Gangsters and the Navy Girl

Clang.

A pitch-black longsword slashed against an Armament Haki-hardened right arm, sending a flurry of sparks flying.

Lucas flung the giant bear corpse from his shoulder to the ground and, using the momentum of the strike, swept backward, carving two half-foot-deep trenches into the shattered street.

"This time, I'm definitely arresting you."

Gion walked out from behind the shattered wooden door with a cold face. Armament Haki spread from her fair wrist to the blade of Kompira, making her whole person resemble a drawn sword, sharp and menacing.

Lucas patted the faint white mark on his right arm, a wicked smile hooking the corner of his mouth:

"It's been three years already, why won't you give up? The first time you said that, I stole Soru from you; the second time, I learned Geppo; the third time..."

He deliberately dragged out his tone, his malicious gaze sweeping over her slender waist and long legs.

"Shut up!"

Gion's pretty face instantly turned scarlet, even her earlobes dyed crimson as she interrupted him in embarrassment and anger,

"It was always you playing tricks before! This time, I will absolutely not give you any more chances!"

Kompira in her hand suddenly carved a stunning semicircle.

A solid peach-colored crescent slash broke through Kong, easily cutting open the ground along the way and kicking up a massive amount of debris.

Lucas's waist Katana left its sheath, cleaving the oncoming slash into scattered shockwaves.

The shockwaves blew away the rubble and rotted wood on the ground. He flipped his wrist, thrusting the blade forward smoothly, and an intangible sword aura went straight for Gion's face.

Gion stepped lightly on lotus steps, tilting slightly.

The sword aura brushed past her hair, and with a loud boom, split the crumbling residential building behind her in half.

Almost simultaneously, she raised her wrist, and an identical peach-colored flying slash rebounded outward.

Lucas didn't dodge or evade, thick Conqueror's Haki gushing out from within his body to condense an indestructible armor across his skin.

With a muffled thud, the sword aura struck the armor, instantly shattering into specks of light filling the sky.

He exerted force through his feet, the ground collapsing with a roar, and his whole body catapulted out like a cannonball, his Katana slashing fiercely against Kompira, which Gion held horizontally to block.

The sky-splitting sound of metal clashing traveled far.

Sword light and blade shadows intertwined in the dilapidated slum, fighting from dusk till midnight, and from midnight till dawn.

The stench of blood and the smell of gunpowder hung thick in Kong, the already ruined street now transformed into scorched earth.

The third night of their battle.

Lucas seized an opening, slashing his blade against Kompira's handguard.

With a loud clanging echo, Kompira flew from her grip, plunging deep into a distant broken wall where the blade continued to vibrate incessantly.

Before Gion could react, his arm moved in a blur, several highly concentrated, intangible sword auras tearing through Kong.

The Armament Haki armor Gion had hurriedly erected was easily sliced apart like thin paper before these sword auras.

With several crisp rips, her marine uniform was cut to shreds by the sword aura, fluttering in Kong like white butterflies.

Under the moonlight, the girl's fair, lovely body was faintly discernible, fine beads of sweat and dust still clinging to her skin, outlining breathtaking curves.

"You... shameless bastard! You're getting more and more practiced at using this trick!"

Gion bit her silver teeth, her cheeks turning red enough to bleed. She hurriedly covered her chest with her arms, backing against the cold broken wall and breathing heavily.

Three consecutive days and nights of fierce combat had long since exhausted the very last shred of strength in her body; forget raising a hand to counterattack, even just standing was her absolute limit.

Angry and ashamed, her eye sockets turned slightly red. Yet in her heart lay a trace of helplessness she refused to admit—she had lost again, losing completely and utterly.

"Naturally."

Lucas chuckled softly, sheathing his longsword. The crisp sound of metal colliding was exceptionally clear in the silent ruins.

He stepped over the giant bear corpse on the ground that had long since been chopped into pieces by sword auras, walked up to Gion, and before she could resist, reached out and scooped her up by the waist.

"After all, I have the most dedicated sparring partner in the entire world."

He lowered his head to look at the girl in his arms who was consumed by shame and anger yet unable to struggle, a trace of imperceptible gentleness flashing in the depths of his eyes before he turned with her in his arms and walked into the dilapidated wooden house.

The wooden door slowly closed behind him, shutting out the moonlight and bloodshed outside.

The next morning.

A thin sliver of sunlight spilled across the messy bed through the gap in the tattered curtains.

Lucas slowly opened his azure eyes, a trace of sleepiness still lingering in the depths of his gaze.

He lowered his head to glance at Gion, who was curled up in his arms and sleeping soundly, and gently pinched her smooth, delicate waist with his fingers.

The girl let out a dissatisfied grunt, burrowing deeper into his arms as her long eyelashes fluttered gently like a pair of small fans.

Lucas chuckled softly, cautiously withdrawing his arm and getting out of bed. He walked over to the table, picked up the bottle of aged liquor from West Blue, and poured himself a full glass.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, scorching his esophagus like a raging fire.

Lucas leaned against the window, his gaze gradually growing hazy.

Eighteen years.

Eighteen years ago, he was merely an ordinary 21st-century corporate drone, facing a computer typing code every day and working himself to the bone for mortgage and car loans.

An abrupt car accident muddled him through time into this cannibalistic Great Age of Pirates, turning him into an infant abandoned on the shores of the Kingdom of Ye.

A dilapidated local orphanage took him in, and that gentle, kind nun gave him a name—Lucas.

That was the only period in his life filled with sunshine.

The nun taught him to read and write, shared half of her meager bread with him, and stayed by his bedside through the night without sleeping when he fell ill.

Unfortunately, good times never last.

When he was ten years old, a small gang called the Grey Wolf Gang washed the orphanage in blood to seize territory.

To protect him, the nun was hacked to death with random blades right before his eyes.

Sky-high fury and despair caused him to awaken Conqueror's Haki at that very moment. All the ordinary invading gang members passed out and collapsed to the ground.

However, this failed to save him.

Thanks to Golden Lion Shiki, the gangsters of the Kingdom of Ye were hardly strangers to Conqueror's Haki, though they merely knew that anyone possessing such Haki had extraordinary talent.

The lucid gang higher-ups did not kill him, instead carrying him away to train him as the ultimate killing machine.

The next five years were a living hell.

Lucas feigned complete brainwashing, obeying gang orders without question and killing without blinking.

Like a sponge, he frantically absorbed everything that could make him stronger.

Finally, on his fifteenth birthday, he made his move.

Overnight, more than three hundred members of the Grey Wolf Gang left not a single survivor.

Blood stained the entire courtyard, and even the water flowing through the sewers turned crimson. From that day onward, the Kingdom of Ye gained a living taboo.

And it was that very year he encountered Gion.

That spirited girl, freshly graduated from the Marine Headquarters training camp, wore a pristine justice cape, her eyes as clear as a spring of water as she firmly believed in the absolute justice of the Marines.

She treated the Kingdom of Ye as her first stop for actual combat, swearing to purge the local gangs.

During their first clash, Gion relied on exquisite Rokushiki and dual-colored Haki to beat him black and blue.

Lucas could only rely on recovery abilities far exceeding ordinary people and an ironclad will to drag himself up from the ground time and time again.

Amidst this life-and-death struggle, he accidentally discovered his innate talent—he could copy and master all of his opponent's techniques at an astonishing speed during combat.

The gangsters of the Kingdom of Ye were idiots who only knew brute force; he had never had the chance to discover this talent.

Yet Gion was like the finest teacher bestowed upon him by the heavens.

Once he stole all of the Rokushiki and dual-colored Haki techniques from Gion through battle after battle, the balance of victory tilted completely.

Ever since, every single engagement ended in Gion's defeat.

Strangely enough, she never gave up.

Every few months, she would take a warship to the Kingdom of Ye, get defeated by him, and then... the feelings between the two warmed uncontrollably within this bizarre and twisted dynamic.

By now, the distance between genuine husband and wife lacked little more than a certificate issued by the government.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

An embarrassed and angry feminine shout abruptly yanked Lucas back from his memories to reality.

Behind him, a fierce gale struck. The Armament Haki wrapped around Gion's slender, fair fingers stabbed straight for his back like a dagger.

Lucas did not turn around, thick Armament Haki instantly condensing an armor layer across his back.

With a muffled thud, her fingertips collided with the armor, producing a dull sound. He used the momentum to spin around and grab Gion's wrist.

"Such a fiery temper early in the morning?"

"What, trying to murder your husband? Or do you want to become a widow at such a young age?"

Hearing the words "husband," Gion's eye sockets instantly reddened.

She struggled fiercely, but could not shake free of Lucas's grip.

Finally, she gave up resisting, leaning weakly against the edge of the bed as tears rolled down like broken beads.

"Why won't you just come with me? Why won't you become a marine?"

"Is being a gangster really that good?"

Personal affection and the ideals of justice she had upheld since childhood sliced back and forth in her heart like two sharp blades, subjecting her to endless torment.

She hated Lucas's unyielding nature, hated his refusal to accept her goodwill, and hated herself even more—hating that she was clearly a marine, yet had fallen in love with a gangster.

Lucas's heart softened abruptly.

He released his grip, pulling Gion into his embrace as he gently patted her smooth spine. The girl's body trembled slightly, warm tears dampening his shirt.

"I've answered this question for you countless times."

"I don't like being bossed around, and I certainly don't want to play the dog for those lofty Celestial Dragons. As for being a gangster... do you think that's something I chose myself?"

If he could, he too would have preferred living an ordinary life.

Yet this world had never given him a choice. From the day the orphanage was washed in blood, his life had only one path remaining—grow stronger, strong enough to protect himself, strong enough that no one would ever dare bully him again.

Gion bit her lip and stopped speaking.

She naturally understood his hidden grievances.

She had witnessed the darkness of the Kingdom of Ye, seen nobles ride slaves through the streets, and watched gangsters treat human lives like grass for trivial profits.

She simply... felt unreconciled.

She had believed that as long as Lucas joined the Marines, he could shed the shadows of his past and live a life under the sun.

Lucas lowered his head, gently sealing her lips as she prepared to speak further.

This kiss carried the spiciness of strong liquor alongside endless gentleness.

After a long while, they parted.

"I have some business to attend to, I'll be right back."

He stood up, dressed cleanly and efficiently, and turned to walk out of the bedroom.

"Don't forget to fix the door when you leave!"

A pillow struck the spot at the back of his head where he had just vanished.

The wooden door closed softly, leaving Gion sitting alone on the bed, staring blankly at his receding figure with complex and unreadable eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED

(PS: Gion has no canonical age reference in the original work; theoretically, fanfic authors can write her however they wish within reasonable limits. In this book, I set her age at 40 during the original timeline. The timeline of this chapter is 20 years before the original work, meaning Gion is currently 20 years old.)