*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Soon, the battle erupted amidst a dense barrage of gunfire.
The Marines leaned against the warship's railing, setting up a row of flintlock rifles and firing in unison.
Opposite them, Allen stood motionless on the broken bow of his ship, letting the lead bullets whistle past his ears.
In the hands of mere grunts, firearms weren't entirely useless, but they might as well have been.
He didn't even need to dodge; he could just stand there and let them shoot...
*Swish!*
Allen tilted his head slightly, and a thin cut opened up on his cheek.
A warm, scarlet trail flowed down his skin. Allen raised his hand, wiped it with his index finger, and looked down at the blood staining his fingertip.
'Guess I acted tough a bit too early.'
Below, the pirates held up iron-plated wooden shields at the front, while those behind them carried grappling hooks and wooden planks, waiting to bridge the gap the moment the two ships met.
The Marines on the opposite side were equally prepared, forming a flintlock firing squad on the deck and aiming rows of pitch-black muzzles at the pirates.
Meanwhile, three light cannons were mounted on the warship's bow deck. Under the operation of two soldiers, the leftmost cannon slowly adjusted its trajectory, aiming its barrel at the pirate ship's deck while they loaded a shell.
It was easy to see that before the boarding even began, the pirates would likely suffer another devastating round of artillery fire.
However, these conventional boarding tactics sometimes proved utterly powerless in the face of overwhelming individual strength.
Allen wasn't about to just watch them fire. Seeing the Marines finish loading the cannon, he bent his knees slightly and pushed off with an explosive burst of power!
*Crack!*
The wooden planks beneath his feet instantly shattered as Allen's body shot forward like a cannonball.
Under the terrified gazes of the Marines, he crossed the twenty-meter gap in the blink of an eye, crashing violently into the warship's deck cannon with a thunderous *boom!*
"Good morning, boys."
Allen looked up with a sinister grin. Before they could speak, he raised his leg and delivered a front kick, sending one of the cannon operators flying.
"W-Wait a minute...!"
The other Marine's eyes filled with panic. His trembling hand frantically reached behind his back for his gun, but a large hand grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him into the air.
Gripping this human cannonball, Allen swung him in a half-circle and ruthlessly hurled him down into the flintlock firing squad on the deck, crashing into a small cluster of Marines.
"Fire! Hurry up and fire!"
Amidst the crowd, Fullbody pointed at Allen and roared. The Marines aimed their weapons and fired in unison!
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Bullets rained down like a torrential storm, but Allen executed a backflip, landing squarely behind the cannon.
The dense barrage of bullets struck the cannon barrel, ringing out with a crisp, metallic *clink-clank*.
Allen raised his foot and delivered a vicious kick to the barrel, instantly spinning the cannon around to aim directly at Fullbody on the deck below.
"Eh?!"
Seeing that pitch-black, menacing muzzle, Fullbody's eyes nearly popped out of his skull in sheer terror.
The surrounding Marines turned pale, their blood running cold as they immediately abandoned their formation and scattered in panic.
"Watch out for the cannon!!"
"Run!"
"No!!"
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly, gripped the firing lanyard, and gave it a hard yank!
*Boom!!*
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the cannonball shot out mercilessly, landing on the deck and detonating with a massive explosion.
Wood splinters instantly flew everywhere as the explosive shockwave blasted outward, sending several Marines flying and crashing heavily against the walls.
"Let's get to work, boys!"
"Follow the boss and charge!"
The Nyaban Brothers shouted in excitement. Following closely in Allen's footsteps, they leaped from the railing, crossing the ten-meter gap.
*Thud.*
Landing on the warship's deck, Sham and Buchi looked up with sinister sneers. Baring their ten-bladed cat claws that gleamed with a sharp, cold light, they charged forward with swift steps, plunging headlong into the Marine ranks.
"The Nyaban Brothers?"
In a corner of the deck, Gin couldn't help but frown as he watched the duo slaughtering their way through the Marine soldiers.
Although he wasn't familiar with them, they were all active in the East Blue, after all.
Captain Kuro of a Hundred Plans had been widely renowned back in the day. As a great pirate whose bounty and strength were no weaker than Captain Don Krieg's, Gin was no stranger to the Black Cat Pirates.
Unfortunately, Captain Kuro had been captured and executed by the Marines three years ago. Since then, the Black Cat Pirates' name had rarely been heard. He never expected to run into them today under these circumstances.
'I see. So they've rebranded,' he thought.
Glancing up at the flag on the pirate ship, he seemed to understand what was going on.
Gin's gaze shifted to Allen, the first to charge onto the warship. The corners of his thick lips curled up slightly as he muttered,
"Looks like they have a new captain. It's probably that guy. He doesn't look weak at all."
...
Soon, a large number of pirates wielding swords and guns crossed the makeshift wooden planks, aggressively boarding the warship and clashing with the Marines.
Gin shrank back into the corner. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation on deck, he broke free from his ropes and slipped into the ship's cabin entirely unnoticed.
Meanwhile, by the warship's railing.
"Head Chef?!"
Seeing Sanji step forward with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette in his mouth, several pirates paused before anxiously advising him,
"It's too dangerous here, Head Chef! Hurry back to the ship."
"Yeah, leave the fighting to us combat team members."
"The boys still want to eat your cooking. We can't bear to see you get hurt."
"Thanks for the concern, but there's no need,"
Sanji replied calmly, exhaling a puff of smoke in response to the surrounding pirates' worries.
He swept his gaze across the battlefield and quickly locked onto the Marine Lieutenant in the crowd, who had just knocked back several pirates with a few punches.
Sanji then looked toward the warship's bow deck. Allen had also noticed Fullbody but didn't seem to have any intention of making a move. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Sanji.
'Is he telling me to go up there and show off a little?' Sanji thought.
As if reading Allen's eyes, Sanji turned back to look at Fullbody, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"If that's the case, I might as well warm up a bit."
...
Amidst the chaotic melee.
*Smack!!*
Wearing steel brass knuckles, Fullbody threw a rapid right punch, striking a charging pirate in the face and knocking him back.
With yet another failed attack, the surrounding pirates grew wary. They raised their swords and circled him, but didn't dare to advance recklessly.
Seeing this, Fullbody's confidence instantly surged. He smiled with a contemptuous look in his eyes.
"Hmph, just a bunch of small fry after all. To think you actually dared to board us. A Headquarters Lieutenant isn't as weak as you think."
"So he's a Headquarters officer. No wonder he's so strong."
"Looks like we'll just have to wait for the Nyaban Brothers to get here."
The pirates spoke with apprehension, but glancing not too far away, it seemed the Nyaban Brothers were also tied up by the combined efforts of over a dozen Marine petty officers.
"What's going on?"
"It's just an Ensign and a dozen petty officers."
"The Nyaban Brothers are actually being held back?!"
The faces of the pirates were written with disbelief.
"Heh, you ignorant fools. The daily training of Headquarters soldiers is far more rigorous than a bunch of small fry like you could ever imagine,"
Fullbody couldn't help but mock them.
Just then, a figure walked up from behind the pirates.
Wearing a blue shirt and a black suit, Sanji stepped forward slowly and elegantly.
He took a drag from the cigarette between his fingers, exhaled a long trail of smoke, and said flatly,
"Calling everyone small fry left and right... Let's see just how much weight you actually pull, pal."
"Head Chef?"
"Big Bro Sanji?!"
Seeing that the newcomer was Sanji, the pirates couldn't help but reveal expressions of astonishment.
Fullbody frowned, looking Sanji up and down.
He had no impression of this person. Judging by his build, he didn't look like an expert either; in fact, one could say his entire stance was full of openings.
"Heh, just putting on an act."
Fullbody scoffed, no longer hesitating.
He tightened his grip on his steel brass knuckles, stepped forward swiftly, and threw a heavy, powerful right hook straight at Sanji's face!
"Violent Iron Fist!!"
"Big Bro Sanji!"
The fist howled through the wind, causing the pirates to cry out in panic instinctively.
However, in the next second, Sanji planted one foot on the ground and spun his body. Dodging the incoming iron fist, he twisted his waist to channel his power, and a pitch-black long leg pierced through the air.
"Mouton Shoot!!"
*Bam!!*
A perfect spinning back kick!
Sanji's straight, long leg was like a steel pillar, ruthlessly and violently smashing into Fullbody's face, sending blood and shattered teeth flying.
*Crash!!*
The immense force sent him flying backward. His back slammed heavily against the warship's mast before he slumped down like a pile of soft mud.
Fullbody lay on the ground with his eyes rolled back, having lost consciousness on the spot from a single strike!
*Gulp...*
"An... an instant kill...!"
"He one-shotted a Headquarters Ensign...!"
The surrounding pirates' throats bobbed as they couldn't help but swallow hard.
Looking at Sanji again, everyone revealed expressions of sheer disbelief, their eyes now tinged with a hint of fear.
'Bro, and you call yourself a chef?!'
Thinking back to lunch, when Sanji had strictly emphasized that they must not waste food.
They hadn't thought much of it while eating earlier, but looking back on it now, a wave of delayed terror washed over the pirates, and they silently shed tears of regret in their hearts.
'Big Bro Sanji...'
'You've already cooked the ingredients, so please don't cook us later, boohoo...'
...
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