Annihilated

Xia Le took the list and nodded.

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

Their bounties ranged from one hundred million to three hundred million Beli. They were numerous and scattered, and they had caused considerable trouble.

"Leave it to me!"

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

There was no need to meet Vice Admiral Jonna or discuss anything further.

"Of the five pirate crews, four are pirates through and through. Each has the blood of at least a thousand civilians on its hands."

"They deserve to die."

"Only this one..."

Xia Le narrowed his eyes at the entry for the last crew, the Evans Pirates.

The crew had five members: a cook, a navigator, a sniper, a swordsman, and a shipwright. All five were formidable, with bounties above fifty million.

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

Unlike the other crews, the Evans Pirates had killed no civilians. On the contrary, they had done many good deeds in the places they passed through.

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

"His parents died under the Nobles' oppression 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 exchanging information about the enemy with the Marines over the Den Den Mushi. He suddenly looked up.

"Superior Officer Xia Le."

"The Iron Bone Pirates are just ahead!"

"Our people have them completely surrounded."

Xia Le looked up at that.

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

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

As Xia Le spoke, he vanished.

He wanted to settle matters here and head for the New World.

Total Annihilation

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

"We're dead if this goes on! The Marines have blocked every exit!"

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

Low shouts rang through the building, its doors and windows shut tight.

Some twenty or thirty members of the Iron Bone Pirates packed what had once been a spacious hall. As they fought the Marines, they had steadily pulled back until they took refuge here.

Now, with the Marines closing in from both sides, the air was heavy with tension.

"What if an Admiral comes?"

The trembling question stopped everyone cold. Fear rose in their eyes.

The Sabaody Archipelago was close to Marine Headquarters. Causing trouble here was especially dangerous: an Admiral might well lead the force sent to crush them.

A man in his thirties wore a captain's hat and had a vicious scar across his cheek. He turned to look at them, then smiled.

"What are you afraid of?"

"We haven't provoked the Celestial Dragons. Why would an Admiral bother coming?"

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

Ain took a breath, a vicious grin spreading across his face.

"I've been waiting here so the Marines would gather in one place. Then we can wipe them all out in one stroke."

The others froze, then breathed sighs of relief.

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

Ain's voice was cold.

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

Killing civilians was no fun. These Marines could give him an outlet for his rage.

"That should be enough of them!"

"Get ready!"

Ain looked through the window at the Marine squads barely fifty meters away. He grinned and stood.

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

His words left the pirates behind him red-eyed.

But the moment he finished speaking, the ceiling overhead shattered with a roar. It split in two, sending splinters and chunks of stone flying.

Screams erupted.

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

Outside, the Colonel in charge of the encirclement was just as stunned.

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

The Colonel stared in disbelief at the Marine suspended in midair, his right leg extended from the kick.

Shock filled his eyes.

The building where the pirates had taken cover stood six stories tall, yet that single kick had nearly split it in half.

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

The figure vanished again the next instant.

When Xia Le reappeared, he stood at the heart of the Iron Bone Pirates' position.

Dust billowed around him, obscuring everyone's view.

"It's a Marine!"

Someone shouted, and gunshots rang out in rapid succession.

"Tekkai!"

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

"Is this guy a monster?"

The pirates stared, wide-eyed, as the bullets failed to pierce him.

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

He reappeared before a pirate, seized his head, and slammed it into the floor.

Boom!

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

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

He had just watched the man in the Justice Cloak crush the skull of a capable crewmate with one hand.

"You've got to be kidding!"

"Barens is a Great Pirate with a bounty of one hundred and eighty million!"

Then Ain saw something he would never forget.

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

With a single kick, he sent the vice-captain, whose bounty stood at two hundred million Beli, flying out of the room. The man smashed through more than ten buildings before crashing to the ground.

The rest offered even less resistance. In the blink of an eye, they were all dead.

Some had their kidneys punched through; others had holes driven through their foreheads. They died almost instantly.

In no more than five or six breaths, the entire Iron Bone Pirates crew had been wiped out. Ain alone remained.

"Demon!!"

Ain's voice shook.

"Oh?"

Xia Le smiled.

He turned toward the last surviving captain.

"I like that compliment."

Ain drew 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 instant, he vanished.

Shave!

He reappeared right in front of Ain, close enough to see the confusion on his face.

A faint creak came from Xia Le's clenched Seastone Gloves.

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

"Fist Bone!"

"Quake!"

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

No tricks. Just a simple, direct blow.

The next instant, a Seastone Glove struck Ain's cheek. His steel-hard body caved in and warped like the surface of a lake. He fell straight to the floor with a thunderous crash.

The entire six-story building shook, dust streaming down.

Xia Le slowly straightened and looked at Ain, whose body was no longer recognizable. He shook his head.

"I overestimated you."

Then he kicked through the wall ahead of him and walked past the ranks of stunned Marines.

"Salute!"

"Thank you, sir!"

The Colonel at their head watched him with shining eyes.

Xia Le waved and left with Rosinante and T Bone.

Following the list and Rosinante's updates on the other crews' locations, Xia Le set off after the remaining Supernovas.

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

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

"That leaves only them."