"Haruno-san!!" A figure shot out from the side.
Hayama Hayato.
His blonde hair flashed an arc of light in the sun, his face filled with resolve. He positioned himself precisely in front of Haruno.
"Hayama-kun?!" Yui cried out in the distance.
Hayato didn't look back.
His hands spread wide, he spat wind blades to barely resist the flying slash, but in less than half a second, his entire body was swallowed by that roaring slash.
"Pfft—"
Blood exploded in the air like a blooming red flower.
Hayama Hayato's body was carried by the residual force of the slash, flying past Haruno.
Haruno's expression changed slightly. She turned and rushed over, only to see a horrifying diagonal gash on Hayato's chest, extending from his left shoulder to his right rib, blood gushing uncontrollably.
"Ha... Haruno-san..." Hayama's lips quivered, dark red blood foam seeping from the corner of his mouth. "You're... safe... that's good..."
His eyes were already glazing over, but the corner of his mouth still held a faint smile.
A simp's smile.
Haruno looked down at Hayato, collapsed on the ground, her expression quite complex.
"Hayato..." She said softly, her eyes reddening, tears welling up but not falling.
The MILFs' group watching from the rear were heartbroken by this scene.
However, Haruno's thoughts were:
'It's over.'
'He's dead.'
'No, how can he die?'
Haruno's eyelashes finally couldn't bear the weight of her tears. A drop fell onto Hayato's face.
Seeing this tear, Hayato's smile deepened.
"Haruno-san... you cried for me..."
With his last ounce of strength, he raised his hand to touch Haruno's cheek.
"Hayato." Haruno's voice was very soft. "If you die... how can I use you to increase my favorability with the Commander?"
Hayato's hand froze in mid-air.
His pupils suddenly widened. His glazed eyes refocused in that final moment.
Hayato's lips trembled violently. He wanted to say something, but only a gurgling sound of blood foam came from his throat.
His eyes stared fixedly at Haruno, those golden pupils once filled with love and affection now burning with intense unwillingness.
A few seconds later.
That hand suspended in mid-air finally fell limply.
Hayama Hayato was dead.
His eyes were wide open, the remnants of that smile still at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes held only anger and regret.
He died with his eyes open.
Haruno was silent for a moment.
Then she reached out and gently closed his eyelids.
"Don't look at me like that," She said softly. "You were willing, weren't you?"
"You bastard, you took Nozdon—"
Naturally, Roger was also feeling the rage.
"You're distracted while fighting me?"
Yu, in his Gun Devil form, appeared behind Roger very displeased and fired at him again.
However, compared to Reze and Rayleigh, who were at least able to trade blows, Yu, facing Roger, was clearly at a disadvantage.
Roger casually dodged the shot, not even using Observation Haki, just relying on his body's instinct. He sneered: "Kid who can turn into guns, your ability is quite troublesome, but your fighting style is far too easy to read."
With that, Roger swung his sword back, slicing off Yu's right gun-arm.
"Shut up!" Yu, who had always prided himself on being Makoto's number one fighter, was furious. His right foot also turned into a heavy gun, and he raised it, intending to hit Roger.
But Roger was faster. He also raised his foot and kicked Yu's calf, knocking him to the ground.
However, unlike his vice-captain, Roger didn't cut off his opponent's head. Instead, he turned and charged towards Makoto… he understood the principle of capturing the king first.
"Roger, stop!" Shakky and Gloriosa shouted simultaneously.
They knew very well that Makoto's strength was on a completely different level from his subordinates.
"Roar!!!"
Like the roar of an ancient beast, a giant skeleton coalesced around Makoto's body. Its crossed arms blocked Roger's slash.
Susanoo, Second Form.
"Tough! But it's not over yet!" Feeling Susanoo's hardness, Roger secretly increased his power, preparing to use his trump card… Conqueror's Haki infusion.
However, Makoto inside Susanoo was faster. He raised his hand, and in his palm appeared a rapidly spinning ball of energy wrapped in white blades.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Roger's expression changed. Using Susanoo's elbow as a support, he leaped back again, creating distance.
But the Rasenshuriken followed, forcing Roger to grip his sword with both hands and swing again to counter.
Boom!!!
The ultimate Wind Release Chakra and the violently explosive flying slash collided, causing the entire port to teeter on the brink of collapse.
Everyone stopped their actions and fled in the opposite direction.
Uesugi Raiha, who had no combat ability, rushed forward, grabbed her brother with the broken leg, and tried to pull him back.
But she was just an elementary school student... how could she have that much strength?
Fortunately, Hachiman and Saika, passing by, lent a hand.
A few seconds later, the shockwave gradually subsided.
Roger, landing back on the devastated ground, breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself: "What kind of move was that? I've never seen it before."
As soon as he finished speaking, Roger's expression changed dramatically, his pupils shifting back. At the same time, Shakky, Gloriosa, and others shouted: "Roger, behind you!"
Before Roger could turn his head, Makoto was already behind him: "You focused too much on the Rasenshuriken."
With that, grey-black energy surged from Makoto's body again, transforming into a giant with four limbs.
Susanoo, Fourth Form.
Bang!!!
Susanoo raised its arms high, and the erupting Susanoo chainsaws fell with a hum.
Roger didn't even have time to look... he could only rely on his Observation Haki, quickly coating his hands and sword with Armament Haki, raising his sword high to block.
Crash!!!
With that single saw, the harbor of Malad Island completely collapsed.
Makoto landed at the edge of the town, looking expressionlessly at the sea surface covered in debris.
Roger had completely plunged into the deep sea, unknown whether dead or alive.
But he wasn't an ability user, so he should be fine.
The Kuja Pirates looked at Makoto with even more fear in their eyes.
Not only because he had defeated Roger, but also because they knew very well that Makoto hadn't even used his full power.
Putting aside everything else, the giant he summoned was nowhere near the size he had shown when they first met.
Plop!
As Makoto expected, Roger soon floated up from the seabed, coughing up a lot of seawater.
Seeing his crew members already controlled by Makoto's men on the shore, even though Roger still had strength left, he didn't dare act rashly.
"What do you want?" After climbing ashore, Roger sheathed his sword and raised his hands in surrender.
Makoto didn't answer. He just signaled to his women, indicating they could go loot the Roger Pirates' ship, the Oro Jackson.
The women swarmed towards the large ship. As for the new players who hadn't played any role in the battle, like Chika, Moeha, and the Nakano sisters other than Yotsuba… they felt a bit embarrassed.
Makoto didn't say anything.
After all, whoever contributed more had the right to choose first.
He wouldn't give privileges just because these girls were pitiful.
If they found other Devil Fruits through some opportunity in the future, they could of course handle them themselves.
Soon, the Aizono sisters, Utaha, and others returned carrying chest after chest of gold, silver, and treasure.
Among them, the pure close-combat fighters Yotsuba and Ran carried the largest chests.
"Makoto-kun, we didn't find any Devil Fruits, just these treasures." Ran opened her chest, revealing glittering gold, silver, and jewels.
The eyes of Miyuki and Futaro, both from poor families, went wide.
Although this was like dirt to Makoto and the others, for poor people like them, it was wealth beyond their wildest dreams.
Makoto looked at the Roger Pirates with disgust: "You came to pay for play without even bringing the goods?"
"Who's paying for play? We came to save Shakky!" Gaban shouted angrily.
Smack!
As soon as he finished speaking, this third-in-command of the Roger Pirates received a slap from Yu: "Who allowed you to speak to Senpai like that?"
Beam laughed: "Haha! Ishigami, just because you lost, you don't have to take your anger out on the enemy, right?"
Yu's face darkened as he glared at Beam.
But the other wasn't afraid of him at all, still grinning and teasing him.
Everyone knew that what Makoto hated most was infighting among his own people. Even Yu dared not violate this iron rule.
"Senpai, should we chop them into mincemeat and throw them into the sea, like the pirates before?" Yu took a deep breath, calmed himself, and asked for instructions.
That's what they had done with the pirates who came earlier.
Gloriosa and Shakky's expressions changed dramatically… they didn't know the previous pirates, so their life or death was none of their concern.
But the Roger Pirates had a good relationship with their Kuja Pirates. It was truly hard to stand by and watch them die.
Fortunately, Makoto's next answer let them breathe a sigh of relief.
"No. They're still useful." Makoto said.
Not to mention that the system-given quest required the important pawn, Ace, so if Roger was gone, that would be a problem.
And indeed, there were other uses.
"Foreign Teacher."
"Yes, Boss!" Hearing Makoto call him, the Teddy Devil rushed over.
"Go tell the Marines here that I want to talk to their Fleet Admiral. One top-tier Devil Fruit for one Roger Pirates' executive."
That's right. If the pirates didn't have top-tier Devil Fruits, surely the Marines did?
Or the World Government did?
Trading a Roger Pirates' executive with a bounty exceeding one billion for one… thinking about it, it was a no-lose deal.
As for whether Roger would be imprisoned for life, Makoto wasn't worried. Since an ability user like Shiki could escape, Roger, as a non-ability user, could surely do it easily.
Speaking of which, wasn't his future son Ace handed over to the Marines by Blackbeard?
This was letting Roger experience his son's hardships in advance.
The Roger Pirates and Kuja Pirates had their expressions changed.
But even Gloriosa and Shakky, who were already somewhat acquainted with Makoto, dared not say anything.
They were afraid that if they tried to stop him, he might change his mind and just kill them directly.
"Understood, Boss!" The Teddy Devil grinned and led the Four Gay Bros into town. The last time, Makoto had sent them to contact the Marines, but he changed his mind halfway, so they hadn't gone.
"Makoto-kun, if we get Devil Fruits... how will they be distributed?" After the Four Gay Bros left, Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help but ask.
In the real world, she had been working as a housekeeper for Makoto.
But coming to another world again, Mrs. Yukinoshita found having no power at all was really inconvenient.
Not to mention being as strong as Reze or Kotonoha, but at least she should be able to protect herself, right?
At these words, everyone turned eager gazes towards Makoto.
Many of them didn't actually care about the Devil Fruits… for people like Reze and Ran, their current abilities were already sufficient.
But who Makoto gave the things to represented where they stood in his heart.