Kuzan's voice at the bow carried a faint trace of sadness as he turned his head to look at Sharon Lily beside him.
Standing directly behind her was Yoriichi Tsugikuni, calmly holding his long blade level with her neck. His expression was distant and cold, and should she make the slightest move, the blade would instantly pierce through her throat.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, Captain Yoriichi Tsugikuni, what is the meaning of this?"
Sharon Lily looked down at the sword at her neck. Her pupils contracted slightly, but after a brief moment of shock, she quickly regained her composure and asked softly. Not even a hint of fear or panic colored her voice despite the deadly blade at her throat.
"To be honest, I really did trust you at first," Kuzan said.
"But Yoriichi made me stop and think."
"Right? In this world, do such convenient coincidences really exist?"
"Ever since then, I've been cautious around you."
"True, you didn't do anything suspicious after boarding the ship. But I realized something strange, I wasn't acting like myself."
"That lingering fragrance in my room all this time… it's the power of your Devil Fruit, isn't it?"
As he spoke, Kuzan walked slowly toward the railing at the bow and gazed out at the sea.
Out on the water ahead, the once-calm surface suddenly broke. Several massive submarines rapidly surfaced, surrounding the warship and cutting off its movement.
The hatches atop the submarines opened, and from within emerged a gang of vicious-looking brutes. They climbed onto the decks of the subs and leapt onto the warship's deck in quick succession.
Within moments, dozens of armed men now crowded the deck, glaring menacingly at Kuzan, Yoriichi, and the others at the bow.
"Who are you people?!"
The enemy had appeared so suddenly, so quickly, that most of the crew was caught completely off guard. It wasn't until the invaders had landed on the deck that the sailors snapped out of their daze. A bold young Marine raised his matchlock rifle and shouted at the intruders.
"Who are we?"
"Man… the Marines these days really can't recognize anyone important."
A man in his fifties stepped forward from the crowd, slowly approaching the shouting Marine.
He was over three meters tall, his body like a wall of muscle. Even in the dead of winter, he wore no sleeves, his arms bare and veined like coiled dragons.
His hair was wild, his beard sparse.
His face was twisted and sinister, deeply lined and weathered like it had been carved by blades. His eyes were sunken, and the cold malice in his gaze sent a chill down the young Marine's spine.
As he stepped closer, an overwhelming wave of bloodlust washed over the young soldier, who began to tremble uncontrollably.
"S-Stop right there!!"
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!"
The young Marine backed away in fear until his shoulders bumped against the ship's railing. Realizing he had no retreat left, he glanced back, then turned forward again, his eyes filled with desperate resolve.
"You bastard! Didn't you hear me?!"
He fired a warning shot into the air. Just as he was about to aim again, the massive man was suddenly right in front of him, one hand crushing the barrel of the gun.
The rifle bent like a soda can in his grip. As the Marine instinctively pulled the trigger, the weapon backfired violently at the base.
"AAAH!!" the Marine screamed as he collapsed to the deck, writhing in pain.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Little punks like you, running around the New World like you're something special?"
"These days, the Marines are getting weaker and weaker. Even brats like you can make officer now?"
The man chuckled and casually tossed aside the mangled rifle. Then he turned and looked toward the bow at Yoriichi and Kuzan.
He extended his arm and called out loudly:
"Hey, kid!"
"Keep your grip steady. Wouldn't want you hurting my precious daughter, now would we?"
"Come on now, a kid your age shouldn't be playing with dangerous toys. Let her go."
"I'm in a good mood today. Maybe I'll give you Marines a quicker death."
His gaze locked onto Yoriichi, and his tone was almost playful, like he was speaking to a child.
To him, Yoriichi, despite his poised blade was nothing more than an average young officer. Probably promoted so quickly because of some family ties within the Marines.
Even though Yoriichi had entered the state of Selfless Realm, in this man's eyes, he was no more than a regular person. Not worth paying attention to.
Compared to him, Kuzan at least looked more worthy of notice, his uniform, his bearing, his rank. At a glance, Kuzan's presence was clearly far more imposing than Yoriichi's.
But even then, the man didn't take him seriously either.
"They're just kids," he thought.
"Daughter?"
"Don't joke. A girl like Lily? There's no way she's your daughter."
Kuzan stepped forward, shielding Yoriichi, his gaze fixed on the muscular man striding toward the bow.
Despite the man's overwhelming bloodlust, Kuzan was completely unfazed. He glanced at Lily behind him, then back at the man who had now stopped just a few meters away.
He smiled.
"You little punk! You trying to die faster?!"
The man's face twisted in fury, veins bulging in his forehead. In a blink, he vanished from before Yoriichi and Kuzan.
A black shadow appeared above Kuzan's head, and a powerful punch came crashing down.
Kuzan sensed it coming. He looked up slightly and saw the man descending.
"Kuzan, this guy knows Haki," Yoriichi warned, seeing Kuzan remain still.
Just as Yoriichi finished speaking, the man's fist was suddenly coated in Armament Haki. It came down like a meteor, aimed right at Kuzan's skull.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?!"
Kuzan had planned to tank the hit with his Logia powers, not expecting the man to activate Haki only at the last second.
This man had experience, and lots of it.
This wasn't some random brute. His habit of waiting until the final moment to coat his strikes in Haki was instinctive. Clearly, he'd fought plenty of Devil Fruit users before.
"BOOM!!"
The punch landed. The deck exploded into a storm of shattered wood. A faint mist of cold air spread across the bow, beginning to surround the dust-covered man.
As the dust settled, a gaping hole had formed in the deck where Kuzan once stood. The man straightened and retracted his fist. But of Kuzan, there was no sign.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan?!"
Sharon Lily, seemingly concerned for Kuzan's safety, cried out in alarm.
Yoriichi cast a curious glance at the girl beneath his blade, then looked toward the battlefield ahead.
The mist thickened rapidly. Kuzan's form reappeared beside the hulking man, his hand now placed firmly on the man's body.
He spoke in a low, cold voice:
"You're really impatient, aren't you?"
"Before we fight, at least tell me who you are."
"Depending on your answer, I might offer you a different future."
As he spoke, ice rapidly spread across the man's arm, freezing it solid.
The immense power of Kuzan's Logia-type Devil Fruit made the man's pupils shrink in shock.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!
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