The butler led the group into the courtyard.
At this moment, Sinan was sound asleep, snoring loudly with women in his arms on both sides.
Click. Clack.
The doorknob turned.
Hearing the sound, Sinan opened his eyes drowsily. "Hmm?"
As a figure with a blade stepped forward and slashed toward him, he jolted awake in shock.
Without thinking, he yanked the blanket up and threw it at the attacker, grabbed a coat at random, and jumped out the window.
The second he went outside, he saw several men already waiting below, axes in hand. Yasen stood at the front.
'Damn it...'
The pirate captain grinned viciously and with a stomp, launched himself upward. Both hands gripping his massive axe, he hurled it straight at Sinan.
The man's expression darkened as he watched the weapon come toward his neck. He threw his arm forward, sending a sharp ripple through the air, which shifted his body backward midair.
At the same time, he activated Tekkai.
"Tekkai: Hundred-Forged Balloon!"
Clang!
The giant axe sank into the layers of fat on his stomach and a loud metallic sound rang out.
Yasen felt the force of his weapon draining away.
Then came a sharp whoosh.
Grabbing the axe, Sinan swung a heavy punch toward the pirate's head.
Bang!
But Yasen had already raised his own fist, meeting the strike head-on. The two clashed, then broke apart and landed on the ground.
Just then, another figure leapt down from the second floor.
Sinan's eyes widened sharply when he saw who it was. "Damn it. What are you doing here, Magnus Rockwell?!"
The burly Marine, Magnus Rockwell, let out a cold snort. "Just clearing out the parasites."
The base commander growled through clenched teeth. "You want to die?"
Rockwell sneered and charged forward with his blade.
But surprisingly agile despite his size, Sinan launched into the sky using Geppo. As his opponent came up to meet him, his legs blurred with speed.
"Rankyaku: Frenzied Slash!"
Dozens of blue crescent slashes shot out at Rockwell, who weaved through them using Kami-e and quickly closed in on the escaping Sinan.
With both hands on his blade, he struck hard.
Clang!
Another Tekkai block.
But this time, the base commander was sent crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
From below, Yasen and a few elite pirates rushed in with their weapons ready.
Sinan slammed his hands to the earth and twisted midair, spinning multiple times.
"Rankyaku: Circle Strike!"
Circular blades of blue energy fanned out in all directions, rippling like waves.
Raising his axe, Yasen cleaved through the incoming slashes, then brought it down in a savage arc.
The base commander retreated several steps, barely dodging the deadly blows aimed at his vital spots.
He bent his knees, preparing to shoot back into the sky.
Whoosh!
A finger bullet grazed the top of his head as cold sweat trickled down his spine.
He gritted his teeth, threw a punch at Yasen to force him back, and glared at the two of them.
Rockwell lowered his extended finger and frowned slightly. 'I rushed it...'
Sinan's right fist, used to block the axe earlier, was trembling uncontrollably. Blood flowed from a deep wound, exposing bone.
He looked toward Yasen and hissed, "You're pirates, aren't you? No matter how much that bastard is paying you, I'll give you ten times. No, fifty times. Help me kill him and I'll also gift each of you two girls as playthings. How about it?"
Some of the pirates looked tempted, but the smirk on Yasen's face deepened.
"Fool, if I kill you, everything you own will be mine."
As soon as he finished speaking, both he and Rockwell lunged at Sinan simultaneously.
The three clashed in a chaotic melee, their bodies flickering and colliding at blistering speed. But gradually, the base commander started to feel something was wrong.
Bang!
He kicked Rockwell away with a powerful blow, then his eyes snapped wide open as he stared at Yasen.
"No! That was Soru! You're not a pi—!"
Squelch. Squelch. Squelch—
The sound of blades tearing into flesh rang out in rapid succession.
Rockwell, who had just been kicked away and had landed near the elite pirates, suddenly sprang up. With a blur, his longsword cut several of them in half in an instant.
He flicked the blood from his sword and began walking toward the base commander.
Wide-eyed and trembling, Sinan finally understood. This had been a trap all along... a trap meant just for him.
'Damn it... who's behind this?!'
Now, only three people remained in the courtyard. The others had already been dismissed by the butler.
As the two of them slowly approached the base commander, Yasen showed a twisted, amused grin, his body squirming and shifting.
Swish!
In a blink, he transformed into Sinan Slynn.
Looking at the real Sinan, who was now frozen in shock, the fake one spoke with wicked glee.
"Round two. Start!"
* * *
Windbell island, 65th Marine base.
BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!
Sharp alarms blared.
Gunfire and shouts filled the entire base. The sounds of battle never stopped.
No one knew when it happened, but pirates had broken into the facility. Panicked and half-awake, the soldiers grabbed their weapons and tried to fight back.
After leading the pirates into the base, the four soldiers who had opened the way vanished without a trace.
In reality, they were hiding on a nearby rooftop, witnessing the chaos unfold, their fists clenched tight.
They were the ones who led the pirates in...
Those Marines were nothing but trash...
Just a bunch of useless drunks...
They should have been wiped out sooner...
However, now that it was really happening, it was hard not to jump in. Every time, the most rational one among them had to hold them back.
"For the plan. Jeram."
The youngest and most impulsive of the group, Jeram, took several deep breaths.
He closed his eyes, trying not to look. But the endless gunshots forced him to glance down again. When he saw several Marines resisting bravely, only to be torn apart by a wave of charging pirates, he couldn't take it anymore.
Swish!
His figure vanished, reappearing on the battlefield below. Using Soru to flash from place to place, his fingers struck with deadly precision. Each jab pierced a pirate's neck, leaving trails of blood in the air.
The rational soldier glanced toward the distant mountain and sighed.
"Let's move."
Seeing their comrades die right before ones eyes, no one could stay calm, no matter the cause, no matter the side.
But sacrifices were unavoidable. This was a necessary step forward.
The plan could not stop.
In fact, similar plans were already underway, or being prepared in Marine branches all over the world.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Three figures sliced through the air and plunged into the battlefield.
* * *
At dawn.
Most of the surviving soldiers slumped to the ground, while some quietly gathered the bodies of their fallen friends.
The four soldiers from headquarters were now seen as heroes, though their leader was nowhere to be found.
At some point, two long shadows appeared at the gate.
The atmosphere inside the base tensed immediately. But once they saw it was Sinan Slynn, the base commander, the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
Rockwell and Sinan both looked badly injured.
The former was carrying Yasen's pale, severed head. It looked like it had been dead for a while... but no one paid much attention to that.
Sinan's throat was a mess of blood and torn flesh. Rockwell supported him as they walked forward.
Just as they reached the gate, blood rushed up Sinan's chest. He coughed violently and spat out blood.
Under the watchful eyes of people all around—he collapsed, lifeless.
Rockwell pulled his hand away from the man's back.
* * *
Several days later.
Per Sinan Slynn's final recommendation, and after a brief discussion among the higher-ups, Magnus Rockwell, the man who had executed the 21-million bounty pirate Kirei Yasen, was promoted to the rank of Ensign.
He was also temporarily appointed as the new base commander of 65th Marine Branch.
* * *
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Kong glanced at the report, then tossed it aside. It was just another document sent from below.
Small branch affairs in the Four Blues didn't require his personal approval. They only needed to be reported as a formality.
But still… how many attacks on branch offices had there been now?
The pirates were becoming more and more aggressive...
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