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"Captain Rocks D. Xebec, we have to break out!"
"If we keep this up we're dead. Every escape route is blocked by the Navy!"
"The longer we stall in here, the more reinforcements they'll bring!"
Their low, anxious shouts echoed inside the sealed-off building.
About thirty men crammed the once spacious hall shoulder to shoulder. They were all members of the Rocks Pirates. After getting pushed back again and again by the Navy, this building had become their final hiding place.
Now, with the Navy tightening the noose, the tension in the room felt suffocating.
"What if a Marine Admiral shows up!"
The trembling voice froze everyone in place. Fear flickered across their faces.
The Sabaody Archipelago was far too close to Marine Headquarters. Picking a fight here was always a huge risk. If things escalated, an Admiral could easily lead the assault.
Rocks, the man in the captain's hat, about thirty-something with a nasty scar carved across his cheek, glanced back at his crew and suddenly laughed.
"What are you all so scared of?"
"We haven't messed with any Celestial Dragons. An Admiral isn't going to waste his time on us."
"And this whole mess was started by the Jones Pirates anyway. Those lunatics caused it. The Navy's main forces are already tied up in Area 32."
He took a deep breath, a cruel smile appearing in his eyes.
"We're staying here for one reason. Let the Navy gather. Once they're all nice and crowded we wipe them out in one clean sweep."
The room went silent for a moment, then the pirates eased up, exhaling in relief.
"So many of our men died. We can't just let that go!"
Rocks's voice was cold.
He turned and looked at the mountain of civilian corpses piled behind them, licking his lips.
Killing civilians meant nothing to him. Only the Navy could satisfy the anger burning in his chest.
"That should be enough."
"Get ready to move."
Through a crack in the window, Rocks saw the Marine unit waiting only fifty meters away. He grinned, stood up, and raised his weapon.
"Kill every last Marine. Cut off their heads and pile them into a mountain of skulls."
His words made the pirates' eyes turn bloodshot.
But just as he finished speaking, the ceiling above them exploded. The entire top half of the building split apart as wood and stone rained down.
Screams filled the hall.
More than ten pirates were taken out instantly, some wounded, some killed outright. Rocks froze for a heartbeat before rage twisted his face.
Outside, the Marine officer leading the siege was just as stunned.
"Who did that? I didn't give the order to attack!"
The colonel stared at the figure suspended in midair, leg still extended from the downward strike, and felt his mind go blank.
His eyes were wide with shock.
The pirates were hiding in a six-story building. Yet with one kick that figure had nearly sliced the entire structure in half.
"I've never seen a Rankyaku that strong!"
In the next instant, the airborne figure vanished.
By the time Kyle appeared again, he was already standing in the very center of the Rocks Pirates.
Dust billowed everywhere, blocking everyone's view.
"It's a Marine!"
Someone shouted, followed immediately by frantic gunfire.
"Iron Body."
Kyle tensed his muscles. The bullets clanged off his skin like metal striking metal, each one crumpling as if it had hit solid steel.
"Is this guy even human?"
Seeing bullets fail to pierce him, the pirates' eyes widened in horror.
Kyle didn't give them a chance to react. His body blurred.
He reappeared in front of one pirate, grabbed the man's head, and slammed it down.
A thunderous crash blasted through the hall. Dust exploded upward and the entire building shook. Several pirates stumbled from the impact.
Rocks' pupils shrank. Terror crept into his eyes.
The Marine in the Justice cloak had crushed the skull of a man who had been one of their stronger fighters as if it were nothing.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Ochoku had an eighty million bounty!"
But the next moment, Rocks witnessed a scene he would never forget.
The young Marine, whose name he didn't even know, moved so fast Rocks couldn't track him.
With a single kick, the vice captain with a two hundred million bounty was sent flying out of the building, crashing through more than ten structures before slamming into the ground.
The rest of the crew fell even faster. In a flash they were all dead. Skulls crushed, organs pierced, heads blown open.
Five or six breaths. That was all it took for the Rocks Pirates to be completely wiped out. Only Rocks remained.
"Monster!"
Rocks's voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Oh?"
Kyle turned toward the lone surviving captain and smiled.
"I like that compliment."
Rocks sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself out of his panic. He glared wildly.
"I'm not like them!"
"I ate the Tetsu-Tetsu no Mi Fruit. My bones and body are as hard as steel."
Kyle raised a brow and let out a small laugh.
A heartbeat later his body vanished.
Soru.
When he reappeared he was right in front of Rocks D. Xebec, close enough to see the pirate's stunned expression.
The seastone gloves tightened on Kyle's fists with a soft crack.
He couldn't use Armament Haki yet, only sense it. Against Devil Fruit users, these gloves were his best weapon.
"Fist Bone."
"Break."
His cloak flared behind him as he swung.
No flourish, no technique. Just a clean, straightforward punch.
The seastone knuckles touched Rocks's face and his steel-hard body rippled like water, then caved in. His body slammed into the floor, the impact sending another violent tremor through the entire six-story building.
Kyle straightened slowly and looked down at the unrecognizable mess beneath him.
"I overestimated you."
He kicked through the wall in front of him and walked out past the stunned Marines.
"Salute!"
"Thank you, sir!"
The colonel at the front looked at him with blazing admiration.
Kyle waved a hand dismissively and left with Rocinante and T-Bone.
With the list in hand and Rocinante reporting their positions, Kyle headed toward the next group of supernovas.
Within the next half hour he easily took down two more pirate crews.
Then a Den Den Mushi transmission came in. The Jones Pirates had been captured by Vice Admiral Jonathan.
"So that means there's only one crew left."
He looked at the list. Only one name wasn't crossed out.
"They're in Area 45."
"Not far from here," Rocinante said.
Kyle sighed lightly.
"Taking down a crew that's actually known for being decent people... feels a bit complicated."
T-Bone hesitated. "Then, sir... what do you plan to do?"
"Our ship is still short a few cabin boys, isn't it?"
Kyle answered without actually answering the question.
T-Bone blinked. "What?"
Rocinante burst out laughing.
"Then I won't have to do chores anymore!"
Kyle scoffed.
"You're an apprentice Marine. You do apprentice Marine work."
"Rocinante, don't get ahead of yourself."
"..."
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