The Great Axe Pirates

An uninhabited island in the East Blue.

The deserted island was covered in dense green vegetation, with tall trees standing straight and lush.

Sunlight filtered through the interwoven gaps between the leaves and fell upon the ground. In the tranquil forest, a man with markings on his face lay on the grass with his eyes closed.

The man on the grass was tall and powerfully built, his physique as perfect as a sculpture. Every muscle was as hard as refined iron, smoothly defined and brimming with strength.

The man opened his eyes, propped himself up with one hand, and sat cross-legged on the grass. After taking a deep breath to compose himself, he silently opened the system panel in his mind:

Host: Rody (Ryomen Sukuna)

Age: 24

Ability 1: Reverse Cursed Technique. Can use cursed energy to heal his own injuries and those of others, excluding injuries to the mind and soul.

Ability 2: Exceptional learning talent. As long as the conditions suited him, he could quickly learn others' abilities. Even for abilities he could not learn, he could swiftly analyze an opponent's weaknesses and find suitable countermeasures.

Ability 3: Domain. Malevolent Shrine, Chimera Shadow Garden.

Ability 4: Ten Shadows Technique, Black Box—Open.

Ability 5: Powerful soul

As Rody looked at his status panel, he felt his blood boiling within him.

Rody rose to his feet, extended two fingers toward the forest ahead, and gave them a light flick. A slash shot forth, splitting every tree and rock in front of him cleanly in two.

Looking at the mess caused by the falling trees and rocks, Rody could not help letting out a delighted laugh.

With both hands in his pockets, Rody walked out of the devastated forest and onto the deserted island's beach. Before him stretched an endless sea. Other than the occasional seabird flying overhead, there was not a single living creature in sight.

After thinking for a moment, Rody formed a hand sign before his chest. At once, a monstrous bird far larger than a human flew out from his shadow.

With a light leap, Rody landed on its broad back. Nue flapped its wings, whipping up sand from the ground as it soared into the sky.

After casually choosing a direction for Nue to fly, Rody stood on its back with his arms folded, lost in thought.

He had obtained all of Ryomen Sukuna's strength from before the battle against the strongest. However, he lacked the weapons Hiten and Kamutoke, and he had not learned the world-cutting slash or the technique of healing burnt-out cursed techniques that Ryomen Sukuna had comprehended during that battle.

Still, with his exceptional learning talent, he should be able to learn how to heal burnt-out cursed techniques quickly once he understood the principles behind it. The world-cutting slash should not take too long either.

As for weapons, he could find special materials similar to Wapol Metal and forge them. Once the forging was complete, he could feed the weapon a Devil Fruit. A weapon like that should be quite formidable.

As Rody pondered, the vague outline of a small island appeared on the endless sea ahead.

But Rody was in no hurry. Perhaps due to Ryomen Sukuna's influence, his already healthy appetite had increased somewhat. When he had nothing to do, he would occasionally zone out to clear his mind.

Watermelon Town

"Ha ha ha ha... Men, get moving! Food, women, money—take it all!"

A three-meter-tall man with a lecherous face, vicious eyes, and a few sparse strands of hair floating atop his head stood at the bow, holding a massive axe that weighed over a hundred jin. He bared his uneven yellow teeth and roared toward the town ahead.

Captain of the Great Axe Pirates!

Gry Dong! Bounty: 10,000,000 Berries.

At their captain's command, the pirates, who had long been unable to suppress their urge to plunder, let out strange cries and scrambled off the ship to loot the town.

In an instant—

The once peaceful Watermelon Town became a living hell, filled with crying, screams, wails, and pleas for mercy...

"Brother, won't making such a big commotion bring the Marines here?"

At that moment, a man less than 1.5 meters tall, equally lecherous-looking, and with similarly sparse hair walked slowly to Gry Dong's side. A cigarette hung from his lips as he spoke with an ugly expression.

"Hmph! Rumen, who do you think I am? I'm Gry Dong!"

"I looked into it. This place falls under the Marine 16th Branch, and the man in charge is some useless colonel named Nezumi. That trash would never dare fight us, because I'm a great pirate with a bounty as high as ten million Berries! Keh ha ha ha ha!"

Gry Dong threw back his head and burst into wild laughter.

In the East Blue, known as the weakest of the seas, a bounty of ten million Berries still made him a great pirate few could compare to.

It was no wonder he was so confident and arrogant.

Gry Rumen did not dare say anything more. Although he was the ship's second-in-command and Gry Dong's younger brother, his bounty was only four million Berries. In terms of strength, he was far inferior to his brutal older brother, Great Axe Gry Dong.

Before long, the pirates sent out to loot had already brought the small town under control.

They began gathering the townspeople in the town square in groups of two or three. There were scattered resisters among them, but their efforts were futile, and they were quickly cut down by the pirates.

Carrying his great axe, Gry Dong walked into the town square. Looking at the townspeople who were being driven there one after another, he grinned at a pirate lackey beside him. "Go find this town's mayor."

Before long, the pirate lackey dragged an old man around sixty years old from among the panicked, terrified townspeople and brought him before Gry Dong.

Gry Dong grabbed the old man by the neck with one hand and lifted him up. "Are there any more valuables hidden in this town? You'd better tell me the truth, or I'll slaughter every last one of you."

The elderly mayor replied in a trembling voice, "Pirate sir, you have already taken all the valuables in town. Other than the watermelons that have yet to be picked, there is nothing left."

Upon hearing that, Gry Dong threw the old man to the ground and said to the pirate lackey beside him, "Go chop down all the watermelons."

He himself raised his great axe and stepped forward, preparing to finish off the old mayor.

But at that moment, one of his pirates stared up at the sky and cried out in alarm, "W-what is that in the sky?" Gry Dong followed his gaze upward.

A black shadow plummeted from the sky. A gust of wind suddenly swept through the center of the town square, scattering dust in every direction. Once the dust settled, Gry Dong looked toward the center of the square.

A tall man appeared there, his expression indifferent and his face marked with patterns.

Rody's indifferent gaze swept over everyone present before finally settling on the ugly, three-meter-tall brute, Gry Dong. He could not help marveling at how wondrous the world was.

Gry Dong snapped out of his shock at seeing the other man descend from the sky. Seeing Rody's detached gaze, the veins on his forehead bulged with fury as he raised his axe and pointed it at him.

"Kid! What kind of look is that? Do you know who I am? I'm Gry Dong of the Great Axe!"

The pirate grunts at the side came back to their senses and began shouting as well. "Kid, you're dead! Our captain is a great pirate with a bounty of over ten million!" "You dare provoke our captain? He'll split you in half with his great axe!"