"Quit the nonsense. My target is only the Straw Hats."
Backan snorted, not wasting any time. He stated plainly, "Take me to the base."
"Yes! Yes!" Nazwe nodded repeatedly, smiling ingratiatingly. "Backan-sama, this way, please!"
"Stop with the flattery."
Backan flipped his greatcloak and strode forward.
Speaking of which, after all these years of training, this guy Backan finally managed to correct his habit of speaking only in two-word bursts. Everyone was quite relieved. They no longer had to endure such cryptic speech.
"Diego Backan! Prepare to die!"
"Kill him, and we'll be famous worldwide!"
"Hand over your head!"
Suddenly, a group of people charged out from the side with menacing momentum, shouting threats to take Backan's head.
"Damn it! It's Lonte's gang!" Nazwe frowned. He didn't expect something like this to happen and recognized the group as bounty hunters who specialized in killing pirates, occasionally moonlighting as slavers.
"There are truly too many people who don't know their place," Backan muttered, annoyed. To run into this kind of thing right after disembarking was frustrating, especially since he had killed countless people like this and was thoroughly sick of it.
"My sincerest apologies, Backan-sama, for having you encounter such an issue!" Nazwe heard the displeasure in Backan's tone and immediately became anxious.
Although Nazwe was not one of the old timers in the Chris Pirates, he came from the crew and was able to secure the position of local man in charge—he was certainly no fool.
Furthermore, having fully witnessed the terrifying strength of the cadres, he was utterly terrified of the possibility of the man in front of him erupting in power, which would be an absolute disaster.
At the very least, the combined forces of the Chris Pirates and the Marines on the Sabaody Archipelago would not be enough to stop his rampage.
Nazwe quickly tried to salvage the situation, urgently saying, "Backan-sama, please leave this small matter to me, I will handle it properly."
To be the man in charge of an outpost meant he was not only quick-witted, but also strong in his own right; he could easily take down bounty heads worth several tens of millions.
"Get out of the way. They called me out by name." Backan shoved Nazwe aside and strode toward the bounty hunters.
"Backan-sama! Please keep the commotion down! This place is too close to Marine Headquarters!" The pushed-aside Nazwe didn't dare block him but still shouted anxiously.
"Hahaha! Diego Backan's head is mine!"
A man in a floral shirt leaped up excitedly, slashing his sword toward Backan's neck.
Alright, I'm just too short. I have to jump to cut his neck.
"Get lost!"
Backan neither dodged nor retreated. He slapped his huge hand out.
Thud!
Rumble!
The man was struck in the chest and instantly sent flying backward. He flew two or three hundred meters, breaking several large trees before landing on the ground, covered in blood, his eyes rolled back in a faint. He was unconscious.
"Hiss…"
Witnessing this scene, the remaining dozen bounty hunters involuntarily held their breath and stopped their advance. They felt a growing unease, as if they had overestimated themselves.
The man who was sent flying by a single blow was a locally famous swordsman among them, with strength ranking in the top three.
"Don't stop. My head is right here." Backan saw their hesitation and showed a look of contempt.
"We're already here! We have no retreat! Take his head, and we'll have riches and women!" Lonte, the middle-aged leader, knew they couldn't turn back and encouraged his crew.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Lonte pulled the trigger on Backan, and a black bullet instantly struck the large man's forehead.
However, the moment the bullet touched Backan's skin, it was immediately rusted away, turning into a small pile of rusty dust that sprinkled onto the ground.
"Fool. Metal holds no fear for me." Backan sneered. Before Lonte could react, Backan's muscular body charged into the group's ranks.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
Amidst the sounds of punches and kicks making contact with flesh, Lonte's gang, over a dozen men, fell to the ground in a heap.
What terrified them even more was that whether it was a sword slash, a knife stab, or a flintlock shot, everything that touched Backan instantly dissolved into rust, vanishing completely.
"He's a Devil Fruit user!" someone cried out in panic.
Thud!
Boom!
Backan hammered a fist down. The ground fractured, kicking up a spreading cloud of dust. Half of Lonte's body sank into the ground. He was already unconscious, eyes rolled back, covered in blood.
In less than a minute, the Lonte's gang, who were somewhat infamous in the lawless zone of the Sabaody Archipelago, were completely wiped out.
"Boring." Backan clicked his tongue with boredom, looking at the bodies scattered around.
After so many years in the New World, fighting against only the truly powerful, Backan really couldn't be bothered with this trash who didn't know their place.
In a nearby thicket.
A few people were gathered there. The leader was a man with spiky red hair, a dagger and a pistol strapped to his chest, wearing goggles and a dark-red greatcoat, with an untamed, defiant look.
Eustass Kid, Captain of the Kid Pirates, with a bounty of 315,000,000 Berries.
"Tch, the ability to rust away all metal is definitely tricky, but it's also exciting!" Kid's eyes showed a hint of cruelty. He gripped the dagger on his chest, eager to charge.
"He certainly lives up to the reputation of a great pirate from the New World! His physical combat is exceptionally strong, too."
The speaker was a man behind Kid, wearing a blue and white striped mask with several small holes, long blonde hair, and a black shirt with white spots over light-blue jeans.
Killer, the Massacre Soldier, a member of the Kid Pirates, with a bounty of 200,000,000 Berries!
"Including Captain Kid and Killer, there are now seven pirates with bounties over a hundred million gathered on this island. Could that guy be here to recruit?" A strange man with long white hair asked doubtfully.
This man was very peculiar, looking somewhat like a zombie, his mouth stitched shut with thread, and blue-violet thorn tattoos on his body, as if he had been dug out of a grave and sewn back together. He would definitely frighten many people at night.
Heat, a member of the Kid Pirates!
"Who knows? After all, he's a very important figure. The title of one of the Guardian Gods is no exaggeration," Killer shook his head, his tone somewhat grave.
"What do you guys say, should we go up there and take him out?" Kid grinned savagely. "Taking out a great pirate from the New World would feel pretty great!"
"Captain Kid, don't be rash! This place is too close to Marine Headquarters. It's not suitable for causing trouble here. If we draw out a Marine Admiral, it won't be worth the price," Heat quickly stopped Kid.
"Tch. I was just saying," Kid pouted. He knew this location was truly unsuitable for a clash with a great pirate like Backan, so he reluctantly suppressed the agitation in his heart.
"Chris Pirates! Diego Backan! Hmph… We'll meet again in the New World!"