"That idiot! Has he been scared stupid?!"
Aboard the Bloody Mary, a one-eyed pirate pointed at the distant figure holding out one hand and laughed so hard he doubled over, dropping the cigar from his mouth into the sea.
"Captain, looks like we overestimated these Marine rookies! We don't even need to lift a finger. They're getting themselves killed!"
Captain Gore rested his massive axe on his shoulder, the grin on his face growing more savage and contemptuous.
Catching cannonballs with his bare flesh?
In all his years roaming the Grand Line, he had only heard of monsters like Kaido of the Beasts doing that! This Marine brat who hadn't even grown his first whiskers thought he could do it too?
What an utter joke!
He could almost see it already: in the very next second, that reckless brat would be blasted into a mangled puddle of flesh and blood!
Aboard the Vanguard, every recruit's scream caught in their throat at that moment. They watched in utter horror as their commanding officer did something that, as far as they knew, amounted to suicide.
Only Bullet stared fixedly at Yas's back, an almost crazed anticipation flaring in his eyes!
Come on!
Let me see!
Let me see just how far a monster like you can go!
At the critical instant when those dozen-odd cannonballs were about to touch Yas's palm!
Bzzzzzt-!
An azure flash of lightning, brighter and more dazzling than the midday sun, suddenly erupted from within Yas!
Boom!
The raging blue lightning instantly formed an incredibly solid suit of armor, electricity coursing over it as it enclosed Yas from head to toe!
That terrifying, savage aura, as though it came from an ancient god of thunder, swept across the entire stretch of sea with him at its center!
The sudden, powerful energy field even sent ripples spreading across the sea!
"Wh... what is that?!"
Aboard the Bloody Mary, every pirate's laughter cut off abruptly, as though an invisible hand had seized them by the throat!
The one-eyed pirate's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he stared at the figure wrapped in blue lightning, the mockery on his face instantly freezing into horror!
Then!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of deep, thunderous impacts rang out, enough to make their hearts leap out of their chests!
Those dozen-odd cannonballs, each powerful enough to blast through a three-meter-thick steel plate, all struck the seemingly thin layer of blue lightning armor in front of Yas squarely!
And yet!
The earth-shattering explosion they had expected never came!
Nor did the shower of flesh and blood they had imagined!
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, those dozen-odd cannonballs seemed to strike an invisible yet indestructible wall of despair!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sharp metallic impacts rang out without end!
The instant the cannonballs touched the Raijin Armor, their immense kinetic energy was absorbed and canceled out! Like balls of mud thrown against a wall, they deformed and dented against the armor's surface, then... dropped helplessly.
"Splash! Splash!"
Scorched red-hot all over by the lightning, the cannonballs fell into the sea trailing acrid white smoke, sending up huge clouds of steam!
In an instant, the wind stopped and the waves stilled.
The entire sea fell deathly silent!
Aboard the Vanguard, every crew member, Bullet included, stood rooted to the spot as though turned to stone.
Their mouths hung open and their eyes went wide as they stared at the figure bathed in blue lightning, who hadn't retreated a single step.
He... blocked them?
One man had simply held out a hand and effortlessly blocked every one of those dozen-odd cannonballs, enough to blast their entire ship to pieces?!
Was... was he a god?!
A hundred meters away, the entire Bloody Mary had likewise been struck speechless.
Over a hundred vicious pirates looked as though they had seen a ghost, the frenzy and bloodlust on their faces utterly replaced by an emotion called fear.
"Gulp..."
Someone swallowed with difficulty, the sound especially jarring in the pin-drop silence.
"A monster... he's a monster!"
The savage grin on Captain Gore's face had long since frozen into disbelieving horror. Even the massive axe resting on his shoulder trembled slightly from its owner's shock.
"A Devil Fruit! He must be a Logia Devil Fruit user!" A trace of greed and ruthlessness flashed through Gore's eyes. "It's lightning! An ability like the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
He knew all too well how powerful Devil Fruits were. But he also knew the weakness shared by all ability users!
"What the fuck are you standing around for?!" Gore abruptly snapped out of it and let out a deafening roar at his terrified pirates. "He's just an ability user! Use the Seastone Bullets! Fill him full of holes! Fire! Give him everything you've got!"
The captain's roar snapped the pirates out of their daze.
Right! They still had Seastone Bullets, made specifically to counter ability users!
Their desire to survive instantly suppressed their fear. They fumbled special rifles out of their coats, pulled back the bolts, and loaded the strangely gleaming bullets into the chambers.
"Open fire! Kill that monster!"
"Die, ability user!"
Ratatatatatat-!
A dense barrage of gunfire instantly tore through the silence at sea!
Over a hundred tongues of flame spat from along the Bloody Mary's rail, weaving into a deadly hail of bullets that swept furiously toward Yas!
Every one of these Seastone Bullets contained the sea's energy, capable of instantly draining a powerful ability user's strength and turning them into a lamb for the slaughter!
Yet faced with a barrage that would strike terror into any ability user, Yas remained where he stood, neither dodging nor evading.
His eyes even showed a trace of... disappointment.
Ting! Ting! Clang! Clang! Ting-ting-ting!
The dense impacts sounded like rain beating against broad banana leaves!
Countless gleaming Seastone Bullets struck the Raijin Armor covering Yas's body squarely.
But the result sent every pirate's heart plummeting.
Just like the cannonballs before them, the bullets were deflected and melted by that layer of raging lightning energy the instant they touched the Raijin Armor, unable to leave even the slightest mark!
Yas never so much as blinked from beginning to end.
His Lightning Release Armor came from the Third Raikage Template, a defense of pure energy formed by combining Chakra with his body's cells!
It wasn't a Devil Fruit!
The power of the sea had no effect on it whatsoever!
"How... is that possible..." As Gore watched the incomprehensible scene before him, all color instantly drained from his face.
Physical attacks were useless!
Seastone weapons, specifically designed to counter ability users, were useless too!
What kind of monster was this?!
The instant all the pirates stopped firing out of fear, Yas slowly lowered his outstretched hand.
He raised his head, his icy gaze crossing the hundred-meter gap to settle on Gore's horror-stricken face.
"My turn."
Yas spoke softly, yet his voice reached everyone's ears clearly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered himself into a slight crouch.
Boom!
Under that terrifying force, the steel deck beneath his feet instantly caved in, spiderweb cracks spreading wildly!
A surge of Lightning Release Chakra, far more violent than before, erupted from within him!
What was he going to do?!
The same thought appeared in the minds of everyone aboard both the Vanguard and the Bloody Mary.
In the next second, Yas answered them with action.
Before you continue