Chapter 12: Escape
"That brat actually forced Captain Bluejam back!"
"A monster...!"
The pirates could not hide their shock.
For the first time in their lives, they had seen Bluejam yield ground in a direct clash. Not only had he retreated, he had even lost his weapon in the exchange. To the men of Gray Terminal, that was almost unthinkable.
Bluejam himself did not react to their panic.
He lowered his gaze and looked quietly at his arm, his expression dark and unreadable.
He had felt it.
The moment his sword should have cut cleanly through that pale brat, something had changed. The trajectory had shifted against his will, as if an invisible hand had seized the direction of his attack and dragged it away. And every move the boy made after that had been the same. Direct. Intentional. Every step, every feint, every lunge was aimed at one thing.
Contact.
Bluejam did not know exactly what would happen if Axel touched him.
But he knew enough to avoid it.
He extended one hand toward a pirate nearby without even turning.
"A sword."
The pirate flinched, then immediately offered up his blade with both hands.
Bluejam took it.
This time, he did not rush.
He did not even spare a glance for Ace and Luffy, who were already smashing through the pirates on the other side of the field. Instead, he simply kept watching Axel with cold, predatory focus, studying him the way a hunter studied an unfamiliar beast.
Then he spoke.
"You lot," he said without looking away from Axel. "Go test him."
The pirates nearest him froze.
"Us?"
Fear flashed across their faces.
Even if they did not understand what had happened in that first clash, they were not blind. Bluejam had stepped back. That alone was enough to tell them Axel was not some ordinary brat they could casually overpower.
But Bluejam's order was Bluejam's order.
So despite their fear, they still forced themselves forward.
Axel narrowed his eyes.
"Using your own men as bait?" he said.
It was ruthless.
Cold.
And completely effective.
Bluejam did not know the details of Axel's power, so he was using lives to figure it out. In the pirate's world, that kind of method was not even worth hesitation.
The first pirate charged with a roar that sounded far more forced than fierce.
Axel moved lightly to the side.
The man swung.
Missed.
And in the instant their bodies crossed, Axel's fingertips brushed against the pirate's torso.
The man's eyes widened.
Then he dropped like a cut puppet.
Another pirate lunged in from the left.
Axel pivoted, slipped past the slash, and touched his shoulder.
Thud.
He fell too.
Sabo did not stay idle either. He wove in from the side, using his pipe to crack wrists, knees, and ribs whenever the pirates' attention fully shifted onto Axel. But even with Sabo joining the exchange, every eye remained locked on Axel's movements.
And what they saw chilled them.
Anyone he touched collapsed.
Bluejam's expression changed.
The surrounding pirates also recoiled slightly.
No one among them knew whether those men were dead, crippled, or merely unconscious. All they saw was the same result every time.
Touch.
Fall.
Touch.
Fall.
Bluejam's eyes grew colder.
So that's it.
No wonder the brat kept forcing his way in.
He lowered his blade ever so slightly and, to Axel's surprise, asked in an almost casual tone, "Want to join my crew?"
Axel blinked once.
For half a second, he genuinely wondered if he had misheard.
Then he answered flatly, "No."
Not a chance.
Bluejam laughed, as though he had expected nothing else.
"What's your name, brat?"
"Axel."
Bluejam rolled the name once in his mind.
Then he smiled without warmth.
"Good. I'll remember it."
His grip on the sword tightened.
"And then I'll kill you."
Axel's expression did not change.
"That depends on whether you can."
Bluejam snorted.
"From what I've seen, your trick only works if you touch someone." He shifted the sword slightly, settling into a more measured stance. "And as you are now, you're not beating me."
Axel said nothing for a moment.
Because Bluejam was right.
At least partially.
If Bluejam stayed wary, if he kept his distance and refused to overcommit, then landing a decisive touch would be extremely difficult. Axel's power was terrifying, but it still had limits, especially in the hands of someone this inexperienced.
But even if Bluejam was right, Axel was not stupid enough to let this man dictate the rhythm of the fight.
Bluejam raised his sword.
"Second round, brat."
Then he charged.
Only to stop well outside Axel's striking range.
The next instant, Bluejam's entire body shifted, his muscles flexing as he began to swing his sword in wide, savage arcs. Not at one point. Not in one predictable line.
Everywhere.
Wild, sweeping slashes tore through the air in front of him, overlapping one another and turning the space between them into a spinning wall of steel. It was crude at first glance, but in practice it was viciously effective. The range kept Axel out. The randomness denied him timing. Every advance line was cut apart before it could form.
Axel instantly retreated.
His body moved with almost frightening precision, weaving backward and sideways through the storm of steel. To onlookers, he looked composed, even effortless.
But in truth, his mind was burning.
Every slash had to be read.
Every angle had to be calculated.
Every step had to be placed perfectly.
He was not dancing.
He was surviving.
Damn it.
He already knew Bluejam was stronger than he had hoped, but this gap still hit harder than expected. Axel had underestimated him. He had thought Bluejam, as some backwater pirate tyrant, would rely more on brute force and intimidation than real skill.
That assumption had been stupid.
Bluejam was vicious, yes.
But he was also experienced.
And experience killed arrogance faster than any blade.
Keeping the distance like this made it impossible for Axel to rush in safely. Even if he used vector manipulation to burst forward, the storm of sword swings would still meet him before he could reach Bluejam's body. One mistake, one half second misread, and he would be the one falling.
He needs to stop.
Or I need to break his rhythm.
Axel's mind raced even while retreating.
Trash piles.
Uneven ground.
Bodies.
Angles.
Momentum.
He searched for anything that could crack the deadlock.
Then, suddenly—
Wham!
Sabo's pipe slammed into the side of Bluejam's head.
Not hard enough to bring him down, but hard enough to break the flow of his attack.
Bluejam reacted instantly. He stopped his sword mid motion, jerked his upper body, and brought the blade upward to block. Steel met iron with a sharp, explosive clang.
Then Bluejam twisted and heaved.
The force of the counter sent Sabo flying backward. He spun through the air, landed hard, rolled several times, and came up on one knee. His pipe, however, had snapped cleanly in two.
Still, he grinned through the sting in his arms.
"Didn't we agree to hold him off together?" Sabo said, breathing hard. "Don't hog all the danger by yourself."
Axel looked at him, then gave a short nod.
"Right."
That simple reminder jolted him.
He had let himself slip.
Somewhere in the middle of the exchange, he had stopped thinking about the original objective. He was no longer trying to stall Bluejam and create an escape window.
He had started trying to win.
That was the wrong battle.
Too much ego.
Too much inexperience.
Bluejam's face darkened further as he glared at both boys.
"Hold me off?" he repeated, his cheek twitching. "Interesting."
Veins bulged near his temple.
No one in Gray Terminal spoke to him like that. Not scavengers. Not pirates. Not even the nobles in Goa Kingdom who secretly used him for their own filth. Yet here were two brats calmly treating him like an obstacle to be delayed.
His killing intent thickened.
"Try it, then!"
Axel and Sabo exchanged a glance.
No words were needed.
They moved at the same time.
Sabo attacked first, naturally taking the lead because he was closer. Instead of aiming for Bluejam's head again, he swung low this time, the broken length of his pipe cutting toward Bluejam's legs. If he could trip him or disrupt his footing for even a heartbeat, Axel could finish the rest.
Bluejam saw right through it.
His sword flashed down.
The pipe met the blade for an instant.
Then shattered fully.
The impact launched Sabo backward again, skidding across the dirt before he could recover.
But that was enough.
Because while Bluejam dealt with Sabo, Axel had already slipped into the opening.
He shot low and fast, entering beneath Bluejam's line of attack.
Bluejam noticed immediately.
His instincts screamed.
He ripped his sword across toward Axel's path, aiming to cut him down before he could get close.
But this time Axel was ready.
He kicked off the uneven ground at the last instant, twisted his body sharply, and skimmed past the edge of the slash with a speed that looked almost impossible.
Then his hand landed.
Palm to leg.
Direct contact.
For a split second, the battlefield went silent in Axel's head.
And then he pushed.
He did not try anything too extravagant. No impossible stunt. No grand technique.
He simply reversed and distorted the force inside the flesh beneath his hand, driving the blood flow violently against its proper direction.
Pffft!
A blood vessel burst.
Blood sprayed from Bluejam's leg.
Bluejam's face contorted.
His body buckled, and he dropped to one knee with a snarl of pain.
Axel did not hesitate.
The instant the hit landed, he tore himself away and sprang backward toward Sabo.
He had no intention of admiring the damage.
"Go!" Axel barked.
Sabo took one look at Bluejam's leg and did not waste a second asking questions.
The amount of blood alone was enough.
Whatever Axel had done, Bluejam was in no shape to immediately chase.
They turned and ran.
On the other side, Ace and Luffy had finally smashed through the last layer of pirates and forced open a route into the forest. The moment Axel and Sabo started retreating, the two were already waiting at the tree line.
"Move!"
The four of them plunged into the woods.
Behind them, the pirates hesitated.
No one stepped forward to block them.
Their captain had been injured.
Actually injured.
And by children.
That sight had shattered more than their confidence. It had cracked the fear structure holding all of Gray Terminal together.
Some men rushed toward Bluejam instead.
"Captain!"
"What happened?!"
Bluejam's face was twisted with fury as he grabbed at his bleeding leg.
"Damn brats...!"
His voice came out like a growl dragged over broken glass.
Then, in pure rage, he drew his remaining flintlock pistol and fired without even looking properly.
Bang!
One of his own men dropped dead on the spot.
The others froze in terror.
"I won't let this go," Bluejam hissed, glaring toward the forest where the four boys had vanished. "Not ever."
Deep inside the trees, Ace and Luffy had not gone far.
Though they had broken through first, they had stopped to wait, unwilling to leave Sabo and Axel behind unless absolutely necessary.
The moment the two emerged from the brush, both of them visibly relaxed.
Ace let out a breath through his nose.
Luffy grinned broadly.
"You made it!"
Ace's gaze dropped briefly to the blood on Bluejam's distant path, then shifted back to Axel.
"I didn't expect you to actually hurt Bluejam," he said. "And it looked easy, too."
Axel gave a dry, self mocking laugh.
"Easy?"
He looked back once toward the edge of the forest, where the sounds of Gray Terminal were already growing faint behind them.
Then he exhaled.
"There was nothing easy about that."