"Quick on your feet!" Don Krieg pulled back his Battle Spear, moving with a fluidity that belied his heavy armor. "But how long can you keep dodging?!"
He suddenly released his right hand, sweeping the spear sideways with his left alone while slapping his left shoulder armor with his right.
Click!
The shoulder plate sprang open, revealing a honeycomb of launch ports.
"Try these-Shoulder Armor Missiles!"
Six fist-sized missiles shot out, their arcing trajectories cutting off Sanosuke's escape routes from every angle!
Sanosuke's eyes sharpened, and his hands formed seals.
"Is it coming? Ninjutsu!" Nami exclaimed excitedly as she watched.
A moment later, Sanosuke pulled a smoke bomb from his clothes and slammed it onto the deck!
"Ninja Art: Smoke Screen Technique!"
"So it's just a smoke bomb!" Nami was dumbfounded.
Bang!
Thick smoke burst out, concealing him.
The missiles plunged into the smoke-
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Six consecutive explosions! The shock waves shredded the smoke, sending wood chips, scraps of iron, and dust flying everywhere.
Don Krieg narrowed his eyes, holding his Battle Spear across his body in guard.
The smoke and dust slowly cleared.
No one stood on the deck.
"Above you!" a pirate cried.
Don Krieg looked up-somehow, Sanosuke had leaped halfway up the mast. He pushed off and dove, drawing his Ninja Sword in a waterfall of flashing steel!
"Cheap tricks!"
Rather than dodge, Don Krieg raised his Battle Spear and thrust upward!
In midair, Sanosuke suddenly twisted, redirecting his blade.
He wasn't slashing at Don Krieg, but at the shaft of the Battle Spear!
Clang!
Metal struck metal with an explosive ring!
Using the impact, Sanosuke flipped backward and landed, retreating three steps before regaining his balance. The web of his sword hand had split, and blood seeped out.
A shallow cut marked the shaft of Don Krieg's Battle Spear.
"Oh?" Don Krieg glanced at the shaft, then at Sanosuke. "You actually weren't knocked flying? You've got some strength."
Before he finished speaking, his left hand suddenly slapped the armor on his right abdomen.
Click!
The abdominal plate sprang open, dropping three spheres onto the deck.
"Explosive Shuriken Bombs-and it doesn't matter if I tell you, since you can't dodge them anyway!"
The spheres burst, scattering hundreds of tiny, spinning shuriken in a fan.
Their spread was so wide that they covered almost half the foredeck!
Sanosuke retreated rapidly, both hands moving as his kunai precisely knocked down the shuriken aimed at his vital points.
But several still grazed his thigh and flank! His clothes tore, and lines of blood spurted out.
"I'm not finished!"
Pressing his advantage, Don Krieg thrust his Battle Spear again.
This time, flames spewed from its tip-a flamethrower was hidden inside the spearhead!
Sanosuke rolled sideways. Flames grazed his back, bringing searing pain.
"Hahahaha! Hot enough for you?! Hot enough?!" Don Krieg laughed wildly and pursued him.
His Battle Spear stabbed out again and again, every thrust aimed at a vital point!
Sanosuke darted through the flurry of thrusts, occasionally blocking with his Ninja Sword, but every clash left his arm numb.
Don Krieg was far too strong... or rather, the Battle Spear was far too heavy!
That weapon had been invented to kill. Its power was too great to meet head-on, so great that a single mistake would mean death.
"What's wrong?! Is dodging all you can do?!" Don Krieg roared. Suddenly, he planted his Battle Spear in the deck and slapped his chest armor with both hands.
Click! Click!
Both sides of his breastplate sprang open, exposing densely packed gunports.
"Chest Armor Shotgun-I'll turn you into a sieve!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Dozens of iron pellets blasted out in a fan!
These weren't thrown weapons like shuriken, but real gunpowder-propelled shot, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow!
Sanosuke hurriedly dodged. "Ninja Art: Body Flicker Technique!"
His figure blurred. When he reappeared, he was five meters to Don Krieg's left.
But the shot covered too wide an area. Several pellets still grazed his right shoulder and left leg, drawing blood.
Don Krieg laughed wildly. "Interesting! Very interesting! You can take more punishment than you look!"
He pulled out his Battle Spear but didn't attack immediately, instead watching Sanosuke at his leisure.
"Hey, Ninja. What can those flashy ninja tricks of yours do besides help you dodge?"
Sanosuke slowly straightened, holding his Ninja Sword across his body as blood dripped along the blade.
"Ninjutsu isn't solely for killing," Sanosuke said, his voice still calm. "More often, it's for completing a mission."
"A mission?" Don Krieg sneered. "Your mission is to get beaten to death by me!"
He suddenly moved, but instead of charging Sanosuke, he rushed toward the cabin!
"I'll kill that little girl giving orders first!"
His Battle Spear drove straight toward Nami, who had been watching the fight!
Sanosuke's pupils contracted. He chased after Don Krieg so fast that he left afterimages, throwing kunai at the same time.
I can't let my lord's woman get hurt!
Don Krieg laughed, sweeping his Battle Spear sideways and smashing the kunai.
But that instant of obstruction was enough-Sanosuke's Ninja Sword was already slashing toward the back of Don Krieg's neck!
"I was waiting for you!" As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Don Krieg swung his Battle Spear backward, its shaft slamming squarely into Sanosuke's side!
"Urgh-!"
Sanosuke coughed up blood and flew sideways, crashing into the railing before falling heavily onto the deck.
"Sanosuke!" Nami cried.
Don Krieg turned, resting his Battle Spear on his shoulder, and walked toward Sanosuke's prone body.
"A Ninja? That's all you've got?" Don Krieg raised his foot and stomped hard on Sanosuke's back.
Sanosuke didn't answer. He lay facedown, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and staining the deck red.
"Not talking?" Don Krieg pressed harder, grinding his armored boot into Sanosuke's spine. "Then die-"
His words cut off abruptly.
Because Sanosuke's hand moved.
Not his sword hand-his left hand, its five fingers spread against the deck.
"Ninja Art..." Sanosuke's voice was almost inaudible. "...Earth Spider."
The deck beneath Don Krieg's feet suddenly shattered!
It hadn't cracked under his weight. Something had pierced it from below-dozens of steel wires, thin as hair yet incredibly tough, burst through the wood and instantly coiled around his legs!
"What?!" Startled, Don Krieg tried to break free, but the wires had already tightened, biting deep into the gaps in his armor.
Sanosuke rolled over and stabbed his Ninja Sword into the deck beside him.
"Ninja Art: Wire Manipulation."
The wires binding Don Krieg suddenly tightened and yanked!
Don Krieg's massive body lost its balance and crashed to the deck!
The pirates of the Krieg Pirates cried out in alarm.
"What?!"
"Boss Krieg's been knocked down!"
"How could this happen?!"
"That Ninja actually beat the admiral! No one should even be able to touch the admiral! He can't die! He's invincible!"
"Who the hell is that Ninja?!"
"You... when did you..." Don Krieg struggled to stand, but the wires had already wound around his arms and neck. The harder he struggled, the tighter they became.
"From the moment the battle began." Sanosuke slowly stood and wiped the blood from his mouth. "Every time I dodged, every time I blocked, every time I landed, I was laying wires."
He walked up to Don Krieg and looked down at him.
"You have a lot of weapons," Sanosuke said. "So many that you thought weapons alone would win you the fight."
Don Krieg roared in fury and struggled desperately.
But the wires were already embedded deep in the gaps in his armor. The harder he strained, the more his armor warped, only binding him tighter!
"A Ninja doesn't have many weapons." Sanosuke raised his Ninja Sword, pointing its tip at Don Krieg's throat. "But every one is used exactly where it belongs."
"Shut... shut up!" Don Krieg bellowed. "If you've got the guts, let me go! Fight me head-on!"
"Head-on?" Sanosuke looked at Don Krieg mockingly. "I'm a Ninja! Like you said, all that matters is defeating your enemy, right?"
Don Krieg was lost for words.
"Combat has no rules." Sanosuke's sword tip neither advanced nor retreated. "You want to win, and so do I."
"You treat everything as a weapon. Armor, spears, bombs, poison gas, lies."
"But I only treat myself as a weapon!"
Don Krieg's eyes widened.
Sanosuke withdrew his sword.
He didn't kill him. He sheathed it.
"With the White Pearl damaged this badly, King is going to be angry..." Sanosuke sighed, looking around at the ruined deck.
"Nicely done, Sanosuke!" someone suddenly called from above.
Following the voice, everyone looked up!
Atop the White Pearl's highest lookout tower, Norton sat with his legs spread, one foot resting on a treasure chest.
"Who's that now?" the Krieg Pirates asked in bewilderment.
"Oh! King's back!" The tension on Funing's face instantly melted away.
Even with thirty pirate ships surrounding them, the White Pearl was safe as long as King was there!
Aboard the Baratie, Zeff also sighed in relief when he saw Norton return.
"All right! Looks like we're probably not needed. Let's get cooking!" He beckoned to Sanji, Patty, and the other cooks.
His faith in Norton's strength put all Zeff's worries to rest. Just how powerful was this man? No one knew the answer.
Aboard the Black Cat Pirate Ship, Jango and the others even shed tears of excitement.
Looking down from above, Norton saw a deck battered full of craters and gouges.
Zoro was fighting a man wrapped in shields, while Kuro was tangled up with another man with a cold, sinister air. Their fights were growing increasingly destructive.
Sanosuke had defeated Don Krieg, but he, too, was badly wounded.
Norton frowned slightly.
"Zoro! Kuro! What's taking you so long?"
If they kept fighting, Funing would have to spend ages repairing the ship!
"Exactly!" Nami had also noticed how stubbornly Zoro was fighting, slashing at Pearl's shields with every stroke. "You could just cut his neck!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Zoro snarled. "I'm going to cut him down through his toughest part! It's only steel! I refuse to believe I can't cut it!"
"You're so stubborn..." Funing pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly.
With Zoro's strength, the fight would have ended long ago if he had aimed for Pearl's weak points.
Elsewhere, Gin and Kuro's fight grew fiercer. They were evenly matched, both the same kind of gifted fighters with a wealth of combat experience.
If there was any difference, it was that Kuro excelled in speed, while Gin was stronger.
"King! This guy's stronger than I expected! Give me a little time!" Kuro spat out a mouthful of pooled blood.
"Enough. Fight when we have time!" Norton's figure suddenly vanished from the high lookout platform.
"Where'd he go?!"
Everyone hurriedly looked around.
A moment later, Gin and Pearl seemed to suffer some devastating blow. Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed heavily onto the deck!
"What happened?!"
"Captain Pearl and Captain Gin are both down!"
The Krieg Pirates stared in shock, unable to understand what had happened.
Then Norton appeared in everyone's sight again, his foot already planted on Don Krieg's head.
"You've got some nerve, wrecking my ship like this!" Norton said coldly.
"You bastard! Let me go if you've got the guts!"
With Norton pinning his head beneath his foot, Don Krieg couldn't lift his head or even see Norton's face.
"You'd better think about how you're going to compensate me!" Norton casually kicked Don Krieg aside.
"Damn you! How dare you disobey my orders!" The wires snapped, slicing into his flesh as they broke. Don Krieg groaned in agony, seething with hatred.
Damn it! I shouldn't have held back! I never used the Battle Spear's true power because I didn't want to destroy this ship!
It was a spear built for destruction, one that could trigger an explosion with every swing!
In fact, the greater the force applied, the more powerful the explosion!
With his hands in his pockets, Norton strolled forward and planted a foot on Don Krieg's face. "Hey, hey, watch your mouth. I don't like people talking to me in that tone."
"You bastard! That's Boss Don Krieg!"
"Let the admiral go!"
The pirates aboard the surrounding ships erupted in outrage.
But as Norton's gaze slowly swept over them, they gradually fell silent, not daring to make a sound.
That lofty gaze... brooked no defiance!
"This guy... I think I've seen him somewhere!"
Gradually, some of the pirates seemed to remember something, and their expressions changed drastically.
"It's... it's Silver-Haired! Silver-Haired Norton! The King Slayer!"
"The monster with a two-hundred-million-Beli bounty on his head!"
"Run!"
A pirate ship immediately began turning around to flee. In the East Blue, the deterrent power of a two-hundred-million-Beli bounty was unmatched!
Even Admiral Don Krieg, whom they considered the strongest, had a bounty of less than twenty million! Norton's bounty was more than ten times Don Krieg's!
Norton casually kicked up the Battle Spear Don Krieg had dropped and swung it at the pirate ship turning away. The heavy weapon was practically weightless in Norton's hands.
Boom!
Amid a violent blaze and a thunderous explosion, the fleeing pirate ship sank beneath the sea, charred black by the flames!
"Impossible! Even Admiral Don Krieg couldn't unleash such terrifying power!"
"He blew up a whole ship with a single swing!"
The remaining twenty-nine pirate ships dared not move. Their captains broke out in cold sweats.
Only after the pirates around him settled down did Norton turn his attention back to Don Krieg.
"Surrender or die! Choose!"
Norton's footprint still marked his face, but Don Krieg began trembling all over. Once he got a clear look at Norton's face, his anger vanished in an instant!
"Can I refuse?" Don Krieg swallowed. If he had a choice, he truly couldn't stomach serving under someone else.
He was supposed to lead the Don Krieg Fleet, conquer the Grand Line, and claim the One Piece!
"Of course you can." Norton grinned and stomped down.
He crushed Don Krieg's head flat!
Even at the moment of his death, Don Krieg couldn't understand why Norton hadn't bothered asking him a second time.
I'm Admiral Don Krieg! Who wouldn't want such a powerful subordinate?
Norton didn't. Don Krieg was too weak, and his character was rotten. He was a scoundrel through and through. Norton had sought out the Krieg Pirates primarily for their massive pirate fleet.
After stomping the seventeen-million-Beli Admiral Don Krieg to death as casually as crushing an ant, Norton turned, spread his arms, and shouted-
"Surrender or die? Tell me your choice!"