"Just a passing Marine... who can't stand trash like you..."
Yas's calm words seared the depths of "Butcher" Gore's soul like a red-hot branding iron!
Trash?
He was trash?
He was "Butcher" Gore, a notorious pirate with a bounty of eighty million Beli! A thug whose name could silence crying children in these waters! The nightmare of countless Marines and merchant ships!
Yet now, in the mouth of this far-too-young Marine major, everything about him-his fearsome reputation, his past, the strength he was so proud of-had been casually reduced to one word: trash!
An overwhelming sense of humiliation instantly crushed his fear, turning into the madness of a cornered beast!
"Aaaaaah! Marine! How dare you insult me like that!"
Gore's scar-covered face twisted into a demonic visage with extreme rage. He suddenly pulled something from inside his clothes!
It was an old-fashioned flintlock with a thick barrel!
An eerie gleam flickered at its muzzle, as unfathomable as the sea!
"Die, monster! Try this!"
One last surge of madness and venom erupted in Gore's eyes as he struggled to pull the trigger with his broken, misshapen hands!
This was his final trump card!
It was a secret weapon he had spent nearly half his fortune obtaining from the Black Market-a specially made bullet ground from extremely pure Seastone!
He refused to believe it! He refused to believe there was an ability user in this world who did not fear Seastone!
As long as this bullet hit him, even if it only grazed his skin, this monster would surely lose his strength in an instant and become a lamb for him to slaughter!
Bang!
A dull gunshot rang out!
Thick gunsmoke spread through the air.
Propelled by gunpowder, the Seastone bullet gleaming with a dim blue light became a deadly streak, hurtling toward Yas at far beyond the speed of sound from point-blank range!
At such close range!
At such incredible speed!
There was no possible way to dodge it!
A sick, twisted smile had already appeared on Gore's face.
Die!
Let's go to hell together!
But the very next second, his smile froze completely.
Clink!
A crisp, pleasant sound rang out, like a tiny metal ball dropping onto a jade platter.
Yas did not even twitch an eyelid.
He simply raised his left hand slowly, extended his index and middle fingers, and casually... caught the Seastone bullet that could strike terror into any ability user!
The bullet's tremendous kinetic energy vanished instantly upon touching the thin layer of lightning armor covering Yas's fingertips.
The secret weapon that had cost Gore a fortune now sat securely between Yas's fingers like a harmless pebble.
"Seastone?"
Yas lowered his eyes to the faintly glowing bullet between his fingertips, the disappointment in his gaze reaching its limit.
"This is... your final trump card?"
Yas slowly raised his head and looked at Gore, who stood utterly dumbstruck before him.
"How boring."
Yas shook his head and casually tossed the Seastone bullet into the sea with a soft plop.
"You aren't even worth a single drop of my sweat."
Those words were the final straw.
Every trace of light, madness, and venom in Gore's eyes went out completely at that moment.
His mind was utterly destroyed in the face of Yas's absolute, overwhelming, unreasonable strength.
He gave up.
He abandoned all resistance and all dignity, collapsing onto the deck like a puddle of mud.
"D-devil... You're a devil..."
Gore's lips trembled. Murky tears and snot mingled with blood all over his face as meaningless, dreamlike mutters spilled from his mouth.
He had seen countless people weep and beg for mercy beneath his blade.
He had once taken immense pleasure in controlling others' lives and deaths, savoring their despair.
And now, he finally experienced for himself that bone-deep despair... that made even his soul tremble!
Looking at this "thug," now utterly broken, Yas had no interest in sparing him another glance.
Decisive in killing, deaf to any excuses.
That was his persona, and the principle he lived by.
When dealing with creatures like pirates, even the slightest shred of mercy was an insult to the innocent people who had died at their hands.
Yas slowly raised his right hand and extended one finger.
His index finger.
A blue arc of electricity, so faint it was almost negligible, danced gently on his fingertip.
Even using the power of Raijin Armor on someone like this was a waste.
"Be a good person in your next life."
Yas's voice remained calm, as though stating something utterly trivial.
"Oh, right. You won't have a next life."
The instant those words fell, Yas lightly tapped that fear-twisted head with his finger, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
"One-Finger Nukite."
Thud.
There was no scream, no struggle.
"Butcher" Gore's enormous body slumped limply to the ground, as though every bone had been pulled out of it.
His eyes remained wide open, still holding endless fear and despair, but the lightning energy that invaded his brain had utterly extinguished his life in that instant.
At the center of his forehead was nothing but an inconspicuous, pinprick-sized black scorch mark.
The notorious pirate with an eighty-million-Beli bounty, the thug of the first half of the Grand Line, "Butcher" Gore, met his end there.
He died like a bug casually crushed between someone's fingers.
Yas withdrew his finger, not even bothering to glance at the corpse at his feet.
He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the wrecked deck strewn with corpses and bloodstains, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Filthy."
His gaze passed beyond this battered pirate ship toward the distant Vanguard, still gleaming and pristine.
That was his own ship.
His men were there, too.
He could not let this garbage ship pollute these waters, much less leave any potential danger behind.
[Ding! Temporary mission "Wipe out the Butcher Pirates, leaving none alive" is 99% complete!] [Remaining objective: Completely destroy the enemy vessel, the Bloody Mary!]
The system's cold voice sounded in his mind at just the right moment.
At last, Yas's lips curved into a cold smile.
The warm-up was over.
Now, it was time for a real "Fireworks Show."
Yas slowly raised his right hand.
Index finger, middle finger, ring finger.
His three fingers pressed tightly together, pointing straight at the heart of the pirate ship beneath his feet, stained with sin and blood-the ammunition magazine in the lowest part of the hold!
"This ship is an eyesore."
Yas's voice seemed to pierce the hundred-meter distance, reaching the ears of every crew member aboard the Vanguard with perfect clarity.
"So, let it... disappear."
Before you continue