Caught Off Guard by a Crushing Defeat

"Dodged it, huh?"

Just then, a somewhat surprised voice came from behind a collapsed wall two hundred meters away:

"No wonder you still dared to stroll down the street so openly. Looks like you've got some skill after all."

A short, fat man with a lip piercing and a Mohawk emerged from behind the wall with a yawn.

He looked to be around thirty. His nostrils were unusually large, his face was piled with fat, and he carried a strangely shaped sniper rifle over one shoulder. Three swords hung at his waist, while his metallic punk-style outfit made for a rather bizarre sight.

"Captain of the Kake Pirates, the Three-Sword Style Sword Demon, Dulu Kake. Bounty: 36 million Beli."

Shiryu recognized him, his gaze turning grim.

"Looks like the information we got before wasn't complete enough. I didn't expect you to be a sniper on top of being a three-sword swordsman."

"Just a little hobby. I mess around with it sometimes."

Kaku casually tossed the clearly expensive sniper rifle aside, placing his right hand on a sword hilt as he grinned.

"That's only a side gig, though. I still prefer being called a swordsman. Oh, no, that's wrong. You should be calling me a Swordmaster..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly drew his blade and struck, sending a white slash flying forth.

Swish!

As if he had been prepared all along, Noah's red and white swords left their sheaths simultaneously. He stepped forward and effortlessly blocked the howling Flying Slash.

"Hm?" Kaku raised a brow and whistled. "Quick reactions, kid. Looks like you use swords too, but I wonder how good you actually are?"

"Why don't you stop yammering and find out?"

The instant the words fell—

He stomped down hard with his heel, turning into an afterimage as he charged before Kaku at a terrifying speed. His eyes were sharp as both swords came crashing down.

"Whoa!"

Kaku was startled by the astonishing speed. He no longer dared to underestimate Noah, drawing all three blades as he plunged into an intense clash with him.

Both used three-sword style. Some green-haired guy held his third sword in his mouth, while Kaku was even more unusual—his third blade was stuck into his right nostril, controlled with his nose...

Perhaps that was why his nostrils were so much larger than normal.

"..."

Watching Kaku's bizarre fighting style in the distance, Rosinante's eye twitched slightly. He turned to Shiryu. "He's a pirate with a bounty over thirty million Beli. Should we go help Brother Noah?"

Shiryu had a cigarette in his mouth and shook his head slightly. Just as he was about to say something, a shrill, bizarre cackle suddenly rang through the street.

"Help? Hehehehahaha! Do you have time for that? Rather than worrying about your companion, you should worry about your own lives first!"

"Watch out!"

At almost that exact moment, Shiryu reacted swiftly and shoved Rosinante away.

Rosinante staggered several steps and looked around, but found no trace of an enemy.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, he suddenly saw in astonishment that a circular black hole had appeared where he had been standing, as if someone had opened a door out of thin air.

Splash, splash...

The rushing crash of waves could faintly be heard through the doorway.

"Seawater?" Rosinante's expression changed drastically, but he immediately realized what it was. "Is that the Door-Door Fruit user called Big Black Hat Roan?"

"Hehehehahaha, got it right, blondie."

That shrill, piercing laugh rang out again. The black streetlamp at the intersection was suddenly pushed open from within, and a man as skinny as a bamboo pole stepped out.

He wore a black trench coat and a huge black wide-brimmed hat. With that physique, standing beside the black streetlamp, he looked exactly like its twin brother.

"Of the four captains, two have appeared already."

Shiryu exhaled a cloud of smoke and stared coldly at Big Black Hat Roan. "I doubt you're the only one here. Where are the other two?"

"Tch, guess we can't stay hidden anymore."

A disappointed look crossed Roan's withered, Kogarashi-like face. Tilting his head, he shouted toward the door beside him.

"Hey, big guy, stop dragging your feet and get out here. Let's take them down together and deal with these three troublesome brats."

"Just what I wanted."

Amid a hoarse, rough voice, a tall and burly figure appeared. His upper body was bare, and shimmering dark-blue scales covered the skin along his spine.

"Tuls the Half-Fishman. Bounty: 32 million Beli."

This was the third pirate captain to reveal himself. Shiryu's gaze gradually grew more solemn. "Giant Bear Sano still hasn't shown himself, has he? Where is he?"

Giant Bear Sano, captain of the Black Bear Pirates, a Zoan-type Bear-Bear Fruit user, with a bounty of 52 million Beli.

He was cruel and violent by nature. He had once spent several years making a name for himself on the Grand Line, but later, for some unknown reason, chose to return to the West Blue with his crew.

Among the four captains, he had the highest bounty and the greatest strength. Within the West Blue's underground alliance, his status was second only to Capone Beate's.

Even someone as confident as Shiryu was wary of him. He believed that even at full strength, he would find it difficult to defeat Sano alone.

Perhaps he would need to join forces with his two friends to defeat the man completely before the assessment time ran out.

"If we had to gang up on three little brats, wouldn't that make us look bad?"

Big Black Hat Roan licked his lips and gave a strange laugh.

"Sano only just set out to hunt down your companions by himself. He's probably having the time of his life killing them already. But don't worry—we'll send you to join them soon enough."

A mocking curve touched Shiryu's lips.

He could not be bothered with more nonsense. He drew his sword and charged straight at Roan, only to be intercepted halfway by the tall half-fishman Tuls, who grinned savagely.

A different opponent?

Shiryu did not mind. In fact, Tuls had a higher bounty and looked stronger, making him more appealing to Shiryu than Roan.

He simply changed targets, turning his blade and engaging the half-fishman in battle. At the same time, he tossed a remark over his shoulder to Rosinante.

"I've got this one. That skinny pole in the black hat is yours. Once we finish them, we'll go help Noah. No problem, Rossi?"

"Leave it to me!"

Rosinante answered without hesitation. That was exactly what he had been thinking.

After all, Noah's opponent had the highest bounty. He was also a Swordmaster capable of using Flying Slashes. With Giant Bear Sano absent, he was undoubtedly the most troublesome and difficult of the three captains to handle.

I have to take down Roan quickly and go help Brother Noah ease the pressure...

He muttered inwardly, shifting his gaze toward Roan beside the black streetlamp. Just as he was about to step forward and fight, a plump figure suddenly flew across his field of vision, screaming as it crashed into a distant wall.

The commotion instantly drew the attention of the other three.

Then, in the next instant, they watched in stunned disbelief as Noah appeared atop the wall, right behind that short, fat figure, as though he had teleported.

His blades came down, sending the Three-Sword Style Sword Demon Kaku—who had only just struggled to his feet from the ground—howling in agony once more as he fled miserably into the distance...