Traine's Grudge

In reality, aside from the famous pirates and monsters gathered in the New World from the original story, the Marines generally held an absolute advantage when clearing out pirates most of the time!

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

The combat power brought by strong ships, powerful cannons, and high-quality firearms was far beyond what ordinary people could easily catch up to through training.

Even the early Straw Hat crew in the East Blue was constantly hounded by the Marines. Without the help of Nami, the genius navigator, they would have been captured countless times by now.

Furthermore, unlike the original story, although the Marines had Impel Down and various prisons, they absolutely would not prioritize capture when dealing with criminals!

When they encountered pirates, they would first fight until the sky and earth were dark!

They would break the enemy's spirit and kill all those who resisted stubbornly!

This way, the remaining pirates would see the reality of the situation and give up their resistance, allowing the soldiers to gain military merits and eliminating any potential threats.

Moreover, those great pirates valued face more than their lives. The shame of being captured by the Marines would make them unable to hold their heads up for the rest of their lives; they would rather die than surrender and would never beg for mercy!

Facing such individuals and naively prioritizing capture would result in a year's worth of Marine casualties that would make even the Five Elders' hearts ache!

Traine's operational plan was based on this logic and was one of the common tactics the Marines used when facing large groups of enemies.

First, Ron would use lightning to disrupt the enemy's defenses with its area-of-effect and destructive power, then they would flood in from all sides to kill the scattered remnants. In the end, only the strongest and the most cowardly would remain, making them easy to apprehend.

This plan, when applied at sea, would involve a round of saturation bombardment to scatter the enemy's souls, followed by elite officers leading charges into the enemy's main formation, with others providing cover and flanking maneuvers, like fishing with a net.

Hmm... the above is limited to normal Marine combat thinking.

For hardline hawk leaders like Akainu, there were generally no survivors allowed.

When facing large groups of enemies, even if the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, he would order them to charge like a tide, annihilating the enemy completely and never allowing anyone to retreat.

"Don't kill me! I surrender!"

"I surrender too, don't kill me!"

With a cry of "Kill!", the ordinary members of Baroque Works immediately surrendered and were tied up one by one by the soldiers. During this process, Daz Bones realized that this was not a large Marine force at all, but merely a small detachment of less than thirty people.

Yet, with such a small detachment, after a surprise attack, the enemy suffered no casualties, and their combat capability was terrifyingly astonishing!

A Marine detachment with such combat power could only be found in one place on the seas.

"Marine... Headquarters..."

Daz Bones was experienced and calm, his emotions rarely showing. He was the chief commander of Baroque Works and the subordinate whom Crocodile trusted the most, perhaps even the only one he trusted. He knew very well that his group, despite appearing incredibly strong, was no match for the monster that suppressed the seas, Marine Headquarters!

It wasn't that he hadn't considered escaping in the chaos, but after the guy dressed as a Hana bodyguard appeared, his attention had been fixed on him. The speed and method with which he instantly killed Mr.3 afterwards made him lose any thought of escaping.

That was lightning!

Although it had disappeared for hundreds of years, in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was still listed first in the Logia category!

However, if he were to surrender meekly, that was even more impossible!

He knew the reason why the Marines hadn't killed him and had killed Mr.3. Besides making an example, it was also because his position here was obvious. Capturing him and torturing him for information was the Marines' desired outcome.

And the Marines had plenty of ways to make him reveal all his intelligence!

Since that was the case, he would either escape or... die fighting!

Clang!

With a resonant clang, Daz Bones' skin bulged outwards. The palm-wide sections of his skin rapidly changed from flesh color to a metallic material, its edges incredibly sharp, inspiring awe.

"As expected... you're also a Devil Fruit user..."

Traine's eyes missed nothing of Daz Bones' transformation. Noticing the blades floating around him, Traine frowned slightly.

The candle man who had obeyed orders earlier, if not for the high temperature of the lightning countering him, ordinary attacks would have been unable to harm the enemy behind the wax walls. As the black man who could command him, this person's strength was undoubtedly greater. And this Devil Fruit ability, it looked a bit familiar?

Where had he seen it before?

Traine pondered silently.

"That's right! I ate the Slice-Slice Fruit and became a Blade Person. My entire body can transform into tough blades!"

Daz Bones explained briefly, adjusting his breathing.

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

The next moment, he strode forward, attacking Traine.

Dust Slash!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

This was a high-speed slashing technique that used his hand blades as its components. It was named Dust Slash, meaning to cut objects into dust, and its power was not to be underestimated! A torrent of fish-scale-like blade light swept down. A stone slab of ruins, one person tall, was instantly covered in dense cracks, then silently split apart, disintegrating into thumb-sized stone fragments.

With a powerful ultimate move right from the start, Daz Bones intended to catch Traine off guard and finish the fight quickly!

At the same time, he diverted some of his attention to Ron, preventing himself from being ambushed.

The Slice-Slice Fruit could make the user's body as hard as steel. Sword slashes were insignificant against it, which was the root of his underestimation of swordsmen... Only Ron's terrifying lightning attack was something Daz Bones dared not be careless about!

However...

Why... was he smiling?

Ron had no intention of making a move, nor did he have the slightest interest in the confrontation happening nearby. As Daz Bones charged at Traine with reckless abandon, Ron simply turned and walked towards the captives… A few of them were being unruly, mouthing off and taunting the soldiers even with handcuffs on. It was a perfect opportunity to make an example of them.

Just then, Traine's calm voice, yet filled with simmering rage, echoed in Daz Bones' ears: "You still look down on swordsmen that much, huh… Bounty hunter from the West Blue over a decade ago, Daz Bones!!"

"What?!"

Daz Bones' head snapped around instantly. All he saw was a crescent-shaped blade light flash across his retina.

Then…

Clang… Boom!!!

The next second, an immense force descended from above, cleaving down onto his hands, which had transformed into blades, interrupting Dust Slash!

The fact that the opponent could break through his Dust Slash didn't worry Daz Bones.

It wasn't the first time someone had broken through his attack. However, a swordsman's blade couldn't cut through the blades formed by his Devil Fruit ability, nor could it injure his body, which was as hard as steel. He could use this opportunity to leisurely grab the opponent's weapon, then stab the sword into their heart!

What surprised him was that the opponent had called out his name…

"Who exactly are you?!"

"A former Second Lieutenant from Branch 296 in the West Blue, just an insignificant nobody…"

Traine sneered, increasing the force in his arm as he slashed downwards!

Swoosh!!

In an instant!

Terrifying sword intent and immense power were poured into the blade. It was like a hot knife cutting through butter, without the slightest hesitation, slicing through the arm-blade formed by the Devil Fruit ability! The momentum didn't diminish, continuing its destructive path downwards, carving across his chest!

Daz Bones felt a sudden coolness on his arm and chest, followed by a piercing pain that engulfed him.

"Ah!!!"

Watching Daz Bones clutching his severed arm and howling in agony, Traine's expression was complex: "I knew you weren't my match, but I have to say, you've truly disappointed me, 'Killer'!!!"

Thump!!

He kicked Daz Bones in the head. Seeing him tumble into the large pit dug in the center of the camp, Traine was silent for a moment before beckoning: "Put Seastone handcuffs on him and take him back!!"

"Uh… Yes!"

Faced with their visibly displeased superior, the soldiers exchanged bewildered glances and scrambled to apprehend the man.

Ron released his hands from the two humanoid charcoal figures and shook his head as the captives stared at him as if he were a demon.

"So that's the origin of the scar on your chest?"

Sisco Traine, originally an ordinary Second Lieutenant from the West Blue, was gravely wounded and near death during a mission. He was then rescued by Garp, who happened to be passing by, and followed him to the Grand Line. Traine bore a terrifying scar on his chest, similar to Zoro's, running from his shoulder blade to his abdomen. It was said to have been inflicted by a blade, but he didn't consider it an honor, viewing it instead as a disgrace! He always dressed impeccably, never even taking off his close-fitting white shirt during training, all to conceal this scar… But Ron had never known who the culprit was.

Until now…

"I doubt Daz Bones ever imagined that the mere Second Lieutenant he almost killed back then would grow to this point… Hate truly is the source of human progress."

Daz Bones, the Blade Person, prided himself on his steel-like defense. He rarely encountered opponents in the Grand Line and West Blue, leading him to become complacent in his training. In reality, it was merely the normal defensive standard of a Marine elite who had mastered Tekkai. At best, it offered the advantages of mobility, quick activation, and low stamina consumption. What right did he have to look down on swordsmen?

One must remember that although Traine only held the rank of Major General, he was Garp's adjutant!

He had fought in countless battles over the past decade and had even undertaken several missions in the New World!

Even powerful individuals who had mastered Armament Haki wouldn't dare to take a direct hit from his sword intent-infused attacks.

Daz Bones' arrogance stemmed from ignorance, or rather, he had a poor definition of "strength," much like Ron used to.

A significant temperature drop is occurring, esteemed readers, please take care to stay warm. Just two days ago, Mianyang was using air conditioning, and today people are coming to eat hot pot wearing jackets! It caught me completely off guard, as I was still in shorts, a shoulder-baring t-shirt, and flip-flops!