Clang…
The sound of metal striking metal, amplified by raw, bestial strength, echoed across the wharf.
Under the immense, crushing force of Kasli's iron-gauntleted punch, Lina nearly lost her grip on her sword.
The impact sent her skidding back several steps, her boots carving grooves into the wooden planks.
The Animal-Type White Tiger Fruit had indeed granted her a formidable, superhuman level of strength, but it didn't make her invincible.
Lancelot had been right; Zoan-type abilities were inherently dependent on the user's base physique.
The stronger the original body, the greater the enhancement after consuming the Devil Fruit.
Lina's original self had been frail, her body a prison of weakness.
Despite the massive boost, her improvement was still limited compared to what a naturally strong person would have received.
In the relatively weak East Blue, she might now be considered a strong fighter, a true powerhouse.
But elsewhere, on the Grand Line, she knew she'd still be nothing more than an ant.
This realization only hardened her resolve.
The next moment, she let her instincts take over.
Thick, white-and-black fur sprouted across her body as she fully transformed into her human-beast hybrid form, her muscles swelling and her fangs elongating.
She let out a low, predatory growl.
"What... what is that?!"
Kasli's eyes, which had been narrowed in a murderous grimace, now widened in pure, abject shock.
In the East Blue, Devil Fruit users were exceedingly rare.
He knew of "White Chase" Smoker of Loguetown, a man made of smoke, and he'd heard tales of Buggy the Clown, a man who could split his body apart.
But neither of them... neither of them... had turned into a monster.
Living in the isolated East Blue, Kasli was like a frog at the bottom of a well.
He was aware of Devil Fruits, but only in the most superficial, abstract sense.
He had no concept of the different categories—Paramecia, Zoan, Logia. He just saw a woman transform into a terrifying beast.
It wasn't just him.
Nearby, both Blood Slaughter and Zoro, who were locked in their own desperate battle, were visibly stunned by the sudden transformation.
However, neither of them was green enough to let the shock stop their movements.
Blood Slaughter, roaring with effort, relentlessly swung his massive axe on its long chain, launching attack after attack.
Each swing was powerful, precise, and aimed to kill, forcing Zoro to remain on the defensive.
It was a terrifying, relentless offense; a single misstep would leave Zoro cleaved in two.
Zoro, meanwhile, was a blur of green and white, dodging continuously, his mind racing as he attempted to find a way to break through the axe's wide, defensive arc and close the distance.
Only by getting in close, inside the range of that monstrous, whirling weapon, could he deliver a fatal strike.
Zoro knew this—did Blood Slaughter not? Of course he did.
The pirate captain, for all his brute strength, was a cunning fighter.
He gave Zoro no opening whatsoever, keeping him at the perfect distance where the chain-axe was most effective.
Whoosh…
At that moment, another attack followed.
The axe's blade, returning from a wide swing, grazed Zoro's arm. Blood sprayed from a shallow cut.
Yet, as the blood flew, Zoro could no longer suppress a cold, predatory smirk.
A glint flashed in his eyes. He had been waiting for this exact angle.
With a powerful, explosive push from his legs, he didn't dodge sideways; he leaped high into the air.
"One-Sword Style: Hiryu: Kaen (Flying Dragon—Blaze)!"
Blood Slaughter had been guarding against every conceivable close-quarters approach, sealing off every angle on the ground—but he'd forgotten about the one place he couldn't defend: the space directly above him.
Finally, Zoro had seized his chance.
Mid-air, Zoro positioned Wado Ichimonji behind him.
A surge of power, a focused intent, seemed to envelop his body, forming the illusory shape of a blue, coiling dragon.
Then, he descended like a meteor, his blade aimed straight for the exposed Blood Slaughter below.
"Damn it…!"
A flicker of genuine fear flashed in Blood Slaughter's eyes.
There was no time to retract his heavy axe, which was still at the apex of its swing.
With no other choice, he frantically yanked the chain controlling the weapon and raised the axe's thick haft overhead, attempting to block the strike.
Clang…
Zoro's sword slammed into the axe handle.
The combination of Zoro's raw strength and the unstoppable, gravity-assisted force of his descent sent even the mighty, three-meter-tall Blood Slaughter stumbling back several steps before he could regain his footing.
"Two-Sword Style: Sai Kuru (Bull Horn)!"
But Zoro, a master of momentum, had already landed.
He steadied himself in a low stance for only a fraction of a second before pressing the advantage.
With a roar, he charged forward like an enraged bull, his two other katanas now drawn and held high like horns, moving at a blinding speed.
As he passed the still-reeling Blood Slaughter, he unleashed over eight powerful, piercing strikes in an instant, targeting the pirate's chest, neck, and torso.
The battle ended in a flash.
Blood Slaughter, his body riddled with deep, fatal wounds, collapsed with a thunderous crash, his axe clattering uselessly to the wharf.
At the exact same time, Lina, now in her full hybrid form, launched her own counterattack.
Gripping her sword with both hands, her new, powerful muscles tensing, she shouted, "One-Sword Style: Serpent Flash!"
She entered a state of rapid, unpredictable movement, her body low to the ground, zigzagging in a disorienting, serpentine path.
It became impossible for Kasli, whose fighting style was based on brawling, to anticipate where she would appear next.
A trace of panic flashed across Kasli's face.
He was a brawler, not a speed-fighter. But at the last possible moment, his instincts took over.
As Lina's blade flashed from his blind spot, slashing toward his neck, he threw a desperate, iron-clad punch to intercept it.
Swish…
Half of his fist, along with the iron gauntlet, was cleanly severed.
"Ah—!"
Kasli let out a guttural scream, his eyes filled with disbelief. He stared at the stump of his hand.
The gauntlet... it was forged from refined iron, a special alloy that was nearly impervious to blades. It had shattered countless swords.
Yet now, it had been sliced apart, along with his hand, as easily as if it were made of tofu.
Zoro, having already finished his own battle, happened to witness this scene.
His eyes widened, and his pupils trembled.
"Iron Cutting?" he breathed, his voice filled with shock.
He hadn't even reached that level himself yet.
Never had he imagined that this beautiful, beastly female swordswoman had already that strong.
It left him utterly shocked, and a fierce, competitive fire lit within him.
Lina, however, didn't stop.
Her killing intent was absolute.
After landing her strike, her body spun 360 degrees, using the momentum to bring her blade around in a gleaming, horizontal arc.
A single, clean slash sealed Kasli's throat.
He clutched his neck, a gurgling sound escaping his lips, and collapsed.
"Huh?"
At that moment, as the adrenaline began to fade, Lina noticed something odd.
She looked over to where Lancelot had been.
She saw him standing over the unconscious Red Fox and the other low-bounty pirates... but Matthew, the captain who had been struck down by Lancelot's Iai-slash, the man who had been lying motionless on the ground... had somehow vanished.
Her expression hardened.
"Lancelot! Matthew is gone!"
Then she heard it—the distinct, rising sound of a powerful wind.
But the weather was clear and calm, with not a cloud in the sky.
Where was this wind coming from?
She looked up.
'Well, damn.'
The supposedly "dead" Matthew was now standing atop a swirling, miniature whirlwind, soaring rapidly into the sky, already a hundred feet above them.
For a brief moment, Lancelot's eyes went blank with shock.
'Seriously?!'
He had assumed the man was dead, just like Blood Slaughter.
He never expected to encounter a Devil Fruit user—let alone a Paramecia user—like this, in the weakest of the four seas.
"Holy shit!"
Once the initial shock wore off, Lancelot was genuinely stunned.
Judging by the man's clumsy escape and his lack of offensive techniques, he must have eaten his Devil Fruit not long ago.
He hadn't even begun to develop any powerful techniques yet.
Otherwise, with an ability like this, he'd be tearing through the East Blue like a literal hurricane, a one-man natural disaster.
"Interesting…" Lancelot's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, a predatory, calculating smile touching his lips.
He'd been searching for a pirate strong enough to serve as his enforcer, a "white glove" to do his dirty work, someone to manage the underbelly of the East Blue for him.
This guy... Matthew... he might not be much now, but the potential was undeniable.
Too bad.
No one present had the ability to fly.
They could only watch helplessly as he escaped over the island.
"Sigh…" Lancelot couldn't help but sigh. If only he knew the Six Powers.
He could have chased after him with Moon Walk (Geppo).
'Looks like I'll need to find a way to acquire those techniques', he thought.
Given his new status as an Inspector and his father's "privileged" connections, obtaining the Navy's Six Styles training methods shouldn't be too difficult.
After Matthew's surprising departure, the four of them—Lancelot, Lina, Gin, and Zoro—quickly dealt with the remaining, terrified enemies.
Then, Lancelot walked up to Zoro, who was cleaning his blades.
"Interested in working for me?"
Zoro paused, opening his mouth to give a gruff refusal, but Lancelot cut him off.
"Don't answer yet. Hear me out first. Let me list the benefits."
With that, he glanced meaningfully at the two cheap, broken katanas at Zoro's waist.
"One: I can equip you with legendary swords. Meito. Two: By following me, you'll have the chance to learn from Great Swordsmen and, eventually, even Sword Masters. Three: I'll take you to a wider world, the Grand Line, where you can face true powerhouses. A place where you can even challenge the world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye Mihawk."
With each point Lancelot listed, Zoro's eyes grew brighter, his gruff demeanor faltering.
Honestly, all three were incredibly tempting to him.
They were, in order, his most immediate need, his intermediate goal, and his ultimate dream.
Then Lancelot stepped closer and held out his own twin blades—Frost Demon and Flame Dragon—letting them thrum with their latent power.
Zoro's eyes lit up instantly.
He was a swordsman; he could feel the quality radiating from the blades.
He'd already noticed earlier that the two swords in Lancelot's hands were anything but ordinary.
Lancelot couldn't help but chuckle softly at this.
"Though these two aren't among the 12 Supreme Grade or 21 Great Grade blades, they're still in the 50 Skillful Grade (Ryo Wazamono) class. As long as you follow me, I will find you similar blades. Even Great Grade (O Wazamono) ones."
At this point, Lancelot could barely suppress the manic, excited smile spreading across his face.
A sudden, brilliant realization had just struck him.
'Holy shit!' he thought.
'I actually forgot! Loguetown! Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu! Both of them are Skillful Grade Swords!'
Once he got back, he would acquire them immediately.
Then, wouldn't the new sword spirits be his? And wouldn't the system rewards follow?