Pirates: Invincible from the Start

He tried to struggle, but it was no use. The more he fought, the faster his life drained away.

Blood poured from his mouth, eyes, and ears like water from a fountain. Before long, a wide patch of ground beneath him was stained red.

At last, his body convulsed violently a few times and went still. The final glimmer faded from his eyes.

Only then did everyone see the wound running diagonally through the back of Kuroobi's head.

"Kuroobi!"

Chew, a fellow officer who had come from the Grand Line with him, paled and stared at Kuina in horror.

Facing someone this strong made him feel as though he were back on Fish-Man Island. In those days, he had been a nobody who could only hide behind the captain and Arlong.

Ever since

coming to the East Blue, he had never again felt the kind of fear that made his whole body tremble.

There were no ferocious pirates here, no slave traders, and certainly no Celestial Dragons. It was almost paradise.

Behind them on the village road, the villagers stared wide-eyed, as though they had witnessed something impossible.

"Hey! You've got to be kidding! She took down an officer of the Arlong Pirates with one slash."

Standing beside Kuta, Genzo stared at Kuina's back in astonishment.

"Is she really that strong? That monster could take down a Warship in one blow!"

Then he turned to Kuta, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

Kuta did not look back. He merely patted Genzo's shoulder and repeated himself.

"I told you, we're strong! Just watch!"

This time, Genzo finally began to believe that Kuta and the others really could defeat Arlong. He turned back to Kuina, his face alight with excitement.

That human girl had not only dodged Chew's and Kuroobi's killing blows with ease, but had also felled Kuroobi with a single slash.

The Fish-Men behind Chew were furious and terrified.

Since arriving in the East Blue, they had not met a single human they could not deal with.

Even the Marines here had to cooperate with them. Otherwise, crushing those Marines would be as easy as crushing ants.

Over time, the Fish-Men grew used to doing as they pleased. Their arrogance swelled, and their cruelty grew with it.

To them, the humans of the East Blue were an inferior race, while they, the great Fish-Man Race, were humanity's masters.

They could kill and plunder humans as freely as pigs raised at home.

They had completely forgotten how frightened and humble they had been on the Grand Line.

Kuina's arrival was like a bucket of cold water dumped over their heads, reminding them all of the terrifying humans on the Grand Line.

"You human... You can't be from the East Blue."

Chew watched Kuina approach, his eyes bloodshot.

Kuina stared coldly at him and kept walking.

That look. He hated that look, and it scared him more than anything.

"You inferior human! Die!"

He opened his blood-red eyes wide and roared in anger, as though that could drive away the fear in his heart.

"Hundred-Shot Water Gun!"

He drew a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and made his lips vibrate as rapidly as a machine gun's barrel.

Bubbles shot toward Kuina like bullets.

Kuina neither dodged nor stopped. As she charged into the barrage, she whipped

the sword in her hand through the air.

A flurry of blade flashes followed.

Every bubble headed straight for Kuina was cut in two. The halves struck the ground on either side of her, leaving a trail of holes.

In an instant, Kuina closed the distance and stood before Chew.

She held her sword with an icy expression, ignoring his blood-red eyes and his look of utter terror.

Before Chew had any chance to retreat, she slashed upward at his throat.

"Urgh...!"

Chew stood frozen, both hands clamped over his throat. His skin turned from blue to red. He tried to make a sound, but nothing came out.

Then all the strength seemed to leave him. He dropped to his knees and pitched forward.

Thud!

He had met the same end as Kuroobi.

Kuina stood beside Chew, her expression cold. She flicked the sword in her hand downward, shaking the blood from its blade.

"Chew!"

The remaining Fish-Men cried out at the sight of Chew twitching wildly on the ground.

Then they fled in terror, as though a ravenous beast were at their heels.

From Kuina's approach to the deaths of Kuroobi and Chew, it had all taken barely a dozen seconds, though it had felt much longer.

The villagers behind them hurried to either side of the road as the Fish-Men ran toward them.

Then they fixed their excited gazes on Kuina.

Two slashes. With only two slashes, the girl had effortlessly killed two officers of the Arlong Pirates.

They had never seen a human so strong, nor had they ever seen Fish-Men look like this.

So Fish-Men could be afraid. They could panic and run for their lives!

Kuina stood where she was and watched them flee, her eyes cold. She felt not a shred of mercy at the thought of killing them.

She sheathed her sword, bent her left knee, and tightened her grip on the hilt. Then she looked up at the fleeing Fish-Men.

She gathered her strength and launched herself forward.

Whoosh!

Kuina appeared in front of the Fish-Men as though she had teleported.

A flash of her blade swept past every one of them. The fleeing Fish-Men stopped dead, as if rooted to the spot.

Clink!

"One Sword Style: Cutting All Things!"

Only then did the sound of Kuina sheathing her sword carry through the wind.

That sound seemed to break the spell holding the Fish-Men in place.

Splurt!

A line of blood appeared across each Fish-Man's waist. Then their upper bodies slid neatly to the side, spraying blood everywhere.

Kuina turned away from the Fish-Men, now all severed at the waist. Carefully avoiding the river of blood on the ground, she walked back toward Kuta.

Being a Hero Isn't Easy

Under the eaves on either side of the village road,

the villagers stared blankly at the severed limbs strewn across the ground.

They instinctively took a step back. Then something seemed to dawn on them.

Their numb eyes brightened with hope, like mirrors wiped clear of mist.

They watched Kuina walk past the bodies, excitement in their eyes, but did not dare make a sound.

They were afraid.

Afraid that everything before them was a dream.

They had seen scenes like this in their dreams countless times. Each time, they had woken in excitement, only to discover with crushing disappointment that none of it was real.

This time, they knew it was not a dream. Even so, they did not dare break the silence around them.

As Kuina approached, the lingering killing intent around her made Genzo instinctively want to step back.

Then his head cleared. The person before him was no Fish-Man, but their savior. He had nothing to fear.

He shook his head and stared at Kuina, overcome with excitement.

As Kuina came close, tenderness flashed in Kuta's eyes. He reached out with his right hand and wiped a drop of blood that had splashed onto her face.

"Kuina, you really are a hero now!"

Only then did Kuina's cold expression melt away, revealing a smile as radiant as a field of flowers in bloom.

That smile lit up not only Genzo's despairing heart but the hearts of the villagers around him. At last, they seemed to wake from a dream.

Six whole years...

It was only six years. Perhaps that did not sound so long.

But every day had felt like a year!

In those six years, who knew how many families had suffered, how many people had died at the hands of those brutal Fish-Men?

And now, at last, someone had come. Someone like a hero.

Killing Fish-Men had seemed as easy for her as cutting fish on a chopping board.

They had waited so long for this moment.

Genzo stared at Kuina, trembling all over as an overwhelming surge of emotion rose within him.

"Who... who are you people?"

"Us? Well..."

Kuta took Kuina's hand and looked around at the villagers' excited faces.

"You can call us the Partners of Justice."

"Justice?"

"Justice, huh?"

They had found no justice in the Marines, yet they had found it in two strangers.

By the time the villagers came to their senses, Kuta and Kuina were already walking out of the village.

They watched the pair's retreating figures from afar, hope blazing in their eyes, and shouted together.

"Please! You have to defeat the Arlong Pirates

!"

"Partners of Justice..."

Even from a distance, their excitement was palpable.

It was an emotion suppressed for so long that it erupted like a volcano, releasing everything they had held inside.

Standing amid it, Kuta and Kuina felt a joy unlike anything they had ever known.

Kuina narrowed her eyes, savoring it. Being looked to with such hope by so many people was intoxicating. No wonder so many wanted to be heroes.

Then she opened her eyes, turned to the villagers whose faces shone with hope, and spoke solemnly.

"Don't worry! We'll stake our lives on it and wipe out the Arlong Pirates."

Her voice was not loud, but every villager heard her clearly.

The villagers stood for a long time, watching the two figures head toward Arlong Park.

They would never forget that boy and girl.

Especially the girl.

Her beauty, her cold composure as she killed the Fish-Men, and that final smile that had reached deep into their hearts.