Dark Fist

As expected, Buffettla clearly had no intention of wasting words on him.

Mark did not get the answer he wanted. His right hand clenched the axe handle as the power of darkness enveloped the Mountain-Splitting Axe, turning it pitch-black, while darkness surged over his left fist.

He threw a punch!

Boom!

A black fist condensed from darkness roared out. Just as the enormous fist formed from rolling darkness was about to strike several people, it exploded violently.

Several people closest to Mark were struck by the burst of darkness. The corrosive power, devouring power, and destructive force no weaker than the Flame-Flame Fruit's—under this eruption of power unique to the Dark-Dark Fruit, they were instantly blown into mangled limbs and shattered bodies.

Blood, flesh, and bone fragments flew everywhere. Several chunks of meat splattered beside Buffettla, and a severed finger twitched faintly before him.

Buffettla's eyes widened slightly, and his eyelids twitched.

He was so strong!

With a wave of his hand, he raised his saber and slashed through the air. A pale cyan flying slash shot toward Mark.

"A Swordmaster!"

Mark's eyelids twitched. He flexed both arms, his muscles bulging as he gripped the axe handle with both hands. Darkness churned over the axe blade.

"This was my first time seeing a Swordmaster, the power to launch a flying slash through the air..."

Whoosh, hum!

"I could do that too!"

The Mountain-Splitting Axe swung down hard in the direction of the incoming slash.

A pitch-black flying slash like 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 disappear.

Meanwhile, the broad black slash unleashed by the Mountain-Splitting Axe remained completely unaffected and rapidly cut toward Buffettla.

"Damn it, how was that possible?!"

Buffettla's breathing became hurried. He had only recently stepped into the realm of a Swordmaster, and every flying slash consumed a tremendous amount of stamina.

But he was still a Swordmaster. Yet the slash he had unleashed had been effortlessly shattered by that brat across from him.

There was no time to think further. Buffettla planted his feet and leaned backward, his back pressed flat against the ground as Mark's black slash flew past his face.

After a thunderous boom, the enormous thicket behind him was carved open by the pitch-black slash.

Chilling wind poured out from the gap, and cold sweat immediately ran down Buffettla's face.

That had been too close.

Yet Mark felt somewhat disappointed.

If that slash had been a little lower, Buffettla would have already gone to see Roger.

"Devil Fruit User!" Buffettla said after steadying himself, still shaken.

Mark neither confirmed nor denied it. The effects of his Dark-Dark Fruit ability were obvious enough; it was only natural for the other man to guess.

Although not many people in the East Blue knew about Devil Fruits, those great treasures.

But Buffettla was one of the King of Loan Sharks' men, someone from the New World. It was hardly strange that he knew about Devil Fruits.

"Pretty lucky," Mark said lightly.

With an explosive bang, Mark forcefully kicked off 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, raised his saber, and slashed down at Mark's figure.

Clang!

Most of Mark's attention was focused on Buffettla. Of everyone present, only he could pose a threat to Mark.

Thus, just as the saber was about to strike him, Mark twisted aside and avoided the gleaming blade.

Then he swung downward with a backhand strike, cutting down the person nearest to him solidly. Blood immediately sprayed out, and the man was sent flying by Mark's heavy blow. After landing, his body trembled briefly before falling completely silent.

Another one dead.

Buffettla was in a terrible mood. The saber in his hand flashed up and down, sealing off Mark's routes of attack.

But Mark simply refused to fight him. After blocking his saber, every counterstrike he made claimed another life.

In only a short while, of the dozen or so subordinates, only a few remained.

Every one of them was pale, and even the hands gripping their weapons trembled faintly.

As Mark attacked furiously, he suddenly felt a sense of danger. A tingling sensation spread through his chest.

Danger!

A gunshot rang out.

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, which still trailed a wisp of smoke.

Just as he pulled the trigger again, an enormous black fist formed from darkness engulfed him.

After a violent explosion, not even bones remained.

Mark withdrew his outstretched left arm with a cold expression and said casually:

"Guns are something you should use less often. A barrel explosion wouldn't be much fun..."

That Dark Fist had not only killed the long-haired young man; the people caught in the blast nearby did not fare well either.

Of the five remaining men, two were blown to death outright, while the other three suffered serious injuries.

Only Buffettla remained completely unscathed.

Mark had created that immensely powerful punch by using the Dark-Dark Fruit to imitate Ace's Fire Fist. Though its power was far inferior to Ace's Fire Fist, it already possessed considerable might.

Buffettla and the others had been sent to the East Blue, so they presumably were not particularly capable subordinates under the King of Loan Sharks.

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 in strength from ordinary pirate crew members in the East Blue.

"They really are weak, the King of Loan Sharks' capable subordinates!" A faint black gleam shimmered along Mark's axe blade as he chopped off three heads with a single swing, mocking them.

Buffettla's face twitched. Veins bulged on his forehead, and the corners of his mouth kept spasming.

He stared at Mark, his expression changing rapidly.

He looked around at the corpses on the ground, then forced an ugly smile onto his face and said ingratiatingly, "Um... 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 down, took a box of cigars from his waist, pulled one out, and respectfully offered it to Mark.

Mark did not accept it. He used his bloodstained axe blade to block the offered cigar.

"I don't smoke." His tone was calm, revealing 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 enough. One moment he wanted to kill Mark; the next, he was shamelessly trying to curry favor with 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 might let him go.

He immediately put on a smiling face and said, "It was actually very simple. We only needed to investigate the people entering Yarl Forest..."