Killing a Lieutenant-Level Pirate

"Old bastard..."

Rochi's icy voice pierced through the storm of fist shadows, reaching Baron's ears like the whisper of death.

"I'm already sick of all your tricks."

The instant his words fell.

Rochi's originally deep black eyes turned an eerie crimson without warning!

Deep within those scarlet pupils, two black tomoe began spinning wildly like marks of an ancient curse!

"You blustering little Marine brat, die!!!"

Although Baron's heart inexplicably trembled when he saw Rochi's strange red eyes.

He had absolute confidence in his own strength and roared as he gathered all his power into his right fist.

This was his proudest killing technique!

Mad Bull: Shatterrock Grand Cannon!

His iron fist, as large as a bowl, tore through the air with a terrifying sonic boom as it shot straight for Rochi's heart!

Yet at that moment, the world in Rochi's eyes became terrifyingly still.

Under the heaven-defying dynamic vision of the One-Tomoe Sharingan!

Baron's lightning-fast killing blow was slowed threefold in Rochi's eyes!

Not only that, as the tomoe spun, the contraction patterns of Baron's arm muscles, the angle of his force, and even the tiny flaws in his shifting center of gravity appeared in Rochi's mind without reservation, like the most intuitive diagram!

So that's how it is. Plenty of power, but the force axis is shifted three inches. You're full of openings...

A mocking smile curled across Rochi's lips.

This time, he did not retreat.

At an angle that defied all reason, his upper body eerily slid less than ten centimeters to the left.

"Whoosh—!"

Baron's deadly cannon punch nearly grazed Rochi's cheek, even shearing off a lock of hair beside his ear, yet it caused no real damage!

"What?!" Baron's pupils shook as disbelief filled his face.

How could he dodge my fastest attack?!

Before he could withdraw his blow and defend himself, Rochi's body rebounded instantly like a spring compressed to its limit!

What terrified Baron even more was that the twist of Rochi's waist and the curve of his shoulder muscles were exactly the same as the opening stance Baron had used for Mad Bull: Shatterrock Grand Cannon!!!

The Sharingan's replication, combined with the perfect adjustments of Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery!

"Take it back!"

Rochi bellowed and threw the same kind of heavy punch, but his technique was smoother and more violent than Baron's as it slammed unobstructed into Baron's undefended chin!

"Crack—!"

The bone-splitting sound made everyone's teeth ache.

"Pwah!!!"

Baron's massive body flew as though struck head-on by a truck. He spewed blood mixed with broken teeth, both feet leaving the ground as he was blasted backward and crashed heavily into the ruins!

The entire battlefield fell silent!

Whether it was Rear Admiral Rex, who had been preparing to intervene, or the pirates cheering Baron on, all of them looked like ducks with their throats clutched, their eyes bulging as they failed to utter a single word!

"No... impossible!"

Baron struggled to his feet, clutching his nearly dislocated jaw. For the first time, panic appeared in his eyes as he looked at Rochi.

"You bastard! How do you know the force techniques of my hand-to-hand combat?!"

"Is it difficult?"

Rochi rolled his wrist, his crimson eyes like those of a god looking down on ants. "A third-rate move like yours? Even a dog could learn it after seeing it once."

"Bastard! I'll tear you apart!"

The overwhelming humiliation drove Baron completely insane. Like a truly crazed wild bull, he unleashed every vicious move he had ever learned at Rochi without holding anything back.

But the nightmare had only just begun!

Shatterrock Whip Kick! Baron swept his leg out!

"Whoosh!" Rochi dodged with a prediction, then countered with an even sharper and more perfectly executed Shatterrock Whip Kick, lashing it into Baron's waist and making his blood churn.

Bullhorn Ram! Baron lowered his head and charged!

Rochi pressed both hands against his horns and borrowed the momentum, using the exact same close-range throwing technique as Baron to viciously slam the three-meter-tall giant into the ground!

Despair.

An unprecedented despair completely engulfed Baron.

To his horror, he discovered that this monster before him knew every one of his moves perfectly. Worse still, its counterattacks were not only identical, but even more seasoned and flawless than those of their original creator!

How was he supposed to fight this?!

The villain's arrogance was utterly shattered at this moment, leaving behind nothing but profound fear!

"Ghost! You're a fucking demon!"

Baron completely broke down. The combat experience he had been so proud of had been trampled into the dirt, and with his mentality shattered, he had only one thought left—run!

Seeing the retreat in Baron's eyes, Rochi's killing intent surged.

He could not drag this out any longer. He had little stamina left too; if Baron escaped into the crowd using the endurance of an Animal-type, today's prize would slip right out of his grasp!

"Where do you think you're running?!"

Rochi threw himself forward without hesitation.

Seeing that he could not escape, Baron's savagery was ignited again. His eyes reddened, and under the absolute threat of death, he erupted with strength beyond his limits!

"You want to kill me? I'll drag you down with me! Mad Bull: Death Spiral!!!"

Ignoring the wide-open gaps in his defense, Baron gathered all the strength in his body into one fist and drove it straight at Rochi's heart on the left side of his chest! If that punch landed, not even a god could save him!

Dodge?

If Rochi took even half a step back now, he could easily defuse it—but that would also mean Baron could use the opportunity to break away and flee.

"Drag me down with you? You're not worthy!"

A flash of utter madness crossed Rochi's eyes! Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust out his chest and charged straight into that killing punch!

Trading life for life?! Everyone who saw this went mad!

"Crack! Crack!"

Baron's heavy fist struck Rochi's left chest solidly. The crisp sound of breaking bones made everyone's scalps go numb. Three ribs on Rochi's left side snapped on the spot, and blood gushed from his mouth!

"Haha! I won..." Baron's ecstatic words had not even finished.

When he discovered that despite having his ribs broken, Rochi had not retreated even half an inch! Instead, he used that point-blank impact to press himself tightly against him!

Rochi's blood-soaked hands, as if forged from iron, clamped precisely around Baron's throat!

"You...!" Baron's joy froze instantly, leaving nothing but endless terror in his eyes.

Blood spilled from Rochi's mouth, while his scarlet Sharingan remained cold without the slightest trace of warmth.

"I told you. Goodbye."

"Crack—!!!"

Terrifying grip strength erupted in an instant. Baron's thick cervical vertebrae and throat bones were crushed in Rochi's hand like brittle sticks!

His enormous body twitched twice, his eyes rolled white, and he collapsed limply into the pool of blood, utterly dead!

The entire battlefield fell silent.

With Baron's death, two pleasant system notifications rang out in Rochi's mind right on cue:

[Ding! Lieutenant-Level Pirate killed! Obtained 100 experience points!]

[Congratulations, Host! Experience points full! Level successfully increased to 12!]

[System upgrade reward triggered: Physical condition forcibly restored by 50%! Muscle density and bone strength have undergone another tier-breaking enhancement and reconstruction!]

--

The following are the settings:

Levels 1–10 (Soldier Level, advancing from Level 1 to Level 2 requires 10 experience points; each subsequent level requires 10 more experience points than the previous one)

Levels 10–30 (Lieutenant Level, advancing from Level 10 to Level 11 requires 100 experience points; each subsequent level requires 100 more experience points than the previous one)

Levels 30–50 (Colonel Level, advancing from Level 30 to Level 31 requires 1,000 experience points; each subsequent level requires 1,000 more experience points than the previous one)

Levels 50–70 (Rear Admiral Level, advancing from Level 50 to Level 51 requires 10,000 experience points; each subsequent level requires 10,000 more experience points than the previous one)