Chapter 307: Escape
“Huff~ Huff~”
『This time, it’s really… not looking good.』
Burufaruto pressed hard on his side abdomen, the previous battle had caused his wound to reopen, warm liquid gushing out uncontrollably, soaking his clothes and palm.
His breathing started to become heavy again, and along with the blood loss, a sense of weakness was constantly surging from inside his body.
Squinting his eyes hard, Burufaruto found that his line of sight had somehow become less clear.
First, he fought the World Government’s top agent for a long time, then dragged his injured body back quickly from Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters underwater to the sea surface, and then to save the crew members, he forcibly used the extremely stamina-consuming Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique… He was already exhausted.
『Sure enough, his body was not as good as before.』
『The current situation could only…』
“Huff—”
Taking a deep breath, squeezing out all the remaining stamina in his body, Burufaruto assumed the starting stance of Fish-Man Karate, planning for a quick battle.
“Hm? Planning to go all out?”
“Perfect, I don’t plan to waste any more time either.”
His right hand twirled a sword flower, Mien regripped the famous sword that had stabbed Burufaruto earlier properly, then crossed his dual swords into the swift Two-Sword Style stance.
He also needed to deal with Burufaruto before that CP0 agent arrived, otherwise, there was no guarantee the other wouldn’t cause trouble.
After all, relying on the interest network woven from arms trade over these years, the World Government internals seemed to have always maintained an ambiguous attitude toward the Beasts Pirates, and if given the opportunity to leverage those connections, it would be trouble.
“The next strike will take your head.”
Sizzle~
Mien’s sharp eyes stared dead at Burufaruto in front of him, the two famous swords in his hands rubbing against each other, sparking tiny sparks.
“Heh~ If you can do it, come try~”
“Hah!”
“Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique—Gui Wa Zheng Quan!!!”
Burufaruto roared, the sound as if squeezed from his torn chest, pouring all his remaining power into this one fist!
Before the fist arrived, a visible violent blast wave had already exploded at his feet, the remaining deck fiercely flung away, forming a fan-shaped impact wave, carrying momentum that crushed everything, charging straight at Mien!
And facing this earth-shaking strike, Mien was eerily still.
His momentum seemed to instantly collapse into his body, his whole person turning into a blurry afterimage, light as if weightless.
His eyes sharp as a hawk, locking onto the fleeting gap in Burufaruto’s fist momentum unavoidable due to injury.
『Now!』
He moved.
His action fluid and swift, without the slightest excess motion, as if time flowed slower on him.
Clang—
The silent sword cry tore through the air!
“Secret Sword·Karma”
Swift sword like wind, slashing silently, dual swords united, striking later but arriving first.
One side a majestic domineering heavy fist crushing all things, the other an introverted tricky cold stab severing soul and seizing life—in the misty center of the battlefield, at speed beyond visual limits, they clashed in an instant!
Mien, with faster reaction and action, naturally predicted the outcome first.
In the instant before contact, he would use ‘Kami-e’ footwork combined with Burufaruto’s fist wind to forcibly twist his body, using his shoulder instead of his head to take that fatal punch.
In exchange, his sword would pierce unhindered into Burufaruto’s chest, then shred his heart!
Injury for life!
Trading one arm for the heart of the man before him, this clash would be Mien’s victory!
……
The fierce fist fell, Mien’s left shoulder suddenly deformed, caved in… but it didn’t matter anymore.
Because at the same moment, two sword tips wrapped in astonishing Haki had touched Burufaruto’s chest, pointing straight at the heart inside!
This was already an unavoidable death trap!
『Got him!』
Pfft—
Cling~~~~
『Hm?』
“Hm?”
Burufaruto and Mien both let out puzzled exclamations, the latter even widening his eyes in confusion.
The anticipated sensation of blade piercing flesh did not appear; Mien’s sword could not advance further the moment it touched Burufaruto’s body.
“This, this is…”
Golden coating clung tightly to Burufaruto’s skin, plating his entire body in a pale golden glow.
The golden coating had almost no thickness, yet gave a feeling of sacred inviolability that no attack could shake, even a great swordmaster like Mien could not break through it in the slightest with his trump card Secret Sword!
Hum~~~
While both were still caught in doubt and shock, the golden coating suddenly expanded outward, directly bouncing Mien away, and then dissipated into nothing as if its energy was exhausted.
Bang!
Mien landed back on his warship, his body slamming hard onto the warship deck with a thud, and one of his sabers spun a few times in the air before stabbing into the deck beside him.
“…”
“…”
That scene was too bizarre, leaving both sides’ personnel momentarily unsure what to do.
After a long silence, the deputy officer cautiously approached Mien lying on the deck and asked with concern:
“Vice Admiral, are you alright?”
“…”
“Gold… was it her?”
Receiving no response, Mien stared at the sky with open eyes, muttering something in his mouth like talking to himself, but showed no intention of getting up.
Meanwhile, Burufaruto relaxed all over, half-kneeling on the ground… The squad leader who had wisely moved away nearby hurried forward to support him.
“Brother Burufaruto, you alright?”
“Huff~ No, nothing.”
“Good as long as you’re fine, good as long as you’re fine.”
Enduring to stand up again, Burufaruto finally took out an item from his pocket and placed it in his palm.
“Could this thing have saved my life just now…”
It was a feather-shaped golden token, with Burufaruto’s name engraved squarely on it.
He remembered this was the core executive token Raiden gave him when the Beasts Pirates first occupied Fenrir Island; because of its overly ornate and exquisite shape, he had carried it as a decoration all these years.
“Didn’t expect it to have this effect, really need to thank her properly.”
At this point, the energy in the golden feather was mostly depleted, no longer emitting its usual faint glow, becoming like an ordinary artwork… but it was enough.
Carefully tucking it back into his pocket, Burufaruto glanced at Mien lying on the ground, then turned his gaze to the other two warships.
One was too far away, and seemed to have an officer in command.
The other was very close, and seemed to have no high-ranking officers…
“That’s the one!”
Target confirmed, under the squad leader’s gaze, Burufaruto flipped directly into the sea, then with one ‘Sea Current Shoulder Throw’ slapped almost all the soldiers on that nearby warship into the sea.
“Everyone! Board the ship!”
Leaping from the sea onto the warship deck, he immediately ordered the surviving Beasts Pirates personnel who had been soaking in the sea to climb onto this newly seized warship.
Jump into sea, clear the deck, seize the ship… all in one smooth motion!
Quick judgment, decisive action, clean movements… Burufaruto’s fluid operation truly opened everyone’s eyes, leaving many still not reacting.
“What are you standing around for?! Get on the ship!”
Seeing the crowd still unmoving, Burufaruto hurriedly urged.
“Ah, oh, oh!”
“Yes!”
……
“Officer Alberich, aren’t we going to open fire?”
Navy personnel on the distant other warship saw this and couldn’t help speaking up.
“Hm~ No rush, Mien’s side hasn’t moved yet~”
“Besides, they’re so close, wouldn’t want to hit friendly forces~”
Alberich watched leisurely as Beasts Pirates personnel boarded the ship one by one preparing to depart, showing no action, as usual not wanting to wade into this mess.
With his military rank already at its peak, he had no need to personally step up like Mien to draw the Beasts Pirates’ hatred; he had no grudge with the Beasts Pirates, and now Alberich just wanted to offend no one and retire safely.
He had inquired in advance that Singh, the deputy staff officer in charge of retired officers’ benefits, had some unclear relationship with Beasts Heavy Industry long ago~
『Better let that guy Mien keep taking the front~』
With things at this point, the task from the Celestial Dragons and CP0 unfinished, someone had to take the blame.
And that someone was definitely Mien, the mastermind of the ‘unauthorized action’; after all, it was he who ordered the bombardment regardless of the target’s life, and he who failed against the Beasts Pirates letting them escape.
Watching the seized warship that had started sailing away, Alberich ordered a symbolic few cannon shots, then sat back on his deck chair.
