Accidentally Showing Off a Little

The Ice Demon in his hand cut through the air at a bizarre angle, slashing toward Pearl the "Iron Wall."

It was incredibly fast!

Yet Pearl the "Iron Wall" had a trick or two up his sleeve as well. He raised the shield in his hand and blocked Ener's strike.

Then, in the next second, dozens of flaming bullets shot out from beneath the shield.

Fortunately, Ener had already awakened Observation Haki and could predict where the attacks would land. He stood where he was, constantly swaying his body.

To Pearl the "Iron Wall's" utter shock, Ener effortlessly dodged every single bullet.

"How is that possible?"

Ener's ability shattered Pearl the "Iron Wall's" understanding of the world built over several decades.

"Ice Tiger..."

Ener moved. This time, however, he went all out. A surge of sword intent rose from his body, taking the form of a massive white tiger.

Ener stood at the very center of the white tiger.

The next second, Ener shot forward like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, he reached Pearl the "Iron Wall," and the Ice Demon in his hand crashed into his chest—more precisely, into the enormous shield nearly as large as Pearl himself.

Boom...

Although the strike did not split the giant shield open, its immense impact sent Pearl the "Iron Wall" flying.

Crack, crack...

At the same time, a layer of frost appeared over the massive shield on his body.

Ener narrowed his eyes and thought, If I reached the Iron-Cutting Realm, this slash should be enough to end the fight.

It seemed that once he returned to Loguetown, he would have to find a way to get Flame Dragon. Only then could he enter the Iron-Cutting Realm...

"Dragon Fang..."

This was the strongest move he had mastered. Sword intent surged from his body once more, transforming into a giant dragon. He then charged forward, the dragon's head biting toward Pearl the "Iron Wall."

And within the dragon's mouth was Ener, poised to thrust.

Clang...

In the next instant, Ener caught up to Pearl the "Iron Wall," who was still flying backward. The Ice Demon in his hand stabbed viciously into the center of the great shield.

The force of this impact was far greater than the previous strike.

Pearl the "Iron Wall" flew away at even greater speed before finally crashing into a small building on the street made of cut bluestone.

The building of cut bluestone could not withstand such tremendous force. A crater was blasted straight into its wall.

Pearl the "Iron Wall" was embedded in the wall.

The shield on his body had indeed given him formidable defense. But it could not block the impact... Under the two terrifying blows, along with the recoil from striking the wall, he fainted on the spot.

Whoosh...

Just then, Smoker transformed into smoke and whistled past Ener. For that brief instant, the two met each other's eyes.

Smoker looked at the already defeated Pearl the "Iron Wall," his face filled with shock.

This was not one of those minor lackeys from earlier. He was a pirate with a five-million-berry bounty, wrapped in a "turtle shell," and the third-ranking figure of the Krieg Pirates. Ordinary people truly could not handle him.

However, Smoker did not stop. He continued chasing after Krieg, who was fleeing at top speed.

"Well..."

Ener, who had originally intended to give chase, stopped immediately. After all, now that there were no hostages, would it not be child's play for Smoker, a Logia user, to take down someone like Krieg?

So he dragged the unconscious Pearl the "Iron Wall" toward the Warship.

When he dragged Pearl the "Iron Wall" back onto the Warship, the thirty Marines stationed under his command all lit up with excitement.

"Ensign!"

The moment they saw Ener, everyone gave him a military salute. This was treatment the original owner of this body had never received.

The corners of Ener's lips rose slightly. "Throw this guy into the cell too."

"Yes, Ensign!"

Two noncommissioned officers immediately stepped forward, lifted Pearl the "Iron Wall," and escorted him into the prison below deck.

Half an hour later, Smoker and Tashigi returned one after the other. By then, the way they looked at Ener had completely changed.

It was as if they were getting to know Ener all over again.

Their gazes also carried a hint of scrutiny.

After a moment, Tashigi stepped forward a few paces, her face sincere. "Thank you for saving me earlier."

Ener waved his hand. "We're both Marines. Once we're on the battlefield, we're comrades who can entrust our backs to each other."

"Comrades who can entrust their backs to each other?"

Smoker quietly savored those words. The way he looked at Ener changed once again.

His initial dislike and disgust toward Ener had now turned into appreciation. "Your performance during this operation was outstanding. I'll report it truthfully..."

After saying that, he added, "You should receive an exceptional promotion this time, but you still need to work hard. After all, directly advancing to a field-grade officer isn't easy."

Tashigi looked envious. "Colonel Smoker, Ensign Ener took down Gin the Man-Demon and Pearl the Iron Wall all by himself this time. At the very least, he should be promoted directly to Captain, right?"

Smoker nodded.

After all, one of them had a twelve-million-berry bounty, while the other had a five-million-berry bounty. In the East Blue, that was an extraordinary achievement.

With that achievement alone,

and a few more years of service, advancing to Major, Lieutenant Colonel, or Colonel would be a sure thing. Of course, that only applied to Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, and Colonels in the East Blue.

Then, seemingly recalling something, Smoker continued, "All the townspeople you stabbed were hit away from vital areas. They looked like they were killed in a single blow, but they were actually fine. As long as they recovered for a month or two, their wounds would heal completely... You planned it all, didn't you?"

Smoker could not help recalling the expressions on everyone's faces after those people woke up and the doctors examined them one by one...

Neither he nor the townspeople were fools.

But Ener shook his head. "Wrong. The townspeople I stabbed are all dead. Colonel Smoker, you need to spread word of this too. It would be best if everyone in the East Blue knew about it."

"Ah?"

The innocent Tashigi looked utterly confused. "Wouldn't that completely ruin your reputation?"

Smoker was confused for a moment as well. But after thinking it over carefully, his eyes widened when he looked at Ener, his gaze filled with shock.

There was even a trace of respect in it.

Yes, respect.

Smoker composed himself, then said solemnly, "You want to use your infamy to make every pirate in the East Blue understand that taking hostages is useless? So that there will never again be a situation like Krieg's, where someone takes a large number of hostages to threaten the Marines?"

Tashigi froze. Then she understood as well. "You're sacrificing your own reputation to deter all the pirates in the East Blue?"

But the consequences would be severe. Although the Marines also respected strength above all else, if someone's reputation truly became utterly rotten... their path to promotion would inevitably be far more difficult than everyone else's.

By then, Tashigi's gaze toward Ener carried both respect and admiration.