Pirates!
These two words struck Kyle like a bolt of lightning.
His blood seemed to ignite at that moment, and all his boredom, annoyance, and restlessness instantly transformed into surging battle intent.
Kyle rushed to the ship's rail and squinted in the direction Rayleigh pointed.
Indeed, between the blue sea and sky, a black dot was rapidly enlarging. Soon, the ship's outline became clear; its hull was several times larger than their small, dilapidated boat. On its sail, a grinning skull with two crossed battle-axes underneath was emblazoned, ostentatious and menacing.
The other party had clearly spotted them too, and the pirates on board let out arrogant guffaws. Some even waved their weapons towards them, making provocative gestures.
"Kuhahaha! It's like someone delivering a pillow when you're sleepy!" Roger grinned, flexing his wrists, making a "crack-crack" sound. "My hands are itching."
"You damn Captain!"
A voice interrupted Roger.
Roger and Rayleigh both looked at Kyle with some surprise.
The young man stood by the ship's rail, the sea breeze ruffling his short black hair. His eyes burned with an unprecedented light, like two flames eager to erupt.
"This ship… leave it to me!"
He turned around, his gaze fixed on Roger, his right hand already tightly gripping the naginata leaning against the ship's rail.
Roger looked at Kyle's appearance, first startled, then erupted in his signature hearty laugh.
"Kuhahahaha!" He walked up to Kyle, his large, fan-like hand slapping heavily on his shoulder. "Good! I'll leave it to you, little Kyle!"
He withdrew his hand, placed both hands on his hips, and his smile was full of expectation and indulgence.
"Let us see the results of your two months of training!"
"However…" Roger's tone shifted, his smile turning somewhat malicious, "if you can't handle it, or if you accidentally get beaten half to death, there'll be no dinner for you!"
"My pleasure!" Kyle's lips curved into a confident arc.
He took a deep breath, said no more, and turned to face the approaching pirate ship.
On that pirate ship, a Captain with a scarred face and a physique as burly as a bear was holding a telescope. When he saw that there were only three people on Roger's ship, one of whom was a half-grown child, he couldn't help but let out a contemptuous roar of laughter.
"Lads! See that! A broken ship, two shabby guys! And a little brat who hasn't been weaned yet!" He lowered his telescope and roared at his subordinates, "Today's our lucky day! Kill them, and everything on their ship is ours!"
"Oh oh oh oh!" The pirates let out excited howls.
Kyle held the naginata in one hand and placed the other on the ship's rail, jumping down cleanly.
"Wave Walk!"
Just as Kyle was about to enter the water, the sea surface beneath his feet suddenly rippled in visible circles.
The ripples did not spread outwards but strangely contracted and solidified inwards, forming a transparent platform beneath his feet, seemingly made of water.
Kyle took a step, landing steadily on the sea surface.
Following that, the second step, the third step…
What? You ask why he didn't just fly over using recoil?
Move aside, Kyle is about to show off.
Under the astonished gazes of the pirates opposite, whose jaws were practically dropping, Kyle, holding his long blade, walked leisurely across the turbulent sea, as if on solid ground, directly towards their ship.
On the deck, Roger watched with delight, constantly exclaiming "Kakui!"
Rayleigh, meanwhile, leaned against the mast, pushed up his glasses, and a subtle smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he murmured softly.
"The curtain has risen…"
The sea breeze ruffled the young man's short black hair. He held his simple naginata and, step by step, walked calmly across the waves towards the three-masted ship.
This scene, defying all logic, instantly caused chaos among the minions of the Giant Axe Pirate Group.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"He's walking on the sea!"
"He's a Devil Fruit user!!"
The pirates on the deck were filled with doubt and fear, retreating one after another. Their weapons in hand seemed unable to provide them with a sense of security.
This bizarre entrance was far more impactful than a snarling brute.
"What's all the noise about! Shut up, all of you!" A crude roar drowned out all other sounds.
The scarred-faced Captain kicked away a subordinate blocking his path, rushed to the bow in a few strides, and roared, spitting, "It's just a Devil Fruit user! What's there to be afraid of! He's just a little brat who hasn't been weaned yet!"
He stared at Kyle, who was walking unhurriedly, a look of extreme contempt on his face. He yelled mockingly, "Hey! Kid! This isn't your backyard swimming pool! What, did Mama not tell you to go home for milk?!"
"Hahahaha!" The Captain's arrogant laughter infected his crew, who, emboldened, joined in the jeering. Their earlier fear seemed to have been significantly diluted by this mockery.
"Cannons, shift five millimeters to the left, fire!!" The Captain ordered with a sinister grin, "Blast him to pieces for me!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three cannons spewed thick smoke and let out sharp whistles, as several dark cannonballs shot towards Kyle on the sea!
On the ship, Roger and Rayleigh remained calm and composed. Roger even crossed his arms, grinning, looking ready to watch a good show.
Facing the whistling cannonballs, Kyle neither dodged nor evaded. He merely bent his knees slightly,
"Sonic Step - Instant!"
The water beneath his feet suddenly sank, and an invisible shockwave exploded at his soles!
"Bang!"
The enormous recoil force propelled Kyle's body vertically upwards, instantly soaring over ten meters high.
"What?!" The Giant Axe Captain's sinister grin froze.
In mid-air, Kyle's form stretched out, and the simple naginata in his hand traced a cold arc in the sunlight.
He didn't use any flashy moves, simply channeling the power he had accumulated over the past two months into the blade, and with a distant slash towards the incoming cannonballs!
A solidified white energy detached from the blade, arriving after the cannonballs but striking first, precisely hitting the middle cannonball!
Boom—!
The struck cannonball was as if crushed by an invisible hand, and along with the nearby cannonballs, it disintegrated into a sky full of shattered iron in a chain reaction of vibrations!
The smoke and water mist stirred up by the cannonball explosion instantly enveloped that area of the sea.
"H-how is that possible?!" A pirate's voice trembled.
The next second, Kyle's figure emerged from the swirling smoke and mist. In mid-air, he slowly raised his head, his golden eyes burning with boiling battle intent.
"Game over."
Kyle held the naginata horizontally in front of him, and the blade began to hum.
He poured his ability to control "waves" into it without reservation. The air around the blade began to violently distort, emitting shrill screams.
"Listen closely, this is for you… a requiem!"
He gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, leaning back, all his strength concentrated into this one strike!
"Sound Slash · Exploding Phoenix Cry!!"
With one swing!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. A visible, phoenix-shaped colossal shockwave, originating from the naginata's blade, violently erupted!
Wherever the shockwave passed, the air let out a pained wail, unable to bear the pressure, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared, as if glass had been smashed!
The "phoenix" made of high-pressure sound waves let out a piercing shriek that could split clouds and rocks. With a spread of its wings, it instantly crossed a hundred meters of the sea and precisely struck the center of the Giant Axe Pirate Group's three-masted ship!
"Boom—!!!!!"
The deafening roar finally erupted, as if the entire sky had been torn apart.
The Giant Axe Pirate Group's proud sailing ship was like it had been hit head-on by a giant's iron fist. A massive dent first appeared in the thick center of the hull, and then countless cracks spread wildly from the impact point. The entire ship, in the next second… disintegrated with a crash!
Wood splinters and torn cloth flew everywhere, masts snapped, and countless pirates were flung into the air by the violent shockwave amidst screams, falling into the sea like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
The Captain, who had been laughing arrogantly a second ago, now had wide, terrified eyes filled with disbelief.
He opened his mouth but couldn't make any sound. He could only watch helplessly as his ship fell apart before his eyes, then was struck by a broken plank and sank into the deep sea along with the wreckage.
In just a few minutes, a fully armed pirate ship, along with dozens of pirates, was completely annihilated by Kyle's earth-shattering blow.
On the sea, only floating ship wreckage and the wails of those who had fallen into the water remained.
Kyle stood on the waves, leaning on his naginata, his chest heaving violently, but an unprecedented feeling of exhilaration surged from the bottom of his heart.
Act fast, look cool, shout out the name of your move—this… is the passion of youth!
"Ku… Kuhahahaha!"
On Roger's ship, there was a moment of silence, followed by Roger's characteristic, earth-shattering laughter.
He laughed so hard he bent over, tears almost streaming down his face, patting Rayleigh's back forcefully as he laughed.
"Did you see that! Rayleigh! Did you see that! Kuhahaha! Well done, Kyle!"
Rayleigh helplessly shook Roger off, pushed up the glasses on his nose, his gaze behind the lenses filled with relief and approval.
L