Hardbane Island

Time flew, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

West Blue, Hardbane Island.

From afar, the island appeared utterly unremarkable, with lush vegetation and gentle terrain.

But anyone in the know would have recognized it as the largest gunpowder production base in all of West Blue, as well as the foundation of the largest gunpowder dealer known as the Gunpowder King.

An ordinary-looking two-masted sailboat slowly docked without drawing any extra attention.

Dawn and Robin stepped off the deck one after the other and onto solid ground.

After half a year of training, Robin seemed to have grown a little taller. Her gaze had become steadier, and she carried the faintly capable air of someone tempered by real combat.

Perched on Dawn's shoulder was a small snow-white fox that looked entirely harmless.

Dawn did not rush into action. Over the past half year, he had systematically trained Stella and Robin in combat.

By targeting several notorious small gangs in West Blue, they had gained practical combat experience and, incidentally, acquired some startup funds.

The two women's strength, especially their combined use of Devil Fruit abilities and physical techniques, had improved greatly. Only after making thorough preparations did they finally arrive on this island.

The moment the two women and the fox set foot on the island, they headed straight toward its depths. Yet after advancing only a few dozen meters, more than twenty vigilant guards armed with flintlock rifles suddenly burst out from the surrounding brush.

They moved swiftly and were clearly well trained. In an instant, they leveled their guns at Dawn and the others. The squad leader at the front immediately shouted:

"Stop right there! This is private property, not a place ordinary people should be!"

The squad leader was actually somewhat puzzled. He knew the appearances of every person in charge of the major factions qualified to conduct gunpowder deals here, along with their attendants, by heart.

Even if there were personnel changes, they would be notified in advance.

This was an unwritten rule between the various factions and the Gunpowder King. After all, gunpowder was hard currency. No one in this business was stupid, nor would they employ unreliable subordinates. These people were unfamiliar, carried an unusual presence, and were clearly no harmless sort.

Dawn acted as if he had not heard the squad leader's challenge at all. His steps did not pause in the slightest as he continued forward at an unhurried pace.

He did not even glance at the black muzzles pointed at him, as though they were nothing but air.

Seeing Dawn disregard them so completely, the squad leader's pupils shrank. He stopped hesitating and directly gave the order:

"Fire!"

"Bang bang bang bang—!"

The dense gunfire instantly shattered the island's silence. A deadly barrage of lead bullets descended upon the two women and the fox.

Even more alarming, several bombs with lit, sizzling fuses were mixed into the barrage.

Unlike elsewhere, where bombs were treated as a last resort, on this island—a gunpowder production base in its own right—they were a standard means of attack.

Faced with the sudden assault, Dawn did not even change his posture. He merely patted the white fox on his shoulder.

Stella understood. Opening her tiny mouth, she spat out five highly compressed orange-red fireballs in succession.

The first fireball struck the leading mass of bullets with perfect accuracy. The flame compressed to its limit erupted violently the moment it made contact.

The scorching blast and flames instantly melted the bullets' casings, causing them to explode in midair.

The second and third fireballs followed close behind, dealing with the remaining bullets and incoming bombs in the same manner.

The bombs' casings rapidly melted and detonated under the extreme heat, producing even louder explosions! The fourth fireball cleared away the remaining scattered threats.

The fifth fireball, meanwhile, curved through the air as though it had eyes and directly struck the guards, who stood dumbfounded as their attack was effortlessly neutralized!

"Boom—!"

Flames swallowed the crowd, and the terrifying destructive force of heat and explosions swept through them in an instant. Their shrill screams rang out briefly before quickly fading away.

The air filled with the stench of charred flesh and blood. The first batch of guards had been completely wiped out beneath this overwhelming firepower.

After dealing with those guards, Dawn's group showed no unusual reaction and continued onward.

After half a year of purging small gangs, not only Dawn, who was already accustomed to killing and bloodshed, but Stella and Robin as well had grown used to life-or-death scenes like this.

Mercy toward enemies was cruelty toward oneself. That truth had long been carved into their bones.

However, Hardbane Island's defenses clearly did not end there.

Only a few minutes later, after the two women and the fox passed through a stretch of woodland, a second batch of guards appeared in a relatively open clearing ahead.

A dark mass of people filled the area, far more numerous than before. As far as the eye could see, they packed the path so densely that it was nearly blocked off entirely—there were at least a thousand of them!

They were better equipped. Besides flintlock rifles, many had several bombs hanging from their waists. Their gazes were fierce, and they were clearly seasoned desperadoes.

Obviously, the guards had some special way of confirming their comrades' deaths. Otherwise, they could never have assembled so many people in such a short time.

Leading the thousand men was a burly man with a scar across his face. He had no intention of wasting words on Dawn's group.

The instant he spotted his targets, he waved his hand and gave the order:

"Fire at will! Kill them!"

An even denser barrage poured down like a raging storm. With so many bullets fired at once, there was no need to aim.

A blanket attack alone was enough to guarantee a one-hundred-percent hit rate.

Dawn's eyes narrowed. He had been prepared.

He spread his arms, palms facing forward, and instantly released the air that had been stored and compressed in advance within the alternate space.

[Air Pressure Gatling]

Air cannons containing terrifying kinetic force shot out one after another, accurately colliding with the incoming mass of bullets.

Clusters of invisible shockwaves and metallic fragments exploded in midair like fireworks, while the piercing sounds of metal impacts and shattering continued without end.

The few stragglers that slipped through were easily swallowed and melted by the wider fan-shaped flames Stella spat out once more.

Working together, the two of them effortlessly neutralized the first volley, one powerful enough to instantly annihilate an army.

Watching their supposedly fatal attack be dealt with so casually, many guards immediately broke out in cold sweat. Their hands holding the guns began to tremble.

Seeing this, the scar-faced commander gritted his teeth.

"What are you panicking for?! Keep loading! You know exactly what happens to anyone who deserts in battle!"

His words carried a heavy threat. Clearly, the Gunpowder King's punishment for deserters was exceptionally cruel.

Hearing that, the guards forcibly suppressed their fear and began reloading in a fluster.

But how could Dawn give them that chance? He knew full well the fatal weakness of flintlock weapons: their frequent reloading.

This gap was exactly what he had been waiting for.

He gave Robin, standing beside him, a look.

Robin understood. She crossed her arms before her chest and called out in a low voice:

[Hook Claw]

In an instant, several pairs of pale arms suddenly appeared out of nowhere on dozens of guards who were busy reloading amid the dense crowd.

The arms seemed to possess lives of their own, swiftly and precisely locking around their necks, elbow joints, and leg joints.

"Ah!"

"What is this?!"

"I... I can't move!"

Although the number of people restrained was not high compared to the total, the sudden, bizarre attack was more than enough.

The restrained guards struggled and shouted in terror, and their panic spread like stones cast into a still lake.

The guards, whose morale had already been damaged, immediately fell into chaos. Their reloading movements became completely disordered, and some even accidentally pulled their triggers. The misfired shots only added to the confusion.

They were ultimately just thugs who risked their lives for money. Before the absolute gap in strength and those bizarre abilities, their desire for wealth was completely overwhelmed by their fear of death.

Seizing the opportunity, Dawn immediately unleashed Black Hole. The chaotic crowd had no time to organize any effective resistance and were like lambs awaiting slaughter.

A few minutes later, Dawn moved his mind. The swallowed guards were released again like spat-out scraps and scattered across the ground.

However, they had long since lost their lives.

To be continued