"Two reserve sailors?"
Bourne furrowed his brow slightly, but he didn't underestimate the two just because they were wearing Reserve Navy uniforms.
They had taken down Vice Admiral Akita and Colonel Doug, and the Navy was currently escorting civilians to safety.
Was the Navy really sending two reserve sailors to their deaths in a situation like this?
Something was clearly off.
Erring on the side of caution, Bourne decided to have Jotte test them.
Bourne and Jotte were only partners. Wasn't this exactly the kind of moment when a teammate could prove his worth?
"These two are awfully confident. There's probably something going on."
Bourne feigned hesitation, hoping to provoke Jotte into making the first move.
The drunken Jotte fell for it, just as expected.
Or rather, he hadn't taken the two reserve sailors seriously at all. After all, Jotte was still young, and nowhere near as shrewd as Bourne, who'd spent decades sailing the seas.
He barely gave it a thought. Slinging his enormous jug over his shoulder, he staggered straight toward Morito and Kazan.
"Is that so? They look like a couple of weaklings to me! Hic!~"
Kazan's expression shifted, and he immediately went on high alert.
These two had taken down Vice Admiral Akita and Colonel Doug. They couldn't afford to be careless for even a moment.
One mistake could get them killed in an instant.
They couldn't just avoid mistakes. They had to perform beyond their limits if they hoped to buy enough time.
Kazan glanced at Morito out of the corner of his eye and wondered, Why is this guy so calm? Could he be too scared to move?
That didn't make sense. Morito was the monster who'd defeated Onigumo.
He was only about evenly matched with Onigumo himself.
While Kazan was briefly lost in thought, Jotte had already charged up to them.
Jotte swung his enormous fist, a whooshing gust of force trailing behind it. They could feel the pressure rushing toward them from far away.
That brute strength alone was nothing to scoff at.
Kazan lowered his center of gravity and planted his feet like the roots of an old tree. Immature Armament Haki covered his right fist as he prepared to meet Jotte's blow head-on.
"Watch out, let me—"
—?!
Before Kazan could finish, a gale suddenly erupted beside him.
Thud!
A muffled boom rang out. Kazan barely even saw Morito move before Jotte, who'd charged at them, was flying back the way he'd come.
Crack, crack, crack!
Crash!
One tree after another snapped like tofu.
Jotte's massive body plowed through them, carving a clearly visible furrow in the ground that stretched a hundred paces away.
Dust billowed everywhere, obscuring their vision.
Kazan stared in shock. It wasn't Morito's speed that surprised him; he'd already seen Morito use Shave.
What stunned him was Morito's strength!
How could that slender body, with its thin arms and legs and delicate skin, unleash such terrifying power?
Had that been a side kick?
Kazan hadn't seen clearly, so he couldn't be sure.
A single side kick had sent Jotte, a man several times his size, flying a hundred paces away? And he'd smashed through a whole line of trees along the way?
Jotte was known as Great Barrel not only because he loved liquor and was drunk every day.
There was another very important reason: Jotte was enormous.
Morito's waist wasn't even as thick as the man's arm!
When Kazan first received the order to intercept Bourne and Jotte, he'd been in utter disbelief.
He'd even suspected that Second Lieutenant Jimmy disliked him and Morito, and had deliberately sent them to their deaths.
Now Kazan understood everything.
With a teammate this fierce, holding out for twenty minutes really wasn't a problem.
Maybe they'd only called him along because they needed someone to sit on the sidelines!
"Looks like I'm not the one getting sent to my death. It's those two unlucky bastards."
Kazan stood obediently to one side and gave Morito a look that said, I'll let you handle this.
In truth, Morito had only brought Kazan along as a precaution. He had no idea how strong Bourne and Jotte really were.
After kicking the charging Jotte away, Morito stared at his own right leg, utterly bewildered and full of doubt.
The blow that had sent Jotte flying had been a side kick from his right leg.
Hadn't he taken down a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and a captain?
That was it???
How had he taken them down?!
"Just as I suspected. These two aren't ordinary reserve sailors. They're in the Elite Class at the Naval Academy, just like the little magma brat and the little ice brat!"
"Disciples of former Admiral Zephyr, then."
"No wonder they're so confident."
Bourne became a little more serious, but that was all.
Not everyone was Sakazuki, and not everyone was Borsalino. Monsters were called monsters because they were rare.
If he really ran into Sakazuki and Borsalino, Bourne wouldn't hesitate for a second before turning and running.
But he didn't believe these two brats were anywhere near Sakazuki's or Borsalino's level.
Clang!
He drew both swords. Their cold gleam seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding air by several degrees.
The air suddenly fell still, as if a piercing frost had swept through.
Bourne shouted toward the ruins in the distance, "Quit playing dead and get up! Take care of these two so we can go back and drink!"
At that, Morito and Kazan both froze for a moment.
They instinctively turned toward the enormous crater where Jotte had crashed, dust still billowing around it.
A dark silhouette emerged from the smoke-filled crater.
Jotte got to his feet as if nothing had happened. He still staggered as he walked, and his clothes were covered in dust and dead leaves.
He looked utterly battered.
But judging by his steady, powerful presence, Jotte hadn't been hurt!
Morito and Kazan came to the same conclusion almost simultaneously.
That side kick had been powerful enough to snap a row of trees, yet Jotte himself was completely unharmed?
"Was that Armament Haki?" Kazan wondered aloud, unsure.
"It could also be a Devil Fruit ability. Devil Fruit powers come in all kinds, and some can protect you from blunt-force damage."
Morito added.
As far as he knew, Luffy, the protagonist of Pirate King, had a Gum-Gum Fruit that made him immune to blunt attacks.
That last kick had packed a lot of power, but he hadn't used Armament Haki.
"Jotte's attack was only meant to test our basic combat abilities. Next, they'll probably have Jotte keep me occupied while Bourne defeats you as quickly as possible."
Morito analyzed in a low voice.
To an observer, Morito's fighting style was purely physical. The main thing to watch out for was the monstrous strength behind the punch that had sent Jotte flying.
Kazan, meanwhile, fought with a sword and Armament Haki, making him a high-offense combatant.
They could use Jotte's durability to keep Morito occupied, while Bourne overwhelmed Kazan with his strength. That would let them take Kazan out quickly, then join forces against Morito.
"Then what do we do?"
Kazan gripped the Tachi in his hand and stood shoulder to shoulder with Morito without the slightest hesitation.
Even if he was only a student now, only a reserve sailor, he already had the mettle of a Marine.
He wouldn't take a single step back in the face of a powerful enemy.
Even knowing he was outmatched, he still drew his sword!
"Don't be so tense. They don't get to decide who fights whom!" Morito said with a calm smile, reassuring him.
Before you continue