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"Hahaha~! Big oaf, can't keep up with my attacks, can you? Feeling hopeless now? You can't even fight back anymore — all you can do is wait around to die."
"Don't worry, I'll finish you off before that brat named Aaron gets here. Then I'll use my Soku Soku no Mi powers to escape with my crew. He'll never catch me."
"All I did was kill some brat who dirtied my clothes, and you dared to attack me for that? Big oaf, you must have a death wish! What do you think you are, a Marine? You're nothing but a lowly gangster."
"Look at the price you're paying for your stupidity. Your men are nearly all dead — and it's your fault for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
Throughout the battle, Maran relentlessly pressured Gabdon with his rapid sword strikes, leaving the man covered in wounds. At the same time, he hurled venomous words meant to pierce Gabdon's heart, trying to push him into a rage and force a mistake.
And indeed, Maran's words had ignited fury in Gabdon's heart — a blazing hatred that made him want to tear the scum in front of him limb from limb.
But his reason held that rage in check. He couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice.
The last time he had let anger cloud his judgment, his closest brother had suffered, and his subordinates had paid a heavy price. This time, as a man who had already disgraced Chinjao's expectations and been exiled, he had to stay calm. Only then could he hold out until Aaron arrived — and ensure that he and his men were saved.
He had already fired a signal flare. With that man's strength, it was only a matter of time before he arrived — Gabdon just had to endure a little longer.
He believed that once Aaron was here, this despicable pirate — a man who would even kill children — would meet his end. After all, the leader he now served had already awakened Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) and developed it to a remarkable level — a true prodigy.
Gabdon wasn't unfamiliar with Observation Haki. Chinjao, the leader of the Happo Navy, could use it and had once explained its power to him in detail.
Unfortunately, perhaps because his talent was too poor, even after enduring the same strict training as the others under Chinjao, Gabdon had never awakened that power — a force that could allow him to predict his opponent's moves in battle.
But he knew that if he had mastered it, the pirate before him — who relied on his Devil Fruit to boost his sword speed — would be no match for him.
His opponent's swordsmanship looked impressive, but it was actually quite ordinary — weaker even than Aaron's. Maran was formidable only because of his fruit power. Considering his age, his swordsmanship was barely at the beginner level — he was no swordsman prodigy.
"Damn it… this big oaf's defense is too solid. Even after losing so much blood, he's still not slowing down. No — I need to finish this fast. If that brat Aaron really shows up, I might be in trouble. I'm not afraid of him, but with Reggie backing him… if I lay a hand on him, I might never make it out of Vilia Port alive."
Unable to break through Gabdon's defense, Maran grew increasingly irritated and anxious.
As a Devil Fruit user with a 50 million berries bounty, he had never considered a 16-year-old like Aaron worth his attention. But even a dog has an owner — and Reggie had once killed Willard just to avenge Aaron.
That incident had happened a month ago, but people in Vilia Port were still talking about it. There wasn't a pirate here who hadn't heard of it.
Maran was brutal, but not stupid. He knew that to survive on this sea teeming with monsters, one had to read the tides and steer with them. He never provoked anyone he couldn't afford to offend. If Gabdon hadn't meddled and enraged him, he wouldn't have picked a fight with him on Aaron's turf at all.
"I only killed a filthy slum brat, and you're willing to die fighting me over it? How pathetic. Die, you worthless gangster. Soku Soku — Triple Acceleration!" Maran roared.
He decided to end the fight and pushed his power past his body's limits, even at the cost of self-harm, to unleash triple acceleration.
In an instant, a storm of sword slashes erupted from Maran's blade, engulfing Gabdon completely. Deep gashes opened all over Gabdon's body, turning him into a figure drenched in blood. His hands, raised to shield his heart and head, were shredded and mangled.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Suddenly, gunshots echoed from afar. Five high-speed bullets shot toward Maran, who was about to stab at Gabdon's exposed throat.
A deadly chill surged in Maran's chest. He immediately pulled back his blade and turned toward the source of the threat. Under the glow of the streetlights, he quickly tracked the incoming bullets and deflected all five with his sword.
But as soon as he knocked them aside, another five bullets were fired — each aimed at a vital spot. Maran had no choice but to swing his blade again and deflect them.
And when he finished, he raised his head — and his blood ran cold. On the rooftop ahead, a powerful, suffocating aura radiated toward him. A handsome boy stood there, sword in hand, silhouetted against the massive moon — and in his eyes burned a terrifying crimson glow.
Maran knew exactly who he was. Aaron, the young Akio Gang lieutenant who controlled this territory. It seemed he had greatly underestimated him.
Maran blinked — and in that split second, Aaron vanished from the rooftop and reappeared right in front of him, blade arcing toward his neck.
Maran reacted instantly, raising his sword to block.
Clang!
A blinding spray of sparks erupted, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent both the fighters and the wounded nearby flying.
"You've got to be kidding…"
Maran's face twisted in shock as he felt the monstrous force pressing down on his blade. In an instant, he felt his sword arm nearly snap — his grip was slipping.
Desperate, he gripped the hilt with his left hand as well to keep from being disarmed.
But Aaron also used his left hand — not to hold his sword, but to attack.
With countless life-and-death battles behind him, Maran immediately sensed death itself radiating from the fist speeding toward him. And knowing that even with both hands he could barely resist Aaron's sword strength, he made a split-second decision to activate his fruit again:
"Soku Soku — Triple Acceleration!"
Accelerating his body's movement threefold, Maran narrowly avoided Aaronl's left punch — a blow empowered by the Kuja Body-Refining Technique, granting Aaron a sudden burst of 42 points of strength.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Maran realized something horrifying — his legs had been severed.
When he activated his speed, Aaron had predicted his movement with uncanny precision — and with a perfectly timed slash, he cut Maran's legs clean off.
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