Plop—plop—plop—
"Ahhh!!!"
The sounds of bodies hitting the ground came one after another.
By the time Kaito Arisawa came to a stop, every remaining member of the Eight Treasures Navy on the street had collapsed. One after another, they writhed on the ground, screaming in agony—arms severed, legs cut off, blood pooling beneath them.
"What just happened? Why did they all fall at once?"
"It was the boss. The boss took them down!"
"So… so incredible!"
The Sword Gang members who had been ready to charge alongside Kaito stood frozen, eyes wide with shock as they stared at the enemies eliminated in an instant.
"Brother, when did you deal with my opponent?!"
Even Mangu was stunned at first. But when he noticed the blood dripping from the twin golden sabers in Kaito's hands, realization dawned on him.
He glanced toward the middle-aged man he had been fighting moments earlier—now lying on the ground, limbless and wailing in pain. Mangu walked toward Kaito, admiration clear in his eyes, though a trace of dejection lingered beneath it.
As a fiercely loyal subordinate, Mangu felt genuine joy seeing his brother grow stronger.
But he was also a warrior at heart.
He had been in the midst of a heated fight—only for his opponent to be eliminated without his involvement. His battle spirit had nowhere to go.
"…Ah."
Kaito noticed the look on Mangu's face and understood immediately.
"I might have gone a bit overboard," he admitted lightly. "The cuts were too clean."
He lowered the golden saber in his left hand while resting the one in his right against his shoulder.
"I got carried away and finished everyone off. But it doesn't matter. There should still be people on their ship at the port. I'll leave those to you."
In truth, Kaito had intended to use the Eight Treasures Navy as a whetstone for his men.
He didn't want to raise pampered soldiers.
He wanted warriors—men who had earned their strength through real bloodshed.
The problem was that he still hadn't fully adapted to the surge in his own power. If he wasn't careful, he used too much force.
It had been the same when he killed Boo earlier.
If he hadn't altered the direction of his slash at the last moment, the golden wave would not have merely destroyed the bar's roof—it might have split an entire building in town in half.
With that level of force, one opponent—or ten—made little difference.
He had wasted considerable power.
"Really? That's great!" Mangu's earlier gloom vanished instantly. His eyes lit up, his fighting spirit rekindled. "I'll handle the next group!"
"Good. Let's head there now," Kaito replied calmly.
He had high expectations for Mangu. Letting him hone himself further was something Kaito welcomed.
After assigning several men to clean up the battlefield and tend to the wounded, Kaito led Mangu and the others straight toward the port.
Naturally, the Eight Treasures Navy had stationed guards aboard their docked ship.
And as expected, Mangu soon found his opportunity.
Nearly a hundred men remained aboard the vessel. Among them were several fighters comparable to the red-haired officer and the middle-aged cadre from earlier.
But such numbers were hardly enough to threaten Kaito's forces.
This time, Kaito held back deliberately.
He positioned himself as a deterrent presence while leaving the main battle to Mangu and the Sword Gang members.
…
Later.
On the bloodstained deck of the captured ship, Kaito stood by the railing, gazing quietly at the endless sea stretching before him.
"Brother, the ship's been searched," Mangu's heavy footsteps approached from behind. "We found a large amount of treasure—and also the items you mentioned earlier."
Kaito withdrew from his thoughts and turned around.
Mangu stepped forward and handed him several stacked books.
Kaito's gaze fell immediately upon the top volume.
The title was clearly printed:
Armament Haki Cultivation Essentials.
A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.
Just as I thought… For the Eight Treasures Navy, Haki methods aren't some ultra-secret inheritance.
He had ordered the ship searched not for treasure—but to confirm whether manuals on Haki cultivation or the Eight-Impact Fist were aboard.
The appearance of this book proved his judgment correct.
"Well done," Kaito said, accepting the books. "Have the men wrap things up."
After Mangu left, Kaito briefly glanced through the remaining titles before returning to headquarters.
…
Inside the manor.
Kaito's training room—specially constructed for swordsmanship and physical conditioning—was silent.
He sat cross-legged on the polished floor, flipping through the books with keen interest.
Several other volumes lay beside him, already read.
"Although this clash with the Eight Treasures Navy will inevitably provoke Don Chinjao," he murmured to himself, "the gains are enormous. Even if I had to choose again, I'd do the same."
When he finished the final page, he placed the book aside, emotion flickering across his face.
The harvest was truly abundant.
Not only had he obtained the Armament Haki and Observation Haki cultivation methods he sought, but he had also acquired the Eight-Impact Fist—passed down for generations within the Eight Treasures Navy.
If this world were compared to a realm of martial arts—
Then among the countless physical combat styles that existed, the Eight-Impact Fist would unquestionably rank as a supreme-level technique.
With gains like this, Kaito had no regrets about provoking Don Chinjao.
The risks were high.
But the rewards—
Were even greater.
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