When Bradric saw Bert make his move, he broke free of his ropes too and burst out laughing. The mayor and the security team were alarmed.
"Captain, save me!"
"Boss, save me!"
"Boss, untie us!"
The underlings all shouted at once.
Vic said to the mayor, "Uncle Andre, you should step back. Leave this to us. If you stay too close, you might get hurt."
With that, Vic walked toward Bradric and stopped three meters away.
"Don't come any closer, or the girl dies! I'm Iron Fist Bradric, with a bounty of 5 million Beli! I've killed fifty-five people like you!" Bradric shouted.
He was a master of talking tough. He sounded fearless, but he was scared to death. He couldn't throw cannonballs with his bare hands, which was why he had taken a hostage.
His underlings were still shouting noisily behind him.
Hearing about the bounty, Vic grew a little excited. He turned to Bert and asked with a smile, "Oh? How much is your head worth, then?"
Andre and the others were puzzled. Why was he asking about that at a time like this? He didn't know what mattered.
Seeing Vic's smile, Bert felt a cramp in his calf, but he still put on a tough front. "My bounty is 3 million Beli. The people I've killed... n-no fewer than the captain has."
"So the two of you are worth 8 million Beli together. Interesting," Vic said with a smile.
Then he said, his voice filled with killing intent, "Do it."
The instant he shouted, Rebecca's sword was already out of its sheath. It was fast, too fast to see. A flash passed, and the arm Bert held his sword with was severed from his body.
Only after the arm hit the ground and bounced twice did Bert's agonized scream ring out, shrill and piercing.
It had all happened in a single exchange. Under Vic's relentless pressure, Rebecca's sword was now extremely fast. If she weren't fast, she couldn't even block one of Vic's attacks, so Rebecca had trained to make her sword fast enough that the naked eye couldn't follow it.
Bert clutched his wound and rolled on the ground, having lost the ability to fight. But how could he possibly hold a wound like that closed? Blood sprayed out, staining the ground red.
Everyone present except Vic and Rebecca gaped, their eyes bulging in shock. That was way too fast! A bounty of 3 million Beli, and this was it? This was all he got? He might as well have been some random extra.
Vic smiled at Bradric.
"You said they call you Iron Fist? I wonder if a certain old man would fly over and beat you to death if he heard about that title of yours. Calling yourself Iron Fist in the East Blue, heh heh heh."
At Marine Headquarters, a certain old man who was snatching rice crackers in Sengoku's office sneezed. He immediately looked at Sengoku. "Sengoku, you saw that. I've caught a bit of a cold. Give me the rice crackers, and I'll be all better after I eat them. Hahaha!"
"Let's have a little spar, 'Iron Fist' Bradric. Let's see how powerful those iron fists of yours are, heh heh," Vic taunted.
Looking at Vic's smile, Bradric felt a chill run down his back and regretted coming to this island. He slowly backed away, planning to send his underlings to take the beating while he seized the chance to escape.
But before he could take a single step after turning around, Vic appeared behind him in an instant and kicked him more than ten meters away. His face plowed a furrow through the dirt.
After the kick, Vic strolled toward Bradric, who lay on the ground shaking his head in a daze.
"There's no point running. You're not as fast as me. If you want to escape with your life, you'll have to beat me." Vic chuckled.
Bradric staggered to his feet, his face covered in bloody scrapes. He steadied himself and looked at Vic. Seeing the astonishing killing intent in Vic's eyes, he was terrified.
He shouted, "Don't kill me! I'll do anything you want! Don't kill me!!!"
"Boring!"
Vic had originally planned to finish him off during their fight, but doing it like this would be like slaughtering a pig. He still found it a little hard to kill someone who wasn't resisting.
Since coming to this world, Vic had killed many wild beasts and fish, but he had never actually killed a person.
If the people he had encountered this time had been from the Claw Pirates, he certainly wouldn't have held back. Vic beat Bradric's head until it looked like a pig's, searched him, and tied him up securely. Naturally, he did the same to the one-armed Bert.
Vic paid no further attention to what happened afterward and stayed at the docks with Rebecca. He knew Andre would take care of the rest and bring them the bounty once he collected it.
Before Vic left, Andre had lavished praise on both of them and told them to keep working hard and protect their home. Andre and the security team left, while Vic and Rebecca stayed by the sea.
"Rebecca, what did I tell you? You have to stay alert at all times. Pirates are despicable and capable of anything," Vic said sternly. "Even when you've grown powerful, you can't let your guard down. Devil Fruit Users have all kinds of bizarre abilities that are hard to guard against. A moment's carelessness could be enough for you to fall victim to one."
"I know. It won't happen again, hee hee." Rebecca stuck out her tongue.
"Our strength is now above that of ordinary pirates in the East Blue. I reckon we're about as strong as pirates with bounties of 15 million Beli. Beyond that, there are members of special races and Devil Fruit Users," Vic said, analyzing the situation.
"As for you, you're only about as strong as someone with an 8 million Beli bounty, so you still have plenty of room to improve. Don't look down on pirates just because the ones this time were weak. Most Devil Fruit Users are beyond your ability to handle."
"We'll stay on this island for a few years. Once there's a Marine Base here, I'll take you out to sea for an adventure."
"Great! It's a promise!" Rebecca was excited and very curious about the outside world.
Vic told Rebecca a great deal about the sea, all of it things he had learned from watching anime in his previous life. Of course, reality was bound to differ from the anime. This was a complete world, and from what he had read in the newspapers, he knew that the common people at the bottom were all chives, and it was only a question of who harvested them.
A little while later, the cargo ship's captain returned with his crew. Buck had arranged for someone to keep him informed, so as soon as the pirates were defeated, he had received word and hurried back.
Captain Buck spoke warmly to Vic. "Vic, thank goodness for you! Otherwise, I would have lost my ship and cargo. You're truly amazing, defeating a whole pirate crew by yourself."
"Vic, come aboard my ship. I'll pay you well," Captain Buck said sincerely.
"No. I'm still young, and the town can't do without us right now," Vic said calmly, without even thinking about it.
"I just wanted to let you know that your ship is intact. I used up all the cannonballs, though. You can ask the mayor to reimburse you for them, then restock in town."
"Oh, it's fine. There's no need for reimbursement. It's not much money, and it's already counted as a cost of doing business. We'll buy more cannonballs after we unload."
"All right, suit yourself. We'll be going, then. You get back to work." With that, Vic left with Rebecca.
When Vic was around, Rebecca rarely spoke or made decisions. The sword in her hand had changed her personality.
Captain Buck shook his head regretfully as he watched Vic and Rebecca leave. If he could have gotten Vic aboard, his safety would have been assured, and he could have rested easy.
Vic and Rebecca returned to the forest and resumed their dull, grueling training.
The cargo ship left the next day. News of the pirate attack the day before had spread, and everyone knew that Vic had taken down a pirate crew by himself.
On the street...
"Have you heard? Vic, the son of Orens, the mayor's former secretary, defeated a pirate crew with Rebecca."
"I heard Vic did it all by himself."
"Vic sank the ship by hurling a rock at it."
"I heard he threw cannonballs with his bare hands and blew it up."
"No, he cut the ship in half with one swing of his sword. That's how it happened."
The streets were lively, with everyone talking about the pirates and Vic. Some also talked about Rebecca and the security team.
Over the next few days, Vic and Rebecca became famous throughout the town. Everyone knew that the two of them were extraordinarily powerful and could protect the town from harm.
Whenever townspeople met them, they treated the pair with great respect, admiration shining in their eyes. It made them a little uncomfortable, so they went out even less and buried themselves in training.