching Ronan wield the hundred-pound iron spear as easily as a toothpick, couldn't help but grumble:

"What a bunch of energetic monsters... Still, this 5,000 Belly was probably worth it."

Coastal slope.

This was the necessary path leading to Syrup Village.

Steep rock walls flanked both sides, with a sloping dirt path in the middle. The terrain was narrow, making it an excellent ambush point that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

At this moment, the morning sun was bright.

Usopp was bent over, sweating profusely as he poured barrel after barrel of oil onto the slope.

The yellowish-brown grease flowed down the slope, glistening slickly in the sunlight.

"Hehehe..."

Usopp wiped his sweat, looking at his masterpiece with a smug expression.

"Ronan, don't underestimate this move just because it's simple. This is my meticulously designed 'Super Slippery Hell'!"

"As soon as they charge over, their feet will slip, and they'll fall flat on their faces. Then we'll crush them in one go!"

Ronan, carrying the Zhangba iron spear on his back, stood at the top of the slope, looking down at the scene. He shook his head helplessly.

"Usopp, this will only delay them for a little while."

Ronan spoke frankly. "For real pirates, especially desperate ones, these little tricks will only cause them minor trouble."

"They could completely use their comrades' bodies to pave a path, or directly destroy the terrain."

"What? Use bodies to pave a path?" Usopp was clearly underestimating the pirates' cruelty, his face turning pale.

"However,"

Ronan's tone shifted as he looked towards the gradually clearing Black Cat Pirates ship on the distant horizon, his eyes sharpening.

"As an appetizer, it's enough to disgust them."

"They're here."

Zoro, who had been silently gazing into the distance, suddenly spoke. He tied on his dark green bandana, his eyes instantly turning as cold as ice.

Luffy pulled down his straw hat and stood at the very front, the sea breeze ruffling his red vest.

Ronan slammed his iron spear heavily onto the ground, emitting a dull thud.

The Blood Essence within him began to flow faster, the [Perseverance] system poised and ready.

"Since I have my iron spear in hand, then today..."

Ronan looked at the approaching large ship, a martial artist's fervor rising on his lips.

"I'll use this Black Cat Pirates to consecrate my Xing Yi Thirteen Spears!"

The morning sea breeze blew past the steep cliff face, emitting a low whistling sound.

Sunlight tore through the thin mist, scattering across the sparkling sea, but it couldn't warm the slope that was about to be stained red with blood.

A massive pirate ship, like a giant black beast, slowly furled its sails and approached the shore with an oppressive aura.

The huge black cat figurehead at the bow looked particularly ferocious in the shadows.

As the gangplank crashed down, a tall and strangely figures was the first to descend.

The man wore a dark blue top hat, a pair of bizarre heart-shaped glasses perched on his nose, and lightning-bolt-shaped whiskers on his chin.

He walked with a peculiar moonwalk, maintaining a comical yet unsettling rhythm even on the gravel-strewn beach.

It was Jango, the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates and a hypnotist.

The pirates behind him swarmed off the ship like a tide, their faces contorted and ferocious, brandishing their cutlasses and axes, their eyes greedily fixed on the peaceful village on the hillside.

Jango glanced at the sky and remembered Kuro's cruel methods, shuddering involuntarily.

"We need to get into the village quickly, or Captain Kuro will get impatient, and we'll all die!"

He suddenly waved his hand, pointing at the five figures of Ronan and his companions, who were waiting in formation on the slope, and ordered sternly:

"Men! Crush these guys blocking our path! Advance to the village! That rich young lady is waiting for us to harvest!"

"Ooooh--!!"

Dozens of pirates let out beastly roars.

It was a lust for slaughter and treasure, their eyes flashing with violent red light, like hungry wolves released from their cages, brandishing their weapons and rushing up the narrow slope one after another.

For a time, shouts of killing filled the air, kicking up sand and stones.

Ronan stood at the top of the slope, watching the pirates surge up from below like ants, his expression calm.

Usopp behind him, however, was so nervous his palms were sweating, his gaze fixed on the pirates' feet.

"Come on... come on... a little closer..."

Just as the first dozen or so pirates stepped into the seemingly damp area in the middle of the slope--

"Sliiiip--!"

An unexpected change occurred!

The previously hard dirt slope was now as slippery as ice.

The pirates at the front lost their footing, their bodies instantly losing balance, and they fell heavily onto their backsides.

"Ouch!"

"Damn it! What's going on?"

But this was just the beginning.

The pirates behind couldn't stop, like falling dominoes, crashing hard into the people who had fallen in front of them.

"Bang! Bang! Clang!"

The sound of weapons hitting the ground, the sound of bones colliding, and terrified curses intertwined.

Dozens of pirates rolled into a heap on the oil-slicked slope, like a pot of boiling stew, falling and rising, but unable to get back on their feet.