The Marines were the true rulers of the seas because of their advanced warships and overwhelming firepower. They didn't even need to board enemy ships; they could already crush most small- and medium-sized pirate crews.
These ordinary pirate ships had fewer than ten cannons in total, even counting those on the bow, stern, and both sides. A warship, by contrast, had ten or twenty cannons along just one side. The difference in firepower was overwhelming.
So pirate crews without superhuman fighters could only flee whenever they spotted the Marines. Even crews with powerful fighters dreaded having their ships destroyed and chose to avoid fighting the Marines whenever possible.
After all, they only had one ship, while the Marines had an endless supply. Once a pirate ship was damaged, it could easily be hunted down by the Marine Branches and Marine fortresses along the way.
"What do we do, Captain Brook? There are quite a few Marines!"
Shakky saw the three warships across from them. Each carried at least fifty people, making well over two hundred in total.
"Redfield, how good is your swordsmanship? Have you reached the swordsman level? Can you release sword energy?"
Brook didn't know how strong Redfield was now, but he was said to be a genius on the same level as Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion. At this point in time, he shouldn't be too weak.
"Don't worry, Captain. I won't let a single cannonball hit our ship!"
Redfield said confidently as he drew the Cane Sword he had just received. It glinted coldly, a fine blade that had been nurtured by Brook's Underworld Ghost Qi.
"Then I'll leave the ship to you!"
Brook drew the Seven-Star Sword from his back and began to run.
"Hmph! Pirates are pirates. They can't read the situation! Open fire!!!"
Just after Rear Admiral Temp shouted, a sense of danger came over him. He jerked his head aside, and only then did the gunshot ring out. A Marine behind him was hit.
"There's a sniper over there! Be careful!"
Rear Admiral Temp saw the smoke curling from Silvers's long sniper rifle. Gunshots rang out without pause, and with each shot, another Marine fell, as if the sniper were the grim reaper, harvesting their lives.
The three warships roared with cannon fire. Cannonballs packed together like a storm, hurtling toward the Yomi.
'Yomi: Seven-Star Demon Ghost Slash'
A massive, cold, eerie blade of ghostly blue energy burst from Brook's Seven-Star Sword, instantly shattering the cannonballs. Brook was already sprinting across the sea, leaving behind a trail of splashing water frozen into ice. It was an eye-catching sight.
The beautiful trail of ice and splashing water had formed as the spray kicked up by Brook's rapid run across the sea was frozen by his Underworld Ghost Qi.
"Oh no!! Brook isn't just a Devil Fruit User—he's also a master swordsman!!"
Seeing Brook destroy so many cannonballs with a single slash and charge across the sea, Rear Admiral Temp was shocked. He immediately drew his sword and slashed at Brook as he leaped aboard.
'Clang!'
Their swords collided with a pleasant ring, sending sparks flying.
"You don't even know Armament Haki? How did you become a Rear Admiral???"
Brook realized that the Rear Admiral didn't know Armament Haki. He had wanted to defeat him so Redfield could read his memories and learn how to train in Armament Haki.
In fact, it was the Marines with somewhat mediocre talent and more advanced age who were stationed along the Grand Line. Those with talent had already learned Haki and entered the New World to suppress the pirates.
Clearly, Rear Admiral Temp had failed to awaken his Haki. But after many years of service, he had earned plenty of merit, so he had been assigned to the Grand Line as a fortress Rear Admiral.
Some talented Marine captains at Marine Headquarters had already awakened their Haki and entered the New World to fight. They earned more merit there and rose through the ranks quickly, so there were quite a few young officers in high positions. Zephyr, for example, had become an Admiral at thirty-eight.
Temp was now in his forties and still hadn't awakened Haki. He really was a bit lacking. But his physical and swordsmanship skills were more than enough to capture newly arrived pirates returning from the Grand Line!
"Hmph! I don't need Haki to take down pirates like you!"
"Is that so? Then you've lost your sword!"
Brook put more strength into his blow, and the Seven-Star Sword snapped Temp's blade. Forced back again and again, Temp discarded the broken hilt, swiftly seized a Marine's standard-issue sword, and swung it at Brook, sending out a slash of sword energy.
"Die, pirate!"
'Six Powers: Soru'
After releasing the sword energy, Rear Admiral Temp vanished from the spot. Once Brook cut through the slash, Temp suddenly appeared before him and brought his sword down hard!
"I didn't expect you to know the Six Powers. How many of them can you use?"
Brook blocked Rear Admiral Temp's downward strike, feeling rather excited. Wasn't this exactly the training method Shakky needed?
"Hmph! I failed to awaken Haki, but I'm no slouch when it comes to the Six Powers!"
'Six Powers: Rankyaku'
After driving Brook back with a slash of his sword, Rear Admiral Temp quickly powered up his legs and launched a blue cutting wave, no weaker than sword energy, at Brook.
"Anything else? Can you use Geppo?"
Brook shattered the blue cutting wave with his Seven-Star Sword and asked excitedly.
"What do you mean? Are you trying to steal the Six Powers? Not a chance!!"
'Six Powers: Geppo'
Rear Admiral Temp flew into the air, kicking rapidly with both legs. A series of Rankyaku cutting waves flew at Brook, leaving the warships covered in marks as if they'd been sliced by countless blades.
"Haha, not bad, not bad. Those three are more than enough!"
'Underworld Ghost Qi: Seven-Star Blizzard Slash'
The Seven-Star Sword in Brook's hand turned from ghostly blue to pale white. He moved even faster than Rear Admiral Temp's Soru, appearing before him in an instant and striking down.
'Six Powers: Kami-e'
Rear Admiral Temp drifted like a sheet of paper, narrowly dodging Brook's lightning-fast thrust. But the cold ghostly energy that followed the strike made him blanch.
'Six Powers: Iron Body'
'Whoosh!'
The sound of a blade slicing through skin rang out. Rear Admiral Temp's chest was cut, but no blood sprayed out; it had already been frozen by the cold ghostly energy.
"Rear Admiral!"
Lieutenant Commander Sadu and several other senior Marine officers rushed over and stood in front of Rear Admiral Temp, warily watching Brook. The hands gripping their swords were knotted with tension, their expressions taut.
Their strongest fighter, Rear Admiral Temp, couldn't beat Brook. That left them in an extremely dangerous situation.
"Not bad. You used five of them, so you must know the simplest one, Finger Pistol, too! You've got decent talent for physical combat, even if you've trained rather poorly!"
Rear Admiral Temp glared at Brook, his face ashen. He did have considerable talent, and it wasn't that he had trained poorly. A great pirate had once injured his lungs and kidneys, making it impossible for him to continue high-intensity training. His strength could no longer improve, and that was also why he hadn't been able to awaken Haki.
"You're worthy of being a pirate who returned from the Sabaody Archipelago. You're surprisingly strong. I admit I underestimated you, but you won't be leaving today. Even stronger officers are on their way. I just have to keep you here!"
Rear Admiral Temp stepped in front of the lieutenant commanders and commanders once more, facing Brook with unwavering resolve, his fighting spirit still burning...
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