The Battle Begins

"Flying Slash!! A Great Swordsman!!?"

The sight of Rod's slash made Kyle's jaw drop. He froze on the spot. As a somewhat renowned gang boss in the North Blue, he had some knowledge of the world.

Even in the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, a Great Swordsman could thrive with ease. Why would one appear in the North Blue? And get involved in such a trivial matter?

Was this some kind of quirk of the strong?

"This hardly counts as a Flying Slash, and I'm even less of a Great Swordsman. I'm just strong enough to create sword pressure with my swings."

As he spoke, Rod had already charged into the crowd, raising the sword in his hand.

"I survived a Great Swordsman's Flying Slash!"

The man who had been knocked over by Rod's sword pressure still had no idea what was happening. He scrambled to his feet in delight. When he saw that Flying Slash, he had thought his life was over, yet he was somehow unharmed.

Could it be that I'm actually pretty strong?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a flash of steel passed before his eyes. The next moment, he saw his own butt.

"No, you're just dying a different way."

The blade in Rod's hand swung without pause. Every flash of steel brought down another figure. The people before him were far too weak!

A red gleam flashed through Rod's eyes. He slightly shifted aside to evade several incoming bullets, then moved his feet and appeared in front of the man firing from the shadows in an instant, casually cutting him down.

It seemed that [Knights Do Not Die Empty-Handed], this cheat ability, could no longer offer him much help.

The thought crossed Rod's mind.

This cheat ability allowed him to wield all kinds of weapons proficiently. With that trait, he had rapidly grasped the techniques for using many different weapons, whether swords or firearms.

However, this enhancement seemed to have its limits. Take swordsmanship, for example: even with the cheat ability's boost, his swordsmanship could at most approach the level of a swordsman. Mastery appeared to be the limit of what it could provide.

Even now, though he had yet to master "Iron Cutting," [Knights Do Not Die Empty-Handed] could no longer grant him any further enhancement when fighting with blades. After all, his own attainments in swordsmanship were already considerable. He was only a hair's breadth away from the so-called "Iron Cutting."

As for [Sit-ups]...

These guys were simply too weak. They couldn't put any pressure on me at all.

Are these people monsters or something?!

Why were monsters like them getting involved in our gang family's affairs?

Watching Rod and the other two slaughter their way through the hall, Kyle felt a headache coming on.

He waved over Jason, who had somehow retreated to his side, and ordered in a low voice, "Go hold those three back. I'll mobilize the family members outside."

Without waiting for Jason to react, Kyle quickly jogged out through a side door at the back, leaving Jason alone in the hall, staring in despair at Rod as he drew ever closer.

Boss Kyle thought too highly of him. Against enemies of this caliber, he was nothing more than cannon fodder.

"Get all our cannons out here! Blow this entire building flat!"

After running out of the main building, Kyle beckoned several underlings over and gave the order.

"But Boss Kyle, we still have brothers inside—"

Bang!

Before the underling could finish speaking, a bullet went straight through his head.

"Remember this: this is the Felke Family, and I am Fulk Kyle!"

His gaze swept across the group. The surrounding underlings immediately sprang into action, quickly wheeling out cannon after cannon.

Everything was for the family! Those men would surely be honored to give their lives for the family!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The next moment, countless shells screamed toward the building at the center of the estate. At such close range, neither the heavy doors nor the sturdy walls could withstand them. They were shattered in an instant, and flames rapidly spread throughout the entire building.

"That should have finished them all off."

Lighting a fresh cigar, Kyle looked at the ruins before him and let out a breath, regaining a boss's calm composure.

It was just a pity about that designer named Grey.

The image he had seen earlier flashed through Kyle's mind. That long-haired youth on the other side had likely been using the new Firearms designed by Grey. It could fire ten bullets in an instant. If they could master that technology, even dominating the North Blue would not be impossible.

"You've really pissed me off. The people inside were your subordinates, weren't they?"

"The cat talked!"

Amid the terrified expressions of the Felke Family members, a black cat leaped out of the ruins before them. It crouched atop the garden fountain, staring coldly at Kyle in the center of the crowd.

"A Devil Fruit user?"

Kyle was only briefly stunned before he understood.

"But it's just a black cat."

Kyle waved his hand, and the underlings around him raised their guns and opened fire one after another. A barrage of bullets instantly swept toward the black cat.

"It disappeared!"

Facing the barrage before it, a trace of disdain flashed through the black cat's eyes. The next second, a streak of black light flashed, and the black cat had already charged into the crowd.

As the Felke Family's men looked around in all directions, the black cat's body suddenly swelled, and then a slender figure appeared among the crowd. In the next instant, the figure darted through the air.

"You actually used your own men as bait. You're absolutely despicable!"

Nia stared at Kyle, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes. A pair of black cat ears appeared atop her head, while a black cat tail swayed unconsciously behind her. Every muscle in her body tensed.

"Damn it, why are you so determined to hound me?"

Kyle let out an irritated breath, tossed his cigar to the ground, and reached up to tug at his tie. The muscles throughout his body rippled.

What had allowed him to establish such a massive mafia family was precisely these fists of his!

"Tell me, don't you have this backwards? The one who wanted to skip out on the debt, refuse to pay, and then kill all of us was you!"

With an explosive shout, the ground beneath Nia's feet sank slightly. She launched herself forward and appeared before Kyle in an instant, her long leg sweeping out with all her rage.

Bang!

Kyle blocked Nia's roundhouse kick, his arm trembling slightly. The powerful gust unleashed by their collision sent the underlings who had been playing dead scrambling away in panic.

"How about this? I'll give you the money, plus an extra five million. You leave after that. Sound good?"

Feeling the force transmitted through his arm, Kyle spoke.

To him, the mafia was merely a business. Face and pride meant nothing; only profit mattered.

Under the current circumstances, continuing to fight was clearly not worthwhile. If he could settle this with money, that would be for the best.

"As long as I kill you, everything you mentioned will be mine anyway!"

A fierce glint flashed through Nia's eyes. Tufts of black fur emerged across her body, and she bared her teeth, revealing two sharp canine fangs.

"I'm a user of the Cat-Cat Fruit: Black Cat Form. In this form, I get a little hard to control. So if my methods get too brutal later, let me apologize in advance."

The next instant, a cold flash streaked through the air, and blood sprayed from Kyle's chest.

"Just like that, meow~"

Watching the blood droplets slide off her claws, Nia licked her lips, her yellow slit pupils brimming with wildness.

The book has been signed, so everyone can read without worry!

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