The water beneath Baratie was darker than before.
Not because the sun was blocked. Not because of depth.
The darkness came from intent. From people moving without hesitation, even knowing they could die here.
I tightened the strap of the mask behind my head.
The surface was cold against my face. My field of vision narrowed slightly. Outside sounds dulled. My own breathing sounded heavier than it should.
"Now I can't be seen."
I slipped into the water.
The twin karambits rested lightly in my hands. Their curved blades followed my wrists perfectly. No shine. No sound. Just dark steel waiting for a reason.
Shadow Sense expanded.
Three signals.
They weren't moving together. They weren't panicking like the others. They were waiting deeper beneath the structure, positioned right along the main route leading up to Baratie's hull.
"Elites."
I approached from below.
Cold water stabbed at the old wound in my shoulder. Pain flared, then faded. I held my breath and let my body drift.
They noticed me.
Not my face. My presence.
One moved left. One moved right. The third stayed still.
Formation.
I stopped moving.
So did they.
Silence.
The system appeared at the edge of my vision.
—
[Special Mission Unlocked]
Title: The Shadow That Spills Blood
Type: Assassin Mission
Description:
Eliminate high threat targets
Conditions:
Targets must not reach Baratie
No witnesses
Status: Active
—
I read the conditions once.
"No witnesses."
I closed my eyes behind the mask.
"If I let them go…""…everyone above dies."
I opened my eyes.
The one on the left struck first.
He surged forward, slashing a long blade toward my throat. I dove beneath it, letting the edge pass inches above my head. The water churned. I twisted and cut his calf with my right karambit.
Blood bloomed thinly into the water.
He screamed without sound and tried to turn.
I stabbed his back with my left blade. Not deep. Just enough to cripple him.
He thrashed, trying to swim upward.
I caught him from behind and locked my arm around his neck.
His hands clawed at my arm.
I tightened.
His movements slowed.
I released him.
His body sank.
The one on the right attacked together with the center.
A knife and a short spear crossed paths.
I moved inside their reach.
Too close.
I deflected the spear with my left blade and sliced the wielder's wrist with my right.
Fingers lost their grip.
He screamed and recoiled.
The center one didn't retreat.
He thrust straight at my chest.
I twisted aside and felt the blade tear across my ribs. Heat flared instantly. I clenched my teeth and drove my karambit into his abdomen.
The blade went in.
His eyes widened.
I pulled it free and slashed toward his neck.
Not clean.
Blood poured out, clouding the water.
The last one tried to escape.
He swam toward Baratie.
I chased.
My legs kicked hard. Shadow Sense locked onto his path. I surfaced beneath him and stabbed my blade into his thigh.
He faltered.
I rose to his side, my masked face inches from his.
"You're not going up."
His eyes shook.
He tried to plead. His lips moved.
I didn't hear him.
I twisted the blade and ripped it free.
He screamed soundlessly.
I grabbed his head and smashed it into the metal structure.
Once.
Twice.
He went limp.
I let go.
Three bodies.
None moving.
The water around me was dark with blood.
I stayed still for several seconds.
Didn't move. Didn't breathe.
My hands trembled.
Not from cold. Not from pain.
"This is different."
I stared at the karambits in my hands.
Blood clung to them. It didn't wash away when I shook them in the water.
The system appeared.
—
[Special Mission Completed]
Reward:
Active Skill: Shadow Execution Lv.1
New Passive: Killing Intent Suppression
—
Attribute Increase:
STR +2
SPD +2
WIL +2
—
Existence Stability Increased
Mental Scar: Permanent
—
I didn't celebrate. I didn't feel stronger. I felt empty.
The mask on my face felt heavier.
"I crossed the line."
I swam away from the bodies and surfaced on the dark side of Baratie. I drew a deep breath as my head broke the surface.
Blood still dripped from my arm.
I sat on the metal steps and lowered my head.
"Now I understand."
"This is why they call it the assassin's path."
No honor.No victory.
Only decisions that can never be taken back.
And I had just made one.
—————
I didn't move right away.
Sitting on those metal steps felt harder than the fight itself. Seawater dripped from my clothes and fell back below with soft splashes. Each drop sounded louder than it should.
My hands were still shaking.
I clenched my fingers.
Stop.
The pressure in my chest slowly eased. Not because I calmed down. Because something inside me was being forced down.
The system was working.
Killing Intent Suppression activated on its own. The murderous intent that had surged earlier was now pressed down. Not erased. Contained.
"I still remember."
"I just don't radiate it."
I lifted my head.
Baratie above me still stood. No panicked screams. No sign that infiltrators had succeeded. Everything that happened down there sank with the water and blood.
I looked out at the sea.
The three bodies were gone. The current had taken them. No graves. No markers.
"Gone."
I stood slowly and tested my footing. Strong. Lighter than before. My movements felt sharper. My breathing deeper. My body had changed.
I swung one karambit lightly.
No sound.
Something was different when I moved. Transitions were smoother. No hesitation between steps. I hadn't consciously used Shadow Execution yet, but its foundation was unmistakable.
"I'm faster."
"And colder."
I touched the mask.
That cold wasn't from the metal.
It came from inside.
I moved along Baratie's side and climbed onto a lower, empty deck. I stayed within the shadows. No one looked my way. No one sensed anything wrong.
Killing Intent Suppression kept my presence flat.
I passed behind two Baratie crew members talking quietly.
They felt nothing.
"Good."
I stopped in a dark corner and leaned against the wooden wall.
Only now did my breathing truly feel heavy.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Three faces surfaced in my mind. Not clearly. Just flashes of widened eyes underwater. Hands slowing. Bodies losing strength.
I closed my eyes.
"This won't fade."
I opened them again.
"But I can walk while carrying it."
The system appeared one last time.
—
[Status Update]
Specialization: Assassin Shadow Active
Threat Level: Medium
Existence Stability: Stable
Mental Scar: Locked
—
Note:
User has crossed the threshold of first kill
Efficiency increased
Permanent psychological burden applied
—
I stared at the text for a long time.
No regret. No praise.
Just a record.
I sheathed the karambits and slowly removed the mask. The night air felt colder against my face. The wound on my ribs throbbed faintly. My shoulder felt heavy.
But I was still standing.
I moved away from Baratie's underside and returned to the small shore where I had first observed the restaurant. From there, the lights of Baratie shone brightly. Life continued.
In the distance, heavy impacts echoed.
Luffy was fighting Don Krieg.
Canon moved forward.
I didn't join it.
I had already done my part.
I sat on a rock and stared at the now calm sea.
"This is the price of power."
"I paid it here."
I stood and walked away before dawn arrived.
My footprints on the sand were quickly erased by the waves.
Just like the three lives I had ended.
This arc wasn't over.
But I was already different.
And that difference would never be clean again.