Flame-Flame Fruit?

The sporadic cannon fire and battle cries from the town had already alerted Leiyin and the others.

Shelz Town, East Harbor.

Leiyin stopped training and asked, "Where is that sound coming from?"

Joseph said, "Big brother, it's coming from the northern harbor. Krieg must have arrived."

"Let's go. We'll head over now!"

"Yes, big brother!"

By then, Krieg had already led his forces to the gates of the naval base. Colonel Short was so terrified that he had hidden inside and dared not come out.

Monka, the sergeant, was naturally bloodthirsty and warlike, and at least had some courage. He was leading a small force in resistance, battling Krieg at the base entrance.

Still, courage was one thing, but he was hopelessly outnumbered. Besides, Monka was only a sergeant, with very limited forces at his command. And while he was stronger than average, he possessed no superhuman power. Before long, the gates of Branch 153 fell as well.

Krieg swaggered into the base, and the pirates reveled in their victory as they quickly surrounded it.

Thus, what had begun as an assault on the stronghold turned into street fighting inside the base. By then, more than half the naval officers at the branch had been lost, while Monka was one of the very few officers still alive and resisting the attack.

Colonel Short, by contrast, had served in the Navy for more than twenty years. When had he ever found himself in such an embarrassing predicament? By now, his fighting spirit was completely gone. He only wanted to run, but the base had already been surrounded by Krieg, leaving him no way to escape by land or sea.

Krieg was standing in front of the office building inside Branch 153. With his arms folded across his chest, he shouted arrogantly inside, "What kind of lousy Navy are you? You're weaker than ants. But I can't blame you. After all, your opponent is the Krieg Pirates! Ahahaha!"

In truth, Branch 153 could hardly be blamed. The Navy's elite forces were concentrated in the Grand Line and the New World. Even compared with Navy Headquarters, the combat strength of branches like G-3 and G-5 was countless times greater than theirs. Besides, the East Blue was publicly known as the weakest sea. If the pirates weren't strong, naturally the Navy wouldn't be strong either. And to make matters worse, their opponent was Krieg, whose forces outnumbered them by nearly five to one.

Krieg's original intention had been to find those three people and execute them in his own way, intimidating the East Blue and letting everyone know, I'm not someone to be trifled with. But he had never expected this group of Marines to be so weak. Still, it delighted Krieg. Defeating a naval branch head-on would restore his reputation, intimidate the East Blue, make him famous, and help him recruit more men.

After all, my men were killed in your Shelz Town. Since I can't find the culprits, I'll start by taking it out on the Navy.

Short could only consider himself unlucky to have been caught up in such a mess.

The pirates had already reached the office building. Hearing Krieg's taunts was like hearing the voice of a demon, and Colonel Short was scared out of his wits. If not for his pride, he would probably have crawled under a desk long ago.

Seeing that the colonel was already terrified out of his mind, a major shook his head helplessly. He led the last reserve unit out, intending to make one final stand.

The reserve troops charged out of the office building behind the major. Standing at the front, he watched as the Marines behind him raised their muskets and aimed at the pirates.

"What is your purpose in coming here? Why are you attacking the Navy?"

Krieg gave a strange laugh. "I'm only here to find three people."

"Three people?"

"That's right. Those three destroyed my warships and then killed my men in your town."

"Then why attack the Navy?" the major asked, unable to suppress his anger.

Krieg merely smiled maliciously. "It's my pleasure. Only by wiping you out will I live up to the name of the Greatest Pirate Crew, and then my reputation will soar even higher!"

"Are you kidding me? Open fire! Kill him!"

The major loudly ordered his soldiers to fire. At his command, they pulled their triggers, and bullets flew toward Krieg like raindrops.

Krieg sneered and didn't even bother to dodge. The bracer on his arm transformed into a shield that covered his face. As the bullets struck his body, they clanged against him. Apart from sending sparks flying, they failed to injure him in the slightest.

It turned out that Krieg was clad in steel armor from head to toe, armed practically to the teeth. He snorted and looked at the Marines with utter contempt. "You ants have no idea when to stop!"

In the next moment, the armor on his arms transformed into two machine guns, which opened fire on the Marines in a wild sweep.

The Marines were instantly cut down. Amid their screams, they collapsed into pools of blood.

The major was naturally not spared. Bullets tore through his right arm and left leg. Bracing himself against the ground with his left arm, he trembled as he stood and glared viciously at Krieg.

Krieg aimed his gun at him. "I didn't expect you to have some backbone. In that case, I'll give you a quick death!"

With that, flames shot into the sky.

Flames?

Just as Krieg was about to fire, a great blaze suddenly erupted at the base entrance, accompanied by a chorus of screams.

But the screams belonged to the pirates.

Krieg couldn't help looking behind him. Three people were slowly walking over, and the major covered his injured right arm as he stared at them in surprise.

They were Leiyin, Joseph, and Johnny.

Leiyin wore a gray robe and carried a ninja blade on his back. He stopped a short distance from Krieg and faced him directly.

Krieg retracted his machine guns and ignored the major, focusing all his attention on the three newcomers. "Who are you?"

Leiyin smiled faintly. "Aren't you looking for us?"

Krieg's expression changed. "It was you! You destroyed my three warships and killed seven of my men in this town?"

"That's right!" Joseph said.

At that moment, the pirates of Krieg's crew gathered around. One of them recognized them as well. "Captain Krieg, he's the kid who killed our seven men with a single slash!"

The pirate who identified Leiyin was the very one Leiyin had deliberately allowed to escape from the restaurant that day.

By then, the fighting in every area was nearly over, and the Marines had been thoroughly routed. Monka and several other officers had no choice but to lead their remaining battered troops to gather in the square before the office building, while the pirates also converged around Krieg.

They all stared at the three men who had walked over.

"What was that fire at the entrance just now?" Krieg couldn't help asking one of the pirates beside him.

The pirate he questioned pointed at Leiyin in a panic. "It was that kid! I don't know what kind of sorcery he used, but he actually breathed flames from his mouth!"

"Fire? Flames?"

Krieg was stunned when he heard that.

Could this guy be a Flame-Flame Fruit user?