A Partner in Justice

They believed only in the Beli before their eyes and a life without restraint.

And so they simply drifted with the tide.

For that alone, Gol D. Roger deserved to die. It was not just the World Government and the Marines who hated him; most civilians living on the islands hated him even more.

A pirate's cruelty had never been measured by strength. Most of them were villains and scum who bullied the weak and cowered before the strong.

And often, the weaker the pirates, the crueler they were. Unable to rob merchant ships with armed guards and firepower, they turned their sights on remote villages without Marine Bases.

At first, they might only rob people, but as they kept going, robbery became murder and arson, until finally they were slaughtering entire villages.

Over the years, he had read plenty of newspaper reports like that.

"Aah!"

A sudden shout broke through his churning thoughts.

"I'm taking on ten!"

Ahua charged toward the cabin first.

"You? Please."

A-Luo curled his lip and hurried after him. "I'm taking fifteen!"

"Then I'll take twenty."

Following last, A-Tao watched the two start arguing again, speechless. She rubbed her forehead and said, "Then let's see who takes down the most."

"You're on."

"Hmph!"

Kuta looked away, ignoring the three idiots heading off to fetch their weapons. He turned toward Kuina, who had been staring straight ahead, and rested his right hand on her shoulder.

"Kuina, are you nervous?"

"I'm going to become the strongest female Swordmaster. Why would I be nervous?"

Kuina turned to look at Kuta, a flicker of excitement appearing on her calm face.

Her gaze hardened with resolve as she turned back toward the Krieg Pirates and spoke.

"The moment I set sail, I left that feeling behind at the dojo."

"Good!"

"Enjoy the fight! Everyone over there deserves to die anyway."

Even if the other ship had not approached, he would not have let them go.

He had seen reports of them plundering towns in the papers more than once.

He was no saint.

But when villains delivered themselves right to his doorstep, he could only send them all to hell.

Even if there were rookies aboard who had yet to commit a crime, or people who were not quite so cruel.

What did that matter?

He was not King Luffy. He would not waste his energy sorting out who had committed crimes and who was innocent.

He was not a police officer.

Nor was he a judge.

Much less

Lu Pan.

He was just an ordinary person who had grown up under the red flag in his previous life.

Anyone with a sense of justice would surely have left a pirate crew like this long ago. Those who stayed, whether they had done anything yet or not, at least wanted to be villains.

He was only an ordinary person. All he could do was treat them equally.

At last, the two sailing ships, one large and one small, met.

The Dauntless Warship Saber brazenly cut across their little boat's path from an angle.

Yes, compared to the behemoth before them, the Fake Merry looked like a child facing an adult.

"What the hell? It's not a merchant ship!"

The pirates leaned over the railing and looked down at the tiny sailing ship below, disappointment creeping onto their vicious faces.

When they first spotted a little boat without a flag, they had assumed it was a merchant ship and immediately changed course to rush over.

Their haul this time had been rather small, so this had seemed like a perfect chance for more plunder.

Only when they drew close did they discover that the little ship's deck was empty, with just five youths standing calmly at the bow, long swords hanging at their waists.

They hated ships like this.

One look told them these were fresh-faced rookies who had just set sail to play at being pirates.

They had seen plenty of rookies like these. There was nothing worth taking from them.

So even the exceptionally handsome young man and beautiful young woman standing at the front failed to interest them.

After all, theirs was not a slave ship.

They knew only plunder, taking whatever supplies they needed.

"Ugh!"

The pirates sighed.

They lowered rope ladders, preparing to climb down onto the little ship below. Even a tiny haul was still a haul!

Just then, a sharp, swift scraping sound rang out.

Shing!

A silvery-white Slash swept up from below, cutting horizontally toward them at tremendous speed.

"Watch out!"

"Urk!"

The slower pirates barely managed a cry before it sliced across their necks, leaving them frozen in place.

A thin red line first appeared on their necks, then rapidly widened.

Spurt!

Their heads shot into the air and fell swiftly behind them.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The quicker pirates, who had just retreated onto the deck, froze at the sounds behind them.

Then they felt something roll against their feet.

Slowly lowering their heads, they saw severed heads on the deck, eyes wide open in death.

A chill shot from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads, leaving their bodies icy and their scalps tingling.

They dared not look back. They knew what a Swordmaster's Flying Slash was. That was not something they could handle. Only their captain or officers could put up a fight.

They hurried toward the middle of the deck, screaming in terror as they ran, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"What's all this racket?"

A calm yet commanding voice came from within the crowd of pirates.

The pirates quickly parted to either side, opening a path.

A tall figure emerged, clad in golden armor, black boots, and a large cape, his purple hair bound beneath a bandanna. His fierce eyes made it obvious at a glance that he was not someone to mess with.

To his left followed a thin man wearing a striped bandanna, a green T-shirt, and a gray jacket and trousers.

To his right followed a man with a bubble atop his head and round shields covering his body.

As their captain and officers approached, the pirates trembled as they recounted what had just happened.

"A Swordmaster?"

Krieg looked at the headless bodies by the railing and the heads that had rolled aside, murderous fury rising within him.

Someone dared kill his crew in the East Blue? They must have had a death wish.

Partners of Justice

Aboard the Fake Merry.

Seeing the pirates preparing to climb down, Kuina struck first.

She would not let these pirates board the Fake Merry before fighting them. That would not only dirty the ship but might damage it as well.

Seeing the Dauntless Warship Saber's railing cleared in an instant, Kuta was the first to jump aboard.

Standing on the railing, he unhooked the Wine Gourd from his waist with his left hand and tilted his head back for a drink. When he lowered his gaze to the deck, he met Krieg's eyes.

Their gazes locked, and a mocking smile curled Kuta's lips. "Yo, pirate! I hear you're some kind of overlord of the East Blue. Come on, do a little dance for me."

"Who do you think you are, talking to Captain Krieg like that?"

Gin, standing to Krieg's left, stepped forward and shouted, utterly failing to read the situation.

"Hmm...?"

"Do you want to dance too?"

Kuta frowned and looked calmly at Gin.

The man might have seemed decent enough in the anime, but he was actually a cold-blooded, ruthless villain.

The instant Kuta looked his way, Gin felt an immense pressure bear down on him.

It crushed him into silence, cold sweat pouring off him.

Just then, Krieg stepped forward, breaking the pressure on Gin.

With the oppressive feeling gone, Gin hastily retreated a step behind Krieg, gasping for breath.

He raised his head and stared fixedly at Kuta, his eyes filled with horror and his expression grave.

The man had rendered him speechless through sheer presence alone. How could he be so strong?

"You must be that Swordmaster. Since when has the East Blue had someone like you without me hearing about it?"

"I'm not a Swordmaster. Someone else will be playing with you today."

"Hmm? There are others?"

He turned his gaze toward Kuina, who had just come aboard. He completely ignored the Ahua Trio climbing up behind her. Only Kuina and Kuta felt like threats.

Kuina raised her head and gave Krieg a cold glance before ignoring him. He was not her target. She was after his officers.

Then she looked at Demon Man Gin and Iron Wall Pearl standing beside Krieg.

Seeing the dark-blue-haired woman look his way, Gin hurriedly drew the tonfas at his waist and watched Kuina warily.

Without wasting a word, Kuina swiftly drew Wado Ichimonji and stamped both feet against the railing, activating Shave.

With a whoosh, she appeared before Gin in an instant and delivered a swift sword strike.

Clang!

Too fast.

So fast that Gin only had time to raise his tonfas

in front of himself. Then his body lifted helplessly, his feet leaving the deck as a tremendous force sent him hurtling backward.

Crash! He smashed into the cabin.

Amid the cabin's wreckage, Gin braced his left hand against the floor and clutched his chest with his right, trembling as he sat up.