Chapter 516: They Escaped, But They Did Not Completely Escape
When Yahiko's body reformed again as if nothing had happened, no one was really surprised.
This strange immortality had always been the signature of the Third Division.
Now that their captain could come back this casually, it only confirmed what everyone had already accepted.
Resurrection was part of Yahiko's kit.
"I told you, if you want to leave, you need our captain's permission first."
"You came without asking, and you expect to walk away just like that?"
Yahiko looked at Feng Yue with a calm face, his tone unhurried.
Hearing that, Feng Yue was truly about to cry.
It was painfully obvious that Ryuunosuke was the one pulling the strings behind the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
And Yahiko wanted him to go see Ryuunosuke in person?
Was that not the same as a sheep that had already lost its wool and broken its horns walking straight into the wolf's den to apologize?
"Captain Yahiko, I really was just passing by," Feng Yue said bitterly.
"I honestly have no idea what you people are planning to do here."
He did have designs on taking advantage of the chaos, that part he could not deny.
But he had never intended to make enemies of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
He had already seen their power with his own eyes.
For the first time in hundreds of years, the great romantic swordsman of the world felt suffocated.
He was strong, overwhelmingly so by normal standards.
Yet he had stumbled into a crew of monsters.
"You have two choices," Yahiko said, chakra starting to surge around him as he raised his hand.
"First, keep fighting me. Beat me and you can leave."
"Second, give up on fighting me, follow me to see the captain, and if the captain agrees to let you go, then you walk away."
As his words fell, the entire force field around them shifted with Yahiko at the center.
"Click."
A crisp sound cut through the air.
A slash arrived like a line drawn across the world.
Yahiko, who had been speaking only a heartbeat earlier, was sliced cleanly in half.
His body split open, then dissolved.
He reformed a moment later, but that did not change the fact that the attack just now…
"Atostana."
Feng Yue's expression tightened.
He could feel that aura all the way into his bones.
That slash had passed right across his face.
Even the muscles on his cheeks could feel how sharp it was.
Only that man could release a cut like that.
"It seems we have an extraordinary guest."
"Are you also from Evictors?"
Yahiko's voice was relaxed on the surface, but inside he was not calm at all.
He had been cut down without feeling anything.
If the attacker had chosen to follow up on him instead of stopping after one stroke, Yahiko doubted he could have endured it.
Was that level of power really something a human could control?
"Boom."
At that moment, Ryuunosuke appeared beside Yahiko in a blur.
"Captain."
Seeing him arrive, Yahiko's eyes lit up with relief, but there was also guilt in them.
He knew that if he had not been handled so easily by that unknown swordsman, or if he had not failed to respond, the captain would never have needed to come.
"Yeah."
"Welcome back to the team, Yahiko."
"Leave the rest to me for now."
"If you are still itching for a fight, then go find Feng Yue."
"You had better move quickly."
Ryuunosuke smiled as he spoke.
The guilt and nervousness in Yahiko's heart froze and turned into confusion.
Why did they have to hurry?
Did the romance of battle evaporate that fast?
With that in mind, Yahiko turned his head and followed Ryuunosuke's gaze toward Feng Yue.
He was stunned.
At some point, the rest of the Dragon Hunter Pirates had appeared and closed in.
They had completely surrounded Feng Yue's so called romantic world.
From every direction, a sea of terrifying presences loomed over him.
It looked very much like an organized group beatdown.
Feng Yue's earlier sense of security, born from Atostana's sudden appearance, shattered on the spot.
This was worse than before.
Earlier he had only been facing Yahiko.
Now he was surrounded by an entire army of Tyrannosaurus rex pretending to be human.
"What are you trying to do?"
"You people from the Dragon Hunter Pirates!" Feng Yue shouted, true panic creeping into his voice.
"Do not go too far. If you want to fight, come and face me one on one!"
He had really thought that he had brushed past disaster when Atostana's slash descended.
Yet when he turned around, he discovered that what he had escaped was not danger at all, but simply the mouth of the first wolf.
Now he was standing in the middle of a pack.
"You are the one who said it earlier, we are members of a pirate crew," Ryuunosuke said lightly.
"Since when have pirates followed standardized and regulated rules of combat?"
"Mr Feng Yue, Mr Jin have already become senior sparring partners on our ship."
"As friends, you should stay together and keep him company."
His tone was almost gentle, but the words did not leave any gap to squeeze through.
"The path is winding and circuitous," Meliodas added with a grin.
"We originally wanted to let Captain Yahiko enjoy himself for a while, and now that he has had his fun, it is our turn."
"You…"
Feng Yue was so furious that he could not even string his words together.
They were pirates.
What was he doing trying to talk about fairness and rules with pirates?
It was completely ridiculous, and he knew it.
"I am sorry, Mr Feng Yue. You are simply too strong," Najenda said politely, stepping forward.
"Therefore, we have decided that members from several squads will take action together."
"Please, do not despair too much."
As soon as those words fell, the enormous Susanoo behind her fully manifested.
It charged forward, the Yasakani no Magatama glittering and the Ame no Murakumo raised high.
The others moved the instant Najenda struck.
Close combat monsters rushed in at the front.
Long range fighters and heavy firepower units opened up from behind.
Merlin's spells began to rain down.
The assassins of the Phantom Troupe slipped in and out of the chaos, looking for vital points.
Every single one of these people was a top tier fighter on their own.
When they all attacked as one, their individual weaknesses were covered and their strengths multiplied.
All the gaps and flaws in their formation were filled by their partners.
Before Feng Yue could even react, he felt countless types of power smashing into him at the same time.
At this moment, the legendary romantic swordsman of the world was nothing more than a shivering kitten tossed into a storm.
He could not resist at all.
After enduring wave after wave of devastating blows, Feng Yue finally lost consciousness.
He slumped, beaten senseless in midair, and only then did the barrage finally stop.
…
Farther away on the sea, Ryuunosuke watched as an immense presence approached from the distance.
That aura was the same one that had made him get up from his seat on Whitebeard's ship.
He had originally been watching the battle as a spectator, drinking and eating on Whitebeard's deck.
If the enemies here had only been Fuugetsu and Krul Bussurd, plus a few Shichibukai and Supernova level pirates, he would never have moved.
The monsters on his own ship were more than enough to deal with that level of threat.
Every crew member who had come this far had gained Ryuunosuke's recognition.
Each one of them was a powerhouse.
But that presence from before had exceeded Ryuunosuke's expectations.
Even he felt shaken by that power.
He had also heard the name Feng Yue had let slip.
This man was called Atostana.
Soon, a figure stepped into view over the waves.
He did not look nervous or hurried at all, even though he had essentially been dragged here over matters of love and desire.
In his hand, he held a semi transparent longsword with a reddish orange glow.
It was truly long, nearly three meters from hilt to tip.
Atostana himself was only about one meter ninety.
That was considered tall for a normal man, but next to his own sword, he looked almost undersized.
The entire scene was bizarre, yet strangely fitting.
"The Supreme Grade Sword Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds Blade."
Kuina's voice reached them from the side.
Her eyes were locked on the weapon in Atostana's hand.
Kuina's knowledge of famous swords was extremely high, and she instantly recognized it.
Not only that, this was one of the Supreme Grade Swords.
In truth, even the Supreme Grade category had its internal ranking.
Hawkeye, known as the greatest swordsman in the world, wielded the black blade Yoru, which sat closer to the lower end of that list.
The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds Blade in front of them, however, had always ranked among the top three.
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