No Playing Dirty?

Luo Ya hurried toward the central castle, setting fire to any buildings he passed with a casual flick of flame.

"Scarface, hang in there. Don't let someone else steal Momo before I get back." Luo Ya couldn't help picking up his pace as he thought about it.

When he reached the castle gates, two guards were still standing watch. They wore black suits, carried flintlock rifles, and had long swords at their waists.

"Stop! Who are you?" The guards hurriedly raised their guns and aimed at Luo Ya.

Unfortunately, guns in the One Piece World were pretty pathetic. Aside from a few famous marksmen like Yasopp, anyone who used a gun was basically a nobody.

Support Slash! Luo Ya slid his sword back into its sheath. A thin line of flame slashed diagonally upward from the left, cutting through the guards and the gate. Luo Ya stepped past the guards and kicked the wooden gate. The two guards fell with the wind, split in half, as flames crackled in their wounds.

Luo Ya entered the castle. Several lackeys from the Camorra Family came rushing out, brandishing swords and guns. They launched a fierce attack on him.

The gunshots rang out, filling the air with thick white smoke.

"What a shame. You guys don't know the rule that smoke means no damage." Before Luo Ya had even finished speaking, a circular sword wave swept out with him at its center. Ring Cut, a technique derived from Support Slash! Just as the name suggested, it was a circular draw-cut. With the combined boost of Ryujin Jakka and Scorching Cloud, it was especially effective at clearing out mooks, particularly when surrounded.

"Ah! My hand! Waaaah!" As the smoke cleared, the lackeys' agonized cries filled the air. Around Luo Ya lay a crowd of "corpses," cut in half or missing limbs, but not yet dead.

Luo Ya appeared among them, holding his sword in one hand. His eyes glinted blood-red with bloodlust. "Principle! Come out and die! Someone's put a price on your head."

Before Luo Ya had finished speaking, a gust of wind struck. He hurriedly managed to cover himself in Armament Haki.

Thud! With a muffled impact, Luo Ya used the force to retreat, dragging his feet across the ground and leaving long furrows.

A muscular man stood where Luo Ya had been. His chest was covered in black fur, while close-cropped white fur covered his head and back. His height was unusually close to Luo Ya's—around 1.9 meters. He was built like a tank. Perhaps because his head was so large, his ears were almost invisible. His eyes reminded Luo Ya of a certain man surnamed Li from his previous life.

"Fire Ghost Luo Ya, you've got some nerve, coming here to cause trouble. You got lucky and killed a few Marines, and now you've forgotten who you are?" Honey Badger said.

"Why don't you try opening your eyes when you talk?" Luo Ya said with a laugh.

"They're already open as wide as they can get!" Honey Badger's eyes widened the tiniest bit, turning bloodshot as he roared and swung a punch at Luo Ya.

Clang! Luo Ya held his blade across his body to block the blow, but he couldn't stop himself from being driven backward.

Zoan abilities enhanced their users' physical strength to begin with. Even before eating the Honey Badger Fruit, Honey Badger had been a hot-tempered martial arts expert. The fruit was practically made for him.

Together, they didn't grant any special ability that could end a fight in one strike, but they vastly enhanced his speed, strength, and stamina.

And anyone with tiny eyes knew: people hated being told to open them when they talked!

Seeing his powerful punch blocked, the enraged Honey Badger shared an unspoken understanding with Luo Ya, and the two kicked straight at each other.

With a bang, they separated. Luo Ya grunted. Even with the protagonist's plot armor, he was still nowhere near Honey Badger in physical strength.

"I can't let him dictate the pace. I need to use my weapon's reach." Luo Ya stared hard at Honey Badger's "closed eyes."

After steadying himself, Honey Badger raised his right fist. "Hah, that's a nice weapon you've got. The Marines' bounties must be worth less and less these days. Once I snap your neck, I'll keep this sword as a souvenir."

Before he'd finished speaking, Luo Ya pushed off the ground. Support Slash! A scorching wave of flame slashed diagonally upward from the lower left. Just as Honey Badger's backward dodge ran out of momentum, Luo Ya used Castle Wall Flame!

Seizing the opportunity, Luo Ya followed through with a horizontal slash to the left, sending a fan-shaped wall of flame around Honey Badger's upper body.

Even a tough guy like Honey Badger screamed as Ryujin Jakka burned him.

Just as Luo Ya prepared to press his advantage and finish him off, a gust of wind came from the side, aimed at his temple.

Thud! Luo Ya only had time to cover himself in a thin layer of Armament Haki before he was sent flying. He smashed through the castle wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Thud! Thud! Footsteps sounded as the smoke cleared. Luo Ya crouched on one knee, leaning on his sword, one hand covering his left eye. Bright red blood ran between his fingers.

"Fire Ghost Luo Ya, you've got pretty good reflexes. I thought one hit would be enough to take you out. Looks like I'll have to put in a little more effort." The speaker was the head of the Camorra Family, Principle. He remained in his half-beast form, with a lion's head. His right paw was flecked with crimson.

"Damn it, novels have misled me. Who says villains always attack one at a time? He'd been hiding in the dark, waiting for a chance to ambush me. I got careless when I thought I was about to finish Honey Badger. My right eye's completely bloodshot—I can't see out of it. My head's spinning." Luo Ya crouched, panting, as he thought.

In the One Piece World, people were built like monsters. Whitebeard could get half his head blown off and still beat Akainu half to death, but swordsmen were the exception.

Swordsmen were always high in attack and speed. Even Zoro in the original story was practically finished after taking a little damage. You couldn't be extremely tanky and still hit hard! That'd make you God!

Principle looked over at Honey Badger. "Kill the kid and hurry to the docks. Things are getting worse over there. Looks like it's not just this kid—someone else is causing trouble, too. I've been quiet for too long. Now every stray cat and dog thinks it can jump out and cause trouble."

Honey Badger got to his feet. This time, he looked less strange. His body was charred black, and his fur smelled burnt. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Boss, don't let him die too easily. I want to crush every bone in his body!"

With that, they both lunged at Luo Ya.