61 Chapter 61
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On the dirt path in the jungle, the flash of blades and the scattering of sparks marked the fierce battle. Two swift figures collided, with ten claw blades and two swords leaving afterimages in the air, engaging in countless exchanges in mere moments, yet neither could secure a decisive victory.
Zyhark's speed surpassed Kuro's Silent Step by a margin, and his formidable physical defense allowed him to wield his blades with abandon, gathering experience from the intense combat.
He refrained from using Armament Haki and Observation Haki not just to conserve energy for a critical blow against Kuro, but also to allow his body to adapt and strengthen from the battle's demands.
Clang!
After the final clash of blades, Kuro voluntarily retreated, maintaining a safe distance from Zyhark, his gaze darkening as he stood catching his breath.
The battle made him realize Zyhark was using him as practice for swordsmanship, filling him with surging rage and murderous intent.
Thinking of Morse's naval ship soon arriving, Kuro decided not to hesitate any longer. Tearing off his pirate captain cloak, he prepared to use his strongest technique to quickly finish off Zyhark.
At that moment, a streak of blue light shot up from the direction of the beach, followed by a deafening boom.
The ground trembled, and a terrifying shockwave spread throughout the island. Trees swayed, and birds took flight, disturbed by the sudden disturbance.
What had happened?
The unexpected noise made Kuro halt his action, turning his face to look towards the coast, his gaze from behind his glasses filled with confusion and surprise.
To ensure Zyhark and his crew remained trapped on the island, he had earlier instructed the Meowban brothers to circle around to the coast and sabotage their floating restaurant, cutting off their escape route.
Yet, instead of the expected report of mission completion, an unusual and enormous commotion arose from that direction, striking Kuro as very odd.
'Could it be that blond man who didn't land with Zyhark?' Kuro's thoughts naturally drifted to King, recalling his formidable and fearsome visage. The strong vibrations and the oppressive feeling that had lingered in his memory were unprecedented!
'Keeping such an ace up their sleeve, did Zyhark predict my plans from the beginning?' The more Kuro pondered, the more alarmed he became. He enjoyed manipulating his enemies, like how he handled Colonel Moss.
However, an unexpected turn of events like this agitated and angered him immensely.
Unbeknownst to Kuro, Zyhark was equally perplexed and worried. He was well aware of King's strength, and the scale of the commotion was beyond anything King could produce.
If such a force existed within the Black Cat Pirate Crew, fleeing by sea would have been the smarter option. An unforeseen third party, perhaps?
Or was it King's incredible luck as a summoner, potentially bringing Saitama, the One-Punch Man, to their aid? No, that seemed unlikely.
Aside from questioning whether King possessed such a heaven-defying ability, the nature of the bright light that shot into the sky didn't align with Saitama's known attack methods.
Meanwhile, Aqua's location was eerily quiet. Not a trace of her usual flood-making or magic circles was seen. The strange occurrences on both fronts weighed heavily on Zyhark's mind, furrowing his brow.
He looked up, and at that moment, Kuro's gaze, filled with murderous intent, met his. Both men, locking eyes, shared the same thought: to swiftly kill the other.
After pushing his glasses up one last time, Kuro started to sway his legs, his arms swinging slowly as if to gain momentum.
Clink, clink.
The sound of the ten blades touching each other sent chills down the spine.
"Let's see, Zyhark, if your so-prided physical defense will hold up against this move!" Kuro announced his attack with confidence.
"Spoon... Death!" The moment the last word was uttered, Kuro vanished as if evaporated into thin air, leaving behind a deathly silence.
As Kuro disappeared, the area fell into an eerie stillness, disturbed only by a leaf sliced in midair by a passing slash.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! A terrifying chain reaction ensued. Shadows flickered, and the surrounding trees and rocks were cleanly bisected.
One after another, the relentless slashes filled the dirt path, rapidly advancing towards Zyhark's position with incredible speed.
Perhaps due to not having wasted three years in complacency as a butler, Kuro's full-powered Spoon Death at this moment, both in terms of power and speed, surpassed what was depicted in the original story.
Zyhark remained highly focused, standing firmly amidst the collapsing trees and encroaching slashes without showing a hint of panic.
His eyes closed, he maximized his Observation Haki to detect every movement around him. Although he couldn't pinpoint Kuro's exact trajectory as before, he managed to grasp the general direction of the attack.
Buzz!
A painful gust enveloped in a dangerous aura rushed towards him, leaving five fresh, bleeding marks on Zyhark's left cheek, proving Kuro could indeed breach his defense in his Spoon Death form.
Yet, Zyhark still didn't move. He waited for the moment Kuro, moving at high speed, would reveal a weakness.
"Now!" Suddenly, Zyhark's eyes snapped open, and he unleashed all his strength, swinging his Haki-coated swords.
Clang!
The left sword swept horizontally, its extraordinary hardness shattering the incoming blades into countless fragments that scattered in the air.
The right sword slashed downwards, creating a deadly wound across Kuro's body from shoulder to thigh.
Spurt!
Forced out of his Spoon Death mode, Kuro stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding torso, his face filled with shock and disbelief. Even his glasses, which he treasured, were ignored as he allowed his bloodshot eyes to be fully exposed.
Without giving Kuro a moment to recover, Zyhark, powered by a surge of adrenaline, advanced with his swords.
Kuro, despite the pain, desperately positioned his remaining blades in defense, but the tide had turned overwhelmingly in Zyhark's favor. Within seconds, Kuro sustained additional injuries, his vitality waning.
Even his cherished glasses were shattered by Zyhark's punch, confirming the outcome of their duel.
As Zyhark prepared to deliver the finishing blow to the disoriented Kuro, Aqua suddenly appeared in the distance.
"What? You still haven't taken care of this glasses-wearing fool, Zyhark? That's pretty lame!" Aqua casually munched on peanuts she had somehow acquired, her relaxed demeanor and snacking hardly indicative of someone who had been through a fierce battle.
"You're still not dead?!" Kuro, his pompadour in disarray, turned in disbelief towards Aqua.
Could it be that this seemingly clueless girl had bypassed all the traps and ambushes he had set around the stronghold? Impossible!
Even Zyhark found Aqua's efficiency surprising. When had this goddess become so reliable?
Continuing to snack, Aqua ignored the astonished Kuro and recounted her experience to Zyhark. "You have no idea, Zyhark, how stupid these people are! Hard to believe they're the fearsome pirates they claim to be."
"I just walked down the road, and no one even tried to stop me. The gate to their stronghold was wide open!"
"There were only a few weak pirates inside. Especially that weird guy with heart-shaped glasses. He started swinging two iron rings in front of me, and guess what happened?"
"He actually hypnotized himself and ended up lying on the ground, motionless!"
Aqua couldn't hold back her laughter at the memory, clutching her stomach as she laughed heartily.
Her sharp, mocking laughter seemed almost infectious, compelling others to join in, despite the urge to admonish her.
Like Captain Kuro, whose face was etched with frustration…
"Why would you just walk in there? An obvious trap, and you didn't even consider scouting from a more concealed location first?!!"
Kuro roared, his patience shattered.
Indeed, he had set traps and ambushes around the stronghold, targeting sensible invaders like Colonel Moss. He never anticipated that someone would brazenly enter through the front door.
Least of all, that Jango would turn out to be such a disastrous liability.
"It seems you're the fool here. If the door's open, why wouldn't I walk in? You're just too dumb, seriously."
Aqua's loud laughter and her mocking blue eyes made it hard to believe she could ever ridicule someone else's intelligence.
Yet, there was Kuro, rendered speechless by her taunts.
"Pfft~."
Zyhark couldn't help but laugh as well, knowing the full story. Kuro's cunning, nearly second only to Beckman in terms of intelligence as depicted by Oda, was utterly wasted here. A normal person might have fallen for his traps, but not Aqua, the unpredictable goddess.
Keeping Aqua away from himself and letting her inadvertently sabotage the enemy turned out to be a brilliant strategy.
Seeing Kuro's miserable expression, Zyhark couldn't help but feel openly pleased.
"By the way, Zyhark, even if I didn't exert much effort, those pirates' bounties belong to me. Don't think you can fool me, especially since this was all part of your plan!" Aqua suddenly remembered to claim her share of the bounty.
"No problem at all," Zyhark readily agreed, his mood uplifted.
"Zyhark! So it was you pulling the strings all along!"
Kuro glared at Zyhark, his once unwavering confidence beginning to waver.
He preferred to believe that Zyhark had anticipated all his plans rather than accept that Aqua had naively stumbled into the stronghold. Coupled with the decision to leave King, a man of mysterious strength, to guard the ship, it seemed he was outplayed in every aspect by Zyhark, an unprecedented experience for the seasoned pirate.
Perhaps it was the panic, but Kuro forgot those traps and ambushes were initially intended for Moss and his navy…
"Whatever you say. But I'm definitely claiming your bounty, Captain Kuro."
Zyhark didn't bother to explain, instead stepping forward to close in on Kuro.
Kuro, with rapid breaths, forced himself up despite his injuries and quickly pulled out a smoke bomb from his shirt, smashing it on the ground.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke instantly exploded, obscuring everything in its vicinity, blinding both Zyhark and Aqua.
"This little trick won't work on me…"
Just as Zyhark was about to use his Observation Haki to locate Kuro, a sudden dizziness overwhelmed him. The fight had drained him of too much strength and Haki.
In hindsight, he was paying the price for his lack of combat experience.
When the sea breeze finally cleared the pervasive smoke, Kuro was nowhere to be seen.
"Aqua, stop standing there dumbfounded. 14 million Belly is about to slip away."
Zyhark, kneeling on the ground, urged Aqua, "Hurry up and take care of me!"
"Huh?!" Aqua was startled, clutching her chest protectively, her face a mix of disdain and disgust, "Just for some pirate bounty, Zyhark, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person!"
"…I meant cast a healing spell," Zyhark was left speechless.
If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, he would have seriously considered reprimanding her.
"Oh? Then you should've been clearer!" Aqua realized belatedly.
Soon, a beautiful glow enveloped Zyhark as he received Aqua's blessing, regaining some ability to move.
Following the trail of blood left by Kuro, it wasn't hard to deduce that he had headed towards the coast, likely aiming to escape by ship.
After a brief explanation to Aqua, Zyhark surged with energy, following Kuro's trail.
Meanwhile, Kuro, who had managed to escape, was racing through the dense jungle. Familiar with the island, he knew the quickest route to the beach.
With Jango proving unreliable, he pinned his hopes on the Meowban brothers, who had gone to sabotage the floating restaurant. Despite the unsettling noises earlier, if they succeeded or could at least delay Zyhark and his crew, he might have a chance to flee on his pirate ship.
"Damn you, Zyhark, I'll remember this!" Kuro cursed as he approached the clearing, the refreshing sea breeze greeting him. However, when he expected to see the beach, he was met with a shocking sight.
"What the hell is this?!" His eyes widened in horror at the unexpected scene before him.
Looking ahead, where the beach should have been, there was only a raging sea, its furious waves crashing against the cliffs below.
Where was the vast beach?
Thump, thump, thump! Confusion turned to alarm as a tremendous thudding sound filled his ears.
Kuro struggled to comprehend the noise, far louder than any heartbeat should be. Searching around, he finally spotted the source on the floating restaurant ship nearby.
There stood King, arms crossed, his imposing demeanor undisturbed by the tumultuous sea, facing off against Colonel Morse and hundreds of armed marines on a navy ship.
Kuro pieced together the puzzle. He knew the caliber of Morse's marines all too well; no one could make an entire beach disappear, not even with the navy's full artillery barrage lasting days and nights.
Recalling the intense disturbances during his fight with Zyhark, a horrifying and inconceivable hypothesis emerged in Kuro's mind.
"That blond man…"
"…actually erased the entire beach!!"
(End of Chapter)
