Gin flew backward, his vision spinning wildly. The back of his head slammed against the hard floor, leaving his mind in a daze.
Relying on his intense will to survive and combat instincts, Gin gritted his teeth and forcibly dragged back his fading consciousness. With a quick kip-up, he sprang back to his feet from the floor.
Looking over again, he saw that Allen had returned to his previous stance.
With his hands in his pockets, he stood perfectly straight in his original spot, looking as if he hadn't taken Gin seriously from the very beginning.
"You didn't even take your hands out... Are you looking down on me, you bastard!"
Gin growled in anger, his expression growing increasingly ugly.
Allen didn't answer; he simply watched the other man expressionlessly.
He truly wasn't looking down on Gin. On the contrary, this move was his fastest starting stance.
The Quick-Draw Punch. Its principle was the same as a swordsman's draw slash. Keeping his hands in his pockets mimicked a blade gathering momentum within its sheath, aiming for the fastest possible instantaneous burst of power.
Applied to martial arts, it also integrated a bit of Jeet Kune Do's philosophy, relying on the advantage of extreme explosive speed to strike second but land first.
It was precisely because of these two points that Allen currently adopted this pretentious posture of keeping his hands in his pockets, looking as if he were daring Gin to bring out whatever moves he had.
It appeared arrogant and dismissive, but in reality, he was fully prepared for battle.
Allen called it the most pretentious martial art in Baki!
But Gin didn't see it that way. Looking at Allen's arrogant posture before him, he felt humiliated, and his expression turned increasingly ferocious.
He tightened his grip on his tonfas. The two large iron balls spun rapidly, whipping up a howling wind within the confines of the kitchen.
"Tonfas... and iron balls... I remember this guy!"
Looking at this unusual pair of weapons and Gin's fierce expression, Buchi's eyes widened in shock as he suddenly shouted,
"Captain, he's a subordinate of Admiral Don Krieg! The Combat Commander with a bounty of twelve million Berries, Gin the Demon Man!"
"I don't need you to tell me that, idiot. I figured it out ages ago. Do you think I wasted my two and a half years at the 153rd Branch for nothing?"
Allen rolled his eyes at him dismissively.
At this moment, Sham clutched his shoulder with a pained expression, struggling to stand up from the kitchen counter.
"No wonder. I thought he looked familiar. Didn't we hear that their crew entered the Grand Line a while ago? Why would he be here?"
Hearing the Grand Line mentioned, Gin's expression noticeably changed. As if recalling something, a hint of terror flickered in his eyes.
But he quickly suppressed it. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Allen with cold ferocity.
"At first, I thought I was seeing things. I didn't expect the Black Cat Pirates to actually be assimilated. I've never heard of a big shot like you in the East Blue before."
"No need to rush. You'll hear all about it once I assimilate your crew too."
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled with contempt.
"Hmph, what an arrogant boaster. I'll soon make you pay for your words."
Gin's tone was cold, and his eyes were even colder. Swinging his spinning tonfas, he leaned forward and charged. Arriving in front of Allen, he spread his arms wide and violently smashed the two iron balls together toward the center!
Clang!!
Allen's body abruptly sank into a half-crouch. The two iron balls collided right above his head, letting out a deafening crash.
While dodging the attack, under Gin's gaze of unbelievable shock, Allen's left hand had already shot out of his pocket, delivering a vicious palm thrust straight into Gin's abdomen!
Bang!
"Guh—!"
Gin's face flushed as he held his breath, nearly spewing a mouthful of stomach acid.
Before he could even react, Allen's right hand had also whipped out. With his fingers pressed together into a knife-hand, he delivered a lightning-fast chop to Gin's chest at a speed invisible to the naked eye!
Bang! Crack!
"Blergh—!"
Accompanied by the crisp sound of fracturing bone, Gin's bloodshot eyes bulged out. Unable to hold it in any longer, he violently threw up a mouthful of stomach acid.
However, Allen's combo wasn't over yet. Giving Gin no chance to catch his breath, he followed up with a swift upward kick right to his jaw.
Bang!
Gin flew backward once again, the back of his head smashing heavily against the hard floor as he slid several meters away, sprawling on his back.
No matter how formidable his physical constitution and willpower were, suffering two consecutive heavy blows to the jaw severely concussed his brain, causing his consciousness to blur once more.
Gin shook his head, trying to force his stinging brain back to its senses. But before he could even attempt to stand up, two pairs of sharp ten-bladed cat claws extended toward him.
The Nyaban Brothers flanked him on the left and right, pressing their blades against Gin's neck as they threatened him with fierce glares.
"Drop your weapons."
"Move again and we'll slit your throat."
Feeling the cold blades pressed against his neck, Gin looked up at the two of them and remained silent for two seconds.
*I've completely lost my chance to fight back...*
Thud! Thud!
The two iron balls crashed onto the floor. Gin let go of his tonfas, allowing the Nyaban Brothers to force him to his knees and pin his arms tightly behind his back.
"I heard you guys challenged the Grand Line a while ago. Why are you back in the East Blue? Where are Don Krieg and the rest?"
Allen slowly walked up to Gin and continued,
"Once you enter the Grand Line, the only ways to come back are either sailing all the way around it or crossing the Calm Belt."
"But the Calm Belt is filled with Sea King nests. For an ordinary ship to enter is near-certain death. Just what exactly happened to make you take such a massive risk to return to the East Blue?"
Allen looked at Gin with an intrigued expression.
Hearing this, Gin panicked slightly and couldn't help but look up at Allen.
*How does this guy know so much about the Grand Line? He even guessed the gist of what we've been through recently.*
"Our captain is asking you a question! Speak!"
Seeing him stay silent, the Nyaban Brothers moved their blades a fraction closer, drawing a faint line of blood on Gin's neck.
Gin gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with indignation and a hint of reluctance.
*I still don't know how Don Krieg is doing. I can't just die here.*
He hesitated for two seconds.
Gin finally loosened his clenched fists. Lowering his head and closing his eyes, he recalled their previous encounter, his face gradually turning pale.
"We did go to the Grand Line. And there, we met a man..."
Soon, Gin recounted their recent experiences, mixing half-truths with reality.
As it turned out, not long after entering the Grand Line, they encountered a man at sea. One of their pirates, looking for some fun, fired a cannonball at him...
And then, the nightmare began.
Fifty ships! A grand armada of five thousand men! They were nearly annihilated by that man with sharp, hawk-like eyes, wielding a massive black blade!
A fleet of fifty ships was treated like a mere toy to pass the time.
One man, one sword. He hunted them down until they had no choice but to force their way through the Calm Belt to escape.
Gin himself had been separated from the flagship during the escape. Left without food and severely weakened, he ran into Fullbody and was ultimately captured.
That was the entirety of his ordeal. As for Don Krieg and the others, Gin had no idea what their current situation was.
He could guess where Don Krieg might have gone, but he certainly wasn't going to tell Allen that.
After hearing Gin's story, the Nyaban Brothers were stunned. One man and one sword taking down a fleet of five thousand men—even a novelist wouldn't dare write something so absurd.
But looking at Allen's expression, it seemed he completely believed his words.
"B-Boss... you don't actually believe this nonsense, do you?"
"Ah. Eyes like a hawk, a massive black two-handed sword, sailing alone in a small boat..."
Allen nodded faintly and said, "The person they encountered should be one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, the World's Strongest Swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk!"
Hearing this, the Nyaban Brothers' jaws dropped to the floor in shock, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
*Is there really someone who can hunt down five thousand people?!!*
Want more chapters? 50+ extra chapters are available on my Patreon :
<< patreon.com/Aragai_Sama >>