Pirate: I Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki First

Xia Le took the list and nodded.

He skimmed it and learned that five Supernovas were currently on the Sabaody Archipelago. They included powerful swordsmen and Devil Fruit Users.

Their bounties ranged from one hundred to three hundred million Beli. With so many of them scattered across the islands, they had caused considerable trouble.

"Leave it to me!"

After taking the Den Den Mushi used to keep in contact, Xia Le left with T Bone and Rosinante.

He had not met Vice Admiral Jonna, nor did he need to discuss anything further with him.

"Four of these five pirate crews are pirates through and through. Between them, they have the blood of at least a thousand civilians on their hands."

"They deserve to die."

"Except for this crew."

Xia Le narrowed his eyes at the information on the last group, the Evans Pirates.

The crew had five members: a cook, a navigator, a sniper, a swordsman, and a shipwright. Every one of them was formidable, with a bounty of at least fifty million Beli.

Their captain, Evans Thune, had a bounty of three hundred and twenty million. He was a powerful sniper.

Unlike the other crews, the Evans Pirates had no civilian blood on their hands. In fact, they had done many good deeds in the places they had passed through.

"Evans Thune. Born in Flevance, the White Town of the North Blue."

"His parents died under the oppression of the nobility when he was eight. He went to sea at sixteen, quickly made a name for himself, and formed a pirate crew."

Xia Le studied the information thoughtfully.

Beside him, Rosinante had been holding the Den Den Mushi and exchanging information on the enemy with the Marines. Suddenly, he looked up.

"Officer Xia Le."

"The Iron Bone Pirates are just ahead!"

"Our men have them completely surrounded."

Xia Le raised his head and looked ahead.

Squads of Marines were advancing cautiously from both sides. The building before them was silent.

"Let's finish this quickly. I don't have time to waste here."

As Xia Le spoke, he vanished.

He was in a hurry to settle matters here and head for the New World.

Total Annihilation

"Let's fight our way out, Captain Ain!"

"If this keeps up, we're dead! The Marines have cut off every escape route!"

"The longer we stay here, the more reinforcements they'll bring!"

Low shouts rang out inside the building, its doors and windows sealed shut.

Some twenty or thirty members of the Iron Bone Pirates filled what had once been a spacious hall. As they fought the Marines, they had fallen back again and again until they took shelter here.

Now, with the Marines closing in from both sides, the atmosphere was tense and grim.

"What if an Admiral comes?"

The trembling question brought everyone up short. Fear appeared in their eyes.

The Sabaody Archipelago was extremely close to Marine Headquarters. Causing trouble here was especially dangerous; an Admiral might well lead a force to surround them.

Ain, a man in his thirties with a captain's hat and a vicious scar across his cheek, looked back at them and suddenly smiled.

"What are you afraid of?"

"We haven't crossed the Celestial Dragons. Why would an Admiral bother with us?"

"Besides, the Jones Pirates started this mess. Those lunatics have drawn the main Marine force to Area 32."

Ain drew a breath, a savage grin spreading across his face.

"I only waited here so all the Marines would gather in one place. Then we could wipe them out in one go."

The others froze, then let out relieved breaths.

"So many of our crew have died. We can't let that go unanswered!"

Ain's voice was cold.

He glanced at the pile of civilian corpses behind him, heaped up like a small hill, and licked his lips.

Killing civilians was no fun. These Marines would give him a way to vent his rage.

"That should be enough!"

"Get ready!"

Ain looked through the window at the Marines, now only fifty meters away. He grinned and rose to his feet.

"Kill every last one of them. Cut off their heads and pile them into a mountain of skulls!"

The pirates behind him grew bloodshot-eyed at his words.

But the moment he finished speaking, the ceiling split in two with a crash. Wood splinters and chunks of stone shot everywhere.

Screams erupted.

More than a dozen pirates were injured or killed on the spot. Ain froze, then flew into a rage.

Outside, the colonel leading the encirclement was stunned too.

"Who was that? I haven't given the order to attack!"

The colonel stared at the Marine suspended in midair, his right leg extended from a downward strike.

His eyes were full of shock.

The building where the pirates had hidden was six stories tall, yet that figure's single kick had nearly cut it in half.

"I've never seen a Tempest Kick that powerful!"

A moment later, the figure in the air vanished again.

When Xia Le reappeared, he stood in the middle of the Iron Bone Pirates.

Dust billowed, obscuring everyone's view.

"It's a Marine!"

A shout rang out, followed by a barrage of gunfire.

"Iron Body!"

Xia Le tensed every muscle. Bullets struck him with metallic clangs, their tips deforming on impact.

"Is this guy a monster?"

The pirates' eyes widened when they saw that the bullets could not pierce him.

Xia Le gave them no time to react. His figure flickered.

He appeared in front of a pirate, seized his head, and slammed him into the floor.

Boom!

Dust flew. The entire building shook, throwing the others off balance.

Ain's pupils contracted. Fear flashed in his eyes.

With that one strike, the man in the justice coat had crushed the skull of one of his capable crewmates.

"You've got to be kidding!"

"Barens is a pirate with a hundred-and-eighty-million-Beli bounty!"

But what Ain saw next would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The young Marine, whose name he did not even know, moved too fast for him to follow.

With one kick, he sent the vice captain, a man worth two hundred million Beli, flying out of the room. He smashed through more than a dozen buildings before crashing heavily to the ground.

The others stood even less of a chance. In the blink of an eye, they were all dead.

Some had their kidneys punched through; others had holes driven through their foreheads. Every death came swiftly.

In barely five or six breaths, the entire Iron Bone Pirates crew had been wiped out. Only Ain remained.

"A demon!!" Ain said, trembling.

"Oh?"

Xia Le smiled.

He turned toward the last remaining captain.

"I like that compliment."

Ain took a deep breath and forced himself past his fear. He glared at Xia Le, his eyes wild.

"I'm not like them!"

"I ate the Iron Bone Fruit! My bones and body are as hard as steel!"

Xia Le raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

The next moment, he vanished.

Shave!

When he appeared again, he was right in front of Ain, close enough to see the bewilderment on his face.

A faint creak came from the Seastone glove as Xia Le clenched his fist.

He could only sense Armament Haki for now; he had yet to master it. These gloves were his strongest weapon against Devil Fruit Users.

"Fist Bone!"

"Quake!"

Xia Le's coat billowed behind him as he threw a punch.

No tricks. Just one clean, direct blow.

The Seastone glove struck Ain's cheek. His steel-hard body caved in and twisted like rippling water before he toppled straight to the floor with a thunderous crash.

The entire six-story building shook, sending dust drifting down.

Xia Le slowly straightened and looked at Ain below him, his body mangled beyond recognition. He shook his head.

"I gave you too much credit."

Then he kicked through the wall in front of him and walked past the ranks of dumbfounded Marines.

"Salute!"

"Thank you, sir!"

The colonel at their head looked at him with fervent excitement.

Xia Le waved and left with Rosinante and T Bone.

Checking the list against the locations Rosinante kept reporting, Xia Le headed for the other Supernovas.

Over the next half hour, he dealt with two more pirate crews just as easily.

Then a message came through the Den Den Mushi: Vice Admiral Jonna had captured the Jones Pirates.

"Then that leaves only them."