As expected, Buffettla clearly had no intention of wasting words with him.
Mark did not get the answer he wanted. His right hand clenched the axe handle as Darkness Power enveloped the Mountain-Splitting Axe, turning it pitch-black, while Darkness Power surged over his left fist.
He threw a punch!
Boom!
A black fist condensed from Darkness Power shot forth. Just as the enormous black fist formed from rolling Darkness Power was about to strike several people, it exploded with a thunderous roar.
Several people closest to Mark were struck by the erupting Darkness Power. With its corrosive and devouring properties, combined with destructive force no weaker than the Flame-Flame Fruit, the power unique to the Dark-Dark Fruit instantly blew them into scattered limbs and mangled remains.
Flesh, blood, and bone fragments flew everywhere. Several chunks of meat splattered beside Buffettla, and a severed finger twitched faintly before him.
Buffettla's eyes froze slightly, and his eyelids twitched.
What terrifying strength!
With a wave of his hand, he raised the saber at his waist and slashed through the air. A pale cyan slash shot toward Mark.
"A Swordmaster!"
Mark's eyelids twitched. He tensed both arms, his muscles bulging as both hands gripped the axe handle tightly. Darkness Power churned across the axe blade.
"This is my first time seeing a Swordmaster, someone who can launch slashes through the air..."
Whoosh, hum!
"I can do that too!"
The Mountain-Splitting Axe chopped down hard in the direction of the incoming slash.
A pitch-black slash, deep as an abyss, tore through the sky and collided with Buffettla's pale cyan slash.
A bizarre scene unfolded. After the two slashes collided, the pale cyan slash slowly began to vanish.
Meanwhile, the broad black slash launched by the Mountain-Splitting Axe remained completely unaffected and sped toward Buffettla.
"Damn it, how is this possible?!"
Buffettla's breathing quickened. He had only recently stepped into the realm of a Swordmaster, and every slash consumed a great deal of his stamina.
But no matter what, he was still a Swordmaster. Yet the slash he had unleashed had been effortlessly shattered by this brat before him.
There was no time to think. Buffettla planted his feet and threw himself backward, his back pressed tightly against the ground as Mark's black slash skimmed past his face.
After a deafening boom, the massive thicket behind him was cleaved open by the pitch-black slash.
Chilly gusts blew out from the gap, and cold sweat immediately trickled down Buffettla's face.
That had been too close.
Yet Mark felt somewhat disappointed.
If that slash had been just a little lower, Buffettla would already have gone to see his Roger.
"A Devil Fruit User!" Buffettla said after steadying himself, still shaken.
Mark neither confirmed nor denied it. His Dark-Dark Fruit ability was extremely obvious once used, so it was only natural for the other man to guess.
Although not many people in the East Blue knew of the great treasure known as Devil Fruits.
But Buffettla was one of the King of Loan Sharks' men, someone from the New World. It was hardly surprising that he knew about Devil Fruits.
"Just lucky," Mark said casually.
With an explosive bang, Mark drove his legs against the ground, leaving deep footprints in the already loose soil.
"Get out of the way!" Mark charged forward, wreathed in rolling black mist. Buffettla's brow jumped as he shouted at his subordinates and raised his saber, slashing down at Mark's figure.
Clang!
Most of Mark's attention was focused on Buffettla. Of everyone present, only Buffettla could threaten him.
Thus, just as the saber was about to strike him, Mark twisted aside and avoided the gleaming blade.
Then he swung backhandedly in a downward chop, striking the nearest man solidly. Blood immediately spurted out, and the man was sent flying by Mark's heavy blow. After hitting the ground, his body trembled briefly before falling silent.
Another one dead.
Buffettla was in a terrible mood. The saber in his hand danced up and down, sealing off Mark's routes of attack.
But Mark refused to fight him. After blocking his saber, every return slash claimed another life.
In only a few moments, more than a dozen subordinates had dwindled to just a few.
Every one of them was pale-faced, their hands trembling slightly around their weapons.
As Mark attacked frantically, he suddenly sensed a crisis. His chest went numb.
Danger!
Bang!
Having sensed the danger in advance, Mark narrowly dodged a bullet.
He turned to look at a gloomy, long-haired young man.
The long-haired young man held a Flintlock Pistol, with a wisp of bluish smoke still rising from it.
Just as he pulled the trigger again, an enormous black fist formed from Darkness Power engulfed him.
After a thunderous explosion, not even a corpse remained.
Mark withdrew his outstretched left arm with a cold expression and said lightly:
"You should use guns less often. A burst barrel wouldn't be much fun..."
That Dark Fist not only killed the long-haired young man, but the few people caught in the blast nearby did not fare well either.
Of the five remaining men, two were directly blown to death, while the other three suffered serious injuries.
Only Buffettla remained completely unscathed.
Mark had created that fist of immense power by using the Dark-Dark Fruit to imitate Ace's Fire Fist. Although its power was far inferior to Ace's Fire Fist, it was already quite formidable.
Buffettla and the others had been sent to the East Blue. Presumably, under the King of Loan Sharks, they were not considered particularly capable subordinates.
And that was indeed the case.
In the entire group, only Buffettla had barely entered the realm of a Swordmaster.
The rest were merely sturdy commoners who had picked up weapons, no different from the pirate crews of the East Blue in terms of strength.
"You're really weak for the King of Loan Sharks' capable subordinates!" Mark mocked as a sinister black gleam flashed over his axe blade and one swing severed three heads.
Buffettla's face twitched. Veins bulged across his forehead, and the corners of his mouth kept spasming.
He stared at Mark, his expression changing rapidly.
After glancing around at the corpses on the ground, he forced an ugly smile onto his face and flattered him. "Well... little brother, this is all a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding. We came looking for a friend, but we never expected to run into you..."
As he spoke, he lowered his saber, bent over, took out a box of cigars from his waist, and respectfully offered one to Mark.
Mark did not take it. He used his bloodstained axe blade to block the offered cigar.
"I don't smoke." His tone was calm, betraying neither joy nor anger.
Buffettla gave an awkward laugh and put the cigar, now stained with a little blood, back into the box.
As expected of someone from the underworld, his skin was thick. One moment he wanted to kill him, and the next he was shamelessly trying to flatter him...
Mark had to admit that the man knew when to bend and when to stretch. Unfortunately... he was destined to stay here today!
But before killing him, Mark still wanted to know one thing.
"How did you find this place?"
Hearing Mark's question, Buffettla thought Mark was going to spare him.
He immediately smiled ingratiatingly. "Actually, it was very simple. We just had to investigate everyone who entered Yarl Forest..."