At Lind's command, the officers used Geppo to return to their respective ships, and the fleet soon split into three groups, sailing in different directions.
Aboard the eastern fleet's flagship, Axel was brimming with confidence.
Who could have imagined that half a year ago, he had been an unremarkable pirate with a bounty of less than a hundred million?
Who could have imagined that he had once been nothing more than a nameless thug from the West Blue?
Yet now he could lead such a vast fleet, conquering one enormous stretch of sea after another just like those great pirates.
After today, his name, Axel, would spread across the entire sea!
Even as he felt the tremendous strength he now possessed, Axel still found it almost unreal.
According to the boss, his strength had already reached the Admiral Candidate level. He stood near the very pinnacle of this sea, second only to top-tier fighters like the division commanders.
Axel could hardly put his gratitude and admiration for Lind into words. All he wanted was to repay him through action.
Anyone who wants to go against the boss will have to ask my twin blades first, Axel thought, tightening his grip on them.
Before long, Axel's fleet reached its first target.
It was a pirate gathering place much like Mock Town in the original story, except one was in the Grand Line and the other was in the New World.
Being in the New World, the pirates here were clearly nothing like the small fry in Mock Town. Pirates with bounties over a hundred million might not have been everywhere, but there were certainly quite a few.
This was not the future era of inflated bounties. Even Lind's boss, Rocks, had only just broken past two billion.
Among the division commanders, only Whitebeard and Golden Lion had passed one billion. Everyone else, Lind included, was still below that mark.
It was fair to say that every pirate with a bounty above a hundred million in this era had something exceptional about them.
This little island, called Demon Peak Town, was also the most troublesome place within Axel's assigned territory.
Once he dealt with Demon Peak Town, Axel could even split his forces up further. Each squad captain could lead a contingent and easily wipe out the remaining pirates.
At that moment, the assorted pirates in Demon Peak Town were drinking, chatting, and fighting as usual, completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Then a voice rang out from afar, and every piece of metal in town began trembling, as though answering its call.
Only then did the island's pirates realize something was wrong. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons and headed for the shore.
"Though born a West Blue thug, my twin blades could carve a new way."
"Through wind and waves, I sailed the four seas, hot blood carrying me into the fray."
"A thousand trials met with a smile, a hundred brushes with death could not make me yield."
"With ambition fulfilled, I laughed at the sky-but who knew the pain my journey concealed?"
A lingering voice drew closer from the distance, echoing in the ears of every pirate on Hachinosu.
The newcomer was none other than Axel. Seeing the stunned pirates by the shore, he smiled and continued:
"There is no shame in humble beginnings; a true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall."
"Along my journey, I have forgotten what it means to fail. The humiliations I once endured have become nothing more than the road behind me."
"I came here today with only one wish: that you might let me feel that old pain again!"
Standing on a flying sword formed with the Steel-Steel Fruit, Axel unleashed his full presence above Mock Town's harbor. It already carried a hint of Conqueror's Haki.
Looking up at the "arrogant" Axel in the sky, the pirate at the head of the crowd immediately stepped forward and shouted, "Axel, did Lind send you here to die?"
"That's right! Your bounty is only a hundred and twenty million, yet you dare act so cocky! Who do you think you are, Lind?"
"There are five people here with bounties higher than yours! Blood Sword Shalt's bounty is a full two hundred and fifty million! Where did you get the nerve to act so arrogant in Demon Peak Town?"
As Blood Sword Shalt finished speaking, the other pirates in Demon Peak Town chimed in, mocking Axel for "not knowing his place."
Axel's bounty had risen somewhat after he defeated Vice Admiral Rock Wolf and Vice Admiral Tanuki.
But at the time, he and the others had only been as strong as ordinary vice admirals, and they had defeated Rock Wolf and Tanuki by ganging up on them. As a result, Axel's bounty had not increased all that much.
Now, the gap between Axel's bounty and his actual strength had grown downright absurd.
Axel showed no anger or any other such emotion at the pirates' words below.
After all, it had been a "long time" since he last displayed his true strength. It was only natural for outsiders to misunderstand how strong he was.
But after today, that would no longer be the case. He, Axel, would become a great pirate whose name resounded across the sea.
Axel shook his head without saying anything more. He answered the pirates' questions through action.
As he activated the Steel-Steel Fruit's power, Axel's body rapidly turned to steel. The watermelon knives in his hands lengthened and turned red, radiating an astonishing heat.
His already powerful physique became even more terrifying with the Steel-Steel Fruit's enhancement, while his watermelon knives became weapons with built-in magical damage.
Less than three seconds after Axel's twin blades struck Shalt's long sword, they cut straight through it.
Clearly, against such intense heat and an absolute gap in strength, even a defense reinforced with Armament Haki was not all that effective.
Axel's searing twin blades slashed across Shalt's chest, sending him flying and leaving an enormous wound behind.
Seeing Shalt down on one knee but still not completely out of the fight, Axel felt a surge of admiration. As expected of a veteran fighter, he had actually withstood Axel's full-power strike.
Still, that did not stop Axel from doing what needed to be done. Without hesitation, he pressed his advantage. Before Shalt could dodge, his twin blades hacked into him again and again, putting him out of the fight entirely.
Whether he survived would depend on how tough he was. Axel had no intention of showing mercy to an enemy.
After Axel defeated Blood Sword Shalt as easily as chopping vegetables, none of the island's other pirates dared act arrogant anymore. They stared at him in awe and fear.
Looking at the pirates before him, Axel had no intention of offering them a chance to surrender for now.
He coldly gave the Seventh Division members behind him a single order: "Kill!"
Then Axel charged into the crowd of pirates ahead of everyone else, his two watermelon knives hacking away in a blur.
Though his strength, identity, and status had all changed, the way he had fought as a thug was already carved into his bones.
Only when he was cutting people down with two watermelon knives could Axel truly enjoy a fight.
No matter what Axel achieved, that would always be where he came from!
The battle in Demon Peak Town held no surprises. Once Axel brought down the strongest pirate, Blood Sword Shalt, with a few slashes, the rest was merely a cleanup.
In less than an hour, the Seventh Division wiped out all the pirates entrenched in Mock Town.
Looking at the pirates lying on the ground, some still breathing and others not, Axel had no intention of treating them.
He could leave them on the island to fend for themselves. The priority now was to deal with the remaining targets one by one.
As for the pirates' bodies, Axel trusted that some "sensible" faction would take care of them.
"Phil, Ford, we'll split into three groups from here. Deal with the remaining pirates as quickly as possible, then regroup at Demon Peak Town so we can go support the boss together."
"If you run into someone you can't handle, contact me with a Den Den Mushi and wait for support. Just like the boss said, your life comes first. As long as you're alive, everything else is possible!"
After wiping down his watermelon knives and putting them away, Axel spoke to Phil and Ford, who had likewise just finished fighting.
Soon, the fleet split into three groups and sailed in different directions.
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