Chapter 269: Edward Weevil
"Ahhh!" The scream, along with the shrill whistle of the cannonball tearing through the air, came at once.
"Boom!" A violent explosion shook the warship, the wooden ship creaking and groaning as the boards cracked from the weight.
The entire ship was shaken by the impact of the cannonball, the point of impact suddenly sinking, while the opposite side of the ship rapidly rose. The immense buoyancy of the seawater pushed the sunken ship back to its original position.
This sudden situation caused most of the new recruits to fall to the ground, and the sound of bodies colliding with the deck echoed in the chaos.
The orange-red flames, unable to be extinguished by the rain, blazed fiercely, crackling as the wood burned, and a large amount of thick smoke poured from the point of impact.
"Bzzz…" A sharp electric sound crackled, and a blue bolt of lightning flowed through the flames, gradually forming into a human shape.
"Ugh… so dizzy… I feel sick…" Eric 's eyes spiraled like mosquito coils as he stumbled out from the flames and smoke, making his way drunkenly toward the side of the ship.
"...!" Zephyr, who served as an instructor for the Navy recruits, instantly recognized the newcomer. "He... he is—!"
"Weevil, help me!" BGin , blown away by the powerful shockwave from the explosion, crashed into a nearby cabin, and a pile of collapsed wood trapped her.
"Mom, are you okay?" Weevil rushed to her side, easily lifting the heavy wood that pinned her. He tossed the broken wood aside and carefully helped BGin to her feet.
"Damn it, who did this…!" BGin gritted her teeth, glaring at Eric with fury.
"My treasure, are you alright?" Despite seeing Weevil's back covered in arrows, BGin was more concerned about whether her weapon had been damaged.
"I'm fine, mom."
Weevil flexed his back muscles with a loud cracking sound, pushing the arrows out of his body, and the shallow wounds were quickly sealed by his bulging muscles, not a single drop of blood spilling.
Chiron, a kilometer away, watched this scene, furrowing his brows. "It seems that rapid fire can't cause any damage to him. We need to increase the intensity of the attack to pierce through his body."
"Good! Go and kill that bastard!" BGin pointed her cane at Eric , wishing she could tear him to pieces for causing her injury.
"Yes, mom!"
Weevil's slender legs stomped the ground, and his massive, over-six-meter frame moved like a medium-sized missile, explosions scattering behind him, as he appeared next to Eric in the blink of an eye. Weevil, with his long blade raised, swung it fiercely at the disoriented Eric .
"Wait, wait…" Eric raised a hand, trying to stop Weevil.
A bright light flashed from afar, and an arrow carrying immense power flew through the air, crossing over a thousand meters in an instant, striking heavily against the sharp blade.
"Clang!"
The descending long sword came to an abrupt halt mid-air as the tiny arrow collided with the enormous blade, causing a gust of wind.
"Ugh… ah!" The rising acid in Eric 's throat overwhelmed him, and unable to hold it in, he vomited uncontrollably onto Weevil.
"How filthy, I'll kill you!" Weevil roared in fury, raising his long-bladed weapon again, its blade wrapped in Armament Haki, and swung it at Eric , who was still in his stupor. The blade struck the ship's deck with tremendous force.
"Boom!"
"Crack!"
The first sound was the deck shattering, and the second was the sound of the ship breaking apart.
Weevil's furious strike cleaved the warship in two. The broken keel let out a defiant roar, and the entire ship was torn in half.
A massive amount of seawater poured in from the split, and the deck tilted sharply. Many of the ship's cargo was swept away by the waves.
"You idiot son! You've split the warship in half, and now we've lost all the cargo! We came here for nothing!" BGin cursed loudly, her cane pounding against the deck.
Weevil, his left hand behind his head, quickly apologized, "Sorry, mom."
"Zephyr-sensei, what should we do?" Ain, with her long, wavy hair damp from the rain, asked, tightly clinging to her body.
"Lower the lifeboats, and quickly get into them. The faster, the better!"
"Zephyr-sensei, we'll stay and fight this monster with you," Ain, the new recruit, refused to abandon her instructor and flee alone.
"Right, Zephyr-sensei, we won't leave you behind!" Benz also disagreed with Zephyr's order.
"That's an order!"
"Creak, creak…"
The sinking ship suddenly stopped descending.
A Navy recruit, hugging his exposed arm, cried out, "So cold!"
"Look!" Another recruit pointed outside the ship, "The sea... it's frozen!"
The vast sea was covered with a thick layer of frost, and the raindrops that had been falling began to turn into ice particles and snowflakes.
Snowflakes and the biting cold wind roared as they enveloped everyone.
"Aokiji? No, it should be Esdeath, who has a similar ability to Aokiji—" Even though Zephyr had stepped back from the frontline, he had always kept an eye on the rising pirate factions in the sea, and the appearance of the "Ice Queen" could only be linked to Esdeath, who appeared alongside the Emperor of the Sea, "Eric !"
The white military uniform, blending with the blizzard, appeared before their eyes.
"!" The moment Esdeath's figure appeared before the new recruits, they lost all will to resist, unable to even move their bodies.
"You aren't worth killing…" Esdeath glanced at them, her interest in slaughter fading.
"—!" BGin finally recognized who they were. The white military uniform, flowing blue hair, bloodthirsty eyes—Esdeath!
"Weevil! Let's go!" At this moment, all BGin cared about was how to escape.
Just as she turned to flee, a cold, deathly gaze fixed on her, pinning her in place.
"This guy… barely enough to be my opponent…" Esdeath walked toward Weevil step by step, her words halting and cutting off. Finally, her voice stopped.
"Who vomited on him?" Esdeath looked at Eric with distaste, her gaze narrowing.
"…" Eric turned his eyes away, too afraid to meet her gaze.
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Weevil shouted in fury, lifting his long-bladed weapon and swinging it toward Eric 's head.
Eric didn't dodge or evade. Using his Observation Haki, he sensed the path of the blade, and before it could reach him, his body materialized and split in two, forming a straight gap in the middle.
The blade wrapped in Haki followed the path, cutting through the deck, and the powerful blade energy continued, piercing into the ice layer formed by Esdeath, sending up a flurry of snowflakes.
"Clang!" Eric stomped down on the back of the sword, pressing it down hard, and with a sudden motion, pointed his index finger at Weevil, "One hundred million volts—Discharge."
At such close range, how could the massive Weevil dodge the swift lightning?
The powerful lightning struck Weevil's body, enveloping him in blue electrical currents.
"Ahh, it hurts—!" Weevil let out a loud roar as the electric current ravaged his body, and the smell of burnt flesh wafted in the air.
"—!" The force beneath his feet sent the sword flying, and Eric was sent crashing through the air by Weevil's strike.
"Oh... not bad, your strength is impressive," Esdeath said, watching the power of Weevil. She was eager to try it, but upon seeing Weevil covered in vomit, she hesitated.
'Forget it…'
Though Weevil's body emitted smoke and his legs were a bit scorched, he didn't show any signs of severe burns. He reappeared in front of Eric .
"It hurts—! I'll kill you!"
"Your sturdy body is surprisingly tough…" Eric thought, noticing how Weevil had broken free from the lightning's hold and then struck Eric .
'His weak point is his thin lower body.' Eric quickly identified his weakness.
At this point, BGin found herself in a dilemma. If she ran away alone, her weak strength wouldn't help her survive in the vast sea, where only Weevil's power could secure their place in the world.
"Damn it, Weevil, don't hold back! Kill them now!" BGin shouted, "What 'Four Emperors'? What 'Ice Queen'? Let them witness the power of my treasure!"
"Understood, mom."
Weevil, now enraged, swung his long-bladed weapon at Eric .
Maybe the downward swing was the best move to attack an enemy of such towering size.
Eric flashed behind Weevil in an instant, but with his Observation Haki, Weevil sensed the life-threatening danger and, without missing a beat, turned the sword around with a swift and agile movement, despite his large body, and slashed at Eric .
"Is this possible?!" Eric shifted his target from Weevil to the blade, his right fist surrounded by blue-black lightning.
"Crackle!"
The clash of Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki created arcs of electricity that spread between the two, and the shockwaves shattered the nearby wooden deck into splinters.
"Boom! Boom!" The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed, and except for Ain and Benz, all the other Navy recruits were knocked out by the Conqueror's Haki.
"Everyone—!" Ain hurriedly helped one of the fallen recruits.
"They're fine, just unconscious… they fainted…"
Zephyr glared at the pirate before him, unwilling to make any move that would attract the pirate's attention in order to protect his students.
"Crack—!" A series of cracks in the deck sounded as Weevil was pushed back by a punch from Eric , leaving deep grooves in the deck with his thin legs.
"Clink!"
After the intense clash, a crisp sound echoed, and the long blade showed a small crack.
"Such a powerful body, your strength is indeed formidable…" Eric felt a numbing sensation in his palm and suddenly thought, 'Kurome seems to lack strong puppets…'
Eric shouted loudly, "Kurome...!"
"Brother-in-law, are you calling me?" To his surprise, it was BGin 's voice.
An air portal opened, with blood still on the blade of the Eight Death , and the short BGin lay on the ground.
Standing beside her was Akame.
"Mom!" Weevil roared, his massive body charging like a heavy cannonball toward the two.
"What did you do to Mom?" He raised the sword, the blade cutting through space, heading straight for them.
But the sword stopped just a millimeter away, its edge hovering over the open arms of BGin , who had blocked the attack.
"Mom, are you okay?"
BGin , already dead with a wound through her heart, couldn't respond, and the blood had long stopped flowing.
"Sent to their grave," Akame said, her usual line, as she took the killing strike with Murasame and slashed it toward the stunned Weevil.
"Akame, wait!" Eric 's voice stopped Akame, his right boot tapping the ground as he moved back to Kurome's side.
"Mom, talk!" Weevil, with his low intelligence, didn't realize the Grim Reaper's scythe was almost at his neck.
"His final blow is for Kurome to finish," Eric 's words made the two understand his intent.
Kurome's Imperial Tool, the Eight Death , could control those killed by the sword through curses, but right now, Kurome only had a few Fishmen from the Evil Dragon Pirates, who were unqualified to fight.
"A pirate with such strength isn't common. Once I defeat him and make him immobile, I'll let Kurome deliver the final blow."
"It's all up to you, brother-in-law~" Kurome smiled and gracefully stepped back.
And Weevil was still shouting: "Mom!"
"Bzzz…"
The lightning from Eric 's hand burned BGin 's body to ashes in front of Weevil.
"Mom!" Weevil let out a thunderous wail.
And BGin , now reduced to ash, was completely blown away by his cry.
"…"
"She died by my hands, so come and take your revenge!" Eric turned into a blue light and flew off the warship.
Eric didn't want to expose Kurome's Imperial Tool too soon, especially not to the Navy.
Otherwise, his actions of hunting down Devil Fruit users and powerful individuals would draw the attention of pirates everywhere, and they might even form an alliance against him.
"Thunk."
Weevil, tears streaming down his face, his eyes burning with vengeful fire, shouted, "I'll kill you—!"
Weevil's muscles bulged, and like a wild bull, he smashed through the remaining part of the warship and chased after Eric .
The three remaining ones had no interest in the Navy recruits and prepared to follow. Esdeath glanced at Zephyr's injuries. "If you don't get treated soon, it'll affect your strength later."
"You pirates, what do you want to do?!" Zephyr, grinding his teeth, asked.
"Me?" Esdeath thought for a moment and replied seriously, "Marry Eric , fight powerful opponents, and that's all."
Zephyr, Ain, and Benz: "…"
Esdeath's serious answer left the three Navy recruits dumbfounded.
"I don't have the slightest desire to fight you right now."
"!" Zephyr gritted his teeth, muttering through clenched teeth, "Pirates—!"
"Boom!"
Weevil's massive body hit the ground, sending frost and snowflakes flying off the ice, "I'll kill you—!"
"Come on." Eric spread his arms, "You'll do just fine to sharpen my combat will."