The Slaughter of the Black Shark Pirates and Poor Yaxi
"Bang!"
However, just as the blade was about to strike him, Karipu finally reacted and jumped to the side, managing to dodge the attack. But his ship wasn't so lucky; the terrifying attack cleaved the entire ship in two, and it immediately began to slowly sink.
"You, you, you, who exactly are you? With such strength, it's impossible for you to be unknown on the Grand Line!" Karipu asked the young man with a look of horror.
"Captain of the Conqueror Pirates, Uchiha Tianqi!" Tianqi, holding the Heavenly Cloud Sword, looked at the man who dared to rob him with disdain and announced his name.
"Uchiha Tianqi? Tianqi? Oh right, Captain, I remember who he is!" One of Karipu's men heard the name Tianqi and the unusual name immediately reminded him of the person on the wanted poster. He then trembled as he brought the wanted poster to Karipu.
Seeing that Karipu's subordinates had produced the bounty posters, Tianqi, Shanks, and the others were all filled with curiosity. They were all eager to know how much the bounty was. Tianqi had killed both Celestial Dragons and Marines, so they were genuinely curious about the bounty amount.
"1.5 billion...1.5 billion! Your bounty is a whopping 1.5 billion! Who exactly are you?" Karipu stared at Tianqi in horror.
This bounty is so high that it surpasses that of most pirates; only the most powerful pirates can command such a price. For this young man to have such a high bounty at such a young age demonstrates just how strong he is.
Upon hearing Karipu's strange cry, Shanks and the others were immediately taken aback, while Tianqi stepped forward and snatched the bounty poster to examine it. The bounty poster not only stated the reward but also explained the reason for it.
(Uchiha Tianqi, the Demon Eye, killed thousands of marines, sank eight warships, and killed four Celestial Dragons in the Sabaody Archipelago, openly provoking the World Government. A bounty of 1.5 billion Berries is hereby placed on his head.)
"Demon Eye? How boring!" Tianqi was speechless at the name and immediately tossed the bounty poster into the sea.
In reality, Tianqi's bounty was only around 500 million. The reason it was as high as 1.5 billion was entirely due to killing Celestial Dragons. Otherwise, it's not normal to have such a high bounty right away.
"Wow, Captain, you're quite the celebrity now! Such a high bounty is rare!" Shanks said with some envy. A bounty of 1.5 billion Berries right from the start is truly enviable. For pirates, a bounty is a recognition of their strength, and every pirate hopes for the highest possible bounty.
"What's a mere 1.5 billion Berries bounty? With Tianqi's power, he'll one day become the strongest pirate and reach a bounty of 10 billion!" Hancock tilted her head back arrogantly, as if she were the one with that many Berries bounty.
"That's right, that's right, let's aim for 10 billion!!" The Marigold sisters nodded in agreement.
Hearing Shanks and the others' words, Tianqi smiled. His goal in doing everything was to make a name for himself, and now that he had achieved it, it was indeed something to be happy about. As long as the bounty was sent to all the pirates on the sea, there probably wouldn't be any foolish little pirates coming to cause trouble anymore. If he didn't have a reputation, it would be very annoying to be bothered by small pirates Tenten.
"Now that you ants know my name, what will you choose? Will you draw your swords and fight me, or will you choose to run away and be caught and killed by me?" Tianqi looked calmly at Karipu and the other middle-aged man in front of him.
Tianqi could tell that the other middle-aged man was quite strong, at least much stronger than those small-time pirates. Tianqi guessed that this man was probably the second-in-command of the Black Shark Pirates, or something like the vice-captain.
Karipu glanced at the Demon Eye Uchiha Tianqi before him, then at his vice-captain Yaxi standing around him. He fell silent again. This man was incredibly strong; a direct confrontation would likely be hopeless. As for escaping, he didn't know if he could even get away, but it seemed like there was still a chance.
Perhaps sensing that Karipu was considering fleeing, Tianqi grinned wickedly and said, "I forgot to tell you, my greatest strength is speed. There's basically no chance of escaping from me. Besides, as Devil Fruit user, it's not easy to escape in the ocean. If I were you, I'd bet big!"
Upon hearing this, both Karipu and Yaxi's eyes lit up. Yes, since escape was impossible, why not take a gamble? But with this guy's strength, was there really any chance of winning?
Seeing that the two were somewhat interested, Tianqi also became playful and kept saying things to provoke them.
"Look at all that hard work you've put into building up this power, and I've almost destroyed it all. If I were you, I'd be so angry I'd want to eat this guy alive. Don't you want to rebuild your power now that it's been destroyed? You know I have a bounty of 1.5 billion Berries. If you take my 1.5 billion Berries, rebuilding your power won't be a problem at all. And don't be fooled by my high bounty; it's only because I killed a few Celestial Dragons. In the end, I'm just a rookie pirate, a newbie. How powerful can I be? Take a gamble, and maybe 1.5 billion Berries will be yours!"
Hearing Tianqi's words, Shanks and the others were speechless. This kind of seductive suggestion was too obvious. They never knew their captain had such a wicked sense of humor.
Karipu and Yaxi exchanged a glance. They agreed. He was just a rookie pirate who only had a high bounty because he killed a few useless Celestial Dragons. They figured they might actually have a chance with 1.5 billion Berries.
"Since we're going to die anyway, Karipu Yaxi to First Mate Yaxi.
"Alright! Since we're going to die anyway, I'll take a gamble today!" Yaxi agreed with his captain and charged straight at Tianqi, wielding his katana.
"Today I'll show you the strength of a great pirate! Die!" Yaxi used Armament Haki to coat his weapon, leaped, and slashed at Tianqi.
This also shows that the people of the New World are indeed very strong. While people in the first half of the Grand Line were still struggling to use Armament Haki, the people here had already managed to easily entangle themselves with Haki.
Seeing Yaxi rushing towards him, Tianqi shook his head speechlessly. It was unbelievable that he could fall for such a simple trick. Immediately, a Six Paths- Black Rods grew from Tianqi's palm and flew into Yaxi's chest at a speed that was almost invisible to the naked eye. Yaxi immediately fell down in front of Tianqi.
"Pfft, how... how despicable to resort to such underhanded tactics!" Yaxi spat out blood, looking at Tianqi with great indignation.
"You little devil? Heh, calling you stupid is too kind. Open your eyes wide and take a look! Your captain has already abandoned you and run away!" Tianqi looked at the big, dumb guy in front of him and explained speechlessly.
"What?" Yaxi turned his head slightly and saw that his captain was indeed gone. However, he could still see a figure not far away running across the wreckage of a wooden boat towards a complete ship a few dozen meters away. This figure was Karipu. Upon seeing this, Yaxi almost coughed up blood again and said with a face full of resentment, "That damned Karipu, how dare he trick me! How... how... how despicable!"
After saying this last sentence, Yaxi tilted his head and successfully received his lunchbox (a euphemism for being killed off).
On the other side, Karipu, who was fleeing, looked contemptuous. In his opinion, running away was the best option. After so many years in the business, how could he not see through mere seduction?
"Heh, foolish Yaxi can't even see how strong the opponent is. That Uchiha Tianqi destroyed the Black Shark Pirates so easily, his strength is clearly not on the same level as ours. He can't even see that and still wants to gamble? Does he really think 1.5 billion is so easy to get? Idiot! You deserve to die young!" After making a few sarcastic remarks, Karipu sped towards the remaining ships.
"Captain, Karipu has run away. Should we give chase?" Shanks asked Tianqi, watching Karipu almost reach a ship.