Slaying (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

"Nani? Ze-Ze... Zephyr! Uh... cough, cough! What the hell am I afraid of? Zephyr may be powerful, but he's not unbeatable." Jeff's body trembled when he suddenly heard Zephyr's name, but after thinking of something, he abruptly stopped being afraid.

"So there really is someone backing you, someone who doesn't fear a Marine admiral. They possess a submarine with such advanced technology and can even lavishly mix Seastone into its materials. They must be part of a major force. I'm guessing that your stay on Lukesen Island these past three days wasn't part of your plan. Did something unexpected happen?" Zhong Hao asked him again.

"Whose brat are you? Why do you have so many questions? Let Grandpa teach you how to deal with pirates." The more Zhong Hao asked, the guiltier Jeff became. Finally losing patience, he swung his pot-sized fists at Zhong Hao. He had no weapon.

"Can't keep talking now? But I already know enough. As expected, big people tend to have intellectual deficiencies." Zhong Hao leaped backward, tossing out a taunt in passing.

He had always believed that this world produced an abundance of burly men, and most of those burly men were not particularly smart. They fought head-on, unlike the ninjas of Naruto, who were scheming, deceitful, and willing to use every possible means.

Jeff's fist struck the deck. The deck shuddered and caved in, releasing a resonant hum like a struck bell.

That's not right. His body shouldn't be this powerful. After all, he's only worth fifty million berries. Zhong Hao looked at the dent in the deck and added inwardly, The deck should just be ordinary steel plating without Seastone mixed in. Better test him first. I can't afford to capsize in a ditch.

Soru. Iron Body.

Zhong Hao's body abruptly vanished, reappearing behind Jeff in an instant. While still in midair, he threw a punch at the back of Jeff's head. With a clang, Zhong Hao's arm went numb and sore. Before he even landed, Jeff had already turned around. There was no technique to it—just a straight punch smashing toward him.

Geppo.

With a kick of his right foot, Zhong Hao shifted three meters down and to the left, evading the heavy blow. As he landed, he flipped backward and leaped away, leaving Jeff's attack range.

"Your body is strangely hard. Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Zhong Hao shook his right hand, trying to dispel the numbness, and asked.

"Your strength is so weak. Hitting me feels like scratching an itch, hahahaha! I ate the Steel-Steel Fruit. I'm a man of steel, and my entire body is as hard as steel! You could hit me a hundred times and not knock off a single hair. Boys, isn't that right?" Jeff pounded his chest twice with his fists, producing the sound of metal striking metal.

"That's right! Captain can block cannonballs with his body without losing a single hair!"

"Brat, go home and drink milk!"

Zhong Hao glanced at the few lackeys and shook his head with an amused smile. "The Steel-Steel Fruit... I seem to remember it. Can you also make certain parts of your body scorching hot?" He recalled Clockwork Island from the movie. The villain boss, Bear King, seemed to have possessed the Steel-Steel Fruit. Still, this Jeff was somewhat stronger than Bear King.

"How did you... Hmph! Looks like you know me very well! But so what? You can't even knock off a hair by hitting me. What can you do even if you know?" Jeff froze briefly before speaking with disdain.

"What a pity. If it had been yesterday, unless I could throw you into the sea, I wouldn't have had any way to deal with you. But now... I have to say, your luck is terrible." Zhong Hao took Sea Fang from his spatial storage. His knees sank slightly, his upper body tilted a little to the left, his left hand resting on the scabbard while his right hand hovered over the hilt.

Although his overall physical abilities were still somewhat inferior to those of a Headquarters colonel, his actual combat strength was on an entirely different level. His attack power in particular was exceptional. Having reached the realm of cutting steel and wielding the fine-grade sword Sea Fang, a moment's carelessness could see even a rear admiral cut down in a single stroke.

"Taking out a sword is useless. Before my Steel-Steel Fruit, I fear no attack." Seeing Sea Fang suddenly appear, Jeff scratched his head, unable to understand where such a long sword had come from.

"What a cute big fool. Unfortunately, I have to take your head back." Killing intent flashed through Zhong Hao's eyes. If he did not bring Jeff's head back, who knew what foolish thing Smoker might do? Smoker was one of his few friends. As for the other six pirates, since they had seen his spatial ability, he could only silence them.

Iaijutsu: Iai Slash.

Zhong Hao sprang into the air and drew his blade. A brilliant blue flash of sword light vanished in an instant.

He landed, sheathed his sword, and walked past Jeff toward the six pirates.

Jeff still appeared completely unharmed, as though nothing had happened. He laughed wildly. "Hahaha! I told you already, I'm made of steel—"

Before he could finish, his head suddenly shot into the air. He was slain without ever getting the chance to use his full strength.

In a real, head-on battle, Zhong Hao might not necessarily have gained the upper hand. He might have needed to use the seawater barrel by surprise to take Jeff down. Yet Jeff had become obsessed with the power and defense of his steel body. He neither dodged nor blocked, nor did he counterattack, simply standing there stiffly and allowing Zhong Hao's steel-cutting ability to be perfectly unleashed, his head severed in an instant.

Arrogance was a bad habit. Zhong Hao took it as a warning.

"C-C-Captain!" Seeing Jeff get cut down, the six pirates immediately turned deathly pale. A chill rushed from the soles of their feet to their heads, and their legs shook so badly that they could barely stand.

"Can you tell me about Jeff? Who was the master behind him?" Zhong Hao walked up to the six men and asked with a gentle smile. At only one meter thirty-five tall, with delicate features and smiling eyes, he looked quite harmless at first glance.

"We... we don't know. The captain only brought us along because we knew how to operate a submarine. We rarely stayed with him normally. We... we're willing to follow you," one pirate said.

"You don't know? Then forget it. Finger Pistol." Zhong Hao extended a finger and jabbed six times in an instant. The six pirates clutched their chests and collapsed onto the deck, their faces filled with terror.

"Killing with Finger Pistol really feels different from cutting people down with a sword," he muttered as he looked at his blood-covered finger.

He shook his finger and headed into the submarine. Through his Observation Haki, he had sensed an eighth person inside, though he did not know why they had not come out yet.

When Zhong Hao entered the submarine and saw the so-called eighth person, he immediately laughed. "What a small world. We meet again..."