Zaraki's words made the tavern fall silent for an instant.
Then an even greater anger erupted.
"Arrogant bastard!"
"You're asking to die!"
Before Jackal Odd could even speak, the four pirates surrounding Zaraki could no longer hold themselves back.
They had run wild on this island for too long. When had they ever swallowed this kind of insult?
"No need for Odd to do anything. The four of us can tear you apart!"
The one-eyed pirate grinned savagely.
His fist, as large as an iron pot, carried a gust of wind as it smashed straight toward Zaraki's face.
The other three attacked at the same time. One drew a short axe, one revealed a poisoned dagger, and the last one viciously kicked toward Zaraki's lower body.
Their coordination was practiced. Clearly, this was not their first time doing something like this.
However, to Zaraki's golden eyes, these attacks were laughably slow.
He did not even look at the fist coming toward his face. He merely turned his body slightly and bumped his right shoulder forward at a strange angle.
Crack!
The one-eyed pirate's entire arm bent backward. The sound of bone piercing through flesh was clear.
The savage grin on his face had not yet faded before it twisted from agony.
Just as a scream was about to burst from his throat—
Zaraki's finger had already tapped his Adam's apple.
"Hah..."
The scream was forcibly stuck in his throat, becoming a leaking gasp.
At the same time, Zaraki stepped backward with his left foot, landing on the ankle of the pirate who had kicked at his lower body.
Another crack of bone rang out.
The instant that pirate lost balance and pitched forward, Zaraki's elbow smoothly shot backward and struck him squarely in the temple.
That large head tilted to the side, and the man collapsed limply.
In the blink of an eye, two men were already down.
The eyes of the remaining two, the ones holding the short axe and dagger, shrank sharply.
But their attacks could no longer be withdrawn.
Zaraki's figure left an afterimage where he stood, while his body appeared between the two like a ghost.
He brought two fingers together and casually swept them forward.
Two soft sounds rang through the air.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two lines of blood sprayed from the necks of the pirates, the warm liquid splashing onto the wooden floor and also onto the faces of the nearby pirates.
Four bodies fell almost at the same time.
From the moment they attacked to the moment they became corpses, the entire process took less than two seconds.
The tavern, which had been noisy before, was now so silent that the sound of blood dripping onto the floor could be heard.
Drip.
Drip.
That sound struck everyone's heart.
The smiles on the faces of the pirates who had been watching for fun were frozen, replaced by expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
They subconsciously backed away, knocking over tables and chairs with a series of crashes, yet no one dared make a sound.
Behind the bar, Sally's eyes turned serious for the first time.
At some point, her hand had stopped wiping the glass.
She had known this man was strong, but she had not expected him to be this strong.
Gion was stunned as well.
Standing behind Zaraki, she had clearly seen everything that happened.
This was slaughter!
A crushing display of absolute power.
Gion had not even sensed any killing intent from Zaraki. He had simply taken four lives as casually as brushing dust off his sleeve.
'So the rumors about him were never just because of Garp.'
For the first time, that thought appeared in her mind with perfect clarity.
"You... killed my men..."
Jackal Odd's voice broke the silence.
His voice was hoarse and deep, every word carrying killing intent.
Those vicious eyes had turned blood-red from rage.
"I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"
With a roar, Odd moved.
The floorboards beneath his feet exploded. His entire body turned into a black shadow, and the jackal-shaped curved blade in his hand dragged out a streak of light.
With a shriek that tore through the air, he swung with all his strength toward Zaraki's head.
The speed and power of this strike were on a completely different level from the four men earlier.
Gion's heart tightened, and she instinctively moved to draw her sword.
However, Zaraki's figure blurred again, scattering like a wisp of smoke.
Boom!
The curved blade struck empty air, slashing hard into the floorboards where Zaraki had been standing.
The sturdy wood was easily torn open, leaving a long, deep cut.
Wood chips and dust flew everywhere.
"Can you only dodge?!"
After missing, Odd grew even angrier.
His wrist turned, and the curved blade transformed into a net of slashes that madly covered Zaraki's afterimage.
Blade light crisscrossed the room, making sharp whooshing sounds as nearby tables and chairs were shredded into pieces.
But no matter how fast his attacks were, Zaraki always avoided each slash with the smallest movement and from the most unbelievable angle.
"Stop running!"
Odd looked as if he had gone mad, his eyes so red they almost dripped blood.
"If you've got the guts, stop and fight me properly!"
Zaraki's figure appeared behind a collapsed table.
He even had time to pat the dust from his shoulder!
At last, a trace of interest appeared in those golden eyes.
"Sure."
He stopped.
Just like that, he stood casually in place and crooked his finger at Jackal Odd, who had already lost all reason.
That gesture completely enraged Odd.
"Die!"
Odd poured all his strength into his arms.
His muscles bulged, veins popping out as he leaped high into the air and slashed down with both hands.
This time, Zaraki did not dodge.
Under everyone's terrified gaze, Zaraki slowly raised his right hand.
Just one pale, bare palm.
He used that hand to meet the jackal-shaped curved blade that could split stone!
Clang!
A deafening crash exploded inside the cramped tavern, shaking everyone's ears until they rang.
The violent wind formed by the shockwave sent every movable object flying.
Time seemed to stop.
Every pirate still standing inside the tavern, along with Sally and Gion, stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.
They had just witnessed something they could not believe.
That infamous curved blade had been caught firmly by a single hand.
The edge was less than half an inch from Zaraki's head, yet it could not advance any further.
"Raaagh!"
Humiliation and shock made Jackal Odd release a beast-like roar from his throat.
The muscles across his body began to writhe and swell. Black fur grew wildly over his skin, and his bones crackled loudly.
His body rose rapidly, his face stretched forward, fangs pushed out, and his eyes turned completely scarlet.
Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Black-Backed Jackal!
"I'm going to... kill you!"
Odd's strength surged after transforming.
He became a ferocious jackal-headed beast-man over two meters tall, and a terrifying killing intent mixed with his beastly aura pressed down until it was hard to breathe.
He abandoned the curved blade trapped in Zaraki's grip.
His other hand, now turned into a sharp claw, tore toward Zaraki's heart with destructive force.
That claw seemed ready to rip open space itself.
The remaining lamplight in the tavern was extinguished by the violent wind, plunging the room into darkness.
Only the claw's air current, glowing with a ghostly green light, illuminated the fearful expressions on everyone's faces.
At last, they realized what kind of monster they had provoked.
Boom!
A massive crash rang out, as if explosives had been detonated inside the tavern, and overwhelming energy swallowed everything.
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