Chapter 11: Clash
"Captain Bluejam... what are you doing here?"
Terao Kazu forced the words out with what he hoped was a natural smile.
Inside, however, his heart was pounding wildly.
No matter how much panic he felt, Bluejam had already arrived. There was no point showing fear now. The only thing Terao could do was act as if he had nothing to hide.
Bluejam did not look at him immediately.
Instead, he stood at the entrance of the outpost with the lazy stillness of a predator that had already stepped onto the battlefield. His blue shawl shifted faintly in the wind, and his hand rested near the pistol at his waist. Even without doing anything, he radiated the sort of pressure that made lesser men lower their heads.
Only then did he glance sideways at Terao.
"Why?" Bluejam asked calmly. "Am I not welcome?"
His voice was mild.
That made it even more terrifying.
Terao's back instantly went cold, but he managed to keep his expression steady.
"Of course not, Captain. I was only surprised." He forced out a laugh. "I was wondering how you figured out they'd come this way. But now that you're here, it's perfect. We can catch those brats for sure."
Bluejam shifted his gaze back toward the distance.
The four boys were already charging toward the outpost, growing clearer with every second.
"I only guessed," he said. "This direction was the most likely."
Terao immediately bowed his head slightly and seized the chance to flatter him.
"As expected of Captain Bluejam. To predict their route in advance and arrive here before them..." He smiled obsequiously. "That kind of foresight is exactly why no one in Gray Terminal can compare to you."
Bluejam only let out a short, unreadable sound.
"Oh."
That was all.
But Terao knew better than to keep talking when Bluejam looked like this. He shut his mouth at once and turned his attention toward the incoming boys.
On the surface, he looked calm.
Inside, he was anything but.
Sweat had already begun to trickle down his spine.
If those children were captured and questioned, then the matter of the information sale might come out. Bluejam only needed to investigate a little, pressure the right people, and one of Terao's own men would sell him out to save their own neck.
The plan he had made moments ago to kill the boys and silence his accomplices no longer felt nearly as simple.
For the first time in a long while, Terao found himself sincerely hoping those brats would escape.
Meanwhile, Axel and the others had already seen the figure standing at the final outpost.
Bluejam.
The sight of him hit like a bucket of cold water.
Their expressions changed instantly.
"Damn it," Axel said, his tone sharpening at once. "If we change direction now, the people behind us will catch up, and we'll get surrounded. The only way out is to punch straight through."
Faced with danger, his mind became unnaturally clear.
He was the first to stabilize.
He also knew the truth.
In terms of raw ability, his current vector manipulation was nowhere near enough to confidently dominate someone like Bluejam. Against Ace and Sabo, he could withstand blows only because they were still children and lacked true killing power. Bluejam was different. Older. Stronger. Dirtier. More experienced.
If Bluejam landed something heavy enough, Axel was not sure he could completely nullify it.
Sabo made his decision within seconds.
"As I said before," he said, voice hard, "Axel and I will handle Bluejam. Ace, you take Luffy and break through."
Then he looked directly at Ace.
"Ace." His tone became even more serious. "Absolutely do not fight him."
He knew Ace too well.
Once Ace truly stepped into a battle, his pride would never allow him to turn his back. That was why Sabo repeated the warning, making sure it landed.
Ace's jaw tightened.
But this time, he did not object.
He knew the gap between himself and Bluejam. He knew Porchemy had already pushed him and Sabo to their limit. Bluejam was worse.
So he gave one silent nod.
Luffy also nodded heavily, unusually solemn for once.
"Got it."
Even he understood that this was not one of their usual messes. If he slipped up here, people could die.
Axel spoke quickly.
"Sabo and I go for Bluejam. Ace, Luffy, you break through the others and clear a path. The second we get an opening, you run." His eyes flicked briefly toward Sabo. "Once they're out, you leave too. I'll stay behind and cover the rear."
Sabo's expression changed at once.
"That's too dangerous!"
Facing Bluejam one on one was a death wish, especially for a child. Even if Axel's Devil Fruit was strange, Bluejam was still Bluejam. A veteran criminal who ruled Gray Terminal through fear and violence.
Axel kept his face calm.
"Relax. Beating him might be difficult."
He gave the smallest shrug.
"But escaping won't be."
It was a bluff.
Or rather, half a bluff.
He truly believed he had a decent chance of escaping if things turned desperate enough. But that did not mean he was as relaxed as he sounded. In truth, he had no clear measure of Bluejam's exact combat ability. The anime had only ever shown him in fragments. That was not enough.
Still, he had to sound certain.
Because right now, hesitation was worse than lying.
The distance between both sides shrank fast.
A few hundred meters.
Then one hundred.
Then less.
The collision came only moments later.
As planned, Axel and Sabo broke formation and charged directly at Bluejam.
Ace and Luffy veered toward the henchmen guarding the route.
Bluejam watched Axel approach with a crooked grin spreading across his face.
"So this is the brat causing all the trouble," he muttered.
There was open contempt in his eyes.
He did not move much. He did not need to. As Axel closed in, Bluejam simply drew the pistol from his waist with practiced ease and pointed it forward.
The moment Sabo saw the gun come up, he instantly kicked off to the side.
But when he turned, he found Axel still rushing straight forward.
Not dodging.
Not slowing down.
Not even trying to take cover.
Sabo's eyes widened.
"Axel!"
Bluejam fired.
Bang!
The bullet shot through the air and tore straight toward Axel's chest.
Then reality twisted.
The instant the bullet touched Axel, it reversed.
Not deflected.
Not blocked.
Reversed.
It snapped backward along its original path with impossible speed and slammed directly into the muzzle it had just left.
Boom!
The pistol exploded in Bluejam's hand.
Metal fragments burst outward. The weapon shattered apart, and the force jarred his wrist hard enough to make even him pull back in shock.
Sabo, who had been a heartbeat away from panic, finally breathed again when he saw Axel unharmed.
Bluejam stared at the wreckage in his hand, then at Axel.
For the first time, the contempt in his gaze weakened.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
Axel did not answer.
He simply stood there in front of Bluejam, pale eyes steady, body poised.
Bullets were among the least threatening weapons against him. Their killing power was not the problem. Their speed was. Against an ordinary person, that was enough. But Axel's passive reflection made such fast, low force attacks almost useless unless they carried truly overwhelming power behind them.
Bluejam did not waste time dwelling on the broken gun.
He let the remains fall, then reached behind him and drew a long sword more than a meter in length.
He did not know the exact nature of Axel's ability.
But he understood enough.
Guns were worthless here.
"Come on, brat," Bluejam said, rolling one shoulder and gripping the sword. "Show me what makes you so special."
His attention was now completely fixed on Axel.
Veterans of real life and death fights knew how to identify the biggest threat in a group. Sabo had dodged because he feared the pistol. Axel had not.
That alone told Bluejam everything he needed.
Axel exhaled slowly and adjusted his footing.
Then he moved.
He shot forward in a straight rush, closing the gap with frightening speed. There was no attempt at flashy maneuvering, no pointless detour. His goal was simple.
Touch Bluejam.
Just once.
Vector manipulation did not need grand gestures. If Axel could make direct contact with a living body, he could interfere with blood flow, pressure, circulation, and internal balance. He did not need to break bones to cripple someone. He only needed one clean opening.
Bluejam saw the intent instantly.
The moment Axel reached in, Bluejam stepped back and slashed in one smooth motion.
The attack came from a blind angle, drawn backward across the space Axel had just entered, fast and vicious enough to cut a child in half.
Sabo's heart lurched.
Axel's sudden aggression had even caught him off guard. He had been half a beat too late to support.
Axel's pupils contracted.
In that instant, his brain went into overdrive.
Trajectory.
Angle.
Timing.
Force.
The calculations erupted in his head.
He did not have time to dodge fully.
So he struck the blade itself.
His right hand slammed into the side of the sword, redirecting its vector horizontally just enough to shove the edge away from his shoulder.
The blade screeched past him.
Too close.
Far too close.
The force running through it was heavy enough that Axel felt his arm go numb the moment he touched it.
So heavy.
That single thought flashed through his mind.
Against Ace or Sabo, he could usually adjust an incoming strike with relative ease.
Bluejam's sword was different.
It took nearly everything Axel had just to knock it a fraction off course.
But he had done enough.
The kill missed.
And Axel did not retreat.
He lunged again, hand still reaching for Bluejam's leg.
One touch.
That was all he needed.
Bluejam's eyes sharpened instantly.
This brat was dangerous.
Not because he was strong in the obvious sense, but because his attacks were wrong. Too direct. Too certain. Like he knew exactly what a single touch would do.
Bluejam reacted with brutal decisiveness.
He released the sword without hesitation, abandoning it entirely rather than letting Axel use the exchange to close in. At the same time, he yanked his body backward and drove himself away with a powerful kick off the ground.
The sudden retreat created just enough distance.
Axel's fingertips missed by barely an inch.