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Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Zanpakutō: The Origin

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"You few, go and capture those people on the cargo ship for me!"

Krieg reacted quickly. Knowing Auguro was a difficult opponent, he immediately plotted to take hostages! He was a pirate; being despicable was an ingrained instinct!

A group of pirates quickly caught on, howling as they rushed toward the cargo ship.

"Haha! Little ladies, obey and you can be spared some pain!"

"That's not certain! With such good skin and flesh, you might have to work hard later!"

"Heh heh! Three women! We can play for a while longer this time!"

The pirates' eyes were all fixed on the three women, completely ignoring Hanatarō Yamada standing by. True enough, a skinny youth less than 1.7 meters tall was practically a symbol of uselessness in the One Piece world, where characters easily stood two or three meters tall!

Watching the bizarrely shaped pirates spewing filth, Nami's face instantly paled with fear.

Rukia Kuchiki scowled, ready to draw Sode no Shirayuki, but was restrained by Rangiku Matsumoto.

Rangiku Matsumoto smoothed her long, flowing hair and said calmly, "Vice-Captain Kuchiki, let me take this opportunity!"

"Having been summoned by the Lord Soul King, I should contribute something worthy!"

Rukia Kuchiki nodded, releasing her grip on her sword hilt.

"Oh! Decided to surrender? That's wise!"

By now, a few pirates had jumped onto the cargo ship. Staring at Rangiku Matsumoto's curves, they grinned maliciously.

"Don't worry! We'll take good care of you! Hahaha!"

Rangiku Matsumoto smirked coldly, slowly drawing her Zanpakutō. Her cherry lips parted slightly.

"Growl, Haineko (Ash Cat)!"

As the Shikai command was uttered, the long blade instantly transformed into a wisp of smoke. A faint gray dust completely enveloped the area around the cargo ship.

The pirates didn't understand what a Zanpakutō was, but years of fighting for their lives made them sense that something was wrong. They tried to charge forward to capture Rangiku Matsumoto and the others.

But Rangiku Matsumoto laughed coldly. "To be underestimated like this, I must show my true skill! Otherwise, the Lord Soul King might be displeased!"

She lightly swung the remaining sword hilt in her hand.

In an instant, the dust shrouding the area surged wildly, acting like countless invisible blades.

Pfft!

Simultaneously, all the pirates within the dust cloud were lacerated as if sliced by a thousand cuts. Their bodies instantly developed over a dozen wounds deep enough to show bone!

Zanpakutō: Haineko! Upon Shikai, the blade dissolves into a cloud of ash. Anything touched by the ash can be sliced when the wielder swings the hilt!

It wasn't just the few standing on the cargo ship. The pirates who were still mid-air, attempting to jump over, were also hit, all falling into the sea!

The ocean was instantly stained red! If she hadn't wanted to avoid excessive gore, Rangiku Matsumoto could have instantly dismembered all of them!

"Is that woman a Devil Fruit user?"

Krieg's eye twitched violently. He seemed to have hit an insurmountable wall!

Seeing Rangiku Matsumoto make her move, Auguro, who had just awakened Armament Haki, decided he didn't want to waste any more time. He gave a direct order: "Rangiku, Rukia, move out and annihilate them!"

"Yes!"

Rukia Kuchiki drew her Zanpakutō and began her incantation.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"First Dance: Tsukishiro!"

The tip of her blade lightly traced a circle, and a flash of white light swept across the sea surface.

Instantly, the sea for several hundred meters around was completely frozen solid. The fifty pirate ships of the Krieg Pirates were immobilized.

"Nekko!"

As soon as Rukia Kuchiki trapped all the pirate ships, Rangiku Matsumoto immediately followed up.

The cloud of ash condensed, forming a colossal tornado that swept toward the Krieg Pirates with devastating force. Everything in its path—whether man or ship—was sliced into pieces! In the blink of an eye, over ten ships were utterly destroyed!

"Damn it! Another Devil Fruit user?" Krieg roared internally.

With the sea frozen, he had nowhere left to retreat.

"Bastard! Make your subordinates stop now!"

Seeing his massive fleet being destroyed piece by piece, Krieg's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He immediately raised the shield strapped to his back.

"M.H.5 Poison Gas Bomb!"

A missile launched from the center of the round shield, flying toward Auguro.

Seeing this, the pirates scattered in panic. "Oh no! Quickly get the gas masks ready!"

A crowd rushed frantically toward the ship cabins. This wasn't one of his earlier fake shrapnel missiles; this was the genuine poison gas bomb! The gas inside could kill a man instantly with a single breath!

Bang!

The poison gas bomb detonated, and a thick purple cloud immediately spread. Many pirates who couldn't escape in time instantly foamed at the mouth and collapsed, poisoned.

Krieg felt no guilt over this. Subordinates were easily replaced; the ship was what mattered! Did they know how much effort he put into amassing fifty ships?

Krieg shouted toward the gas-shrouded Auguro, "Kid, make your people stop now, and I can give you the antidote! Otherwise, we all die together!"

But he received no response.

"Has he already been poisoned and knocked out?"

Krieg's heart skipped a beat. He put on his gas mask, ready to retrieve Auguro. This was his bargaining chip! He couldn't let him die just yet!

However, just then, a clear voice emerged from the other side of the poisonous fog.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Second Dance: White Ripple (Hakka no Togame)!"

A wave of pure white freezing mist swept across the area, instantly freezing the entire cloud of poison gas into ice shards, which then shattered on the deck.

The cold energy continued its surge, heading toward Krieg.

Krieg hurriedly sidestepped to dodge, but he was a split second too slow. The cold mist swept past half of his body. In just an instant, half of Krieg's body was covered in a layer of solid ice, completely losing all sensation!

Crunch! Crunch!

Auguro slowly walked over the ice shards. The Zanpakutō, the Origin in his hand, had completely changed its appearance. It was entirely white, looking as if carved from a massive ice crystal, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight. It looked exactly like the released form of Sode no Shirayuki. The only difference was that it maintained its original shape.

"Still far from Rukia's level!" Auguro lamented.

This was his first time using The Origin to unleash the power of Sode no Shirayuki. While he could perform the Shikai and use Rukia Kuchiki's techniques, the power was vastly different! Rukia Kuchiki could ice over a whole ocean with her First Dance. His Second Dance could, at most, freeze one ship!

"However, it's more than enough to deal with scumbags like you!"

Auguro sneered, slowly advancing toward Krieg.

The surrounding pirates were long terrified out of their wits, crawling backward in a frantic retreat.

"You—you monster! Die!"

Trapped and desperate, Krieg used his intact left hand to pull out his strongest weapon, the Great Battle Spear, and violently hurled it at Auguro. This was a lance weighing 2,000 pounds, packed with highly concentrated explosives. The stronger the impact, the larger the explosion! Krieg had commanded his entire pirate fleet using the power of this single, devastating weapon!

However, Auguro merely looked disdainful.

"A tiresome trick!"

Swoosh!

Auguro's figure vanished from his spot. The projectile, having missed its target, slammed into the deck and erupted in a ground-shaking explosion.

The next second, the cold blade of The Origin was pressed against Krieg's neck.

"Your armor is impressive, but I wonder, is your neck as hard as your armor?"

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