Want to Follow Me? I'll Help You Realize Your Dream!

Howling winds drove towering waves against the Baratie sea restaurant. The gale sent the Baratie drifting dozens of meters sideways before it came to a stop in the distance.

Sanji's eyes widened. The hand holding his cigarette froze in midair as he stared at the scene in disbelief.

When the hazy spray cleared, the pirate ship that had been struck came into view.

The dark-blue sphere had hit it squarely in the center.

That section had been torn to pieces. The shattered remains of the deck, mixed with glaring crimson blood, bobbed miserably in the waves.

It was the first time Sanji had seen a human unleash such a terrifying attack. His face filled with shock as he stared blankly at the scene before him.

"C-can a human really do that?"

Just then, a familiar large hand settled on his head. Zeff stood beside him, gazing at the wreckage of the pirate ship with a complicated expression. After a long while, he said with a sigh:

"Sanji, that's what a true powerhouse of the sea looks like!"

After using up most of his stamina to blast a pirate ship apart, even Ivan felt tired.

But soon, a notification sounded in his mind.

[Your recent performance has earned recognition from the Satoru Gojo template. Recognition +10%]

[Template: Satoru Gojo · Echo (recognition: 32%)]

His mostly depleted stamina rapidly recovered, and his muscles and fascia grew denser at an astonishing rate.

At the same time, Ivan gained a deeper understanding of Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue, and a thought vaguely surfaced in his mind.

When his recognition reached 50%, he would definitely gain a new skill!

One pirate ship had been broken in half, and the pirates on its deck had suffered heavy casualties. Pal, who had been so arrogant moments ago, lay dead with his limbs mangled.

At the sight, the remaining pirates panicked. Their faces went pale as they shouted:

"Change course! Run! Get away from that monster!"

"Damn it, is this really the East Blue? That monster's stronger than Captain Don Krieg!"

Ivan paid no attention to their panic. Calmly taking out a Den Den Mushi, he tapped its shell and said:

"Barton, open fire on the two pirate ships trying to escape. Don't worry about me!"

The Den Den Mushi woke up and sprouted a bushy beard. Barton's excited voice came through:

"Roger! We'll blast those two wrecks to the bottom and feed them to the fish!"

Dark lines appeared across Ivan's forehead as he swore:

"Idiot! Who told you to sink them? Just stop them! Those two ships are going to be our warships from now on!"

The Krieg Pirates were wealthy, and even the ship of a subordinate like Pal was far better than the warship Ivan had as an ensign.

So he was determined to take those two pirate ships!

Barton felt a little aggrieved. Ivan had just destroyed a ship himself.

But he knew better than to talk back to the boss, so he nodded and said:

"Yes, boss, I understand. You and Tashigi be careful!"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Ivan stomped hard on the deck.

That side of the Baratie sank deep into the water, while Ivan leaped into the air and landed on a pirate ship a hundred meters away.

Seeing Ivan jump straight onto the deck, the pirates cried out in panic.

Amid the chaos, one relatively quick-witted pirate finally bellowed, trying to steady their nerves:

"What are you afraid of? He's only one man! If we all attack together, we can bury him in numbers!"

As soon as he spoke, five or six pirates responded. Waving their long sabers, they charged at Ivan with howls.

Ivan's expression did not change. He watched them coldly and drew the standard-issue saber at his waist, ready to test the move he had thought of the day before.

In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, apart from the rare cases of Heavenly Restriction, Cursed Energy and Cursed Techniques were what determined victory or defeat. Physical strength alone had never been a decisive trump card.

But the pirate world was completely different.

Here, all power was founded on a formidable body, whether it was the myriad Devil Fruits or Taijutsu and Haki honed to their peak!

Even Ivan had to expend stamina rather than Cursed Energy to use his Cursed Technique.

Therefore, Ivan decided to combine the power of another world with the power of the One Piece world. Only then could he unleash even greater strength!

A brilliant blue light gathered once more, winding along his standard-issue saber before concentrating into a mass at its tip.

At the same time, Ivan's cold voice rang across the deck:

"Blue Slash!"

The next moment, a concentrated blue slash swept forward from Ivan.

The blade wind tore through the air with a piercing whistle!

The pirates at the front were cut in half at the waist before they could even scream.

The remaining pirates behind them, unable to dodge in time, were all caught in the slash as well. A bloody mist suddenly spread across the entire deck.

That single strike killed twelve pirates!

Sensing the power and expenditure of Blue Slash, Ivan nodded inwardly.

Sure enough, converting the Cursed Technique into the power of this world before unleashing it greatly reduced the cost!

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than his figure became an afterimage and vanished from the spot.

As blue slashes flashed one after another across the decks of the two pirate ships, the pirates' lives were swiftly reaped.

Half an hour later, the two ships, once filled with earth-shaking cries of battle, fell utterly silent. Apart from Ivan, not a soul remained alive.

The final slash fell, a head flew into the air, and blood splattered across Ivan's cheek.

He wiped it away and walked step by step toward the Baratie, treading over a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Under the Marines' bounty system, dead pirates were worth only seventy percent of their original bounties. Even so, Ivan still killed most, if not all, of the pirates.

Because those beasts did not deserve to live!

Before coming to the pirate world, he had been unable to fully empathize with this world.

After Ivan transmigrated, his first mission took him to a small town that had been pillaged by pirates. The naive notion he had once held—that the pirate world was one of thrilling adventure-instantly crumbled.

A violated girl cowered in a corner, villagers brutally tortured to death lay in the streets, raging flames consumed houses, and the acrid stench of burning flesh hung in the air...

Everything before him was like poisoned daggers stabbing deep into his heart.

He had broken down then, and it was also then that he resolved to end the Great Pirate Era—and the World Government's rule!

Ivan leaped back onto the Baratie sea restaurant. His clothes were now stained red with blood, giving off a pungent, bloody smell.

Sanji looked at him, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

He walked briskly over and lowered his head slightly, speaking sincerely:

"Thanks for dealing with the Krieg Pirates for us. I had you wrong before. You're a good Marine."

The Krieg Pirates had sent three ships to the Baratie sea restaurant this time, and it was obvious they had come with hostile intentions. Although Sanji considered himself fairly strong, the Baratie would have suffered heavy damage from their cannon fire if they had clashed directly.

This time, Ivan really had been a great help.

Ivan took a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, then waved a hand and said:

"It's all right. The weak should be protected by the strong!"