109 Chapter 109: One Year Later
"Boss, there's a merchant ship in the northwest direction!"
Pirates, beings like these, would never vanish.
At least not before the 'rules' of this world were completely transformed, much like the ever-flowing sea kings in the ocean.
Roaring waves and billowing winds, a pirate ship bearing a skull flag shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, heading swiftly towards the merchant ship on the sea's surface!
Although the merchant ship was massive, several times larger than the pirate ship, it posed no problem for the many bloodshot-eyed pirates aboard. If they couldn't plunder the ship, they would be left hungry!
This pirate ship belonged to that kind: wandering aimlessly near the shipping routes every day, hoping to come across a merchant ship to raid.
They were the most numerous but also the most hopeless pirates on the open seas.
But having no hope didn't mean they weren't strong!
"Turn left full helm!"
"Raise the triangular sail, full speed westward!"
With a series of commands, the man standing at the front of the pirate ship drew his command knife from his waist.
With the tattered coat he wore and the barely discernible remnants of badges and torn ribbons, it wasn't hard to deduce that this pirate captain had once been a general.
'Fallen General' Cliff, with a bounty of 35 million Beli!
He had been a victim of the Northern Sea turmoil a year ago, but after rallying his remaining soldiers, this man had transformed into a notorious pirate.
"Bring out the cannons, take your positions—"
Under the command of this former general, his ex-subordinates on the deck pushed out the cannons and picked up flintlock rifles.
Tattered clothes, sharp blades, pirates with colorful headscarves wrapped around their heads and red eyes, gripping their weapons tightly, they were ready for a fight.
Boom!
A cannonball landed ahead of the pirate ship, creating a huge white wave that splashed onto the pirates clinging to the ropes and standing on the ship's rails, drenching them from head to toe in seawater. They instinctively recoiled.
"Damn it!"
"Watch out for the cannon fire..."
Boom!
Soon, a second cannonball landed ahead of the pirate ship, once again creating a massive white wave. Those pirates who had caught on were now shouting and cursing.
"Fire at them, damn it!"
"Are the gunners on the other side blind?"
Boom!
Immediately after, a third cannonball whistled through the air. The rapid frequency of these shots made the 'Fallen General' Cliff, standing at the ship's bow, pause in surprise, his face turning quite ugly.
"Shut up!"
An angry shout silenced the other pirates, and Cliff, wearing the tattered general's coat, began to feel a retreat was in order.
While his dim-witted subordinates couldn't see it, how could Cliff, who had once led a fleet, not notice:
The gunners on the opposing merchant ship were not warning them... no, they were toying with them!
Each cannon shot precisely landed a few meters ahead of their pirate ship. If the enemy wished, they could easily have hit the deck... even the mast.
On these open seas, what wasn't lacking were various kinds of 'geniuses' with extraordinary talents!
Should he retreat?
Glancing at the excited and yelling pirates around him, the bearded and disheveled 'Fallen General' Cliff ultimately dismissed the idea.
He saw the danger, but these fools lacked such insight.
If they retreated now, these men who had degraded to only knowing how to kill, drink, and eat meat wouldn't understand.
By that point, rebellion, poisoning, assassination... although Cliff's strength made him fearless, he couldn't possibly wipe out all these guys on his own and sail out to sea alone, could he?
"Charge forward, prepare for a boarding battle!"
As the long and narrow pirate ship closed in at high speed, the cargo-laden merchant ship, slowed by its weight, neither jettisoned its cargo into the sea to reduce weight nor turned to engage with side-mounted cannons.
Only one cannon at the rear, located diagonally behind, continued to leisurely spew cannonballs,
Naturally, these cannonballs all landed ahead of the pirate ship.
?!
This time, even ordinary pirates whose minds were filled with slaughter and desires sensed that something was off.
Once or twice could be considered accidents;
Three or four times might be considered miracles;
However, every time the opponent's cannonballs precisely created splashes that hit the pirate ship, it was as if—
"Are they playing with us?"
Some pirates had already caught on, but Captain Cliff's expression turned cold.
Splat!
In a flash of the blade, the verbose pirate was cleaved in half by Cliff's command knife. While intimidating the others, Captain Cliff, dressed in tattered military garb, walked heavily to the helm and punched a button with force.
Boom—
A massive stream of air surged out from behind the pirate ship, accompanied by rolling white waves. The ship suddenly accelerated, swiftly catching up with the cumbersome merchant ship ahead. The distance between them rapidly closed!
—Jet Acceleration Device
This was a high-tech product that 'Fallen General' Cliff had obtained from some scientist.
It was this piece of technology installed at the stern of the ship that allowed the pirate ship to easily catch up to merchant ships, and to repeatedly escape pursuit from the Navy, the Royal Army, and other 'colleagues'.
As for that scientist, of course, after installing the machine, Cliff sent him to the sea with a single slash.
Well, he was a 'man of his word.' He said he would reunite the scientist with his family, so he allowed them to 'reunite'.
In just a dozen seconds, the pirate ship that had suddenly accelerated was now sailing parallel to the merchant ship. The many pirates on the deck, as well as Captain Cliff, could clearly see the enemy gunner:
It was actually a boy with a mask, rising blue hair reaching for the sky, looking to be no more than six or seven years old?!
"Hmph,"
The boy standing next to the cannon gave a dissatisfied snort.
"If it weren't for waiting for you to come to us, I would have made you fish food long ago!"
"Since it's part of Big Brother's 'plan,' there's no choice."
?
The boy with the mask covering the lower half of his face stepped onto the ship's rail and his clear voice fell into the ears of the surrounding pirates who were armed and on alert, sending a sudden chill through their bodies.
"Be on guard!"
A swing of his command knife in hand, a whistling sound brought many pirates back to their senses.
"Form groups of five, back to back!"
Whether the opponent was pretending or had true experts,
'Fallen General' Cliff immediately had his subordinates form a battle formation and set up defenses. With over a hundred well-trained men surrounding them, even if there were ability users, they couldn't sneak up on him unnoticed—
"Huhuhuhu~~"
Just when the pirates on the ship were on high alert, the boy on the adjacent merchant ship suddenly burst into laughter.
"Although I've seen it before, Rosinante's move is still so impressive."
?
Amidst the bewildered gazes of many pirates, the boy with sky-blue hair reached out his hand towards them.
"Look, corpses are talking."
??
As the boy's words fell, on the pirates who were suspiciously looking around, alert and armed, suddenly appeared lines of 'red threads.'
Soon, these red threads grew longer, and blood broke through barriers and oozed out.
Splat~~
In an instant, the hundred-plus pirates on the deck seemed to have eaten the 'Four-Split Fruit,' their bodies suddenly sliding open along the newly formed red lines, falling in chunks of flesh.
Attacked?
When and where?!
The chilling 'Fallen General' Cliff suddenly turned around, his command knife swinging at full force towards behind him!
Behind him, at some point, stood a man with his back turned to him. He was draped in a jet-black feathered coat that concealed his figure, and all that could be seen was the black long knife with flame patterns in his hand.
"Die—"
The scent of death hit him, causing Cliff, who had turned around with a swing of his knife, to go all out. A silver-white brilliance even radiated from his command knife!
In the blink of an eye, his command knife was about to strike the man's black feathered coat. Cruel light flickered in Cliff's eyes.
This strike would tear even steel apart!
Splat,
Just at that instant, a crimson mark suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
Thunk,
His command knife suddenly exploded into fragments, and the so-called deadly attack naturally crumbled into nothingness.
How could this—
His vision began to plummet, and Cliff could even see his own wrist, his arm... all turning into 'components' and falling one by one.
"Look, corpses are talking."
Recalling the words of the boy just now, the pirate captain finally understood.
Yes, I'm already dead—
Splat,
The sound of flesh and blood falling densely onto the deck rang out.
This pirate crew, including Captain 'Fallen General' Cliff with a bounty of 35 million Beli, was completely wiped out!
"Silent·Instant Penitentiary Kill."
Slowly returning the third-generation Gitsune sword in his hand to its sheath, the one who made the move turned around.
"Rosinante, you stole my spotlight!"
Facing the accusation from Gladys on the nearby merchant ship, Rosinante rolled his eyes.
"If you had come, a few shots and both the ship and its crew would be sent to the sea's bottom."
"Our family still has the responsibility of clothing and feeding millions. Earning a bit is necessary."
He pointed at the heads rolling on the deck.
"And this guy, remember to take him to the Navy base for bounty exchange."
After the disappearance of the Vinsmoke family, the Donquixote family entered a period of rapid expansion.
Factories, shops, merchant ships spanned over a dozen countries, and they swiftly rose to prominence throughout the North Sea. Their influence even surpassed that of ordinary countries, truly becoming the 'Underground Emperors.'
The Beli earned from these industries transformed into various resources, flowing into the sixteen nations that had been penetrated by the Vinsmoke family.
Now, these sixteen nations had taken on the banner of the 'Revolutionaries,' all uniting under the leadership of their mysterious 'Great Mentor.' Their power was so significant that it even made the strongest 'Roshwan Kingdom' in the North Sea take notice.
The Donquixote family had put in so much effort, of course, not without compensation.
"By strengthening the body with Haki of Armament, it's already possible to easily achieve 'supersonic' speeds."
"At this speed, even members of CP9 can't catch up with 'Shave.'"
Previously, his body's strength couldn't keep up, but after a year of high-intensity training, especially under the guidance of Dragon, Rosinante had already mastered the 'basic' Haki.
Although he couldn't achieve 'Black Hardening,' he could already use invisible Haki to withstand bullets and cannonfire.
And after mastering Haki of Armament, with the 'Silent Fruit' to eliminate sonic booms, Rosinante could use this 'supersonic' movement as his signature skill!
In this silent 'supersonic' state, even Roronoa Lindberg, the daughter of the North Sea's Eight Treasure Water Army, could hardly react until Rosinante's sword was placed at her neck.
These ordinary pirates, even their captain with a bounty of 35 million, didn't even know when they were slashed!
"Hey, you guys, go over and take control of that pirate ship."
On the merchant ship, Gladys commanded a few Donquixote family sailors to throw grappling hooks and climb onto the pirate ship;
Then he turned to look at Rosinante, who appeared on the merchant ship's deck with a 'swish' as if teleporting.
"Rosinante, you're the fastest man on the sea!"
?
"The fastest man... this title doesn't really make me happy."
??
Amid the questioning expression of the still-young Gladys, Rosinante walked towards the captain's quarters.
"And what about Doflamingo—"
"Still reading?"
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(End of this chapter)
