"Boom! Boom!"
Two Marine warships unleashed a relentless barrage, cannonballs screaming through the air toward the Thunder Pirates' ships.
"Captain! This is bad—the Marines' firepower is too fierce!"
"The closer we get, the more likely we'll be blown to bits!"
Crew members shouted nervously.
Red knew this perfectly well, but there was no turning back.
"If it really comes down to it, we'll ram Ship No. 2 straight into their warship!"
"Captain, absolutely not!" Lucky Drake cut him off. "That's a terrible deal—Ship No. 2 is worth at least five hundred million Beli!"
"Then what should we do? Ship No. 1 is old, but it's been with us forever—I can't bear to destroy it." Red muttered, still trapped in the idea of sacrificing a ship.
"Captain, listen—we don't need to crash anything. Leave this part to me! Just have the brothers keep firing."
Red didn't understand what Lucky Drake planned, but he trusted him.
"Alright! Everyone hold steady! Fire back!"
"Boom!! Boom!!"
Their four cannons roared, firing the twenty-something cannonballs they had.
On the Marine side, Colonel Nezumi sneered.
"Hmph. So they defeated Arlong—so what? Defying the Marines means death!"
Each Marine ship had six cannons—twelve total.
There was no way ordinary pirates could match that firepower.
"Continue bombardment!" Nezumi barked.
He was exhilarated. He had already seized Arlong's territory and prisoners. If he captured the Thunder Pirates too, his achievements would skyrocket.
He could practically see his promotion to Commodore.
But then—
"What—?!"
Colonel Nezumi's eyes widened sharply.
Because all the cannonballs he fired…
Were being cleanly sliced in half.
By a young man standing on the pirates' deck.
"What swordsmanship is that?! Who is he?!"
An ensign flipped through a logbook.
"Colonel! His name is Lucky Drake. Exact position unknown."
"Lucky Drake…?"
Nezumi scowled. "Bring me a flintlock rifle!"
"Yes, sir!"
A soldier rushed over with a long-barreled musket.
Other Marines whispered:
"I heard the Colonel trained at Marine HQ—his marksmanship is crazy!"
"Yeah! He can land a headshot at a hundred meters!"
"No way that pirate survives!"
Colonel Nezumi smirked proudly, enjoying the praise.
"Watch closely. THIS is how a marksman kills."
He aimed at Lucky Drake and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
At that exact moment—
A system alert rang in Lucky Drake's mind:
"Warning: Host is being ambushed. Prepare to defend."
Lucky Drake immediately sensed the danger.
He unleashed a full-powered slash—
aura, intent, and energy merged into one blade of light.
It sliced through the air—
Split the bullet perfectly in half—
And continued on, cutting Colonel Nezumi himself cleanly into two pieces.
Nezumi never even realized he was dead.
A thin line of blood appeared on his body—
Then he collapsed.
"C-Colonel?!"
"What happened?!"
"Who killed him?!"
The Marines panicked, trembling.
No one could believe the pirate swordsman could kill someone from dozens of meters away.
With their commander dead, the Marines lost all morale.
Their formation collapsed.
The Thunder Pirates quickly closed the distance.
"Captain, the Colonel is dead!" Lucky Drake called out casually, not revealing he did it.
"What? Nezumi is dead?!"
Red stared in disbelief. They had been too busy dodging cannon fire to notice.
"Yeah, the corpse is right there. My guess? Internal Marine politics. Someone took the chance to kill him."
"Ah… makes sense. He deserved it anyway."
Red jumped onto the Marine warship with a cannonball in one hand.
"What are you pirates doing?! We're Marines! Stop this or you'll be hunted down!"
A trembling ensign yelled.
"Shut up!"
"Your lives belong to the Thunder Pirates now. Move, and this cannonball grows legs!" Red roared.
The Marines froze completely.
"Awei! Get all treasure and supplies—move!"
"Yes, Vice-Captain!"
The pirates split into teams and began looting both warships.
Within minutes they collected:
— Dozens of cannonballs
— Twelve Marine cannons
— Dozens of sacks of food
— Flintlock rifles
— Thousands of bullets
— Over a dozen crates of treasure
Treasure clearly stolen earlier by Colonel Nezumi from Arlong Park.
After completely stripping the ships—
The Thunder Pirates sailed off fully loaded.
~~--------------------------------
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