When they said the advantage was theirs, 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 clinging to life on the ground, no one cared.
A burly figure suddenly burst out of the crowd. His hands were armed with claw-like weapons, and he moved like a feline. With a single leap, he landed in front of Dunn.
Claws glinting with cold light raked toward Dunn's face.
Boom!
Even without Observation Haki, that speed looked like a snail's crawl to Dunn.
He raised his leg, coated it in Armament Haki, and kicked straight out, sending the pirate charging at him flying.
Dunn hadn't held back at all.
The pirate shot out like a cannonball, plowing straight through the encircling pirates and carving a path through them.
Every pirate in its way was sent flying.
Not only the one who'd been kicked, but even those who'd been hit by him couldn't get back up.
The pirates closing in stopped short. They stood there, stunned, their vicious grins frozen on their faces.
Then came a tremendous crash.
The pirate Dunn had kicked flew straight into the town on the island. He smashed through a string of buildings before finally coming to a stop.
Gulp!
In the deathly silence, someone suddenly swallowed.
That sound carried clearly to many people in the tense silence.
"He's only one man! There are so many of us!"
With a roar, a towering figure charged forward, gripping a giant axe in both hands like a charging bull.
He raised the axe high and brought it down toward Dunn's head.
Dunn lifted Flame. Haki coated the blade as he calmly blocked the strike without so much as swaying.
But the ship beneath his feet was forced down by the impact, its stern lifting high into the air.
Another figure darted out, silently thrusting a sword at Dunn.
Dunn raised his left hand and caught the tricky blade that stabbed at him from the side.
"Ah!"
Seeing someone else make the first move, the other pirates charged over with shouts, weapons in hand.
Bang! Bang!
Pirates armed with flintlocks fired straight at Dunn.
Clink! Clink!
The bullets struck Dunn with a crisp metallic sound, shattering on impact.
Once his sword was caught, Lone Wolf Asong promptly released the hilt and pulled away, retreating several steps in a row.
It only took that brief exchange to tell whether he was outmatched.
That first display of strength had been terrifying, but it hadn't felt real. Now that he'd faced Dunn himself, he could tell the gap between them was enormous.
"Running?"
Dunn flicked his hand and flung away the sword he'd caught by its tip.
The sword streaked through the air like a shooting star, piercing Lone Wolf Asong through the right side of his chest and pinning him to the stone dock.
Then Dunn grabbed the giant axe with his left hand.
Four-meter-tall Giant Axe Onwa refused to let go of his weapon. Dunn gripped the blade and swung him into the air, using him like an oversized weapon to smash away the pirates attacking from every direction.
Only after Giant Axe Onwa lost his grip and was flung away did Dunn throw the axe after him, following close behind.
Onwa had just hit the ground and hadn't yet recovered from his dizziness when the axe came down on him.
Crack.
The sound of breaking bones rang out.
A wide circle had cleared around Dunn. The pirates backed away in confusion, colliding with those behind them and creating a chaotic mess.
The ground around Dunn was littered with pirates caught in the chaos. Some had stopped breathing; others were screaming in pain.
Dunn leaped down from the ship and walked through the bodies toward the pirates surrounding him.
The pirates around him hurriedly backed away.
Seeing this, 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.
Should I kill them all?
The thought crossed Dunn's mind.
He no longer felt any aversion to killing.
On his way back this time, he'd sent every pirate he encountered at sea who had no value to the bottom of the ocean.
"What kind of man are you?"
Just as Dunn was considering whether to kill them all, a figure rushed over from the direction of the town.
When he landed, Dunn saw a man in a suit—except this fellow was a black panther standing upright.
Wait, a Devil Fruit User?
A Zoan Devil Fruit User?
Dunn's expression shifted. He didn't swing his sword, but fixed his gaze on the newcomer.
"Ah!"
A pirate suddenly shouted and turned to flee.
But after only two steps, a Flying Slash streaked through the air, cutting off his cry.
Dunn kept his eyes on the arriving Devil Fruit User.
"A swordsman?"
When the Zoan User saw Dunn's slash, his expression turned ugly, then grew deeply wary.
"Don't you know whose territory this is?"
The man tried to use the power behind him to intimidate Dunn.
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.
If it wasn't necessary, it was best not to get into a direct fight with a swordsman.
"Territory? Tell me about it."
Dunn's expression shifted slightly, and he lifted his chin.
The pirates around them didn't dare move rashly.
That brief exchange had been enough for them to understand.
This pretty boy—no, this handsome man—was definitely more than they could handle.
More precisely, he could probably kill them with a casual wave of his hand.
Now it all depended on whether this man could 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 behind me finds out, even a swordsman like you won't be able to withstand his fury."
Hearing Dunn's words, the Zoan User immediately responded with a warning and a threat.
"I told you to tell me about it."
Dunn frowned and repeated himself.
"That lord's name isn't something you can—"
Hearing Dunn's tone, the Devil Fruit User immediately snapped back. Perhaps he was used to throwing his weight around here.
An unexpected gain had naturally pleased Dunn.
But he didn't like the way this man spoke.
Boom!
The stone slabs beneath Dunn's feet shattered. In the next instant, his left hand, coated in Armament Haki, seized the Devil Fruit User by the face.
Boom!
Dunn slammed him hard into the ground.
Cracks spread in every direction from beneath the man's head, pinned under Dunn's left hand.
The dock fell utterly silent. You could have heard a pin drop.
Everyone stared at Dunn in terror, not daring to breathe as they desperately held their breath.
Some of the more timid ones were nearly in tears.
"I said, tell me about it!"
Dunn pressed the man's head down with his left hand and spoke again.
Before you continue