Traine's Grudge

In truth, aside from the famous Great Pirates from the original story and the monster-filled New World, the Marines held an absolute advantage when purging pirates most of the time!

This was especially evident in the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Blues!

The combat power brought by sturdy ships, heavy cannons, and superior firearms was far beyond what ordinary people could easily attain through training.

Even the Straw Hat Pirates were chased into a frenzy by the Marines in the early days in East Blue. Without Nami, that genius navigator, they would have been captured who knew how many times already.

And unlike how it was portrayed in the original story, although the Marines had Impel Down and prisons across the world, they would absolutely never prioritize capture when purging criminals!

When they encountered pirates, they killed until the skies darkened!

They slaughtered the enemy until their courage shattered, wiping out every last stubborn resister!

That way, the remaining pirates would see reality and give up resisting. They could serve as the soldiers' battle achievements, and there would be no potential threats left behind.

Moreover, those Great Pirates valued their pride more than their lives. The humiliation of being captured by the Marines would leave them unable to hold their heads up for the rest of their lives. Every one of them would rather die than submit, never begging for mercy!

If the Marines naively prioritized capture against people like that, their annual casualties would be enough to make even the Five Elders ache!

Traine's battle plan followed that exact logic. It was also one of the standard tactics the Marines used against large enemy forces.

First, Ron would use the range and destructive power of lightning to disrupt the enemy's defenses. Then they would swarm in from all sides and cut down the fleeing enemies. In the end, only the strongest and the most cowardly would remain, making them extremely convenient to capture.

At sea, this plan meant starting with a round of saturation bombardment to scare the enemy out of their wits. Then elite officers would lead a charge into the enemy's main formation while the others provided cover, maneuvered around them, and cast a net to catch the fish.

Mm... that was only the normal Marine way of thinking.

Hardline hawkish leaders like Akainu generally did not permit survivors.

When facing a large enemy force, even if the soldiers suffered devastating casualties, he would order them to surge forward like a tide and wipe out every enemy. No one would be allowed to retreat.

"Don't kill me! I surrender!"

"I surrender too! Don't kill me!"

With a single shout of "Kill," Baroque Works' ordinary members surrendered one after another. Under the soldiers' direction, they were tied up individually. Only during this process did Daz Bones realize that this was not some large Marine force at all, but merely a small squad of fewer than thirty people.

Yet after a single surprise attack, this small squad had suffered no casualties whatsoever. Their combat capability was terrifying beyond belief!

Across the entire sea, there was only one place where Marine squads with such combat power could exist.

"Marine... Headquarters..."

Daz Bones was seasoned and steady, never showing joy or anger. He was Baroque Works' chief commander, Crocodile's most trusted—indeed, perhaps only trusted—subordinate. He knew very well that while his group looked incomparably formidable, the gap between them and Marine Headquarters, that monster suppressing the seas, was far more than a little difference!

It was not as though he had never considered escaping amid the chaos. But ever since that man dressed as a Flower Capital Guard had appeared, his attention had remained fixed on him. Then, after witnessing the speed and method by which he instantly killed Mr. 3, Daz Bones could not muster even the slightest thought of fleeing.

That was lightning!

Though it had disappeared for several hundred years, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit still ranked first among the Logia types in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia!

But asking him to surrender without resistance was even more impossible!

He knew why the Marines had spared him while killing Mr. 3. Aside from killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, it was because his status here was obvious at a glance. Capturing him, torturing him severely, and interrogating him for intelligence was the outcome the Marines wanted.

And the Marines had plenty of methods to make him reveal every piece of information he knew!

In that case, he either escaped, or... died fighting!

Clang!

With a sharp metallic ring, the skin all over Daz Bones' body bulged upward. Those palm-wide patches of skin swiftly changed from flesh-colored to a material unique to metal, their edges incomparably sharp and fearsome.

"As expected... you're a Fruit Ability user too..."

Every change in Daz Bones fell clearly into Traine's eyes. Noticing the blades emerging all around him, Traine frowned slightly.

That obedient Candle Man from before would have been impossible for ordinary people to harm behind his candle walls if he had not been countered by lightning's intense heat. As the dark-skinned man capable of commanding him, this person's strength was unquestionably greater. And this Fruit Ability looked somewhat familiar?

Where had he seen it before?

Traine thought silently.

"That's right! I ate the Slice-Slice Fruit. I'm a Blade Person, and every part of my body can become a tough blade!"

Daz Bones gave a brief explanation as he adjusted his breathing.

"You're a swordsman, right? Sorry... I've never been wounded by a swordsman!"

The next moment, he strode forward and attacked Traine.

Dust Slash!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

This was a high-speed slashing technique executed with the blades on both hands. Its name, Dust Slash, meant to cut objects into dust, and its power could not be underestimated! Scale-like blade lights swept down in overwhelming waves. In an instant, a man-high slab of rubble became covered in dense cracks, then silently split apart into thumb-sized chunks of stone.

He opened with a powerful ultimate move. Daz Bones wanted to catch Traine off guard and finish the battle quickly!

At the same time, he kept part of his attention on Ron, preventing himself from being ambushed.

The Slice-Slice Fruit could make a Devil Fruit User's body as hard as steel. A swordsman's slashes were not worth mentioning before it, and that was the root of his contempt for swordsmen... only Ron's terrifying lightning attacks were something Daz Bones did not dare take lightly!

But...

Why... was he smiling?

Ron had no intention of intervening. In fact, he had no interest whatsoever in this confrontation. As Daz Bones charged at Traine without regard for his life, Ron simply turned and walked toward the prisoners... a few of them were being rather disobedient, still spouting foul insults and taunting the soldiers even after being handcuffed. It was the perfect opportunity to kill a chicken and scare the monkeys.

At that moment, Traine's calm yet fury-filled voice sounded beside Daz Bones' ear. "You still look down on swordsmen... just as you did back then. The bounty hunter from West Blue fifteen years ago, Daz Bones!!"

"What?!!"

Daz Bones whirled around in an instant. All he saw was a crescent-shaped blade light streaking across his retina.

Then...

Clink... crack!!!

The next second, an overwhelming force descended from above and chopped down onto his blade-transformed hands, interrupting Dust Slash!

Daz Bones was not worried that his Dust Slash had been broken.

It was not as though no one had ever broken through his attacks before. But swordsmen's blades simply could not cut through the blades created by his Fruit Ability, much less injure his steel-hard body afterward. He could use this opportunity to calmly seize the opponent's weapon and drive a blade into their heart with a backhand strike!

What shocked him was that the other party had called out his name at once...

"Who exactly are you?!"

"A Second Lieutenant from Branch 296 in West Blue, once upon a time. Just an insignificant nobody..."

Traine sneered, poured more force into his arm, and slashed downward!

Rip!!

In an instant!

Terrifying Sword Intent and immense strength flooded into the blade. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, it encountered no resistance whatsoever as it severed the blade-arm created by his Fruit Ability! Its momentum did not stop there, continuing downward with unstoppable force and slicing across his chest!

Daz Bones felt an icy chill in his arm and chest, followed by piercing pain that engulfed him.

"Ah!!!"

Watching Daz Bones clutch his severed arm and scream in agony, Traine's expression was extremely complicated. "Though I knew long ago that you were no match for me, I still have to say, you truly disappoint me, 'Killer'!!!"

Bang!!

He kicked Daz Bones squarely in the head, sending him tumbling into the large pit dug in the center of the camp. After a moment of silence, Traine waved a hand. "Put Seastone cuffs on him and take him back!!"

"Uh... yes!!"

Facing their clearly foul-tempered superior, the soldiers exchanged bewildered looks before rushing over in a line to seize their prisoner.

In response, Ron lifted his palm from two charred human-shaped lumps and shook his head amid the prisoners' demon-stricken stares.

"So that was the source of the scar on your chest?"

Sisco Traine was born in West Blue and had originally been an ordinary Second Lieutenant. During one mission, he was gravely wounded and nearly died, only to be saved by the passing Garp. He then followed Garp all the way to the Grand Line. Traine had a terrifying scar across his chest, like Zoro's, stretching from his shoulder blade to his abdomen. It was said to have been left by someone's blade, but he did not regard it as an honor. Instead, he considered it a humiliation! He dressed impeccably every day and never took off his close-fitting white shirt, even while training, all to conceal that scar... but Ron had never known who the culprit was.

But now he knew...

"Daz Bones probably never imagined that the insignificant Second Lieutenant he nearly killed back then would grow to this point... Hatred truly is the source of human progress."

Daz Bones, the Slice-Slice Man, took pride in his steel-like defense. He had rarely encountered an opponent in the Grand Line or West Blue, and as a result had grown lax in his training. Yet in truth, that was merely the normal level of defense possessed by Marine elites after learning Iron Body. At most, it had the advantages of mobility, quick activation, and low stamina consumption. What right did he have to look down on swordsmen across the world?

One had to know that although Traine only held the rank of Major General, he was Garp's first mate!

He had fought across the seas for more than a decade and had even carried out several missions in the New World!

Even powerful fighters who had mastered Armament Haki would not dare receive one of his condensed sword-energy strikes head-on.

The root of Daz Bones' arrogance was ignorance. Or rather, he did not truly understand the definition of "strength," just like Ron in the past.

The temperature has dropped sharply over a wide area, so take care to keep warm, dear readers. Mianyang still had the air conditioning on two days ago, but today there were already people wearing coats to eat hot pot. I was completely stunned, since I was still in shorts, an off-shoulder T-shirt, and flip-flops!