When he said the advantage was his, they had already lost every advantage.
The pirates at the dock grinned viciously as they closed in on Dunn. As for Torff, who was barely breathing on the ground, nobody cared.
A burly figure suddenly charged out of the crowd. He wielded claw-like weapons in both hands and moved like a feline, leaping straight at Dunn.
The gleaming claws raked toward Dunn's face.
Boom!
Even without Observation Haki, that speed looked like a crawl to Dunn.
He raised his leg, coated it in Armament Haki, and kicked straight out, sending the charging pirate flying.
Dunn hadn't held back.
The pirate shot away like a cannonball, plowing a straight path through the group surrounding him.
Every pirate in its path was sent flying.
Not only the one who'd been kicked, but even those who'd been struck by the others couldn't get back up.
The pirates surrounding Dunn stopped in their tracks, frozen in place. Their savage grins were still plastered across their faces.
Only when a tremendous crash sounded in the distance did they snap out of it.
The pirate Dunn had kicked had crashed straight into the island town. He tore through a string of buildings before finally coming to a stop.
Gulp!
In the utter silence, someone suddenly swallowed.
The sound carried far in the stillness, and many people heard it.
"He's just one man, and we've got so many of us!"
With a roar, a towering figure charged forward, gripping a giant axe in both hands like a wild bull.
He raised the axe high and brought it down on Dunn.
Dunn raised Flame. Haki wrapped around the sword as he calmly took the blow, without so much as a tremor.
The force drove the ship beneath his feet down a good distance, lifting its rear end into the air.
Another figure rushed in, silently thrusting a sword at Dunn.
Dunn raised his left hand and caught the oddly angled sword stabbing in from the side.
"Ahhh!"
Seeing someone else make the first move, the other pirates shouted and charged with their weapons.
Bang, bang!
The pirates with pistols fired straight at Dunn.
Clink, clink!
The bullets struck Dunn with a crisp metallic sound and shattered on impact.
After Asong the Lone Wolf's sword was caught, he immediately let go of the hilt and retreated, taking several quick steps back.
It took only that brief exchange to tell whether he was outmatched.
That first display of strength had been terrifying, but he hadn't felt it firsthand. Now that he'd attacked Dunn himself, the enormous gap between them was clear.
"Running?"
Dunn flicked his hand and flung the sword away by its tip.
The blade streaked through the air like a meteor, pierced Asong the Lone Wolf through the right side of his chest, and pinned him to the stone dock.
Dunn then grabbed the giant axe with his left hand.
The four-meter-tall Giant Axe Onwa refused to let go of his weapon. Dunn caught the axe blade and swung him into the air. Like an oversized weapon, Onwa slammed into the pirates attacking from all sides and sent them flying.
Only after Giant Axe Onwa lost his grip on the weapon and was hurled away did Dunn throw the axe after him, sending it flying toward Onwa.
Onwa had just hit the ground and hadn't yet recovered from the dizziness when the axe came crashing down on him.
Crack.
The sound of breaking bones rang out.
A wide circle had been cleared around Dunn. The pirates backed away in confusion, colliding with those behind them and throwing the crowd into chaos.
The ground around Dunn was strewn with pirates caught in the blow. Some were already dead, while others screamed in pain.
Dunn jumped down from the ship and walked through the bodies toward the pirates surrounding him.
The pirates around him hurriedly retreated.
Watching them, Dunn gripped Flame's hilt and slowly drew the unusually long sword.
Then he looked at the hundred or two pirates still standing around him.
Kill them all?
The thought crossed Dunn's mind.
He no longer had much aversion to killing.
On the way back this time, he'd encountered pirates at sea. Those who had no value had all ended up at the bottom of the ocean.
"What the hell are you?"
Just as Dunn was wondering whether to kill them all, a figure charged over from the town.
When he landed, Dunn saw a man in a suit—except this fellow was a black panther standing on two legs.
No, was he a Devil Fruit User?
A Zoan Devil Fruit User?
Dunn's expression shifted. He lowered his sword without striking and fixed his gaze on the newcomer.
"Ah!"
A pirate suddenly yelled and turned to run.
But he'd taken only two steps when a Flying Slash shot past. His cry cut off.
Dunn kept his eyes on the arriving Devil Fruit User.
"A swordsman?"
The Zoan User's expression darkened as soon as he saw Dunn's slash. His face turned grave.
"Don't you know whose territory this is?"
The man tried to cow Dunn with the power of the person backing him.
After all, a swordsman was no easy opponent.
They might not match Devil Fruit Users in speed, stamina, or defense, but their killing power was second to none.
Unless there was no other choice, it was best to avoid a direct confrontation with a swordsman.
"Territory? Tell me about it."
Dunn's expression shifted, and he tipped his chin up.
The pirates around them didn't dare make a move.
That brief exchange had been enough to make them understand.
This pretty boy... No, this handsome man was far beyond their ability to deal with.
More precisely, he might kill them all as casually as swatting flies.
Now it was up to this man to stop him.
"Looks like you really don't know. In that case, leave now, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened. Otherwise, if the lord I serve finds out, even a swordsman like you won't escape his wrath."
The Zoan User responded to Dunn's words with a warning and a threat.
"I told you to tell me."
Dunn frowned and repeated himself.
"Someone like you has no right to know that lord's name—"
Hearing Dunn's tone, the User immediately snapped back. He was probably used to throwing his weight around here.
Dunn was naturally pleased by this unexpected windfall.
But he didn't like the way this man spoke to him.
Boom!
The stone slabs beneath Dunn's feet exploded. In the next instant, his Armament Haki-coated left hand seized the User by the face.
Boom!
Dunn slammed him hard into the ground.
Cracks spread in every direction from the man's head beneath Dunn's left hand.
The dock fell utterly silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone stared at Dunn in horror. They didn't even dare breathe, holding their breath with all their might.
Some of the more timid ones were close to tears.
"I said, tell me!"
Dunn pressed his left hand down on the man's head and spoke again.
Before you continue