"Die, Marines!"
Buji and Sam, two officers of the Black Cat Pirates, had somehow managed to sneak up behind Lucci and launched a sudden, violent assault.
The result, however, was predictable.
Utilizing Kami-e, Lucci simply shifted his body slightly, evading the attack with the smallest possible movement. As the two pirates lunged forward, their attacks missed entirely, leaving them wide open and positioned directly in front of him.
"Shigan!"
Lucci thrust both hands forward simultaneously, his fingers striking the pirates precisely in their hearts. Blood erupted like fountains; by any measure, the two were beyond saving.
Lucci scanned the battlefield. Most of the pirates had already fallen, and the remaining twenty or so were gradually collapsing under the relentless pressure of the Marines. After all, they couldn't even handle a two-on-one fight earlier; facing a one-on-two disadvantage now was simply impossible.
The only remaining nuisance was Zango, the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates, who was still holding his own despite five Marines teaming up against him.
Just as Lucci prepared to intervene, a voice called out.
"Lucci, take Zango alive!"
"Understood!"
Hearing Sean's order, Lucci slowly lowered his right leg, which he had already begun to lift. Had it not been for the order, he would have ended Zango with a single Rankyaku, but since Sean indicated the man was still useful, he couldn't use lethal force.
Regardless, taking him down without killing him wouldn't take much effort.
"Soru!"
"Shigan: Madara!"
In a blink, Lucci appeared directly in front of Zango, unleashing a barrage of finger-strikes. Zango didn't even have time to react. In the next instant, blood holes riddled his shoulders, arms, and legs.
"Stop the bleeding. Don't let him die; the Commodore still needs to interrogate him!"
"Yes, Captain Lucci!"
Two Marines immediately rushed forward with shackles, while a medic sprinted toward them carrying a medical kit.
'''
Watching his crew be completely wiped out, Kuro frowned deeply.
Including the setup and the clash, barely three or four minutes had passed. His entire crew of nearly a hundred men, including his vice-captain, had been decimated. These Marines were significantly stronger than the ones in Loguetown.
However, since his subordinates were all down, it actually saved him the trouble of dealing with them.
"Nuki Ashi!"
With a slight sway of his body, Kuro vanished. He disappeared without making a single sound.
Across the entire field, only two people could track his movements: Sean and Lucci.
Even Lucci had to admit that while he could be faster than Kuro using Soru, he couldn't match Kuro's flexibility. Soru moved in straight lines, but Kuro's current movement was completely erratic. He shifted between straight and curved paths, changing direction abruptly and unpredictably.
Of course, if Lucci truly wanted to capture Kuro, it wouldn't take much effort. But since Sean had previously stated he would handle Kuro himself, Lucci had no intention of interfering. He would simply follow Sean's orders and protect the Marines.
"Hekireki!"
"Thunder Chess Path!"
BOOM!!
Massive bolts of lightning surged from Hekireki's blade, spreading rapidly across the surroundings. Soon, a grid of lightning, floating about half a meter above the ground, manifested before everyone's eyes.
It was a network of lightning composed of thirty-eight intersecting bolts, resembling a Go board. Each square was one meter wide and long, covering a vast area.
This was a technique Sean had developed by accident. It didn't focus on raw power, as maintaining a large-scale activation for a long period made high-power output unsustainable. However, despite the low power, it served a specific purpose—especially against high-speed opponents.
No matter how the enemy moved, they could not avoid contacting the lines of lightning that formed the grid. While the shocks were too weak to cause serious injury, every touch induced a slight numbness. As the number of contacts increased, the paralysis grew stronger.
The only drawback was that it couldn't hit aerial targets.
Even so, it was extremely effective against Kuro, as his Nuki Ashi required him to stay on the ground.
On the grid, the lines of lightning began to bend and stretch. Clearly, this was caused by Kuro colliding with the electric network during his high-speed movements.
Before long, Kuro's speed dropped significantly. Some of the Marines could even barely track him with their naked eyes. Partly because his legs had been numbed by repeated shocks, and partly because the lightning exerted a slight pulling effect, dragging against him and slowing him down.
At that moment, Sean raised his right hand and pointed at the decelerated Kuro.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
'Thump!'
Kuro's legs were suddenly bound mid-stride, sending him crashing violently onto the deck. But Sean wasn't finished.
"Bakudō #30: Shitotsu Sansen!"
Three pointed beams of light shot out from Sean's fingertip, striking Kuro's waist and both arms, pinning him firmly to the deck, unable to move.
"Seize him!"
Waving his hand to dissipate the Thunder Chess Path, Sean shouted to the nearby Marines.
"Yes, Commodore!"
Kuro was indeed fast—faster than many pirates from the New World. However, once his speed was neutralized, he had virtually no other means of defense. Several Marines rushed over, snapping handcuffs on his wrists and shackles on his ankles.
Once the Marines had finished, Sean released the Bakudō spells.
"Lucci, check the survivors from the 153rd Branch."
"Understood!"
The results returned quickly. Of the 105 personnel aboard the 153rd Branch warship, only two had survived.
One was the Lieutenant Commander whom Kuro had used as a decoy; he was currently unconscious and critically injured, receiving emergency treatment.
The other was an ordinary Marine who was virtually uninjured but seemed severely traumatized, shivering uncontrollably in a corner.
Sean looked at the man's face. He looked familiar...
'Could this guy be Morgan?'
Which meant Sean had arrived exactly when Kuro was implementing his plan. This was roughly three years before the start of the original story.
'Well, that explains it.'
"Navigator!"
"Yes, Commodore!"
"How far is the 153rd Branch from our current position?"
"Approximately 32 miles, sir!"
"Do we have enough men to man three ships simultaneously?"
"Two at most, Commodore!"
"Fine, two it is. We'll tow the third. We're heading back to the 153rd Branch first to return our comrades!"
"Yes, Commodore!"
Once all the fallen Marines had been recovered and the pirates dealt with, Sean assigned a portion of the men to the 153rd Branch warship. He had tow lines deployed, with two warships pulling the Black Cat Pirates' vessel as they set sail for the 153rd Branch.
A pirate ship was a valuable asset; it would be a waste to simply leave it behind. After all, such captures were one of the Marine's sources of funding. While they couldn't be repurposed as official warships, they could be sold to civilians.
In a world of pirates, ships were essentially hard currency. Furthermore, because the Marine typically sold captured pirate ships at a discount, they were highly sought after.
A medium-sized vessel like the one belonging to the Black Cat Pirates could easily fetch over twenty million Belly without any issue.