At that moment, the CP agent's face—hidden beneath his mask—drastically changed. A suffocating killing intent surged forth like Mount Tai crashing down, a tremendous pressure hammering relentlessly at his mind.
A flash of sword light streaked by. He tried to use Observation Haki to predict the blade's path, but under the overwhelming mental oppression, he couldn't concentrate. Instinct alone raised his arms in a feeble attempt to block.
After years of surviving blood and fire, his survival instincts kicked in. He bit down hard on his tongue, the sharp pain snapping him out of his dazed state just enough to coat his arms in Armament Haki.
Boom!
The sheer force struck him like a storm. The masked man dropped to one knee involuntarily, the ground beneath his knees cracking like a spiderweb.
But his Armament Haki was like paper—completely ineffective. The man named Ves didn't even coat his blade in Haki, yet still left a deep, bone-exposing gash on the CP agent's arm.
"Who the hell are you?! Do you realize you're provoking all of CP… the Celestial Dragons… the entire World Government?!"
Just one strike was enough for the masked man to realize he wasn't a match for Weiss. He wasn't even sure if he'd make it out alive. In desperation, he dropped name after name, hoping to intimidate his opponent.
The spectators had long fled far from the auction house. No one expected someone would actually dare injure a CP agent on the Sabaody Archipelago.
…
"You think throwing around names will scare me?" Weiss said flatly.
He slowly pulled his blade, Star Abyss, from the CP agent's arm. The withdrawal only worsened the man's injury.
As the blade came free, the agent's arms went limp, hanging uselessly in the air. Forcing himself upright, his eyes—hidden under the mask—were locked on Weiss in terror.
This man truly fears nothing!
"How many times did you kick Jack earlier?" Weiss asked casually.
"Uh... three times, I think?" Jack replied uncertainly. "Who keeps count of how many times they get kicked anyway?"
"Only three kicks and you're this badly injured?"
"I got him once too, okay?" Jack huffed. Men always remembered their own 'battle records' the clearest.
"Forget it. You need more training. At this rate, you'll die in the New World."
Weiss didn't blame Jack. He'd only recently gone out to sea, trained by nothing more than a Navy lieutenant. That he already possessed Supernova-level strength in just a year was impressive.
"Well then, if he kicked you three times… I'll return the favor with three sword strikes."
"I've already used one. That leaves two more. Hope you can endure them."
He said the last part directly to the masked man.
The agent, realizing there was no escaping a foe like this, made the first move. He knew that against such a powerhouse, running would only get him killed faster.
With his arms useless, he launched himself forward with his legs.
A slash flew forth!
A crimson arc tore through the air, the killing intent behind it so intense that the gleaming light forced the onlookers to squint or look away.
The CP agent's face twisted. Seeing the incoming strike, he knew charging forward was suicide. He firmly planted his feet and braced himself, ready to unleash his strongest defense.
"Tekkai (Iron Body)!"
Slash!
Reality betrayed him.
The flying slash tore straight through his defense, slicing open his torso from shoulder to abdomen. Blood poured freely, and his organs pulsed visibly beneath the wound. If not for his last-second instinct to reinforce it with Armament Haki, he might've died on the spot.
Hunched over, he refused to kneel again.
"Navy officers really do die relying on Tekkai, huh? Don't you know there's a 'footnote' to that technique?" Weiss said as he walked toward him.
He wasn't using his full strength. He didn't want to accidentally kill the man. Three strikes meant exactly three. No more, no less.
"What footnote?" the agent asked instinctively.
He had practiced the Navy's Six Styles (Rokushiki) for decades. While he hadn't reached the level of Life Return, his mastery was still formidable. What 'footnote' could he not know?
"You guess," Weiss replied with a sudden grin.
"One more slash. Survive it, and I won't kill you."
As he spoke, he approached the agent, slowly drawing Star Abyss from its sheath.
"You're the Sword Demon!"
From this angle, the CP agent finally got a clear look at the young man's face beneath the hat. That unnervingly youthful appearance confirmed it—he was the Sword Demon.
Upon seeing the double-edged sword in his hand, the agent let out a bitter laugh.
"I should've known. Who else but the Sword Demon uses a double-edged sword and is that young?"
Had CP provided no intelligence on Weiss's crew?
Of course they had. But this agent had been too focused on protecting the Celestial Dragons. He never bothered reading the file.
If he had, he wouldn't have toyed with Jack like a cat playing with a mouse. He would've eliminated him silently, before Weiss could find out.
Too late for regrets now.
His declaration echoed beyond the auction house. Those nearby looked in disbelief at the young man in the hat.
"That's him! The island-destroying maniac—no, the Sword Demon! No wonder he dared injure a CP agent!"
"I heard he was young, but seeing him in person—he really is just a kid!"
"I wonder if he's married? My daughter's about that age…" a pot-bellied merchant muttered.
"She's eight!"
"So? She'll be eighteen one day. He'll only be twenty-nine then—perfectly reasonable!"
"Shut up. My daughter's eighteen right now. She's the better match!"
…
Before long, the conversation shifted entirely from battle feats to who should marry off their daughter to Weiss.
At that moment, Karina and the others arrived at the auction house. Seeing Jack clutching his chest, wounded at the entrance, and Weiss standing over a bloodied man, they instantly understood what had happened.
"Jack! Are you okay?" Joanne ran to support him.
"Yeah, just coughed up a little blood," Jack muttered. He almost refused her help but changed his mind.
"What the hell happened?" asked Kadun.
"Just stuck my nose in something and got chased for it," Jack said indifferently.
But someone else arrived at the same time—the Celestial Dragons.
The crowd, whether willingly or not, immediately dropped to their knees at the sight of the nobles.
In contrast, Weiss and his group stood tall—making them stand out like a sore thumb.
The CP agent lit up with hope. The Celestial Dragons might just save him! He was about to speak when Weiss cut him off.
"Don't move. One more slash. Don't think they can save you."
From the arriving group, Jolarude, a Celestial Dragon, stepped forward, completely oblivious to the atmosphere.
"You filthy commoners! Why are you not kneeling?" he roared at Weiss's group.
Jack and the others acted as if they hadn't heard a thing. Kneel? To him? Who did he think he was?
A butler-like figure leaned close to Jolarude and whispered about the current situation.
Jolarude, upon hearing the full story, immediately barked at Weiss:
"You there, scum! Release the CP agent immediately or I'll drag you back to Mary Geoise as a slave!"
The CP agent's hopeful expression collapsed. He turned to Weiss in a panic—only to hear a sharp crack.
In one clean motion, Weiss beheaded him.
The severed head rolled to a stop, its lifeless eyes staring straight at Jolarude, as if trying to etch the sight into memory.
Weiss looked up.
"What did you just say?"