Demon Eye Acquired! Two-Tomoe Sharingan!

Having risen to a bounty of over a hundred million, Cooper could be considered experienced and well-informed.

He knew that there was a special power in the sea known as "Haki."

This power manifested as Armament Haki and Observation Haki!

The former granted ultimate offensive and defensive power, while the latter provided keen perception akin to intuition.

"Cutting through Dustin's shield—that was Armament Haki, wasn't it?"

Cooper's thoughts flashed like lightning as he rapidly analyzed the situation.

"And dodging my attack just now was Observation Haki."

At that thought,

Cooper could not help but frown. Where had this monster come from? He had mastered both types of Haki at such a young age?

But it was not a big problem.

Haki might be special, but that did not mean it was invincible.

Just as he could forcefully cleave steel with his physical strength despite not knowing Cutting Steel.

Not to mention that he was now holding the Great Grade Blade—Demon Eye!

"With Demon Eye, even Armament Haki will be split apart!" A cold glint flashed through Cooper's eyes as he stomped down hard.

Boom!

The deck burst beneath his foot, leaving a bowl-sized crater.

Cooper moved as fast as the wind, lunging before Junichi. Demon Eye slashed down in his hand, drawing a dark crimson thread through the air.

Yet the expected counterattack or evasion never came.

"Heh..."

Junichi chuckled, raised one hand, and formed a seal with his fingers.

A one-handed seal.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

"What is that?" Confusion flashed in Cooper's eyes, but his slash did not slow.

The next moment,

Junichi gently exhaled, his breath mixed with refined Fire Style nature chakra.

Whoosh!

A basketball-sized fireball shot from his mouth.

The fireball was orange rather than the usual orange-red.

Its higher temperature had altered its color, turning it a pure orange.

"What?!" Cooper was horrified, his face instantly turning pale.

The instant the fireball appeared, he sensed its terrifying heat, as though it would set his skin ablaze.

But it was already too late to dodge.

Despair flashed across Cooper's face.

Bang!

The orange fireball crashed into his chest and exploded.

The terrifying shockwave tore his body into more than a dozen pieces.

Immediately afterward,

The extreme heat instantly cooked the shattered chunks of flesh, vaporizing the blood.

Drip, drip...

When they scattered across the ground,

Nothing remained but charred black lumps. Not a trace of flesh or blood could be seen.

Thud!

Cooper's head was the last to fall to the deck. Fear and disbelief remained in his eyes, but he had stopped breathing.

This great pirate with a bounty of 120 million Berries had died just like that.

As easily as killing a passerby.

"That was easy."

Junichi smiled faintly as he looked at the charred chunks littering the ground, satisfaction on his face. "As expected of Fire Style. As long as it's a creature of flesh and blood, nothing can withstand it."

Although in the original Hokage, it seemed as if the Great Fireball Technique could not kill anyone.

That was just plot convention.

A real Great Fireball Technique dealt both searing heat and explosive damage. Even getting grazed by it would result in severe injuries.

Countless ninja had died beneath this technique.

Tap, tap, tap...

At that moment, the pirates resting inside the cabin were all awakened.

They rushed out with weapons in hand.

Hell Viewing Technique.

Without even turning around, Junichi formed a seal with one hand and released Yin Release chakra.

The air instantly fell silent.

Every pirate inside the cabin stared blankly, lost within the illusion.

Among the Ten Thieves Rat Pirates, aside from Captain Cooper and First Mate Dustin, everyone else was mere fodder to him.

"So this is Demon Eye?"

Junichi bent down and picked up the fallen dark crimson longsword.

It felt icy cold in his hand, yet beneath that chill was a strange scorching heat.

That heat stirred his desire to kill.

It was as if a voice came from the blade, urging him to slaughter, to fight, to drink deeply of blood.

"A cursed blade?"

He chuckled and easily suppressed Demon Eye's influence.

Some famous blades in the Pirate World could backlash against their wielders or came with serious side effects.

These blades were known as cursed blades.

Ordinary people could not wield them. Only swordsmen who had tamed a cursed blade could use it without being harmed.

"It's rather pretty."

Junichi turned Demon Eye over and examined the patterns upon it.

The blade was long and slender, its edge marked with dark crimson flowing patterns like clusters of scarlet demon eyes.

From certain angles, the sword reflected a blood-red gleam.

That was why, when it slashed, it became a thin crimson line.

"The name Demon Eye suits it well." Junichi nodded approvingly. Demon Eye lay quietly in his hand, no longer emitting even a trace of bloodlust.

The will within it faintly conveyed emotions of submission, delight, and excitement.

As if it were thrilled to become Junichi's personal blade.

"Interesting. Has a faint spiritual intelligence been born within the sword?" Junichi smiled as he sensed that will.

He was not particularly surprised.

The Pirate World was too rich in energy.

Any object might give birth to a "spirit" through a fortunate coincidence.

For example, the Straw Hat Pirates' Going Merry in the original story.

"Time to deal with the rest."

Holding Demon Eye, Junichi stepped into the cabin.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

A series of muffled sounds rang out as dark crimson threads wove and spread, severing one blank-faced head after another.

Several minutes later,

Junichi returned to the deck and gave the sword a light flick.

All the blood on the blade slid away.

Not a single stain remained.

However, the flowing patterns on Demon Eye's blade had become even brighter and more bewitching.

It seemed to have absorbed the power within human blood.

At the same time,

A feeling of excitement, delight, and closeness came from Demon Eye.

Junichi could not help but smile.

As expected of a Great Grade Blade. Cutting off heads with it was as easy as slicing tofu.

In other words,

The quality of a Great Grade Blade itself provided the effect of "Cutting Steel."

And if it were wielded by a master swordsman, the two layers of "Cutting Steel" would stack, raising the power of each slash to an unimaginable level.

Add Armament Haki coating on top of that,

And its power would become even more terrifying. It could probably split apart a small mountain.

"Moreover, the quality of a Great Grade Blade can improve."

Junichi sensed Demon Eye's delight. The will within the blade had grown slightly stronger.

The quality of the blade had also improved a little.

As long as it kept killing and drinking its fill of blood, its power would continue to rise.

Of course,

This was still a cursed blade. As its power increased, so would its negative effects.

If one day its master could no longer control it,

He would be backlashed without question!

No matter how docile a cursed blade had once been, as long as the master became weaker than the servant, the servant would inevitably overthrow the master.

"That really is a Japanese style of thinking."

Junichi flicked the blade with his finger.

Ding!

The cursed blade trembled and let out a crisp, pleasant chime.

For Demon Eye to backlash against him, it would need the blood of tens of thousands of people at the very least.

However,

By the time he had used Demon Eye to kill tens of thousands, his strength would have risen to an unknown level.

Demon Eye would not be able to keep up with his rate of growth.

It would never be able to backlash against him in its entire existence.

"Hm?"

As he was thinking, Junichi suddenly felt a heat in his eyes.

Stimulated by Demon Eye's bloodlust, he too had become somewhat excited. His Uchiha Clan bloodline activated, and his ocular power rose on its own.

He activated his Sharingan.

Clang!

The single tomoe split into two.

Dual two-tomoe Sharingan!