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Chapter 278: Erosion of Malice, The Failure of Observation Haki!
On the deserted island, the wind howled. The atmosphere was depressed to the extreme.
Vice Admiral Doberman stood on the reef, the scar on his face twisting like a centipede.
He didn't draw his sword. He didn't even touch the saber at his waist. He just stood there bare-handed, staring dead at Yasopp opposite him with eyes that looked at a dead man.
"What?"
"The Lead Sniper of the Red Hair Pirates doesn't even dare to draw his gun?"
Doberman's voice was hoarse, carrying a nauseating scent of blood.
"If you dare not fight."
"Then kneel down and kowtow to Justice."
"Perhaps if I'm in a good mood, I can leave your corpse intact."
Arrogance!
Extreme arrogance!
Facing a core officer of a New World Emperor, this Marine Vice Admiral was scolding him like he was a stray dog!
"Oh my, oh my..."
Yasopp sighed helplessly and reached up to scratch his dreadlocks.
"I originally wanted to leave the Marines some face."
"After all, it wasn't easy for you guys to move all the way here."
"But since you want to die so much..."
Yasopp's eyes suddenly changed!
The lazy, casual temperament from just a moment ago vanished instantly! Replacing it was a sharpness as keen as a falcon, an edge that one couldn't look directly at!
In this moment, he was the "Chaser" who made countless great pirates tremble in fear!
"Then don't blame me for not respecting the elderly or cherishing the young!"
Bang!
Before his voice even fell! The gunshot had already rung out!
No one even saw when Yasopp drew his gun! It was god-like speed that surpassed the limits of visual capture!
A pitch-black bullet, wrapped in high-level Armament Haki, tore through the air! Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, it went straight for Doberman's brow!
Fast! Too fast!
Even many of the pirates watching with bounties over a hundred million were sweating cold bullets. If it were them, in the face of this shot, their heads would have blossomed before they even had a chance to react!
"Great marksmanship!"
Even Flower Sword Vista in the distance couldn't help but cheer in his heart.
However, facing this sure-kill shot, Doberman actually—
Did not dodge! Did not evade! He didn't even show a trace of panic!
He just curled the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a grin that was hideous to the extreme.
"Is this the so-called 'Number One Sniper'?"
"Too weak!"
Vwoom—!
A hair-raising aura suddenly exploded from Doberman's body!
It wasn't Haki! It was a darker, more viscous pitch-black energy that seemed to gather all the malice in the world! Like ominous ink, it instantly covered his entire body!
Cursed Energy Reinforcement!
That was the power of curses derived from negative emotions, from the world of Jujutsu Kaisen!
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal colliding rang out!
Under everyone's horrified gazes, that sure-kill bullet, capable of piercing steel and wrapped in Armament Haki...
Actually just... stopped abruptly in front of Doberman's forehead!
It merely grazed a bit of skin! Not even a drop of blood flowed out!
Then, it fell powerlessly onto the reef.
Silence. Dead silence.
Even the pirates who were shouting frantically just now seemed to have been choked by the neck. Their eyeballs were about to pop out!
"This... what the hell is that?!"
"He didn't use Haki?!"
"It wasn't Iron Body either?!"
"He... he caught the bullet with his face?!"
Everyone's worldview collapsed at this moment!
Yasopp's pupils contracted violently. He gripped the rifle in his hand tighter.
"Haki... was devoured?"
As a top-tier Observation Haki user, he clearly perceived it. In that split second just now, the Armament Haki attached to the bullet was forcibly corroded and canceled out by that pitch-black energy, like a clay ox entering the sea!
"Surprised?"
Doberman raised his hand and touched the faint white mark on his forehead. The red light in his eyes grew more and more intense.
"Pirate."
"You are as ridiculous as your Haki."
Boom!
The reef beneath Doberman's feet instantly exploded! He shot toward Yasopp like a black cannonball, carrying monstrous malice!
Extremely fast! Even a line faster than the Shave Vice Admiral Onigumo displayed earlier!
"Don't get too carried away!"
Although shocked, Yasopp's combat skill as an Emperor's officer remained. He calmed down instantly.
Observation Haki, full throttle!
In his sensory world, time seemed to slow down. He could clearly predict every movement, every foothold of Doberman!
"I see it!"
"Left side, forty-five degrees!"
"Next attack is a straight punch!"
A cold sneer curled on Yasopp's lips. His body instinctively made evasive maneuvers, while his gun muzzle raised slightly, locking onto Doberman's heart!
This was top-tier Observation Haki! Future Sight!
As long as I can see through your movements, no matter how strong your power is, you won't hit me!
However, just as Yasopp was about to pull the trigger...
An anomaly occurred!
A massive amount of negative emotion, suffocating in its intensity, blasted into his brain without warning!
Anger! Hatred! Jealousy! Killing intent!
The feeling was like countless flies buzzing frantically in his ears! Or like countless cold hands pulling at his nerves!
"This... what is this?!"
A moment of blankness appeared in Yasopp's brain! The originally crystal-clear vision of the future suddenly looked like a TV signal suffering interference—instantly covered in static!
It became distorted, blurred!
Observation Haki... failed?!
No! It was jammed! That damned pitch-black energy could actually impact the mental plane directly! It caused a fatal deviation in his perception!
"Distracted in battle?"
"Are these your last words?!"
Doberman's hideous voice exploded in his ear like an evil spirit!
When Yasopp recovered from that mental shock, a fist wrapped in pitch-black Cursed Energy had already magnified infinitely, occupying his entire field of vision!
Crap! Can't dodge it!
Yasopp could only rely on his body's instinct to barely hold his rifle across his chest to block.
Bang! Crack!
A dull thud, mixed with the sound of bones shattering!
"Pfft—!"
Yasopp was sent flying like a kite with a broken string by this vicious punch! While in mid-air, a mouthful of blood sprayed out wildly!
It was a blood mist mixed with fragments of internal organs!
Boom!
Yasopp smashed heavily into the sand hundreds of meters away, kicking up dust that filled the sky!
"Yasopp!"
The expressions of everyone in the Red Hair Pirates changed instantly!
The meat in Lucky Roux's hand fell to the ground. Benn Beckman's eternally calm expression finally showed a crack.
Lost?
In just one exchange? That Yasopp, who walked unhindered in the New World, was instantly defeated by a Marine Vice Admiral?!
"Cough, cough..."
In the dust, Yasopp struggled to climb up. His chest was caved in, and cracks had even appeared on his beloved gun. Although he hadn't lost combat capability yet, that wretched appearance bore not a trace of the "Number One Sniper's" elegance.
"That feeling..."
Yasopp wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were full of horror and apprehension.
"Unlike Haki..."
"That was pure... malice!"
"That lunatic turned 'killing intent' into a tangible attack!"
On the other side, Doberman stood in place. The pitch-black Cursed Energy on his body not only didn't dissipate but boiled even more ferociously. That nauseating oppression even made the surrounding air viscous.
He looked at the wretched Yasopp not far away. His mouth grinned to his ears, revealing a brutally cruel, maniacal laugh.
"What's the matter?"
"Weren't you clamoring about giving this old man face just now?"
"Pirate."
"The times... have changed!"
"In the face of the power of the new era..."
"You remnants of the old era..."
"Just obediently become dust of history!"
At this moment, the entire venue was dead silent. Everyone realized one thing.
The Marines... were truly different this time!
═════ To Be Continued ═════
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