Meanwhile, Trejer's left hand, hidden behind his back, was trembling wildly.
All his remaining chains hugged the shadows on the ground, silently forming a strangulation array aimed at Lin Xuan.
If the boy hesitated for even an instant because of the hostage, that would be his chance to turn the tables.
"Lin Xuan! Don't listen to him!" Colonel Domon clutched his bleeding chest and roared, "That's Trejer's usual trick! Once you stop resisting, he'll kill both of you! Dodge-!"
It was already too late.
The hidden chains suddenly sprang up, seizing the moment when everyone's attention was drawn to Carina. They closed in instantly, wrapping Lin Xuan tight.
"Got you! Hahaha! Got you!"
Delight spread across Trejer's face, and his whole body trembled with excitement. "The strongest rookie in the East Blue? Garp's grandson? You're all fools before my intellect! Die! Strangulation: Iron Maiden!"
The ball of chains contracted madly, producing a teeth-grating screech of compressed metal.
It seemed that in the next second, Lin Xuan would be crushed into pulp.
Yet amid the roar of metal, a calm mutter reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Say... haven't you got something wrong?"
Creeeak-
The wildly contracting ball of chains suddenly froze.
As if being forced open from within, the ball of chains began bulging outward and deforming.
"Swordsmanship really is such a pain."
Lin Xuan's voice sounded somewhat muffled, carrying a trace of irritation. "Holding a sword in both hands obviously makes the swing stronger, but you just have to dress it up with all those fancy names."
Powerful golden spiritual pressure erupted through the gaps between the chains.
It was a purely overbearing pressure.
Merely releasing this power was enough to force apart every restraint.
That crack-covered wooden sword was raised once again.
Only this time, Lin Xuan held it in both hands.
It was such a simple movement, yet even the surrounding air seemed to stop.
Half of Lin Xuan's face lay in shadow, his golden eyes shining as a savage grin curled his lips.
"Who told you a toy sword... couldn't kill?"
Kenpachi Zaraki template: swordsmanship-Two-Part Cut!
There was no technique, no variation.
Lin Xuan simply poured his spiritual pressure into the wooden sword, raised it high in both hands, and slashed down viciously at everything before him.
"Break... apart!"
Heaven and earth fell silent.
Then a golden blade wave descended from above.
"This... this is impossible..."
The delight froze on Trejer's face.
Before his eyes, the alloy chains he took such pride in shattered instantly before the golden pillar of light.
This power was too pure. He could not even summon the thought of resistance and felt only a shudder.
Was this the world of the strong?
Why did I have to provoke a monster like this?
All I wanted was to find some treasure and coast through life...
His eyes lost focus, filled with regret.
"No! No! I'm Trejer! I'm worth a twenty-million bounty-"
Squelch.
His voice cut off abruptly.
The golden blade wave swept past without the slightest resistance.
The strike plowed a hundred-meter-long chasm through the entire wharf. Seawater surged into it, sending mist flying into the sky.
As the mist cleared, Trejer was still in the pose he had used to control his chains.
A red line slowly appeared between his brows, then extended all the way down.
"Clatter."
With a soft sound, the pirate split neatly into two halves and fell to the ground.
The chains imprisoning Carina had long since been pulverized by the shock wave.
Dead silence.
Zoro stared blankly at the chasm, the Wado Ichimonji nearly slipping from his hand.
Was that strike something a human could accomplish?
That was not swordsmanship at all, but the most overbearing interpretation of the very concept of "cutting apart."
"Is that... the figure we have to chase?"
At some point, Koshiro had walked up beside Zoro. His gaze was complicated as he watched Lin Xuan throw the broken wood into the sea in the distance.
He patted Zoro's shoulder, his voice low. "Zoro, did you see that clearly? In this world, some strength lies at the end of technique; some strength is itself the end."
Zoro said nothing. He stared fixedly at Lin Xuan's retreating figure, tightening his grip on his sword again in excitement.
His nails dug deep into his palm, drawing blood, but he did not notice at all.
"One day..." Zoro growled, his gaze utterly resolute. "One day, I'll make a slash like that too!"
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on killing "Mad Pirate" Trejer.] [Highly compatible combat style detected.] [Kenpachi Zaraki template unlock progress increased to 15%.] [Reward obtained: slight increase to maximum spiritual pressure.] [Passive skill obtained: Wild Instinct (beginner).]
"Only 15%?"
Lin Xuan rolled his aching shoulders and curled his lip at the light screen before him. "That guy was a well-known pirate, at least. System, you're being a little stingy."
Though he complained, he could feel that the power within him had increased again.
And the sensation of gripping the sword in both hands just now had dissipated most of his pent-up aggression.
"Whatever. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat."
Lin Xuan turned around without so much as glancing at the corpse on the ground and walked straight toward the stunned Colonel Domon.
"Uh... Domon, right?" Lin Xuan pointed at the corpse and the wreckage on the ground, speaking casually. "I'll leave the rest to you. Send the bounty straight to Garp's account. Count it as my food money."
"Huh? Yes... yes!" Colonel Domon jolted and instinctively snapped to attention, saluting.
The way he looked at Lin Xuan now was like he was looking at a future Marine Admiral.
"All right, don't be so nervous."
Lin Xuan waved a hand, his gaze settling on the orange-haired girl nearby, who was clutching her neck and watching him in lingering fright.
That Cat Burglar seemed badly shaken.
Still, there were some accounts to settle.
If he let her run off with the secret of their cooperation just like that, this trip to Shimotsuki Village would have been wasted.
"Hey, you little thief."
Lin Xuan stepped toward Carina and a certain figure who should have been hiding behind the trees trembling at that moment. "Had enough of the show? Isn't it time you came out so we can talk business?"
The sea wind howled.
Just as Lin Xuan turned to leave, several dozen nautical miles away, a warship bearing a dog's-head figurehead was cutting through the waves.
Two figures stood side by side on the deck, gazing toward Shimotsuki Village.
Though they were still far away, the lingering spiritual pressure in the air reached them on the sea breeze.
"This presence..." A white-haired man with two cigars clenched between his teeth frowned. "Mr. Garp, it looks like your grandson has caused quite a stir."
Chapter 29: Garp: My grandson has what it takes to be an Admiral!
That suffocating pressure did not disperse with the sea breeze. Instead, it seeped into their bodies, making them uncomfortable all over.
Smoker's two cigars were burning noticeably faster, their tips giving off faint sizzling sounds.
Garp did not turn around. He stared fixedly at the outline of the island drawing ever closer at the end of the horizon.
His justice coat snapped in the fierce wind. The carefree smile on his face had long since vanished, and his expression was now utterly solemn.
"That bastard Trejer..." Smoker exhaled a mouthful of thick smoke, his brows tightly furrowed. "He may be money-grubbing trash, but his Chain Chain Fruit ability really is a little troublesome, especially for recruits who haven't undergone systematic training."
Oran, the adjutant standing behind Smoker, could not help swallowing. It was his first time seeing the Marine hero wear such an expression.
It felt like an old lion had suddenly had its tail stepped on while dozing.
"Um... Vice Admiral, sir." Oran spoke cautiously, trying to ease the atmosphere. "That presence was powerful, but it disappeared very quickly too. Maybe... maybe that kid Lin Xuan has already..."
Crack.
A crisp sound of splitting wood rang out.
Before Oran could finish, a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, leaving him instantly unable to move.
Garp's large hand, which had been resting on the ship's railing, sank slightly. The hard teak rail beneath his palm turned into a pile of splinters.
"Already what?"
Garp's voice was very soft, like a whisper before a storm.
He slowly turned his head. There was no emotion in those eyes hidden in shadow, only pure pressure. "Young Oran, the wind is strong at sea. Some unlucky words are best left unsaid."
At that instant, even the waves around the warship seemed to freeze.
Oran felt as if an invisible hand had seized his heart in a crushing grip. Even his breathing stopped.
His legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees on the deck.
"Hey, old man, don't scare my men." Smoker frowned and stepped forward, blocking Oran and shouldering some of that terrifying pressure for his subordinate. "Besides, that kid's hard to kill. Rather than worrying about him, you should worry about how we're going to write the battle report later."
Garp snorted and withdrew his gaze. That terrifying aura vanished instantly.
He picked his nose, returning to his nonchalant manner. "It had better be that way. If that treasure hunter dares touch a hair on my grandson's head, I'll turn this whole sea upside down."
The warship finally reached shore.
Before the gangway could be lowered, two figures rushed out.
Smoker's lower body turned into billowing white smoke as he flew straight toward the wharf; relying on his body's explosive strength, Garp shattered the bow's deck with one step and hurtled toward shore like a cannonball, accompanied by the howl of the wind.
"Lin Xuan!"
Garp's roar was still echoing through the air when he landed heavily.
His landing left a spiderweb-shaped crater several meters across in the wharf.
Yet the horrific scene of corpses strewn everywhere that he had imagined did not appear.
Before him was a group of busy Marine soldiers.
Some were moving stones, some were repairing the ground, and a few had gathered to bandage their wounded comrades.
Though everyone's faces bore shock, they certainly did not show the despair that followed a fight to the death.
There were no battle cries or screams, only the calls of men hauling supplies and the sound of waves striking the rocks.
Before you continue