Shave

"Only afterward, I'll need to kill everyone present to be safe."

At that thought, Kuro's killing intent became increasingly difficult to suppress. Even the nearby crew members instinctively kept their distance from him.

Very soon.

The distance between the Warship and Pirate Ship closed to less than a hundred meters. A near point-blank exchange of cannon fire was blocked by the two men swinging their blades.

Boom!

The two ships collided with a deafening crash.

Pirates against pirates.

Blades against blades.

The fiercest slaughter erupted in an instant.

Gawain's pirates displayed an overwhelming advantage from the very start of the close-quarters battle. After all, the two sides' skills and experience were not on the same level.

In barely a dozen seconds, more than a dozen corpses had already been left on Kuro's ship.

If not for the Catman Brothers, Kuro's pirates would likely have been completely suppressed in a single exchange.

"What's with these people?"

"Ordinary pirates have Swordsmanship at this level?"

"Don't tell me they came from some Swordsmanship dojo!"

Sam swatted away the blade slashing at him with his claws, but in the very next instant, even more people charged at him eagerly. Blades and claws clashed once more.

He and Buchi struggled to fend off Gawain's pirates, yet they were clearly finding it extremely difficult.

As the battlefield raged.

The two captains tacitly refrained from making a move. Their gazes met, and each sensed absolute confidence in the other's eyes.

"Since when did the East Blue have someone like you?"

Kuro slowly removed the sheaths from his fingertips. His straight, silver-white Claw Blades reflected a chilling gleam in the air.

"The East Blue has produced many remarkable figures. Some claimed the title of king in the New World, while others were praised by the Marines as heroes who saved the world."

Gawain said calmly,

"Do you want to become my subordinate?"

"Heh."

Kuro sneered.

"A few years ago, I might have considered taking you under my command. But now I'm tired of playing this pirate game, so I can only send you to hell."

"That really is a shame."

The moment the words fell, both men moved at once.

Whoosh!

Two explosions rang out in the air, almost perfectly overlapping. One black figure and one white figure charged toward each other simultaneously.

Claw Blades and the Knight Sword collided in an instant, sparks bursting through the air. This was followed by a dense barrage of metallic clashes, like raindrops pelting down.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere, yet only the sounds could be heard; neither man could be seen.

Both excelled in speed.

One had mastered the secret technique Shave. He moved so fast that he was nearly invisible to the naked eye, and the Claw Blades on his ten fingers gave him an immense advantage in such a battle.

The other had awakened Godspeed. His neural reactions and sword-drawing speed surpassed those of ordinary people, while he also possessed a powerful Physique. He was a genuine stat monster.

As their clash grew more intense, both weapons began to develop varying degrees of chips and nicks. Yet their eyes only grew brighter.

Kuro continuously swung his Claw Blades, but Gawain's longsword felt like a venomous snake, slipping through every opening. Even the slightest, almost imperceptible flaw would be seized by Gawain, followed by a sword thrust...

Slash!

A silver-white flash of sword light passed through the air. Blood splattered as Kuro was wounded.

Though only the skin on his shoulder had been cut open, Kuro's eyeballs trembled uncontrollably.

"I'm being suppressed!"

"I'm actually being suppressed in speed, the thing I excel at most!"

"Interesting! How very interesting!"

Kuro's suppressed fighting blood was completely awakened by the increasingly fierce battle. The pain in his body only made him more exhilarated.

And in response, his speed grew faster and faster.

At first, those nearby could still barely see Kuro's afterimages. But now, even the afterimages had vanished, leaving only claw marks constantly appearing across the Pirate Ship.

"It's Shave!"

"The captain has activated Shave!"

"This is bad!"

A Black Cat Pirates member cried out in terror. In the very next moment, a neat row of claw marks appeared across his chest, cutting deep to the bone and damaging his internal organs.

He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

At the same time.

The Black Cat Pirates members who came to their senses no longer had any will to fight. They retreated one after another, some even jumping into the sea, because that was the only way to avoid Kuro's indiscriminate attacks.

This technique called Shave was simply not something a human could control!

"Sam, go!"

"The captain has used that move. This place is already his domain—no one can survive!"

"If we stay here, even we'll be—!"

Before Buchi could finish, several wounds appeared on his shoulder.

Fortunately, his thick hide prevented him from suffering serious injuries. But his fear of this move was completely awakened at that moment.

"Hurry!"

"That Knight Gawain is dead for sure. No enemy has ever survived the captain's move!"

"Even pirates who returned from the Grand Line with Bounties over twenty million Berry were once severely injured by this move!"

Buchi clutched his wound and turned to dive into the cabin. Sam raised a hand to knock back an attacking pirate before following him inside.

On the deck.

Pirates fell one after another in bewilderment. Some were even directly decapitated or had their limbs severed.

In barely a dozen seconds.

No one besides Gawain remained standing on the deck.

Kuro, having activated Shave, was like the legendary Kamaitachi of Wano Country, harvesting lives with speed invisible to the naked eye and the blades on his fingertips.

"Once this move is activated, even I can barely control the direction. As for what I cut, that's up to luck!"

Kuro's voice came from one moment to the next, as though he were everywhere.

"So Morgans was the one meant to die today. All my plans were perfect."

"As long as I killed him, I could successfully shed my identity as a pirate and live a peaceful, comfortable life."

"But as long as I kill you, it's not too late!"

"If you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck!"

"Is that so?"

Gawain's expression remained calm.

His eyes moved rapidly, their focus locked onto Kuro, who was moving at high speed without any discernible pattern.

Besides altering his body and granting him greater speed, Godspeed had also greatly enhanced his neural reaction speed.

What ordinary people could not see was crystal clear to him!

"Your ability is even more impressive than I imagined!"

Gawain praised him.

"I want to recruit you under my command more and more. Become my right-hand man, Kuro!"

"Don't joke around!"

Kuro's furious shout rang through the air. At that moment, he only found the man before him incomparably foolish. On the verge of death, he was still thinking about such things.

"Idiot!"

While moving at extreme speed, Kuro's eyes barely caught sight of the last figure on the deck.

Who else could it be but Gawain?

After several attempts, he finally placed Gawain directly in his path. He spread his Claw Blades and shot toward Gawain...

At that moment, he could practically see Gawain's corpse—his chest and abdomen torn open, his organs spilling across the deck. Yet in the next instant...

Clang!

A piercing explosion resounded through the sky. Kuro's charging body suddenly stopped, and he felt as though he had been struck head-on by a cannonball, his internal organs nearly forced out through his mouth.

The scene around him gradually came into focus. Kuro exited the Shave state and discovered that the hilt of Gawain's sword was pressed straight against his chest.

But Kuro had no mind to care about the pain. He stared at Gawain in shock.

"You can see me?!"

"That's right. I can see you."