T. Penn blinked, and it was here that he noticed that his senior officer wasn't injured at all.
Rosinante was also stunned.
He had clearly been shot, yet there wasn't a single injury on his body.
At the same time, about five to six hundred meters away... also within the harbor, a man holding a rifle revealed a look of shock.
"That shot clearly hit him!"
Even a Marine general shouldn't come out completely unscathed!"
He hurriedly adjusted his scope, trying to aim at the target. However, the young Marine officer in his sights vanished the next second.
"Gone?!" The man was horrified.
Almost simultaneously, a patch of white appeared above his head. The word "Justice" swayed into view, reflected in the eyes of his nearby companions, triggering a burst of screams.
"The Marines are here!"
The man jerked his head up, his heart clenching tightly.
Too fast!
They had been five to six hundred meters apart, yet this young officer hadn't taken a second, he was so fast that there was no time to react.
"Nice aim." Kōjin looked down from above, meeting the gaze of the rifleman, and spoke calmly.
At the same time, he lifted his right leg.
Tekkai...!
His entire leg trembled as the blood flow accelerated and his leg became like refined steel.
The next instant, his right leg came crashing down like a massive cleaver.
"Rankyaku!"
It was an ordinary Rankyaku by name alone, but its speed and power were beyond imagination.
After his battle with Rayleigh, Kojin's physical attributes skyrocketed; he was no longer inferior to the world's top-tier powerhouses. Although he hadn't tested his Doriki, he estimated that it had already surpassed ten thousand.
Buzz!
As the kick descended, the air rippled. A blue, crescent-shaped slash expanded at a visible speed, reaching dozens of meters and blazing with light.
Then...
Bang!—...
It slammed into the pirate ship that had just begun to move below.
Crack!
The ferocious slash brutally split the pirate ship in half at the waist. The pirates aboard screamed miserably. The pirate who had fired the gun was nearly cleaved in two from head to groin.
While still in midair, Kōjin had already appeared at the harbor without anyone knowing when.
"Senior officer!"
T. Penn shouted excitedly as he jumped off the ship and rushed to follow him.
Rosinante stared in shock at the pirate ship, which had turned into a pile of wreckage. He swallowed hard.
At this moment, he finally understood why Sengoku had sent him to follow this man. He had never seen such terrifying strength in his life.
"Rosinante!" Suddenly, the voice of his young superior rang out.
"Here!" Rosinante immediately stood straight and responded loudly.
"Stick close! In this kind of chaos, don't get separated!" Kōjin swept his gaze across the surroundings and shouted.
Rosinante sprang forward and rushed over quickly.
The three of them moved swiftly toward the inner area of the Sabaody Archipelago. Battles were breaking out everywhere they looked.
Clearly, the pirates had caused massive trouble this time, spreading from the inner areas of the islands to the harbor. Some pirates were already preparing to flee.
Bang!
Gunfire rang out once again.
Kōjin raised his hand to block it from Rosinante's face.
Clang!
The bullet collided with his palm, producing the sound of metal striking against metal and scattering sparks.
Rosinante froze, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He stared at the deformed bullet pinched between the man's fingers, his heart trembling.
If his senior officer hadn't raised his hand just now, Rosinante would likely already be dead.
T. Penn's eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at this scene. Having trained the Rokushiki to such a level, this superior could no longer be described as merely "strong."
It was the first time he had ever seen someone who could still move freely while using Tekkai.
"Stay extremely alert, trainee! In a chaotic situation like this, I can't always protect you." Kōjin said calmly.
He casually flicked the twisted bullet in his hand away. A gun-wielding pirate off to the side let out a muffled groan and collapsed; the center of his forehead had been completely pierced.
The scene sent a wave of terror through the pirate's companions.
"Yes, sir!" Rosinante shouted.
Kōjin continued moving forward, not getting involved in the chaotic clashes around him. His primary target was the Supernova responsible for the chaos on the Sabaody Archipelago.
The three moved swiftly through the battlefield. Anyone who attacked them was easily dealt with by Kōjin. Meanwhile, T. Penn swung his long blade, cutting down several enemies.
Before long, the pirates realized that these three were not to be trifled with.
Soon after, Kōjin met with a Lieutenant Colonel leading the Marine forces.
"Headquarters Rear Admiral Kōjin, reporting under orders from Headquarters to provide support!"
"Rear Admiral Kōjin? You're the legendary young powerhouse?"
Upon hearing his name, the Lieutenant Colonel became visibly excited. He quickly regained his composure, however, and reported the current situation.
"The senior officer commanding operations on the island is Vice Admiral Nardel! The main instigators of the chaos are five Supernova pirate crews. Their captains are all rookies with bounties exceeding two hundred million." The Lieutenant Colonel spoke quickly and handed Kojin a dossier.
"You'll be mainly responsible for capturing these Supernova pirates. As for the other pirates taking advantage of the situation to loot, they're not a concern. We can handle them."
Kojin took the documents and nodded.
After a quick scan, he learned that there were currently five Supernovas on the Sabaody Archipelago, some were powerful swordsmen, and others were Devil Fruit users.
Their bounties ranged from one hundred to three hundred million. Due to their large number and how spread out they were, they caused considerable chaos.
"Leave it to me."
After taking the Den Den Mushi responsible for communications, Kōjin left with T. Penn and Rosinante.
There was no need to meet with Vice Admiral Nardel, nor was there much to discuss.
"Among the five pirate crews, four are genuine pirates responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians."
"They deserve no mercy."
"Only this one..."
Kōjin narrowed his eyes as he looked at the information on the final crew, the Evans Pirates.
The entire crew consisted of five members: a cook, a navigator, a sniper, a swordsman, and a shipwright. Each of them was formidable, with bounties exceeding fifty million each.
Among them, the pirate named Evans had a bounty of three hundred and twenty million. He was a powerful sniper.
Unlike other pirate crews, the Evans Pirates had no civilian casualties on their record. In fact, wherever they passed, they did many good deeds.
"Evans Toon was born in the North Blue, in the city of Flevance."
His parents died under the oppression of the Nobles when he was eight. At sixteen, he went to sea, quickly gained fame, and formed a pirate crew."
Reading this information, Kojin fell into thought.
At that moment, Rosinante, who had been holding a Den Den Mushi and exchanging enemy intel with the Marines, suddenly looked up.
"Senior Officer Kojin. The Ironbone Pirates are just ahead! They've already been completely surrounded by our people."
Hearing this, Kojin raised his head and looked forward.
He saw squads of Marines advancing cautiously in an encirclement formation. The buildings ahead were eerily quiet.
"Finish it quickly. I don't have time to waste here." Kōjin said flatly.
The instant the words left his mouth, he had already vanished. He was eager to settle things here and then head for the New World.
(End of Chapter)
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