Ninja Tactics: Killing with a Borrowed Blade!

"Hmm?"

Colonel Morgan, who had been about to launch into a boastful speech, raised his head in confusion.

The next second, his pupils contracted violently, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Because he saw "himself"—

That enormous stone statue head came crashing down on him like Mount Tai, accompanied by a howling wind!

"Damn it!!"

At the critical moment between life and death, Morgan displayed the physical prowess of a Marine branch colonel.

He instinctively threw himself to the side and rolled across the ground in a miserable tumble.

Boom—!!!

A deafening crash rang out, and the earth itself seemed to tremble.

The massive stone statue smashed heavily into the center of the training ground, instantly shattering into pieces.

Fragments of stone flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust that completely engulfed an area dozens of meters wide.

"Whoa! That was huge!"

Luffy also landed on the ground with the rebound force of his rubber body, staring open-mouthed at the ruins before him.

Zoro, meanwhile, caught the three swords Luffy handed him and quickly fastened them at his waist.

He then drew the white Wado Ichimonji and clenched it between his teeth, holding one sword in each hand as his gaze instantly sharpened.

"Thanks, Luffy."

Feeling the familiar grip of his swords, Zoro's presence rose steadily.

"Now I finally feel alive again."

He glanced at the swirling dust and snorted. "Getting hit by a rock that big, Morgan's dead or crippled for sure."

"Not necessarily."

Victor stood to one side, red light flowing in his eyes. "In stories, there's a law called 'no injuries if there's smoke.'"

As if to prove his words.

Whoosh—!

A fierce gust suddenly erupted from within the smoke, and the dust thick enough to block vision was forcibly split apart by a massive axe!

Morgan emerged from the haze.

Though he was now covered in dust and his prized Marine coat had been reduced to tatters.

The savage aura of a beast ready to devour its prey had only grown more intense.

"You... you dare do this to my statue?!"

Morgan's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead as he stepped out from the rubble.

"I am Axe-Hand Morgan! I am the only king here! You lowly pirates..."

Whoosh!

Before he could finish, a black kunai tore through the air, growing larger in his vision as it shot straight for his throat.

"Hmph! Just as I thought, you're nothing but a little rat that knows how to launch sneak attacks!"

Morgan snorted disdainfully and casually swung his enormous metal axe hand.

Clang!

The kunai was easily blocked and knocked away to land beside his feet.

"You think a child's toy like that can hurt me?"

Morgan revealed a cruel grin.

Yet Victor, standing opposite him, showed no disappointment. Instead, a cold curve rose at the corner of his lips.

He formed the Tiger hand seal with one hand and murmured softly.

"Explode."

Morgan froze for a moment and instinctively looked down.

At the tail end of the kunai he had deflected was a paper slip covered in strange runes, now glowing with a blinding red light.

Boom—!!!

A violent explosion suddenly erupted beneath Morgan's feet!

Flames shot into the sky, and rubble flew in all directions.

The Explosive Tag was not powerful enough to kill a fighter with such a physique.

But detonating it at close range while he was completely unguarded still produced terrifying destructive force.

"Argh!!"

Morgan let out a scream. His... lower body had been blasted into a bloody mess, and the massive shockwave sent him flying.

"Let's go!"

The instant the kunai was blown away, Victor flashed forward like a hunting cheetah.

In midair, he caught the kunai as it spun back on the force of the blast, gripped it in reverse, and lunged at Morgan.

"Whoa! That explosion was awesome! I'm joining in!"

Luffy shouted excitedly, yanking his arm far back. "Gum-Gum—Pistol!!"

"And me!"

A cold glint flashed through Zoro's eyes as he raised all three swords. "Three-Sword Style!"

The three of them attacked at once!

"You damn rats! I'll kill you all!!"

Morgan, still airborne, was completely enraged.

Though blood streamed down both his legs, he was still a battle-hardened Marine colonel.

Facing Luffy's rapidly approaching punch, he neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he stretched out his intact hand and tightly grabbed Luffy's elongated wrist!

"Got you!"

Morgan roared, yanking hard with the elasticity of Luffy's arm. Luffy instantly lost his balance under the tremendous force.

Then Morgan twisted at the waist and actually swung Luffy's entire body like a meteor hammer, smashing him toward Victor and Zoro!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let go of me! I'm getting dizzy, I'm getting dizzy!" Luffy yelled wildly in the air.

The move was incredibly overbearing, directly blocking Victor and Zoro's paths of attack.

"Tch, what a brute."

Facing the incoming Luffy, Victor did not retreat. His charging body abruptly stopped, and his hands became afterimages as they rapidly formed seals.

Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram!

Victor suddenly raised his head, his scarlet One-Tomoe Sharingan locking tightly onto Morgan's eyes.

Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!

Morgan's previously ferocious body suddenly stiffened.

In his vision, Victor, Zoro, and Luffy suddenly vanished.

In their place was the scene he feared most deep within his heart—

He saw himself being sent before a military court, stripped of his rank, and imprisoned in Impel Down.

Then Captain Kuro, wearing round glasses, humiliated him by stepping on him like a dog.

"No... no! I am the greatest! I'm a colonel!!"

Morgan screamed in terror, his gaze unfocused. The hand gripping Luffy lost its strength from overwhelming fear and involuntarily released him.

"Huh? He let go?"

Before Luffy could figure out what had happened, he felt something tighten around his waist.

Victor had already rushed forward, caught his out-of-control body, and landed steadily.

"Zoro! Now!" Victor shouted.

By then, Zoro had already charged in front of Morgan.

Though Morgan had fallen into a brief stupor because of the genjutsu, his instincts as a fighter remained.

Just as Zoro's three blades were about to strike him, his intense sense of danger forced him to shift aside, narrowly protecting his vital points.

Slash!

Three bone-deep sword wounds appeared across Morgan's chest, blood spraying everywhere.

"Argh!!"

The searing pain instantly jolted Morgan fully awake from the terror of the genjutsu.

He looked at the wounds on his chest, and the fear in his eyes immediately transformed into crazed killing intent.

"I'll tear you into pieces!!"

Morgan roared, his massive axe howling through the air as it chopped down at Zoro, whose previous momentum had already run out!

Zoro's earlier strike had lacked power due to hunger, and his body was now stiff. He was about to be hit.

"Zoro! Duck!"

Luffy's roar came from behind him!

Zoro did not even think. His body instinctively obeyed, immediately lowering itself.

At the same time, a rubber foot came flying through the air.

Gum-Gum—Stamp!

Luffy kicked the axe handle, and the immense force knocked Morgan's axe off course, smashing a huge crater into the ground.

Morgan was also jolted backward by the impact, leaving his center completely exposed.

Just as Zoro prepared to rise and pursue him, a foot suddenly stepped heavily onto his shoulder.

"Hey?!" Zoro jolted.

"Borrowing a sword."

Victor's voice sounded beside his ear.

Before Zoro could react, he felt his hand grow light as Victor smoothly pulled away the black sword.

Then Victor used Zoro's shoulder as a springboard.

Chakra burst forth, sending him soaring high into the air. He streaked through the sky as a black afterimage and instantly appeared above the off-balance Morgan.

The red glow of his Sharingan flared brightly, locking onto the weakest point of Morgan's neck.

At that moment, Morgan's neck seemed to Victor as though a red line had marked the precise cutting path.

Uchiha Style Swordsmanship: Decapitation.

Victor gripped the sword with both hands and, using the momentum of his descent, slashed cleanly downward at Morgan's neck.

Shhk—!

A teeth-grating sound of friction rang out, followed by the dull sound of a blade cutting through flesh.

Morgan's roar came to an abrupt halt.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The next second.

A grotesque head with a metal jaw flew high into the air, spinning several times beneath the sunlight.

Finally, it landed with a thud at Luffy's feet.

Morgan's enormous headless corpse remained in its axe-swinging stance.

After stiffening for two seconds, it finally dropped weakly to its knees. Blood gushed from its neck like a fountain, staining the Marine base's training ground red.

Victor landed steadily and flicked his sword downward, shaking the blood droplets from its blade.

He turned around, sheathed the sword in Zoro's scabbard while Zoro stood there dumbfounded, and wore his usual elegant smile.

Zoro looked at the smiling Victor, irritation rising within him.

"You really are a bastard!"

"Good teamwork, everyone."

The entire Marine base fell into dead silence.