Eager to show off in front of the new recruits, Golden Lion Shiki didn’t care how weak his opponent looked. Without hesitation, he struck.
"Lion Might: Earth Scroll!"
Using the power of his Float-Float Fruit, Shiki tore up the ground beneath them. The soil transformed into massive lion heads that lunged toward Brelco, snapping and crashing down with terrifying force.
Brelco dodged in a panic, eyes widening as he caught sight of the Hell Pirates closing in. They had surrounded him.
And the worst part? The dozens of pirates he’d brought with him weren’t being slaughtered by Redfield. They were being used as practice dummies by a few rookies from the Hell Pirates.
"You Hell Pirates trying to start a war with the Edward Pirates?! Taking over this island in secret —what the hell are you playing at?!"
Brelco barked out his challenge, but his voice was shaky. The Hell Pirates were getting too bold—first interfering in the fight between Orion and Ochoku, and now seizing territory that belonged to the Edward Pirates?
"Cut the crap. This is our answer."
Shiki, not one for drawn-out speeches, roared and charged. With a swing of his famed blades, Sakura Ten and Deadwood, he unleashed a barrage of slashes. He was determined to claim his first win in front of the new crew.
Brook had made it clear—Brelco had to go. They couldn’t risk him getting word back to the Edward Pirates’ main base.
"Damn it! Goth, you useless bastard—you couldn’t even get a single warning out before the enemy showed up!"
Brelco cursed the man in charge of the island. Not a single message had made it back to headquarters before Goth got himself killed, and now he was walking straight into a trap.
He’d been with Captain Edward for years, enduring every trial and loss—watching comrades and officers die off one by one—only for Edward to finally rise. And now, barely two or three months into enjoying the spoils, was this how it ended?
It was maddening. He’d clawed his way up from nothing for this?
He wrapped his blade in Armament Haki and managed—just barely—to break through Shiki’s sword aura. But the difference in power was obvious. One clash was all it took to reveal the gap. These so-called rookies were monsters.
"Hell Pirates... our captain will avenge me! I’ll be waiting in hell for all of you!"
Brelco knew this day would come. He’d followed Edward long enough to understand the risks. But surrender? Never. The old crew would never disgrace Edward like that.
Eyes bloodshot, he let out a roar and charged at Shiki with both hands gripping his sword. If he was going down, he’d take a chunk out of the enemy first. That was the New World way.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha! We are hell! And your captain’s next!"
"Lion: Hundred-Cut Valley!"
This was an upgraded version of Shiki’s earlier technique. The slashes flew out like golden crescents—dozens, hundreds of them—each powerful enough to cleave mountains. Brelco vanished beneath the storm of sword light.
Explosions thundered across the battlefield. Craters tore across the ground. Smoke rose in thick clouds. The metallic clang of blades rang out for only a second or two—then, silence.
When the dust finally settled, Brelco was a bloodied wreck in a pit of sword marks. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, they might’ve assumed he was already dead.
Some of the Edward Pirates’ stragglers shouted in horror. Their distraction earned them a quick beating from Shakky, Stussy, and Tiger. They should’ve known better than to lose focus against the Hell Pirates’ elite.
"He’s way too weak! How the hell is this guy worth 350 million Belly?!"
Shiki stormed over, grabbed Brelco by the collar, and shouted in frustration. No way a Haki-wielder with that bounty should have gone down this fast!
"Heh... I’m not that weak."
Brelco’s limp body suddenly morphed into a massive leech-like creature. Slime-covered, he coiled around Shiki, baring his bloody maw toward the Golden Lion’s neck.
"You let your guard down, Shiki! I’m a Leech-Leech Fruit user—your sword slashes barely scratch me! Now DIE!"
He didn’t survive this long under Edward by being weak. Brelco’s tenacity was legendary—he could survive wounds that would kill most men. And he could drain life force through blood, making him a low-tier vampire in function if not name.
Shiki’s twin swords suddenly floated into the air, spinning between him and Brelco’s gaping maw. This was the sword-controlling technique Brook had helped him develop. Swift, sharp, and deadly.
"Sha-ha-ha! No one in the New World is ever simple. That was almost a close one!"
Sharp stone spears erupted from the ground, skewering Brelco’s massive body and flinging him away. Shiki soared into the sky, escaping the suffocating grapple just in time.
Brook, watching from a distance, nodded in satisfaction. Shiki’s Float-Float Fruit could be used like Earth Release in that other ninja world, huh?
Redfield must be close to mastering his lightning techniques too... and Charlotte Linlin’s barrage of elemental attacks were just as ridiculous. Even Whitebeard had a "Water Release: Tsunami" of his own!
"Damn it! That ambush should’ve worked perfectly!"
Brelco’s wounds oozed as they twitched and squirmed shut. Not fully healed, but enough to fight again.
"You bastard! You almost made me look bad!"
The ground morphed into two giant earthen hands under Shiki’s control. They slammed down after Brelco like a pair of angry gods swatting a fly. Hands clasped—bam—and Brelco was flattened like a bug.
"Shiki, don’t kill him!"
Charlotte Linlin and Brook shouted at once. They needed his soul intact—wasting a high-quality one would be a shame.
Though Shiki held back just enough, Brelco still ended up as a mangled mess. Miraculously, he wasn’t dead. Somehow, his body was slowly knitting itself back together.
Even Brook had to admit—the Leech-Leech Fruit’s survivability was unreal.
Barely back on his feet, Brelco had no time to react before Linlin unleashed thunder and fire upon him. After that came her Conqueror’s Haki, slamming into his mind like a truck.
In the grip of soul magic and fear, most of his lifespan was wrenched from his body. Brook stepped in for the final blow—one clean strike—and Brelco’s soul was captured, bound to join the ranks of Brook’s ghostly army.
Even Shiki, ruthless as he was, shivered a little watching Brelco’s soul get torn apart by Linlin and Brook. Some people, it seemed, weren’t even given the chance to reincarnate... or go to hell.
+122 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg