The Fall of the Krieg Pirates

"Cough, cough, cough!!"

"Cough, cough, cough...!!"

He coughed violently, lowered his head, and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva to the side.

Raising his head, he stared at Kuina through the hole the impact had left and cried out in horror, "Why are you so strong?"

Yes, she was strong—so strong that a single blow had left him seriously injured.

Kuina ignored him and turned her cold gaze toward Pearl.

Only then did the surrounding pirates react, suddenly shouting.

"I must be dreaming!"

"She beat the commander in one hit!"

"How is that possible? That's Gin the Man-Demon, with a bounty of twelve million Beli!"

As Kuina's gaze swept over them, the pirates around Pearl instantly backed away, clearing a large space.

Meanwhile, the Ahua Trio drew their swords by the ship's railing and charged at the surrounding pirates.

They couldn't beat the officers, but they could handle these ordinary pirates.

Their decade-plus of training hadn't been for nothing, and they had learned swordsmanship from Koshiro.

Clang, clang, clang—!

For a time, the clash of blades mingled endlessly with the pirates' screams and curses.

"You bastards!"

"Get them! Kill them!"

"Aaaargh...!"

Listening to the screams behind him, Krieg's forehead bulged with veins. He didn't turn around. He didn't dare.

The moment that woman had come aboard, the silver-haired boy opposite him had locked his presence onto him. He felt that if he so much as turned his head, a storm of attacks would come crashing down.

Seeing that none of the pirates posed a threat to the Ahua Trio, Kuta withdrew his gaze, turned to Krieg, and smiled.

"Hey, Krieg! Be good and stay right there! If you're bored, you can always dance."

"Hahaha..."

He burst out laughing at his own words.

"Ah! Help!"

"Captain Krieg, hurry up and take them out!"

"You're the strongest man in the East Blue!"

"Aaagh...!"

As the screams grew more numerous, Krieg finally snapped.

He tore off his cape and joined the shields on his arms together. A long shaft extended from one end, while a massive blade emerged from the other.

"There it is! Boss Krieg's strongest weapon, the Great Battle Spear!"

Looking at the loudly

cheering pirates before him, Ahua cast Krieg a disdainful glance.

"Great Battle Spear? Might as well call mine the Great Cleaver! That's all he's got?"

Then he turned his attention back to the pirates facing him.

"Hey! Still got time to watch your captain? Worry about yourselves first, pirates!"

With that, he roared and charged.

Kuta watched Krieg with interest.

The man's armor concealed a large quantity of gunpowder and ammunition. Oh, right—he seemed to have poison gas rounds, too.

"You've been looking down on me ever since you boarded my ship!"

Kuta's utter disregard for him had enraged him completely.

His face darkened, and he raised his head to glare viciously at Kuta.

"How do you think I became the strongest man in the East Blue? A man everyone fears!"

Kuta curled his lip at Krieg and sneered, "Your ugliness and cruelty, obviously. You don't think it was your strength, do you?"

Krieg raised the Great Battle Spear high in both hands and charged at Kuta, his eyes blazing with fury.

Once he reached Kuta, he roared, "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"I'm Don Krieg of the East Blue! The strongest man in the East Blue, with a bounty of seventeen million Beli!"

Then he brought his weapon down hard toward Kuta's head.

"Die!"

Boom—!

An explosion rang out, followed by a thick cloud of smoke that swiftly engulfed Kuta.

"Nice one, Captain Krieg!"

"Kill them!"

The pirates ignored even the blades flashing around them as they cheered loudly for Krieg.

But the sight that followed froze them where they stood, as though an icy wind had swept over them from head to toe.

A sea breeze scattered the smoke, revealing Kuta standing in the same spot without a scratch, his right hand firmly gripping the Great Battle Spear.

"Hey! You've got to be kidding!"

"How could anyone catch Captain Krieg's Great Battle Spear without even getting hurt?"

"Impossible! Impossible! This has to be a dream!"

They shook their heads over and over.

Their bodies involuntarily backed away.

Then they suddenly raised their heads, stared at Kuta, and shouted.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm just an ordinary guy."

Holding the Great Battle Spear in his right hand, Kuta waved at them with the Wine Gourd in his left.

Then he drew his left hand back, took a drink, and turned to them, speaking with an absurdly theatrical air of solemnity.

"Hmm...!"

"If you had to give me an identity, I suppose I'd be one of the Partners of Justice!"

The Fall of the Krieg Pirates

Ahua and the others paid none of this any mind, continuing their slaughter with swords in hand.

Cold sweat poured off Krieg as he stared at the silver-haired boy before him. He knew exactly how heavy his weapon was—it weighed over a thousand kilograms.

His opponent had not only caught his slash, but had done so with effortless ease.

Suddenly, an incomparable force surged through the shaft in his hands, and he hurriedly let go.

With a tug, Kuta pulled the Great Battle Spear toward himself, lifted it, and tossed it aside like garbage.

Crash—!

The Great Battle Spear smashed a hole through the deck and fell below.

Paying little attention to Krieg, Kuta turned his gaze toward Kuina.

Kuina was currently fighting Gin and Pearl.

No, calling it a fight wasn't quite right. It was a one-sided crushing.

If not for Pearl's defenses, the two of them would have fallen within a few exchanges.

Gin now lay motionless behind Pearl.

Still, the faint rise and fall of his chest showed that he was alive.

A sword wound stretched horizontally across his entire chest, gushing blood that ran down his body and dripped onto the deck, staining a large patch red.

With that much blood loss, there would surely be another corpse here before long unless he received treatment.

Kuina looked at the shield-covered man before her. His defenses were indeed impressive. He had actually blocked her slashes, though they had only been ordinary ones.

She glanced around and saw that there were still plenty of pirates.

More kept pouring out of the cabins. Looking back at Ahua and the other two, she saw that they were already surrounded.

Judging by the way they stood back-to-back, they would run out of stamina before long.

After all, they weren't Swordmasters. They couldn't attack whole groups and could only cut their enemies down one at a time.

Withdrawing her gaze, Kuina looked up at Pearl, a trace of seriousness appearing on her cold, composed face.

To hurt him, she first had to cut through those thick shields.

Kuina slowly sheathed her sword.

She leaned forward, slid her right foot a small step back, bent her left leg, and gripped the hilt tightly in her right hand.

A faint black vapor gradually coiled around her sword from her right hand.

She raised her head and stared indifferently at Pearl, as though looking at a dead man.

Whoosh—!

All anyone could see was a flash of steel streaking past Pearl.

Kuina vanished from her spot and suddenly appeared behind Pearl, her posture unchanged, as though she had never moved.

Click—!

It was the sound of a sword sliding into its sheath.

"One Sword Style: Cutting All Things."

Kuina straightened and walked toward Kuta without giving Pearl another glance.

Pearl stood rooted to the spot, utterly motionless, until the faint breeze stirred by Kuina's passing shattered his stillness.

"Aaagh!"

He suddenly screamed and toppled backward.

The shield over his chest abruptly split down the middle, its halves sliding apart.

Beneath the shield was a long, narrow sword wound that had nearly cut him in two.

Spurt—!

Blood burst from the sword wound like a waterfall, spraying

outward.

Pearl crashed backward onto the deck with a thud and lay unconscious. By the look of him, he wasn't going to survive.

"Master Pearl!"

The surrounding pirates cried out in horror.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Krieg knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to find a way to escape. That silver-haired boy was far too terrifying.

He watched Kuina pass by his side.

The armor on his arm quietly transformed into a cannon barrel. He put on a gas mask, raised the barrel on the back of his hand, and fired at Kuina's retreating figure.

"Poison Gas Bomb: M-H-5!"

Boom—!