An Unexpected Crush

"So, you managed to dodge that?"

At that moment, a voice tinged with surprise drifted from behind a collapsed wall two hundred meters away:

"No wonder you dared to walk down the street so brazenly until now; you really do have some skill."

A short, stout man with lip piercings and a mohawk stepped out from behind the wall, letting out a yawn.

The guy looked to be in his thirties, with flared nostrils and a face layered in fat. He carried a strangely designed sniper rifle on his shoulder and wore three swords at his waist. His metal-punk attire looked rather incongruous.

"Captain of the Kake Pirates, 'Three-Sword Style Sword Demon' Dulu Kake, with a bounty of 36 million Beli."

Shiryu recognized the man, his gaze turning grim:

"It seems the intel we gathered wasn't comprehensive enough. I didn't expect that besides being a three-sword style swordsman, you were also a sniper."

"Just a hobby, I'm just playing around."

Kake casually tossed the expensive-looking sniper rifle aside, placed his right hand on a sword hilt, and grinned:

"That's just a side gig at best. I still prefer being a swordsman. Oh, wait, you should be calling me a master swordsman..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly drew his blade, and a white slash of sword energy shot out.

Swish!

As if he had been prepared all along, Noah drew both his red and white swords simultaneously, stepping forward to easily block the incoming Flying Slash.

"Hmm?" Kake raised an eyebrow and whistled, "Fast reflexes, kid. I see you're a swordsman too, but I wonder how your swordsmanship holds up?"

"Quit yapping, why don't you find out?"

The moment the words left his lips.

He slammed his heels hard into the ground, turning into a blur. Moving at terrifying speed, he closed in on Kake, his eyes sharp as he swung both swords down at once.

"Hiya!"

Kake was startled by the astonishing speed and immediately abandoned any sense of carelessness. He drew all three swords and engaged in a fierce exchange with Noah.

While a certain green-haired guy of the three-sword style used his mouth to hold the third blade, Kake was even more unique; he held the third sword in his right nostril, controlling it with his nose...

Perhaps that was the reason his nostrils were so much larger than an average person's.

"..."

Watching Kake's bizarre fighting style from afar, Rosinante's eye twitched slightly. He turned to Shiryu, "He's a pirate with a bounty over thirty million Beli, after all. Shouldn't we go help Noah?"

Shiryu, cigarette dangling from his lips, shook his head slightly. Just as he was about to speak, a shrill, strange laugh echoed eerily through the street:

"Help? Hee-hahahaha! Do you even have the time for that? Instead of worrying about your companion, you should worry about your own lives!"

"Watch out!"

In that very instant, Shiryu acted with lightning speed, shoving Rosinante hard out of the way.

The latter stumbled a few steps and scanned his surroundings, but found no trace of an enemy.

Just as he was confused, he was shocked to see a circular black hole appear where he had been standing, as if someone had opened a door out of thin air.

Whoosh...

Through that doorway, the sound of crashing waves could be faintly heard.

"Seawater?" Rosinante was horrified, but he realized the truth instantly, "Is that the Door-Door Fruit user, Big Black Hat Roan?"

"Hee-hee-hahahaha, you guessed it, yellow-haired boy."

The shrill, grating laughter rang out again. A black streetlamp at the corner of the street was suddenly pushed open from the inside, and a man as thin as a bamboo pole stepped out.

He wore a black trench coat and a wide-brimmed black hat. With his build, standing next to the black streetlamp, he looked exactly like its twin.

"Four captains in total, and two have already appeared."

Shiryu exhaled a cloud of smoke, staring coldly at Big Black Hat Roan, "I'm afraid there's more than just you here. Where are the other two?"

"Tsk, I guess I can't hide it anymore."

A look of disappointment crossed Big Black Hat Roan's withered, wood-like face. He tilted his head and shouted into the door beside him:

"Hey, big guy, stop dragging your feet. Come on out, let's finish off these three troublesome brats together."

"Just what I wanted."

A hoarse, rough voice replied as a tall, sturdy figure emerged. His upper body was bare, and shimmering, dark blue scales covered the skin along his spine.

"Half-fishman Tuls, with a bounty of 32 million Beli."

This was the third pirate captain to show his face. Shiryu's gaze grew increasingly heavy, "There's still Giant Bear Sano who hasn't appeared. Where is he?"

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

He was fierce and violent, having spent several years roaming the Grand Line before, for unknown reasons, choosing to return to the West Blue with his crew.

He was the captain with the highest bounty and the greatest strength among the four. Within the underground alliance of the West Blue, his status was second only to Capone Beate.

Even someone as arrogant as Shiryu felt wary of this guy, believing that even at his own peak, he would struggle to win in a one-on-one fight against Sano.

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

"To deal with you three brats by ganging up on you, wouldn't that make us look quite pathetic?"

Black-Hat Roan licked his lips and let out a strange laugh:

"That guy Giant Bear Sano just set off to hunt down your companions all by himself; he's probably having a blast killing them right now. But don't worry, we'll send you to join them soon enough."

Shiryu's lips curled into a sneer.

He couldn't be bothered with small talk, drawing his sword and charging straight at Roan, but before he made it halfway, he was intercepted by the towering fish-man Tuls, who blocked his path with a savage grin.

A change of opponent?

Shiryu didn't mind; in fact, because this fish-man Tuls had a higher bounty and looked stronger, he was more to his liking than that Roan.

He simply switched targets, turning his blade to engage the fish-man in a fierce clash, while tossing a remark over his shoulder to Rosinante:

"I've got this guy covered. You take care of that skinny beanpole in the black hat. Once we finish them off, we'll go help Noah. No problem, Rosy?"

"Leave it to me!"

Rosinante answered without hesitation; he had been thinking the same thing.

After all, the enemy Noah was facing had the highest bounty and was a swordsman capable of using Flying Slash. With that Giant Bear Sano absent, he was undoubtedly the trickiest and most difficult of the three captains to handle.

I have to take care of this Roan as quickly as possible so I can go help brother Noah relieve some pressure...

He muttered to himself, turning his gaze toward Roan, who stood by a black streetlamp. Just as he prepared to step forward and engage, a plump, round figure suddenly flew across his field of vision, screaming as it slammed into a distant wall.

The commotion instantly drew the attention of the other three.

And in the next instant, they watched in astonishment as Noah followed closely behind the short, stout figure, appearing atop the wall as if he had teleported.

With a downward slash, he sent the Three-Sword Style Sword Demon Kaku, who had just struggled to his feet, wailing once more as he fled in a pathetic scramble toward the distance...