First Battle

"What?"

"Observation haki. It's like an abiility. Why'd you hide it form me?"

"Oh... I just didn't know what it was called, so I didn't bother explaining. It was easier for me that way since I thought that you might say I was crazy."

"No, no, it's quite a common thing among stronger pirates or marines. Then what about that fisherman story? Was it really some fishermen who tracked these pirates down without getting caught?"

"No, that was a lie too. My uhh... observation haki helped me locate them, so I just made up a story to convince you to take me with you."

I smiled. "Don't worry about it. Any ideas on what powers their leader has?"

"Nope," she replied.

"Is he strong?"

"I think you're stronger," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Then you can wait here. I'll go deal with them."

"Mhm," she nodded. "Good luck."

I couldn't simply rely on the fact that I was stronger. I had no real battle experience yet, so I still needed to be careful. They're only a 37-million bounty crew, which most likely means that they don't have any haki users. It's quite rare to have access to sea prism stones for pirates as well, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. This battle should serve as a good test of my strength.

I snuck around the side of the hill, making sure to stay hidden. The three pirates stood at the front of a small wooden gate, blocking the path forward. One of them was reading a newspaper while the other two chatted away. I was surprised they didn't notice me. Perhaps it was because of their arrogance.

"Hey, boss!" one of them shouted. "You got another seven million increase in your bounty. It must've increased after we raided that village, haha! Doesn't that call for a celebration?"

"Shut up," the pirate boss replied. "If you had any brains, you'd know that we have no supplies little left."

"Oh, come on, we just raided an entire village."

Their boss was a tall and buff man. He wore a red shirt, black pants, and a pirate hat. He was also covered in tattoos, and he had a large scar running across his face. With a look of hatred, he slammed the wooden pole near him, sending sawdust of the crushed wood flying everywhere.

"My appetite is always unsatisfied. If I want to become a super rookie, I don't have time for celebrations."

"Come on, boss, give us a break. It's just a bit of fun."

"Shut the fuck up. Do you want to lose an eye?"

The first pirate laughed nervously. "N-no boss. Sorry."

With that, their boss went back to the ship, leaving the three of them alone.

I took the chance to try a new attack that I had cooked up in my mind. I formed my fingers like a pistol, placing it before my right eye and aimed it at one of the guards. Focusing all my devil fruit powers into one single point at the tip of my fingers, I envisioned myself shooting a small black hole at the pirate. I pulled my thumb and released the attack.

A loud banging noise erupted as a sphere of pure energy flew toward the unsuspecting pirate. The air around it was being compressed, creating a vacuum effect. I watched the ball of energy fly straight and hit the pirate in the chest, slamming him backward into the ship and smashing a massive hole in the rather impressive ship.

"Oops, maybe that was a little too much," I thought.

"What the hell?!" one of the remaining pirates shouted, rushing towards the fallen guard. "Buddy! You okay?"

The fallen pirate was nowhere to be found. A huge hole was present on the ship, and his companion's arm was bleeding profusely from being caught in the impact.

"He's gone! Where did he go? There's no way a single attack could kill our vice-captain, damn it!"

I charged another attack, preparing for the second pirate. This time, I increased the radius of my sphere, at the cost of a slightly weaker punch. I aimed and fired again, watching the attack zoom forward and hit both of the remaining pirates. A hole formed in the ground, sucking them in and crushing their bodies in the process.

"Two birds, one stone. Nice," I said, admiring the results.

I looked over at Lillian hiding in the bush as she watched in awe. I couldn't hear what she was saying as the pirates' screams were so loud, but it was something along the lines of "wow," as she gave me a thumbs up.

A third shot wiped out another cluster of pirates who were investigating the commotion. And a fourth shot annihilated their ship, cracking it in half, and their leader came running out.

"Who DARES attack my crew? Come out and face me!" he roared.

I walked out, casually strolling towards the middle of the battlefield. He glared at me with pure hatred, unsheathing his sword.

"You..." he muttered, slowly walking toward me. "I shall let you know that I'm a devil fruit user as well. I won't go easy on you."