Kyle ignored the panicked townsfolk and walked straight toward the harbor.
The thunder of cannon fire and the screams of civilians didn't make him hesitate—instead, they lit a dangerous spark in his golden eyes.
Days of drifting, hunger, and confusion needed an outlet.
And these pirates had delivered themselves right to him.
"Oi, look at this shop—must be loaded!"
Near the docks, several Black Shark pirates kicked open the door of a store and rushed inside, grinning as they prepared to loot.
Kyle appeared silently behind them.
His ripple-sense spread outward like invisible water, locking onto their weapons—and the weak points in their bodies.
The moment he willed it—
The pirate in front raised his cutlass, only for it to start buzzing violently.
Crack!
The blade shattered from the inside, exploding into metal fragments that clattered to the floor.
"M-my sword… what the hell?!"
Before he could even finish speaking, a strange numbness spread through his organs—followed by crushing pain, as if an invisible hand were squeezing his insides.
He collapsed, blood bubbling from his mouth and nose.
His companions fell one after another, twitching and bleeding, without even knowing what had hit them.
Kyle didn't even slow down.
"There! That kid did it!"
"Shoot him!"
Gunfire and blades turned toward him.
Kyle didn't dodge.
At the instant bullets and steel reached him, his body blurred—becoming translucent, rippling like heat-hazed air.
The bullets passed straight through him.
The swords cut nothing but waves.
"H-he's a ghost!"
Panic spread.
Kyle moved.
Each flicker of his form meant another pirate dropping—collapsed lungs, shattered ribs, blood seeping silently from eyes and ears.
"Too slow. Too weak."
He stopped and thrust both palms forward.
Three compressed shockwaves tore through the air.
The group of pirates ahead was swallowed by the blast and smashed into nearby buildings, which collapsed in clouds of splintered wood and dust.
The harbor fell silent.
Then—
"I'm not done yet!"
A wave of dizziness hit Kyle.
Blackness crept into his vision.
Damn it… too much output. No food, no stamina.
The Black Shark captain snarled, raising his massive anchor.
"Kill him! Now!"
A blade flashed behind Kyle.
A tall, thin swordsman stepped out—his sword coated in black Armament Haki.
Since when do random mobs have Haki?!
Kyle twisted—but the blade still cut his side. Blood soaked his shirt.
"Heh… your power's scary, kid," the swordsman sneered. "But now you're finished."
Kyle gritted his teeth.
Then—
A shadow dropped from above.
CLANG!
A figure blocked the blade.
A man in a familiar straw hat.
Kyle's eyes went wide.
"E–Ace?!"