Chapter 297: Blood Splatter
That Incident from back then has actually always been a taboo within the Navy.
Apart from those who actually participated in it, even those with higher military ranks were not informed of any specific details.
Compared to the impact that the incident itself might cause, handing over systematic cultivation methods internal to the Navy, such as Rokushiki and the Haki manual, seemed even less conspicuous.
The World Government, headed by the Gorosei, directly intervened to control public opinion, while arranging for CP to clean up all traces left before and after the transaction throughout the process, even going so far as to actively create some confusion to divert the attention of major event fervorists represented by Morgans.
No way around it—although they often say things like “the Navy is the face, CP is the substance,” face is still face, not an ass; when it’s slapped swollen, they still have to cover it up.
Moreover, Sengoku, as the designated next Fleet Admiral, absolutely could not have any black marks on him…
After all, if it became known that he was captured by pirates, his career as Fleet Admiral would be done for, right.jpg
Fortunately, there weren’t many people who witnessed that incident throughout and survived—only a mere four—so the pressure on the Navy’s internal Secrecy Work wasn’t great, which is a kind of black humor.
And those four lucky survivors, after returning, mostly embarked on completely different life paths from their originals.
Except for the resolute Sengoku, who wasn’t much affected, the others either chose to remove their armor and return to the fields after escaping death, or began to shine after panning for gold in the sand…
Or were forever trapped in the past, their hearts gradually twisting into vengeful demons.
……
“The Beasts Pirates once obtained a complete handwritten copy of Rokushiki, so that’s why you, coming from the Beasts Pirates, can use ‘Shave’ from Rokushiki.”
“I’m not wrong, am I, Fish-Man.”
Compared to the earth-shaking change in the opponent’s aura, the change in how he referred to himself was practically negligible.
“…”
“Your Excellency is correct.”
Jinbe nodded, acknowledging his identity with the Beasts Pirates.
Meanwhile, Alberich nearby was getting a bit unsettled—
“Eh?! There’s such a thing? When?!”
“A complete version of Rokushiki was actually leaked to pirates! What the hell were those guys in the Secrecy division doing!”
“Or was there an insider traitor?”
Clearly, this “party involved” who escaped the ordeal by playing hooky was also isolated from the incident afterward; he didn’t even know that Sengoku and the others had been captured, thinking they were just undergoing secret treatment during that time.
Mien ignored Alberich’s shouting and remained tight-lipped as per orders… but the chilling killing intent on him was already unabashedly surging toward Jinbe.
“One Sword Style · Thunderbolt!”
A white light flashed— this time, Mien didn’t attack Jinbe’s chest again, but directly slashed toward the opponent’s neck… uh, a bit below the mouth.
Whale Shark Fish-Men’s round bodies really made it hard to find a neck for the moment.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing instantly spread in all directions!
Mien’s silver rapier slashed onto Jinbe’s skin, but unexpectedly failed again.
An invisible layer of armor firmly blocked that sharp cold gleam outside his body.
Although Jinbe still didn’t see the opponent’s sword-drawing action this time, he had guessed that Mien would attack his exposed parts, so he directly coated his limbs and head with Haki in advance.
Doing so wasted some Haki, but in the situation where his own Observation Haki wasn’t proficient enough, it was indeed the only method.
It was a bit stupid, but if it worked, it was fine.
……
“Armament Haki, huh… Indeed, it’d be strange if you didn’t know it.”
After one strike failed, Mien wasn’t too disappointed; he knew the advantage was still on his side.
The opponent’s still immature Haki couldn’t withstand such consumption; next, he just needed to increase the attack frequency to prevent the opponent from organizing a counterattack.
Drawing the other long sword of completely different style from his waist, Mien assumed the dual sword style stance specialized for swift swords.
This one was also a famous sword, even ranked among the 50 Ryo Wazamono, and it was the keepsake of Mien’s already deceased friend.
The Wano Country style Ryo Wazamono crossed with the Western-style bright silver rapier looked quite bizarre visually.
But Jinbe didn’t dare relax in the slightest…
“Dual Sword Style · Chaotic Thunder!”
『Here it comes!』
His heart instantly alerted, Jinbe unleashed his Armament and Observation Haki at full power… but still detected no attack actions from the opponent.
『Huh?』
『What hap—』
Clang clang clang clang clang clang!!!
Just like the calm before a storm is always brief, in the next moment while Jinbe was still puzzled about when the attack would come, countless slashes came down densely like chaotic thunder!
Completely unable to detect the opponent’s attack trajectories, Mien’s slashes appeared out of thin air, and their swinging frequency nearly broke the limit… Jinbe felt like he was in a razor storm.
Armament Haki was being rapidly consumed, but Jinbe had no way to deal with it.
As a rookie, he could barely handle half-baked Vice Admirals like Alberich, but he was a bit short against a genuine Headquarters Vice Admiral.
And now his opponent was the “Swift Swordmaster”—Mien—who had broken through the Great Swordmaster realm years ago, theoretically surpassing the “Vice Admiral” level, and it wouldn’t be excessive to call him an Admiral Candidate.
『No good, Haki is being consumed too fast, I have to find a way to counterattack.』
A prolonged defense will surely lose; compared to being worn down to death by the opponent, Jinbe was more willing to risk a counterattack.
“Hah!”
“Plum Blossom Skin!”
Crossing his arms, Jinbe used an unfamiliar defensive move in an attempt to buy a breath of time for counterattack.
Clang—!
“Hm?”
The blade was repelled for an instant, and Mien couldn’t help but let out a soft “oh” from his mouth~
“Now!”
Raising his palm, using the base of the palm as the striking point, Jinbe channeled full-body power and thrust fiercely toward the source of the slash!
His arms coated with heavy Armament Haki smoothly deflected the obstruction of the two sharp blades, heading straight for the Great Swordmaster wielding them.
And in the instant before contact, the Haki on Jinbe’s arms actually began to flow, gathering toward his palms…
“Fish-Man Karate · Sharkskin Palm Base!”
Boom!
Powerful and fierce force blasted out, the air instantly exploding!
But…
“Too slow.”
“And… full of openings.”
Whoosh—!
A sword’s cold gleam, blood splattering everywhere~
Crimson blood shot into the air in that instant of intersecting lights and shadows, appearing extremely glaring and brilliant.
“Roar~”
“So, Fish-Man blood is red too, huh~ I thought it was blue like the skin~”
“But this is trouble now~”
Alberich nearby squinted his eyes and murmured.
……
In the distance, Fish-Man District.
Holding the picked-up infant, watching as it was too hungry to even cry, Burufaruto quickened his steps, moving toward the edge of the Fish-Man District.
He thought to first check the shops for things like milk to feed the infant in his arms.
But just as he was about to step out of that street area, he suddenly paused, then looked in a certain direction as if he heard some commotion.
“This sound is…”
