Red Hair

The whistling wind roared past his ears, his hair flying wildly, his clothes fluttering. The intense sensation of falling made his heart pound erratically. The strong wind pressure almost forced Louis's eyes shut, but he still forced them open.

The sea grew closer, the azure expanse seeming within reach. If he hit it like this, he'd shatter into a million pieces.

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath. Louis realized he was finally caught up in this war, completely.

"Whoosh!"

A cannonball whistled past. Louis subtly pushed off the air with his feet, slightly altering his trajectory. The cannonball grazed his side.

"Then bring it on!"

Louis's gaze sharpened. "All of you who want me dead, die first!"

He grabbed the hem of his coat and suddenly spread it open. The sturdy coat billowed out, and after a moment of intense discomfort, his falling speed instantly slowed.

"Thump!"

He bent his legs and landed on a ship's mast. With a powerful push, he launched himself forward, falling like a cannonball onto the deck.

"Ah!!"

A scream spread across the deck. Louis descended from the sky, his sword pinning a pirate to the deck.

"Phew, I'm saved!"

The pirate, slumped on the ground clutching his sword, panted heavily, his forehead slick with cold sweat.

"Thank you, you are..."

The pirate swallowed, looking at Louis with gratitude.

"No need to mind. We're comrades now. I'm Mario, from the Blood Hand Pirates. Can you stand?"

Louis pulled out his sword and extended his right hand to him.

"Yeah."

The man grasped Louis's right hand and stood up.

"Don't you dare die!"

Louis chuckled. "Life is precious! It would be a shame to fall here."

"...Yeah!"

The man nodded heavily.

"If you're scared,"

Louis said, "just hide properly. There's no shame in it!"

On this battlefield of flying cannon fire, finding a place to hide might be the quickest way to meet your end.

He charged to the ship's side like a leopard, leaped, and deflected a cannonball with his sword. The bombardment had become indiscriminate. Even the Golden Lion Grand Fleet wasn't spared, with cannonballs whistling through the air.

Louis had figured it out. In a war like this, the best way for a small fry like him to survive was to find a place to hide. But could he really hide?

Louis looked up. Dark clouds were already gathering in the sky. It wouldn't be long before the great storm that helped the Roger Pirates turn the tide arrived. The storm alone had destroyed more than half of the Golden Lion Grand Fleet's pirate ships. Louis's best plan would soon become useless.

Louis needed a ship to carry him away from this storm, and he needed a crew to sail it.

"Boom!"

The ship was hit by two cannonballs in succession. The already small vessel began to shake violently, as if it would sink at any moment.

"Abandon ship!!"

Louis shouted. "Anyone who doesn't want to die, run!! Swim to another ship!!"

"Damn it!! Did they completely abandon us?"

"Stop the nonsense! Watch out for cannonballs! And watch out for the Roger Pirates!"

"Damn it! My pirate ship!!"

"All for Admiral Golden Lion's ambition!!"

Regardless, all the pirates lowered their small boats and began to transfer. Those who couldn't fit on the boats jumped into the water. Since there were half-sunk ships all around, the pirates, who spent their lives at sea, had no fear of drowning.

Louis leaped into the water. Like a mermaid, he broke the surface and plunged into the depths.

Everything around him seemed to fall silent. With a surge of effort, Louis shot forward like a marlin.

"Boom!"

A sudden cannonball landed nearby. Louis only had time to roll and dodge, simultaneously hardening his body with Tekkai. The powerful impact sent him flying.

"Whoa!"

Breaking the surface, Louis leaped into the air. He plunged his hand directly into the hull of a ship in front of him, pushed hard, flipped over, and landed on the deck.

"Ouch!"

A cannonball exploded beside him. Even with timely evasion and Tekkai defense, the powerful impact still caused his body to feel distinct pain.

"Crack!"

Just as he steadied himself on the ship's side, a surging slash whistled past. A dazzling light flashed before Louis's eyes. The ship, which had been fine moments ago, was directly split in two. It tilted sharply and began to sink into the water.

"Pluto!"

Louis leaped lightly onto the mast. He looked in the direction of the slash and saw two men locked in fierce combat. The enormous ship was already in pieces. "Rayleigh!"

The sea, cut open by the slash, only began to slowly heal.

Soaring slashes shot up into the sky from all directions, occasionally shredding pirate ships on the sea and in the air. There were enemy slashes and friendly slashes. Louis couldn't help but sigh. Had all the sword masters in the world gathered here?

But then again, he thought, Golden Lion, Roger, Rayleigh, Oden—weren't they all sword masters?

"Damn it!"

Louis cursed under his breath. He bent his knees and leaped with all his might, his body soaring into the sky. During the last month of the training camp and the voyage through the New World, he had focused all his energy on controlling his facial muscles. Life Return hadn't been trained on his leg muscles, but with the nutrition he'd constantly stuffed himself with, his strength was still formidable. Like a rocket, he shot into the sky, traced a smooth arc, and plunged into the water.

"Whoosh!"

Gathering strength underwater, he suddenly surged upwards, a splash propelling him into the sky. He lightly stepped on a ship's hull, his body continuing upwards, and landed on the deck of another ship.

"Huh?"

He immediately spotted a certain guy, his features so distinctive.

"Hahahahaha!! I told you I'm invincible!!"

The man with the red nose laughed heartily. With a flick of his throwing knife, he could hit several pirates, but he himself wouldn't suffer the slightest injury when attacked. No matter how swift a sword strike was, the moment it hit him, his body would immediately split, rendering him unharmed.

"Damn it! What's going on? This guy!"

"He's an ability user!!"

"Immune to swords? This guy!"

"Get out of the way!"

Louis landed on the deck, stomping down hard, cracking the deck. His body then charged out like a leopard, his sword held tightly in his hand.

"Hahaha! Another one!"

Buggy laughed heartily, meeting him without a care.

"Get lost!!"

Louis roared, twisting his sword. The blade struck Buggy's face.

"Ah!!"

With a scream, Buggy's body was sent flying by Louis, spinning off the deck. "Damn you, Shanks! Save me!!!"

He fell directly into the sea.

"Blades don't work,"

Louis sighed. "Then I'll use the flat of the blade."

"..."

The pirates were particularly ashamed. The ship's officers had gone to intercept the Roger Pirates elsewhere, leaving only them, the small fries, on board. Their combat strength was also quite worrying.

"Buggy!!"

From the stern, a figure leaped into the sea.

"That guy"

Louis saw a straw hat.

"Really"

With a leap, Louis turned. "Now is not the time to be looking for trouble."

"Is the helmsman here? Sail! Get us out of this area!"

Louis shouted. This ship was quite intact.

"Y-yes!!"

Amidst the crowd, a pirate nodded frantically. Cannonballs were still whistling. If they didn't run now, there would be no chance.

The large ship slowly began to move, heading towards the outer edge of the bombardment zone. Louis breathed a sigh of relief. Getting away from here would be much safer. This ship was also large enough; it might even withstand the coming storm.

"Hey! You hurt my nakama, and you think you can just leave?"

The man wearing the straw hat crouched on the ship's side, dripping wet.

"Ah, this is really"

Louis turned his head, looking at the kid, who was a year younger than him.