You Should Bring More People

"So that was it."

Duen narrowed his eyes slightly. Nami had returned clothes worth fifty thousand Beli, yet she had left a stack of Beli for a boy scavenging through trash heaps.

But what those Beli bought was not gratitude or salvation... but vile greed and malice.

Now that he knew what had happened, Duen instantly tossed the black bundle back into Nami's hands, gave her a hard shove, and murmured, "Go."

Nami staggered two steps from the push, then immediately broke into a run with the black bundle in her arms. There was none of the melancholy or hesitation one might expect from a fourteen-year-old girl in her movements. Rather than trust in Duen, it was the absolute importance she placed on the Beli in her arms that gave her a sense of purpose.

The two worked together almost perfectly. Rom and the others could not help but freeze for a moment. The difference in age gave them a sense of superiority, and they had inevitably let their guard down.

At that moment, the black broadsword in Duen's hand was already wrapped in two Red Nightmares that had recovered much of their energy.

The Phantom Mirror he used could affect six people at once, but dividing the use of his Devil Fruit power would weaken its effect.

Of the six men before him, aside from Rom at the lead, the rest also carried pistols. Duen was not a monster like Kaido. Before learning Armament Haki and Iron Body, he did not dare use his flesh to withstand the force of bullets. He had to use his Devil Fruit power to disrupt and slow his opponents' movements.

Phantom Mirror!

In an instant, he activated his ability without hesitation. Six terrifying visions on the black broadsword flashed along the light and reflected straight into their pupils.

This ability had its limits. It had to be transmitted through the eyes to achieve mental intrusion.

As Duen charged forward and created an opportunity for Nami to escape, three of them had already regained their senses. Rom drew his pistol, while the other two henchmen pulled their triggers.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three bullets shot toward him from three different angles.

Geppo!

Relying on the explosive power of his legs, Duen leaped into the air and evaded the three bullets. His free left hand gripped the dagger at his waist and threw it like a kunai. However, the dagger was not light enough; in that brief instant, it could not reach lethal speed and only barely pierced through one man's palm.

The man cried out in pain. His hand went limp at once, and his pistol fell to the ground.

Duen did not land. He continued leaping through the air, constantly changing direction with deliberate, eerie movements like a swimming snake.

"Wh... what?! That freak is running in midair!"

Surprise appeared on Rom's cold face, but he quickly recovered and decisively fired several shots into the air.

Two bullets missed, but the third struck Duen's broadsword as he raised it in front of him. A powerful impact traveled through the blade, forcibly knocking him backward a distance and disrupting the rhythm of his Geppo.

Duen was forced to land, but his movements did not pause in the slightest. The broadsword in his right hand dipped slightly as he lowered his body, bursting forth with the explosive tension of a charging leopard!

One-Sword Style: Leopard Walk!

Combined with Duen's explosive strength and speed, the broadsword instantly became a streak of black light as it slashed forward.

Rom, who had snatched a katana from the man beside him, hurriedly raised his sword to block. But because of the gap in their strength and weapons, the katana in his hand bent and warped beneath the broadsword in an instant. His entire body was then sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into a shack and kicking up a cloud of dust.

At that moment, the remaining three controlled men also broke free from the Phantom Mirror. Seeing Duen so close and knowing there was no time to draw their guns, they instinctively raised their swords almost at the same time and hacked down at the crouching Duen with all their might!

Listening to the wind above draw closer, Duen lowered himself even further. He swiftly halted the blade's forward momentum, flipped the black broadsword over, and braced it against his back.

Clang!!

The broad blade became a shield, instantly blocking the three descending katanas with a clear metallic clash.

Duen's stance was steady. Not only did the three men fail to suppress him with their strength, he rammed upward with his shoulder and exerted force through his wrist, jolting them so hard that their sword-holding hands were thrown upward and their feet staggered back again and again.

He withdrew the broadsword without any delay and swung it forward in an instant.

Slash!

Four streams of blood spurted from their knees. Caught unprepared, all four men's legs gave out beneath them, and they dropped to their knees together.

Duen planted his left hand on the ground and, following the momentum generated by the broadsword in his right hand, spun around in an instant. He raised a leg and kicked the temple of the uninjured man standing farther outside with lightning speed, sending him flying into a shack ten meters away amid rising dust.

In almost the blink of an eye, he had turned the situation around and gained an overwhelming advantage. It had not been effortless, but neither had it been particularly difficult.

However, the four men kneeling on the ground still had some fight left in them. Hoping to seize a moment of carelessness now that Duen had gained the upper hand, they tried to draw their guns and counterattack. But the black broadsword was faster, sending their heads flying.

Without pausing, Duen stepped over the four corpses and walked toward Rom, who lay by the shack. "Since this place isn't within the kingdom's borders, I have nothing to hold back."

The nearby poor had never seen such a bloody scene. Their faces were already covered in cold sweat as they scattered into the distance, scarcely daring to breathe for fear of being caught up in it.

"Negative emotion value from Bluejam +14..."

A line of text suddenly appeared in Duen's mind. He frowned slightly. Bluejam... who was that?

"I never thought my strength had become this pitiful, losing to a brat like you..."

Rom rose from the dust-filled shack, blood streaming down his forehead. Somewhat unhinged, he lowered his head to stare at his trembling hands and muttered like a madman, "I, Bluejam... actually get to taste that damned feeling of defeat again..."

As Bluejam spoke, increasingly agitated murmurs rose around them.

"What did he say? H-he called himself Bluejam?"

"Bluejam... Bluejam... it's him!"

"That arsonist from six years ago!"

"Bluejam, captain of the Bluejam Pirates! Wasn't he supposed to have died in that fire? Why is he here?!"

The poor people's faces showed shock, anger, fear, and resentment.

The scar-like marks crawling across Bluejam's face twisted strangely. As he raised his head, his pupils abruptly widened. Looking at Duen walking toward him, he grabbed the katana beside him and charged over in a furious rage. "My revenge against this country has only just begun! You bastard, get out of my way!!"

One-Sword Style: Wolf Drive!

Duen gripped the hilt of the broadsword with both hands and moved it behind his waist. His cold eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching Bluejam like a wolf watching its prey, and his entire body exuded the chilling aura of a wolf. In the next instant, he stepped forward and swung his blade.

The two crossed paths in an instant.

Bluejam stopped with his back to Duen. His entire body trembled violently as he desperately worked his throat, yet he had no strength to make a sound. A long, narrow wound suddenly appeared from his left shoulder to his right abdomen. Blood burst forth in a violent spray, the katana fell from his hand, and he collapsed with vacant eyes.

Duen slowly straightened from his bent posture. He remembered now.

Six years ago, Bluejam, captain of the Bluejam Pirates, had colluded with the royal family and set fire to Gray Terminal in order to obtain a noble title and move into High Town.

Yet when he tried to flee to High Town, he found that the soldiers would not open the gates for them. Realizing that the royal family had no intention of keeping its promise, he had been shocked and enraged. Later, he was defeated in the blaze by Dadan and Ace working together.

However, this former Bluejam Pirates captain, once worth a bounty of eight million, seemed to have somehow survived the fire. After changing his name and identity, he had lurked in the underworld of the Goa Kingdom, hoping to one day take revenge on the entire country.

Duen turned around. Under everyone's burning gazes, he calmly walked past Bluejam, his voice utterly devoid of pity. "Your path of revenge has nothing to do with me. But you were blocking my way."