Chapter 10

On the deck of the *Pingta*,

Amidst the carnage of severed limbs, a fierce battle—or rather, a siege—was drawing to a close.

“Huff... huff...”

The bald boatswain was indeed powerful, but after being severely wounded by a close-range explosion, his initial burst of energy had waned.

Pfft,

A flash of light, and the boatswain, already covered in wounds, was stabbed through the lower back once more.

This is it—

A glint of ferocity in his eyes, the boatswain's muscles around the wound suddenly tightened, trapping the sword inside his body. Drenched in blood, he swung his axe backward, determined to kill the treacherous navigator.

Pfft!!

Blood splattered as the blade cut through flesh, striking its target!

“Quite dangerous, isn’t it?”

However, the broad axe only hit a dead sailor. At the critical moment, the navigator, Daphrans, had pushed a nearby crew member in front of him as a ‘shield’ to block the severely wounded boatswain’s attack.

Swish,

Seizing the opportunity, the navigator withdrew his sword and continued to circle around, attacking.

“AAAAAAHHHHH~~~”

“Coward, scum, fight me like a man!!”

The enraged boatswain swung his massive axe, but his movements grew slower and heavier.

If he still had his sword, if he hadn’t taken the explosion, if his subordinates hadn’t all rushed to the captain’s cabin...

Unfortunately, there were no such ‘ifs.’ The enemies around the boatswain were constantly moving, like hyenas hunting a lion. Lead bullets and knives continuously struck him, each attack retreating immediately, never engaging in a prolonged fight.

Thud,

The massive axe, like a millstone, fell heavily onto the deck, the blood beneath his feet forming a small pool. The boatswain’s pupils dimmed, and his heart, after one last spasm, finally stopped beating.

“Is he dead?”

“Seems so...”

The bald boatswain lay motionless, but as the saying goes, ‘Even a dead tiger retains its ferocity.’ His towering figure, still gripping the massive axe, stood on the deck, eyes wide open, as if ready to pounce and kill at any moment!

The few remaining sailors under the navigator’s command, still trembling with fear, let out a heavy sigh of relief.

It’s finally over!

Next, they would enjoy their victory—

Bang, bang, bang!

A series of gunshots rang out, and the few sailors who had just begun to celebrate were hit by lead bullets and thrown back.

?!

“Sir Clahorne, what do you mean by this?”

Ducking to avoid the bullets, the navigator looked up at the nobleman emerging from the ruined ‘captain’s cabin.’

“Planting explosives in the captain’s cabin, using your subordinates as pawns, hiding in a secure room, and now coming out to finish us off...”

The navigator sighed regretfully,

“Captain, by doing this, you’ve truly broken the hearts of your crew—”

“Stop acting,”

The noble captain, holding a cane in one hand and a flintlock in the other, looked at the navigator coldly.

“Everything, you orchestrated it all, didn’t you?”

The only person on this ship who could silently kill any sailor, besides the boatswain Alec, was the navigator, who had just revealed his formidable strength... and the captain, Clahorne himself!

The boatswain’s performance didn’t seem like that of a mastermind, and the captain hadn’t acted, so the only possibility was:

The navigator in front of him!

“Did you also kill your uncle, old Yule?”

...

Faced with the noble captain’s questioning, the refined navigator standing on the blood-soaked deck smiled slightly. The word that came to mind for Rossi, who was secretly observing, was:

‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing!’

“What does it matter?”

Around him were either corpses or severely wounded men about to become corpses.

In this situation, the refined navigator decided to ‘lay his cards on the table’ and ‘stop acting.’

“I did this for the future of the Daphrans family. I believe Uncle Yule would understand, and Sir Clahorne would understand as well, right?”

Whoosh—

Crouching, charging,

As soon as he finished speaking, the refined navigator rushed at the noble captain with his rapier in hand.

By killing the captain, the ship, its cargo, and the smuggled explosives... everything would be his! Selling these items would provide him with enough capital to establish a small town.

With steady development, in a few decades, the Daphrans would surely become a new noble family!

Bang, bang!

Facing the navigator, who was charging at high speed and dodging lead bullets with a ‘Z’-shaped movement, the noble captain suddenly discarded his empty flintlock and swung his cane with both hands.

The cane bent sharply in the air, a testament to its incredible speed!

At the same time, a piercing whistle sounded. The cane had clearly produced a sonic boom, showing that the noble captain was also a formidable opponent.

Clang, clang, clang!!

The rapier darted like a flash of light, and the cane swung in a circle. Although their skills weren’t as overwhelming as the bald boatswain’s, the intensity of their attacks and defenses was far beyond that of ordinary sailors.

“Old man, I didn’t expect you to have such skills!”

“Hmph—”

Both were fast fighters, their sword and cane movements swirling around them, their footsteps leaving trails on the deck. Strangely, neither had a single scratch on them.

It looked like a gentlemanly dance where they were ‘going easy’ on each other, but the danger was only known to them.

Pfft,

The refined navigator’s face lit up. Both of them were ‘high-speed, fragile’ types. In the high-speed battle, his rapier found an opening, deflecting the cane and piercing the captain’s abdomen.

It’s over!

The noble captain’s face turned pale from the wound, but he didn’t give up. Instead, he flipped his wrist, aiming the bottom of the cane at the navigator.

?

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and the navigator, who had just pierced the captain, fell back, a trail of blood spurting from his shoulder.

The noble captain’s cane was actually a special firearm!

“It’s over,”

Although his abdomen was pierced, the captain’s face relaxed, as if he was certain of victory.

So when the navigator charged again, his rapier piercing through the captain’s chest, the noble captain’s eyes widened in shock!

“Why?”

The noble captain couldn’t believe it; his ‘trump card’ had failed?

“This is... sea... sea stone...”

“Bullets laced with sea stone powder, right?”

The refined navigator smiled, gripping the dying captain’s throat.

“Sorry, but I’m not a Devil Fruit user!”

Crack,

A slight sound of bone breaking, and the tall hat fell onto the blood-soaked deck, along with the nobleman’s ambition to revive his family.

Silently killing people wasn’t hard, but silently firing a gun was another matter.

So when the first body was discovered, both the navigator and the captain had the same suspicion:

Devil Fruit user!

In the noble captain’s view, the navigator had gained some Devil Fruit power and was planning to take the ship and its cargo for himself. Unfortunately, he was wrong about one thing:

Swish,

Spinning rapidly, he deflected a sailor’s knife with his rapier.

Despite the sparks flying between the two weapons, there was no sound of impact!

“I have to thank you for the opportunity you created, Daphrans.”

The one who had truly eaten the Devil Fruit was this young boy in sunglasses.

“And—”

Die!

The sword flashed, knocking the weapon out of Daphrans’ hand.

Although Daphrans’ ‘plan’ had gone smoothly so far, there seemed to be a problem in the final step: killing the navigator to become the true ‘sparrow.’

If the ‘praying mantis’ is much stronger than the ‘sparrow,’ the question of who eats whom becomes a matter of concern.

“Haha, not necessarily.”

Just as Daphrans’ attack drew the refined navigator’s attention, a figure silently climbed onto the deck from the ship’s side and charged, a small knife aimed at the navigator’s back.

Naturally, it was Rossi!