"Big news, everybody!!!"
Buffalo's high-pitched shriek brought the whole crew running to crowd around the newspaper.
A few minutes later, the handful of them who showed up were all wearing the exact same shell-shocked faces—except Lao G noticed Merlin's expression was weirdly calm. He couldn't help asking, "You seriously not shocked at all?"
Merlin shot him a glance and snorted. "What, you want me to squeeze out a couple fake tears right here for you?"
He had zero interest in explaining his take on the whole Mary Geoise mess to the guy.
Rosinante, on the other hand, had this strange little smirk on his face—like he was low-key enjoying the chaos.
Merlin caught it and grinned. "You look pretty damn happy."
The familiar tone hit Rosinante right in the pride. He glanced at Merlin, then rolled his eyes and muttered, "None of your damn business."
A second later—thud, thud, thud—Rosinante was swinging wild punches and kicks, but it was all useless.
A couple minutes after that, Rosinante was crouched on the deck, face black-and-blue, staring up at the sky like he wanted to cry. Why the hell did I open my big mouth? His cheeks hurt like hell. He cupped both hands over his swollen face and groaned.
Everyone else on deck was either twitching at the corner of their eyes or trying (and failing) to hide their laughter. Some just looked plain done with the whole thing.
The Mary Geoise incident wasn't something they'd lived through, so after the initial shock wore off, the crew went right back to business as usual.
Thanks to the Donquixote Family's North Blue intel network, they'd already sailed into the waters where the target pirates were operating. By three in the afternoon, an uninhabited island came into view on the horizon—complete with a three-masted pirate ship beached on the shore.
The Hurricane Pirates.
Captain: Hurricane Asde—bounty 41 million Berries.
Vice-Captain: Gale Dali—bounty 32 million Berries.
A rising crew of about two hundred that had popped up in the North Blue over the last couple of years.
As their own ship drew closer, the enemy lookout spotted them.
BOOM!
A cannonball screamed from the pirate ship's gunport.
Seconds later it was streaking straight at them—until Lao G's burly figure shot forward like a rocket. In a flash he was in front of the shell. With a loud "G!!!" he spun mid-air and kicked the damn thing to pieces in a burst of smoke and fire.
He landed back on the deck, completely unscathed, and shot Merlin a smug little glance.
Only for his face to darken instantly—because Merlin wasn't even looking. The show-off had performed for thin air. Lao G grumbled under his breath, "Damn brat, always too busy flirting…"
Merlin heard every word. He just gave the old man a quick side-eye, then turned back to Monet with a soft smile. "You said you wanted to fight? Go for it. I've got your back—cut loose."
Monet gripped Fubuki a little tighter. A cold glint flashed in her eyes.
But when she looked at Merlin, that ice melted instantly into warm spring water. A beautiful smile spread across her face. "Got it!"
At the same time, up on the bow, Buffalo wheeled a cannon into place. Gladius adjusted the angle, loaded a shell, lit the fuse—BOOM!
A perfect arc sailed over and detonated right on the enemy deck. Screams erupted instantly.
While the pirates were still reeling, their ship surged forward and slammed into the enemy hull with a deafening CRASH!
Gladius's legs swelled to their limit. He leaped sky-high.
BOOM!
The explosive shockwave launched him like a rocket straight onto the higher pirate deck. The moment he landed, explosions and screams started blasting from the other side.
Monet glanced at Merlin once, then charged. She sprinted, planted a foot on the railing, and launched herself five meters straight up. Left hand hooked the enemy railing—she flipped over the side like it was nothing.
Merlin followed right behind her, but he made it look effortless—one casual jump and he was already perched on the railing.
Below, Gladius was blasting pirates left and right with explosive punches. Monet was already chasing one guy down, Fubuki flashing cold light as she slashed.
Seconds later Lao G, Rosinante, and the rest poured over the side and joined the fray.
Lao G tore through the pirates like a tiger in a flock of sheep—no one lasted a single punch. Until the enemy captain, Hurricane Asde, charged him with a blade. Lao G just grinned and started beating the guy senseless.
Merlin only glanced at them before turning his attention to Monet.
She'd just finished one pirate when a tough-looking bastard stepped up—Gale Dali.
The two-meter-tall pink-haired youth wielded a pair of sailor's cutlasses. A storm of heavy, ringing CLANGs hammered down on Monet's raised guard.
Monet's eyes stayed ice-cold. She danced in tight circles, adjusting Fubuki's angle with every block and sneaking in counter-cuts whenever she could. Even though the guy had her beat in size and raw power, she held her ground like a beast.
"Filthy bitch—die already!"
Dali rained down slashes so fast the air screamed. His eyes burned with jealousy as he stared at the gorgeous, master-forged katana in her hands. He could tell at first clash that her blade was worth ten of his.
"Stupid whore, that treasure's wasted on you!"
Insults flew as fast as his blades while he pressed the attack with everything he had.
Monet's gaze grew even colder. Her cuts became sharper, more vicious. Suddenly she lifted Fubuki with both hands to block his double overhead strike.
The force bent her waist. Her face flushed red with effort. Dali's mouth twisted into a savage grin.
He raised both arms high and brought them crashing down again—
Monet's pupils shrank. She stomped the deck and back-flipped away just in time.
The cutlasses missed, but Dali was already charging, cracking planks under his boots. Cold steel flashed again and again, boxing her into a corner of the deck.
Merlin narrowed his eyes. She held out longer than I expected.
He started forward, ready to step in.
But the fight flipped on a dime.
Dali thought he had her trapped. After knocking Fubuki aside, excitement lit his face. He followed the falling sword with his eyes—because in his head, a swordsman without a blade was useless.
Monet exploded forward.
THUD!
Her fist smashed straight into his nose. Dali screamed in agony and staggered back.
She chased him down, ignoring the wild slashes that carved shallow cuts across her arms. She closed the distance, drove her knee up between his legs with a sickening CRACK, and the twin cutlasses clattered to the deck.
Dali's eyes bulged. He dropped to his knees.
Monet raised her leg high and brought the thick heel of her boot smashing down on the back of his skull.
His face slammed into the deck with a dull thump.
He didn't move again.
Monet had learned Merlin's lessons well—finish the job. She scooped up one of his fallen blades, swung once, and a head rolled free.
The moment the vice-captain died, a handful of gunmen behind her roared and opened fire.
BANG BANG BANG BANG—
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—
Merlin was already there, standing in front of her, Fubuki hanging loosely at his side. His eyes stayed calm. Veins bulged on his sword arm.
A dark-red flying slash tore through the air.
In a blink, the gunmen were sliced clean through at the waist.
The surrounding pirates who'd noticed froze in terror.
Merlin glanced around, then looked at Monet. Black flames licked over the long gash on her shoulder, absorbing the injury. He smiled. "Not bad. But you still need to stay sharper."
Monet blinked, then looked away with a faint blush. "I thought you were gonna chew me out…"
Merlin shook his head. "That guy was no pushover. He only slipped up because he got greedy for your sword."
Monet scanned the deck—battle basically over. She sighed. "My training still isn't enough."
She looked up at Merlin, eyes shining with hope. "When can I start learning Haki?"
Merlin pulled his gaze off the corpse Lao G had just finished pounding and smiled at her. "Your Armament's still a little soft, but we can start Observation Haki anytime. You ready to suffer for it?"
Monet stared at him without blinking, then laughed happily. "When do we start?"
"Whenever you want."
She gave a firm little nod. "Perfect!"
She walked over, picked up Fubuki, and checked the flawless blade. Then she glanced at Dali's chipped, ordinary cutlasses on the ground. Warmth filled her eyes.
Even someone stronger than me was using junk blades…
Her gaze softened like water as it drifted to Merlin's back.
By then every pirate on the ship was dead.
Merlin cupped his hands and shouted across the deck to Gladius, "We've been sailing a while. Let's crash on this island tonight!"
Gladius turned, nodded. "Sounds good!"
The fighting was over.
They started stripping the ship of supplies.
Since they'd made their deal earlier, Merlin stayed out of the looting.
He looked at the dense forest covering the island beyond the beach, then tilted his head toward Monet. "Want to take a walk?"