The world seemed to hit pause at that instant.
Then, an emerald-green slash almost too fast for the naked eye to catch swept silently across the sea.
It cut through the air, through the waves, and through the Delidano, which already had a huge hole blasted in it by Lin Xuan.
Rumble-
The enormous warship split neatly in two along its centerline, the severed surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
Its once-sturdy keel was as fragile before that slash as a snapped chopstick.
Seawater poured in wildly, throwing spray into the sky.
Krieg, who had been shouting just moments ago, now lay limp at the edge of the broken deck.
A warm liquid ran down his trouser legs, pooling beside his feet in a foul-smelling stain.
His mouth gaped, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and his throat made a rattling sound, but he could not get out a single complete sentence.
The entire sea restaurant fell into deathly silence.
Everyone seemed frozen by a spell, their minds blank.
This power, beyond all common sense, filled everyone present who called themselves a pirate with profound despair.
Only Lin Xuan let out a soft breath.
This was the world's greatest Great Swordsman.
This was... the man called Hawk-Eye.
"What a sight..."
By the window, Ace slowly removed his orange hat.
As he looked at the enormous ship cleaved in two, the reckless smile of youth vanished from his face, replaced by an unprecedented gravity, while flames seemed to ignite in his eyes.
"Captain, let's pull out too..." Mihal's voice shook. "That guy... isn't someone any human can fight."
Ace did not turn around. He simply stared fixedly at the figure slowly sheathing his sword, his fingers gripping the window frame so tightly that wood chips fluttered down.
The instant their gazes crossed, invisible sparks seemed to fly through the air.
Lin Xuan said nothing. He calmly put the last bit of smoked ham on his fork into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
He even picked up his napkin and leisurely wiped the corners of his mouth.
That composure, continuing to eat in the face of terror like a natural disaster, deepened the amusement in Ace's eyes, but their brief understanding was soon interrupted by a trembling voice beside him.
"C-Captain! Stop joking around!"
Mihal practically threw himself to Ace's side, both hands clamping onto the window frame, his knuckles white from the force.
His voice was clearly on the verge of tears, his usual gentlemanly bearing long gone. "Let's retreat! While that monster is still dealing with Krieg's ship... our speedboat is still out back! If we set sail right now and follow the current-"
"Retreat?"
Ace took his gaze off Lin Xuan and turned his head, looking at his sniper with some amusement.
His black hair whipped in the sea breeze, and a faint scorching heat began radiating from his body, making even the air distort slightly.
"Mihal, have you forgotten who I am?"
Ace raised his right hand. He made no grand gesture, merely snapping his fingers.
Snap.
A tongue of orange-red flame instantly sprang up at his fingertip, thick as magma and brimming with explosive power.
The flame lit his young, arrogant face, burning away every trace of his momentary gravity.
"That Hawk-Eye really is strong. Ridiculously strong." Ace stared at the distant little boat that looked like Death's own mount, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning all the brighter, with the ignorance and fearlessness unique to a newborn calf facing a tiger. "But in the end, he's still a swordsman."
"No matter how fast a swordsman's blade is, can it cut through flowing fire?"
Lin Xuan heard every word from his corner, and his fingers paused slightly as they stroked his wineglass.
An ordinary swordsman indeed had no way of dealing with elemental transformation.
Unfortunately, the approaching man stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
This was the real world.
There were no system notifications telling you your opponent's level, nor any red health bar hovering overhead.
The young Fire Fist was now like a child holding a lighter who believed he could burn down an entire forest. His reasoning formed an airtight loop, yet it was precisely his lack of information that was leading him step by step toward the abyss.
"But..." Mihal still wanted to persuade him, the sound of his chattering teeth particularly clear in the quiet restaurant.
"No buts!" Ace spun around, the skull tattoo on his back seeming to roar as his muscles tightened. "If we tuck our tails and run without even daring to fight, the Spade Pirates' name will be a joke on the seas from now on! Even if he's the world's greatest, I'll make him understand that flames can't be cut apart."
A wave of heat erupted outward.
Several diners gathered around Ace were forced to retreat again and again by the sudden high temperature, staring in terror at the youth whose entire body was beginning to smoke.
There was no talking him out of it.
That was Lin Xuan's assessment.
It also made sense.
Without getting his head bloodied, without witnessing the gulf between people in this world firsthand, the Ace who could later shoulder everything aboard Whitebeard's ship would never come into being.
Right now, he was merely an unruly wildfire in desperate need of tempering.
By this point, the screams out at sea had gradually subsided.
Not because the pirates who had fallen overboard had been rescued, but because the man called Hawk-Eye had already rowed his coffin-like little boat through the wreckage of the severed warship and reached the main deck area below the sea restaurant.
An indescribably sharp aura pierced straight at everyone's throat through the thick wooden boards and glass.
It felt as though someone had pressed a razor against your artery.
Most of those in the restaurant who had barely managed to remain standing now collapsed to the floor as their legs gave out.
"So this is... what they call presence?" Lin Xuan murmured, feeling goosebumps rise on his skin.
Something within him resonated. It was the yearning that had settled deep inside him through countless sword-swinging drills, the instinct awakened by this strongest template.
He no longer wanted to remain a spectator.
Since the stage was set, and the world's greatest had entered, continuing to sit in the corner eating ham would be rather discourteous for someone who would one day be the big brother.
Creak-
The chair scraped across the wooden floor with a piercing screech.
While everyone was pinned motionless by the terrifying aura outside, that abrupt sound instantly drew the attention of several people nearby.
Lin Xuan stood and casually grabbed the inconspicuous, even somewhat shabby Wooden Sword leaning against the table.
Rather than heading toward the front entrance, he turned toward the side door leading to the kitchen's unloading area.
It connected to an exterior platform extending from this floor, closer to the sea and closer to the center of the storm.
No one stopped him.
To others, he might merely have been another poor soul frightened out of his wits, hoping to jump into the sea and escape.
Only Ace seemed to sense something at that instant, glancing back at the empty corner with a slight frown.
Was it my imagination?
For an instant just now, it felt as though a beast fiercer than that hawk outside the window had opened its eyes.
A few seconds later, the side door gently closed, muffling the sound of the waves outside.
And the Wooden Sword in the youth's hand gradually shifted its angle with his steps, preparing for its first true appearance since coming to this world.
Chapter 44: Hey, You with the Fire, Can You Take a Slash?
The black-painted wooden door was pushed open, bringing the salty sea breeze and a scorched smell.
Lin Xuan stepped out of the spray onto the slippery deck.
Waves slapped against the Baratie's pontoons, splashing seawater onto Lin Xuan's trouser cuffs and making him look like a lost tourist.
The Wooden Sword trailing carelessly behind him struck the seams in the deck with dull knocks, making the hearts of everyone present tighten.
"That's..."
At the second-floor window, Ace paused just as he was about to grab another piece of meat on the bone.
His languid eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze fixing on Lin Xuan, particularly the Marine-issue undershirt faintly visible beneath the collar of his shirt as it fluttered in the sea breeze.
Several wanted posters and intelligence reports flashed through Ace's mind, finally overlapping with the languid figure before him.
"So that's it. No wonder he had that kind of destructive power." Ace casually tossed away the bone and wiped the grease on his trousers, his mouth curling into a grin. "That monster rookie who's been making such a stir at the branch lately... so it's you, Lin Xuan?"
"A Marine?!"
Those words instantly sent the Spade Pirates into an uproar.
"You're kidding! That kind of monster is actually a Marine?" Mihal went deathly pale, nearly dropping his sniper rifle into the sea. "Captain! This is bad! We've got that menace Hawk-Eye in front of us and the Marines' rising star behind us... we're dead! We have to retreat before they surround us!"
"Retreat?"
Deuce frowned, his face beneath the mask also covered in cold sweat, but he still held down Mihal's trembling shoulder. "Calm down. Look at his eyes... he isn't treating us as mission targets at all."
Those were a predator's eyes.
His goal was neither justice nor military merit. He simply... wanted a fight.
Lin Xuan ignored the commotion upstairs.
He spread his Observation Haki, sensing every fluctuation of emotion in the air.
Fear, shock, greed, despair... those emotions stimulated the template called "Kenpachi Zaraki" within him, sending his adrenaline surging.
"H-Help..."
A faint voice interrupted Lin Xuan's perception.
Right beside his feet, at a broken section of railing, a large hand blanched by seawater clung tightly to the planks.
Then Krieg's face, covered in blood and burns, emerged.
The former overlord of the East Blue was now a wretched sight.
His golden armor was gone, with only a few charred rags hanging from his body.
"It's you... you're the bastard who fired that shot..."
Krieg's pupils contracted sharply as he recognized Lin Xuan's face.
His survival instinct made him want to beg for mercy, but his nature as a pirate admiral led him to a foolish judgment-at this distance, no one could dodge his sneak attack.
"Die! For my grand conquest!"
Krieg suddenly opened his mouth, revealing a miniature blow dart hidden beneath his tongue, while his right hand stealthily reached behind him for his sole remaining explosive pistol.
The distance was less than two meters.
Even a veteran could not guard against a sneak attack at this range.
But in Lin Xuan's eyes, Krieg's movements became extremely slow.
The killing intent produced as his muscles tightened reached him even faster than the sound of a trigger pull.
Too slow.
He couldn't even stir the slightest interest in a fight.
Without even lifting his eyelids, Lin Xuan stamped hard on the slippery deck.
"Flash Step."
A sharp crack burst through the air.
On the second floor, Zeff's pupils suddenly widened, and the rag in his hand fluttered to the floor.
To his motion-tracking eyes, Lin Xuan vanished into thin air, leaving only an afterimage tearing through the air.
This was pure speed and strength.
Bang!
Before you continue