Perhaps This Was What They Called Justice!

Every punch he threw had once packed the force of a cannonball. But now, with his injuries and lack of stamina, his punches had been weakened to this extent. Cook was naturally furious.

"Are you going to run around like a coward again? Don't worry, go ahead and run. I wonder how many of those people on your island will still be breathing in a little while."

Cook swung another punch. Wood had been about to dodge, but after hearing what Cook said and looking at the badly wounded townspeople on the other side, he gritted his teeth and charged forward with his sword!

"Clang!"

The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Wood swung his sword with his right hand and clashed head-on with Cook's arm gauntlet. A huge, indescribable pressure surged through his right arm.

The powerful impact traveled straight through the blade and into Wood's arm. He felt the bones in his hand groaning as if they might snap at any moment.

The bones in his left arm were already broken, and his shoulder was dislocated. He couldn't draw any strength from it at all.

Just as Wood felt his right arm was about to give way, he raised his right foot and planted it on the back of his blade. Using the added leverage, he shoved Cook's heavy punch aside.

Cook's punch was deflected, and surprise spread across his face. He had expected Wood to dodge, and he had expected to send him flying with a single punch, but he hadn't expected Wood to use this method to overcome his disadvantage in strength.

But even with his right-handed punch knocked aside, Cook still had his left hand. An ordinary person who wasn't left-handed would certainly have less strength in his left arm than in his right.

Even so, Cook was sure that if Wood took this punch without guarding himself, it would leave him gravely injured!

Seeing Wood rush into his reach, Cook swept a left hook toward his ribs, aiming to cripple him with a blow to the kidneys.

But as Cook's fist came toward him, a fierce look spread across Wood's face.

Just as Cook had said, the longer the battle dragged on, the worse things would get for Wood.

Or rather, the ones who would suffer weren't Wood himself, but everyone else on Maple Leaf Island.

After two years of pirate attacks, most of the island's original residents had already left.

Those still here were mostly women, children, and elderly people who had no way to leave, along with a handful who were attached to the island.

Against the vicious Iron Arm Pirates, the women, children, and elderly, armed only with whatever weapons they could cobble together, stood no chance.

Every extra minute Wood spent fighting meant more people might die at the pirates' hands. He couldn't let his battle with Cook drag on!

This time, facing the heavy punch sweeping toward him with a gust of wind, Wood didn't try to dodge. He drove his knee into Cook's left arm.

"Crack!"

The result was only to be expected. Cook was already stronger than Wood, and now he was wearing iron arm gauntlets.

When they collided, Wood's left kneecap shattered almost instantly!

The searing pain of his bone breaking was so intense that blood seeped between his clenched teeth.

But before Cook could show any pleasure at having dealt Wood a serious blow, he saw the boy's face twist with fury. Pushing off with his only good leg, Wood leaped straight at him.

A murderous glint flashed in Wood's eyes. The veins beneath the skin of his sword-gripping right hand stood out clearly.

"One-Sword Style: Cutting Steel!"

Cook was off balance. Seeing Wood—his left arm and leg both useless—leap at him with a crazed expression fiercer than anything he had ever seen before, Cook couldn't hide his terror.

"You lunatic! You mon...ster!"

An ordinary person whose kneecap had been shattered might have been overwhelmed by the pain and lost the will to fight.

But this boy seemed like a demon that couldn't feel pain!

The way Cook saw it, his opponent was only a little over ten years old. How could he have such an iron will?

A silver flash burst through the air. Cook hurriedly raised his arm gauntlet to shield his throat, but it couldn't stop the blade from cutting through.

The iron gauntlet and the arm inside it were severed in one stroke. A deep gash opened across Cook's throat as well, and a torrent of blood gushed from the wound.

Cook tried to press his other hand against his bleeding throat, but it was useless.

As he lost more and more blood, Cook's consciousness began to fade. His pupils, fixed on Wood, gradually grew unfocused.

After completing the Ultimate Technique: Cutting Steel, Wood lost his support and crashed hard to the ground. The impact made him cough up a large mouthful of blood.

The sword in his hand had not only sliced through Cook's arm gauntlet during that final strike; it had also reached its limit and snapped in two.

Wood had taken the sword from pirates who had landed on the island before. It wasn't a particularly good blade. After taking so many of Cook's punches head-on, then bearing the full force of Wood's Cutting Steel technique, it was no surprise that it couldn't take any more.

Wood looked at Cook lying in a pool of blood, then at the residents of Maple Leaf Island collapsing one by one on the other side. He used the broken sword to struggle to his feet.

But after taking only a few steps, Wood felt his consciousness start to fade. The scenery before his eyes grew increasingly blurry.

"Impressive, kid. Your strength aside, I've never seen anyone with a will as strong as yours.

"When I was your age, I was nowhere near your equal in either strength or willpower.

"You've done more than enough. Leave the rest to me..."

Through Wood's fading vision, he dimly saw a white cape bearing the word "Justice." A hearty, powerful voice sounded beside him, and as Wood was about to collapse, someone caught him.

Looking at the black-haired boy in his arms, his left arm and leg bent at grotesque angles, Zephyr couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

He had arrived only at the very end of Wood and Cook's fight, but he had just happened to see Wood's final display of resolve.

With Zephyr's experience and strength, he could tell that if Wood had fought Cook in a straightforward manner, he could have won with far fewer injuries.

But instead, he had won by throwing himself into the fight with reckless abandon. At first, Zephyr hadn't understood the boy's reasoning. He had assumed Wood simply lacked combat experience.

But then he saw the boy, his body half-crippled, still leaning on his broken sword as he limped toward the other side. Even Zephyr, who had served in the Navy for decades, was moved by what he saw.

Wasn't the justice that boy had fought so desperately to uphold exactly what people meant by justice?