Gentle Killing Intent (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Longinus's pupils contracted sharply. Though a bounty did not entirely equate to strength, in most cases, it was still the best measure of it.

And at the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, in the opening seas of the Grand Line, a bounty of 37 million Beli was already a rather staggering figure.

Although he had killed some invading pirates before, the highest bounty among them had only been 23 million Beli. That was an entirely different matter from a 37-million-Beli bounty.

What was more, Giant Rhinoceros Alex had gained quite a notorious reputation in these waters. Not only had he escaped the Marines' pursuit time and again, but afterward, he would even slaughter towns in retaliation. It seemed they had merely been caught in the crossfire this time.

"Brother Longinus, what... what should we do now?" Seeing Longinus lost in thought, Fitz asked helplessly.

"Of course... kill them!"

"Huh?"

Fitz's eyes widened in disbelief. Brother Longinus was certainly powerful, and he had killed plenty of pirates who raided towns, but the enemy attacking this time was on an entirely different level from those pirates!

While Fitz was still dazed, Longinus had already gone far ahead. With a few swift leaps, his figure completely vanished from sight. "Brother Longinus, wait for me!"

"Looks like I'll have to reveal some of my methods to kill this enemy. Still, that's fine. I've absorbed enough Life Force from Sea Kings. It's time to taste the flavor of a powerful soul!" A savage killing intent flashed through Longinus's calm eyes. His charging body trembled slightly, a sign that even the blood flowing within him had begun to boil.

The slaughter continued!

Blood dyed the earth red, and mangled remains lay scattered everywhere, as though the gates of hell had opened here.

"Lord Alex, we can hand over all our wealth to you, but please show mercy and spare our lives!" The old man prostrated himself on the ground, desperately kowtowing and begging.

"Mayor, let's fight them!" An unwilling roar came from the crowd behind the old man.

"Shut up!" The old mayor first barked at those behind him before continuing his plea. "Lord Alex, take all the town's wealth. I will even swear upon my ancestors that I will never reveal your whereabouts to the Marines. Please, have mercy and let us go!"

"Hahahaha! Let you go? Then who would spread word across these seas of Alex's cruelty and might? I've long declared it to these waters: every time the Marines put out a bounty for me, I'll slaughter a town. Old man, if you must hate someone, hate those idiotic Marines!" the fat, one-eyed pirate snarled with a vicious laugh.

"Now, all of you..." Alex raised his spiked club high, seemingly intending to smash the old man into pulp in the cruelest possible manner.

Boom!

Just as the townspeople prepared to fight to the death, a black shadow fell from the sky. Alex's pig-like body was abruptly sent flying dozens of meters away. Longinus had leaped into the air from the rooftops and delivered a killing blow with a stomp.

"This... Longinus... he actually sent Giant Rhinoceros Alex flying!" a townsman muttered, unable to believe what he had witnessed.

"Great! With Brother Longinus here, the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates won't be arrogant for much longer!" The Young Cadets had unconditional faith in Longinus.

"What kind of joke is this? A brat of eleven or twelve actually defeated the captain!" one pirate blurted out instinctively.

The pirates beside him stared at him in horror, then quickly backed away as if avoiding a venomous snake.

The pirate who had spoken also snapped back to his senses. Cold sweat streamed down his back as he looked tremblingly toward the dust that had yet to settle. "Cap... Captain, I didn't mean that..."

Boom!

The spiked club spun out of the dust at tremendous speed. Before the pirate's terrified, despairing eyes, it smashed his head into pulp. A headless corpse crashed to the ground.

Alex emerged with murderous fury in his eyes. Blood flowed freely from his forehead, dyeing his body red, making him look like a demon crawling out of a sea of blood.

Everyone trembled and lowered their eyes, not daring even to breathe. It was as if an invisible boulder weighed upon their hearts.

"You bastard, you actually dared hit me! Do you know that no one has ever dared hit my head?" Alex closed in step by step, his face twisted viciously as he radiated immense pressure.

"Now someone has." Longinus smiled gently, though inwardly he was thinking, Rumor has it that Alex is a Zoan Devil Fruit User. It seems the rumors were true. Otherwise, there's no way he could have recovered so quickly from a punch that could even kill a Sea King.

Longinus's reply stunned Alex for a moment. Then rage surged into his heart, and he completely forgot the words he had been about to say. He kicked off the ground hard and shot toward his enemy at incredible speed under the explosive recoil.

At that speed, a distance of more than ten meters vanished in the blink of an eye. Seeing Longinus seemingly too slow to react, as if he had been frightened senseless, Alex felt thoroughly pleased. The force behind his punch increased by several degrees.

Just as Alex's sandbag-sized fist neared his face and the wind from it stirred the hair by his ears, Longinus moved!

He tilted his head slightly to the left, letting the fist and its violent gusts graze past his face. Then Longinus rammed forward with his right shoulder. A crisp crack of breaking bone rang out. Before Alex could cry out in pain, Longinus swiftly kicked upward with his right leg, driving a powerful knee into Alex's lower abdomen.

Whether they were townspeople of Falling Leaf Town or pirates from the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates, everyone saw clearly that Great Pirate Giant Rhinoceros Alex's face had twisted completely out of shape from the pain. His eyes bulged like those of a dead fish. Anyone could see that the agony he was suffering had long surpassed his limit.

But it was not over. Longinus seized Alex's shoulder like lightning and viciously threw him over his shoulder into the ground. Given the difference in their sizes, it looked as absurd as an ant throwing an elephant. Yet no one could laugh. The explosive scene had robbed them all of speech.

Other than the Young Cadets who followed Longinus every day, who could have imagined that Giant Rhinoceros Alex, who had run rampant through these waters, would be beaten so thoroughly by an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy that he could not fight back at all?

Reality was often stranger than imagination.

Heavy, ragged breathing sounded out. Longinus's expression did not change, but his body swiftly retreated.

A gigantic rhinoceros, a full five meters tall, charged madly out of the dust. The single horn on its snout gleamed with bone-chilling cold light, seeming even sharper than ordinary famed swords.

Had Longinus not foreseen the danger and dodged in advance, that horn would likely have torn even his body apart.

"Th... that's a monster!" The townspeople, who had just begun to show joy, once again fell into despair. Alex's enormous transformation had clearly terrified them.

"Idiots, this is the captain's true strength! This is the confidence that lets the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates run wild across the seas!" The pirates, who had nearly lost their nerve, began shouting arrogantly again.

"That guy is much smaller than a Sea King. He won't be a match for Brother Longinus!" Only the Young Cadets remained unmoved, their faith in Longinus unwavering.

"Damn it, it seems I really underestimated you. Unfortunately, you're about to witness the power that truly belongs to a demon!" Alex scraped his front hooves across the ground and panted heavily.

"Do not speak so recklessly. It only reveals your weakness!" Even when facing a savage enemy like Alex, Longinus wore a gentle smile. After all, he had always been more tolerant toward the dead.