BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sea was a battlefield. Three massive warships—each nearly eighty meters long—traded thunderous cannon fire. Explosions shattered the surface of the water, geysers of seawater erupted where cannonballs struck. Two Marine vessels, flying the iconic gull emblem, were fiercely bombarding a pirate ship marked by a flag bearing twin crossed axes behind a skull.
Things couldn't be worse for Great Axe Bamos, captain of the Great Axe Pirates. He hadn't expected this—barely had they set out to plunder when they ran into the Navy. And not just any Navy—two Class-3 warships led by a Marine Captain in person.
One of the masts on his ship had already been blown clean off, drastically slowing their escape. Now, flanked on both sides, Bamos and his crew were trapped. There was no running—only the desperate hope of surviving the onslaught.
But the enemy's firepower was overwhelming. Their cannons were leagues stronger than anything the pirates had onboard. Of Bamos's original three-hundred-man crew, over a third were already dead or wounded. Fewer than two hundred remained.
How the hell did it come to this? Bamos thought grimly. In all the East Blue, there's hardly another pirate with a bounty over ten million Berries. And here I am, the Great Axe Pirate Captain with fourteen million on my head—completely screwed.
"Captain, it's the Marines from the 63rd Branch. The one leading them is Captain Nodori Mori," a long-haired man in a gray cloak reported from the crow's nest, holding up a spyglass. His voice trembled, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. His name was Likiwa the Grey Reaper, the pirates' Head of Combat—and an eight-million-Berry man.
"What?! Damn it... damn it all!" Bamos's face twisted as he gripped his signature axe tighter. He spat the curse three times, though even he wasn't sure if he meant it for Mori—or himself.
He knew who that was. Nodori Mori—the so-called Pirate Slayer. A powerhouse transferred from Marine Headquarters, demoted for reasons unknown. Had it not been for that, he would've already been promoted to Rear Admiral.
Rumors swirled around him. They said he took no prisoners. That he once sank a pirate ship by himself. Whether true or not, everyone agreed—his strength was lethal.
"Captain, we need to break through and initiate a boarding assault," a calm, sharp voice interjected.
It came from a bespectacled man dressed in black, who had just taken the spyglass from Likiwa. His name was Liorosa the Flying Blade, the pirates' First Mate and Navigator, with a bounty of 7.5 million Berries.
"If we don't, we're dead anyway. Cannon-to-cannon, we're outgunned."
"Boarding?! Are you insane?!" Bamos was stunned. He hadn't expected such a reckless suggestion from Liorosa.
"To fight the Pirate Slayer up close is suicide," Bamos snapped. "That bastard wiped out an entire crew with a total bounty of over forty million. A crew that's beaten us twice before! And you think we can take him head-on? He'll crush our skulls like eggs with that damn copper staff of his!"
"Not him," Liorosa replied, pushing his glasses up. "We board the ship he isn't on. If we can overtake that one, we have a shot at escaping."
He glanced sidelong at his captain. "If we stay here and keep trading shots, we'll be blown out of the water in minutes."
Bamos clenched his fists, unable to refute the logic. In frustration, he slammed his axe into the railing and barked the order.
"Turn the ship! Head straight for the other warship!"
With a hard pivot, the Great Axe pirate ship wheeled around in a wide arc, turning a full 180 degrees. It veered left, charging toward the second Marine vessel.
Meanwhile, on the deck of the right-side Marine warship, a man in his mid-twenties stood calmly at the bow. He wore a black suit under the signature white Marine coat of justice, his eyes sharp as he peered through a spyglass.
"Captain Mori! The pirate ship just changed course!" a young ensign rushed forward with a report.
"I saw," Captain Nodori Mori replied flatly, cutting him off. His gaze never wavered.
"Maintain formation. Let Ship No. 2 keep them occupied. I'll head over to support."
"Yes, sir!" The young ensign saluted crisply, then pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his coat.
"Moshi moshi, this is Ship One."
"Roger, this is Ship Two," a deep voice responded from the other end.
"Captain's orders: maintain formation and hold the enemy's attention. Captain Mori is moving to reinforce you. Over."
"Copy that. Holding formation and drawing the pirates in. Over."
The Great Axe Pirates' vessel stormed through a barrage of cannonfire as it barreled toward Ship No. 2. In less than three minutes, the already damaged pirate ship had closed the gap. It now drifted less than ten meters from the Marine warship.
"Grab the ship and break through!"
The pirates, over a hundred strong, surged forward like a tidal wave. They tossed grappling hooks and hooked ladders onto the side of Ship Two, swarming like ants—cutlasses drawn, pistols blazing.
"Don't let them board!"
"Captain Mori's coming—we just need to hold on!"
Over two hundred Marines formed a wall of steel at the edge of the deck, weapons in hand, bracing for impact.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
With barely ten meters between them, the two ships became a close-quarters warzone. Pistols rang out, but with no time to reload and nowhere to dodge, each shot counted. In the mere seconds of gunfire, over fifty men from both sides fell.
With bullets spent, the melee began. Swords clashed, blood sprayed, and men screamed. It was a brutal, unrelenting brawl—blade against blade, tooth and nail.
And from the distance, unseen by either side, a colossal warship over a hundred meters long surged toward them—its hull black with white trim, slicing through the waves like a predator closing in on wounded prey.
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