The first to charge into the town, seize more money, gain the captain's reward, become the captain's trusted confidant… obtain a Devil Fruit and become the most powerful pirate in the world—that is, the Pirate King.
The pirates charging at the very front were already indulging in beautiful fantasies when, all of a sudden, they saw several heads emerge from within the small town.
Bang! Bang! Bang…
Two blossoms of blood exploded on the foremost pirate, both in the chest. His physical toughness wasn't anything special—two lead shots were more than enough to take his life.
Four others shared his fate. Three died on the spot; one was probably hit in the shoulder, screaming in agony and rolling on the ground.
The charging formation hesitated for a moment, then continued to rush forward.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. After firing one round, muskets need to be reloaded—charge while you have the chance!"
The formation advanced again.
Bang! Bang bang…
Contrary to their hopes, the muskets did not fall into a reloading lull but kept firing. Six more were hit, and this time not a single one survived—all turned into cold corpses.
"Something's not right, these guns are firing from pretty far away."
"And it looks like they haven't even reloaded."
Among low-tier pirates, muskets were an enormous threat—especially in Sea Circle Calendar Year 1504, when technology was still sixteen years away from 1520. Muskets like these were simply terrifying.
"What are you all standing around for? Anyone who doesn't charge forward, I'll split you with one axe!"
Axe Potter of the Axe Pirates slammed his massive axe into the ground, carving a huge gash into the earth.
Harry pulled out a short musket.
"I'll count to three. Whoever's at the back then gets shot dead on the spot."
Under the oppressive force of the two captains, the pirate crew of over a hundred men had no choice but to step forward.
Bang!
"It's too far—our muskets can't reach!"
"Forget it, just charge. The captains' muskets can reach."
As they spoke, a gunshot rang out from behind. The Blood Coral captain shot dead a man who had fallen to the rear.
Harry never hesitated in matters like this—when he said he'd shoot, he shot.
"Keep going. There'll be a second shot in a moment."
"Kill them! Go all out!"
They had always had smooth sailing in the Thorn Rose sea region. Today's battle made them recall those brutal fights back on the main routes.
"Fire all the lead shots! Absolutely do not let these guys rush in!"
"Vane-sama will be here soon. We must hold them back—hold them!"
The Rocket Team foot soldiers' willpower was exceptionally strong. The long muskets in their hands could fire three lead shots in succession, and each of them also carried a short musket that could likewise fire consecutively.
Once the long musket's lead shots were spent, they pulled out the short musket—at that moment, the distance was just right.
For a time, the gunfire of ten men never stopped. Only after the allied pirate group suffered over forty casualties—dead or wounded on the ground—did they finally reach the nearest point.
The two pirate captains at the back didn't look good. The casualties were a bit too heavy—after all, the enemy had only a handful of people.
"I didn't expect this Big Blade Pirates group to have such good muskets. If we could get our hands on them…"
"We split the muskets evenly. If you want them all, then once we find a Devil Fruit, the fruit is mine and all the muskets are yours."
That was, of course, impossible. Muskets were good, but they were nowhere near as valuable as a Devil Fruit.
"You trash—while I'm here, don't even think about entering the town."
Tant stood at the very front holding a great blade. It was Buri's blade. He still found it a bit awkward to use, but it certainly looked intimidating. One sweeping slash forced many back.
The other three foot soldiers guarded Tant's sides. The four of them could barely block the entrance while their comrades behind them were reloading lead shots. As long as they bought a little time, they could use the muskets again to suppress the pirates.
With a swing of his great blade, Tant sent two pirates who tried to approach flying away. Fortunately, those two reacted quickly enough to block with their weapons—otherwise, they would have been cut clean in two.
"Come on! If you're not afraid of death, then step up!"
"You've got some strength—but it's not enough."
Axe Potter leapt forward, the great axe in his hands swinging into a streak of cold light.
This time, Tant hurriedly raised his great blade to defend himself.
Clang!
Tant's weapon flew from his hands, and he staggered backward, nearly falling to the ground.
Axe Potter said with some appreciation,
"You took one axe from me and didn't fall. You've got some skill. Don't stick with Big Blade Buri—join my pirate crew as a combatant."
Tant spat back disdainfully,
"One axe couldn't even knock me down and you still want me to follow you? Trash pirates like you—Vane-sama takes them down one punch each."
Who was Vane? The Big Blade Pirates' vice-captain? But the vice-captain of the Big Blade Pirates didn't seem to be named Vane.
Among pirates, they all knew each other's bounties. They had some impression of the Big Blade Pirates, but didn't think much of it. Changing a vice-captain was nothing unusual—as long as the captain didn't change, it wasn't a big deal.
"Then go die."
Axe Potter raised his axe, about to give Tant a "center part."
A yellow, somewhat short figure rushed out from behind and punched the flat of Potter's axe. The impressive force made Potter's entire body tilt along with the axe.
"What is that thing?"
Potter and Harry saw a creature that looked like a small leopard standing upright.
"A Devil Fruit user? No—that can't be. How could there be such a short Devil Fruit user?"
They had seen Devil Fruit users before. None could be this small. This looked more like some kind of feline creature they had truly never seen.
Tant was overjoyed. "Electabuzz!"
During this period, he had taken quite a beating from Electabuzz. He now regarded Electabuzz as his very first teacher. That move just now was Electabuzz's well-practiced Million-Ton Punch… The name sounded a bit exaggerated. Tant felt it should probably be called One-Ton Punch, but that didn't stop Electabuzz from being awesome—after all, its strongest ability was electricity.
"What kind of monster…"
Monster? Then taste Electabuzz's electricity.
Just as Electabuzz was about to give the pirates present a reinforced electric shock—
...
Vane's figure descended from the sky.
When Meowth went to find him, Vane was already on his way back, so one man and one cat quickly met up, immediately setting the Bullfish King aside and rushing back.
"Step away for a moment and more free labor and bounties come knocking. Do you two have bounties?"
Potter: "Brat, are you asking about my bounty? I'm Axe Potter, bounty of 21 million Belly. Won't you get scared and cry?"
Harry: "Mine's 23 million—higher than his. Want our heads? Don't get too arrogant, brat."
Vane looked far too young. The two captains didn't take him seriously at all.
In their eyes, the strong had big muscles and were older. Vane had neither—both signs of weakness.
"Meowth, Electabuzz, don't let the pirates escape. These are all your research funds."
"Meow—my research funds."
As the two captains were still wondering how a cat could talk, Vane moved—closing in on Axe Potter at a speed that looked blindingly fast to them.
A drop of cold sweat instantly appeared on Axe Potter's forehead. At the same time, his muscles reacted reflexively, and the great axe in his hands slashed toward Vane.
Vane's hand traced a blue arc of light. The axe that had been aimed at him was diverted by the light and chopped off to the side. Potter hurried to pull the axe back—but Vane's fist was already planted under his chin.
Boom!
Axe Potter's towering 2.5-meter body spun through the air like a twisted rope, rotating two and a half times before crashing to the ground.
"How… is this possible."