Chapter 12: 12. Devil Fruit
"Stay away! Don't come near me!"
"Boss, save me... please save me..."
"Damn pirates, I'll take you down with me!"
...
With a desperate cry, a pirate lunged at the lone Navy soldier who was strolling across their ship as if he were on a casual walk.
But in the next moment, a burst of blood and a milky white splatter filled the air.
A bullet hole appeared in the pirate's forehead, and he flew backward.
[Congratulations, Host, on achieving 200 Pirate Slain and earning a Blue Reward.]
"Oh? I've already killed 200 pirates?"
Marsh stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Just then, the first mate of the Giant Shark Pirate Crew suddenly appeared behind him, slashing his blade directly at Marsh's neck!
Clang!
But the expected scene didn't happen.
Instead, a broken blade lodged itself into a pillar.
The first mate looked at his broken blade and Marsh's right hand, now covered in a dark sheen, his face filled with disbelief!
"So young, yet you've mastered two of the Rokushiki and have such strong Armament Haki. Kid, what's your name?"
Byrne crossed his arms and looked down on Marsh arrogantly.
"What's it to you?" Marsh sneered, digging a finger into his ear in disdain.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!"
The first mate drew a longsword and charged again.
His name was Noze, a bounty of 12 million Berry on his head, the second strongest in the Giant Shark Pirate Crew.
"Your grip is weak, your stance is unsteady. Next life, remember to stay off the seas."
Marsh blocked the longsword with one darkened finger, then raised his right hand and punched straight down.
Noze instinctively raised his arm to defend.
Crack!
It sounded like a dried branch snapping.
Noze's knees crashed through the deck, and Marsh's punch shattered his arm, driving into his shoulder.
Thud.
Blood spewed from Noze's mouth, his vision dimmed, and he collapsed onto the deck.
"Next time, come find me for revenge."
Marsh lifted his foot, preparing to crush Noze's skull.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he sensed a powerful force approaching from behind!
Marsh dodged to the side and saw a chain blade swinging at him.
Not far away, Byrne's towering figure had grown to nearly five meters!
He had transformed into a monstrous half-man, half-shark!
Jagged fangs lined his mouth, a thick tail sprouted from his back, and his skin had become rough like that of a shark!
Seeing this, Marsh's lips curved in a slight smile. He chuckled, "No wonder you were so fearless; turns out you're a Devil Fruit user."
The Zoan-type Shark-Shark Fruit!
Zoan-type fruits grant incredible physical strength and recovery, enabling powerful endurance and surprising synergy with martial arts and swordsmanship.
"Just curious, people say eating a Devil Fruit makes you unable to swim. But since you ate the Shark-Shark Fruit, can you swim?"
Marsh asked with a curious expression.
In response, Byrne hurled a powerful punch!
The punch sent Marsh flying backward, crashing through the cabin!
"Way to go, Boss!"
"I thought he'd be tough, but Boss knocked him back with one punch!"
Amidst the cheers of his men, Byrne's expression remained tense.
His right hand was trembling.
That punch had felt like hitting solid iron!
The Tekkai technique.
Creak!
Inside the cabin, Marsh casually dusted off his cloak, looking relaxed as he walked out.
"My, my, that was dangerous."
Byrne swung his chain, the blade shooting toward Marsh with a thunderous force.
But the next instant, Marsh vanished again.
As Byrne's attack missed, he froze, still in his throwing stance.
Marsh reappeared behind him and asked, "Where did you get the confidence to think you could hit me?"
He then swayed as if made of paper, dodging a series of frantic slashes from two pirates.
"Hey, put down the gun. I really don't like being pointed at with a gun. And you over there with the bow, that's a no-go too. As for you in the back, using throwing stars? Are you from some neighboring village?"
Marsh's comments plunged the Giant Shark Crew into an icy silence.
This guy! Does he have eyes in the back of his head?
Byrne gritted his teeth and threw another punch!
The two of them crossed paths, and an arm flew through the air.
Thud!
Byrne's severed arm landed next to the unconscious first mate.
His shark-like skin and muscular build were as fragile as paper in front of Marsh!
Soru!
Marsh vanished again.
Shigan!
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
As the pirates watched in terror, Marsh raised both hands.
With a speed invisible to the human eye, his fingers pierced Byrne's body repeatedly!
Left arm!
Legs!
Eyes!
Spine!
Thud.
Byrne collapsed to the ground, looking like a bloody pincushion. Marsh grabbed a pirate, twisted his neck, and wiped his hands on the corpse.
"Kill me."
Byrne, now full of holes, whispered from the ground, his voice a desperate plea.
"Kill you? Oh, no. I'll leave that to someone else."
Marsh then walked up to Byrne and kicked him across the deck.
***
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