Chapter 325: Wei Zhuang vs. Kuzan

After finishing his patrol, Lafayette arrived at the bar to have a drink. However, just as he was about to leave, a group of recently famous people entered.

"Hey, isn't that Wei Zhuang from the most powerful assassin group of the Sandstorm Guild, Reverse Sand? What's he doing here?"

"Reverse Sand Wei Zhuang? What's that?"

"You fool, that's the assassin organization that's killed pirates with bounties of 200 million, marine majors, and even the king of a country! The organization is called Reverse Sand, and the leader is none other than Wei Zhuang!"

"Wow, this guy kills anyone! Doesn't he fear the Marines, the kingdoms, or the pirates coming after him?"

...

As soon as Wei Zhuang and his group walked into the bar, many people immediately recognized them.

After all, Wei Zhuang's group had killed many prominent people recently, and their targets had high status, which made their name resound throughout the seas.

"Lafayette, the notorious violent security officer of the West Sea, you're making the nobles upset. It won't be long before they send the Marines after you."

"Why not join my team? If you do, neither the Marines nor the nobles will dare lay a hand on you. If they try, we'll kill them!"

Wei Zhuang directly approached Lafayette and extended the invitation.

While the Reverse Sand group had its origins in the Infinite Pirates, they had continued to recruit suitable individuals to strengthen their ranks.

"Heh, this is quite sudden. I wonder if you could give me some time to think it over?"

Lafayette was caught off guard by Wei Zhuang's sudden offer. While he was tempted—his violent nature made him a good fit as an assassin—he had never considered setting out to sea alone before. He knew that without a suitable team, it would be difficult for him to survive on the open seas.

However, Wei Zhuang's offer required consideration. After all, choosing the right team could have a huge impact on his future.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Wei Zhuang's eyes glowed red as he turned toward a different direction.

"Since you need time to think, how about I show you a thrilling battle? After this battle, I hope you'll give me a definitive answer. Follow me."

Wei Zhuang smiled at Lafayette.

After finishing his words, Wei Zhuang walked out of the bar.

"Hey, hey, hey, Wei Zhuang from Reverse Sand invited Lafayette?"

"What battle is Wei Zhuang talking about?"

"Hurry, hurry, follow them! I feel something big is going to happen!"

...

Many people in the bar overheard the conversation between Wei Zhuang and Lafayette and, seeing Lafayette following Wei Zhuang out, they all rushed outside to see what would happen.

At the port of Weiermo Island, several warships were docked, led by one of the infamous "Monster" Vice Admirals, Kuzan.

"This target is very dangerous. You all need to leave immediately. Once I catch the criminal, I'll signal for you to come back."

After disembarking, Kuzan spoke sternly to his subordinates.

"Understood, Vice Admiral Kuzan!"

The lieutenant knew they couldn't assist Kuzan here and would only slow him down, so they immediately boarded their ship and left the port.

"Honestly, just arrived in the West Sea, and the West Sea Governor is already dead. Seems like I have a troublesome fate!"

Kuzan rubbed his head as he walked toward the town. The target he was after was in this very town.

However, just a short distance later, he stopped in his tracks. The target criminal was already walking toward him, and it was none other than Wei Zhuang and his crew.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's Kuzan, the Marine "Monster" Vice Admiral. Why would he come here? Is he here to capture Wei Zhuang of Reverse Sand?"

The people who had followed Wei Zhuang out of the bar quickly noticed Kuzan's arrival.

"Enel, go clear out the people around here. Tell them if they don't leave, we'll kill them!"

Wei Zhuang ordered his companions.

Within the Reverse Sand group, Enel was Wei Zhuang's right-hand man. Besides him, there were also Audrina Malick, who had eaten the Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Anaconda, the fish-man Nomir Bazell, and the mink-man Bayo Vincent. These four made up the core members of Wei Zhuang's team, with Lafayette still pending.

"No problem!"

Upon hearing Wei Zhuang's command, Enel and the others immediately began clearing the area, forcing the surrounding civilians to flee. As for those who refused to leave and wanted to watch, Enel didn't care about them. If they died, it was no loss for him and his team.

Kuzan heard Wei Zhuang's orders, but he didn't act immediately nor did he stop Enel's group. He didn't want to accidentally harm any innocent civilians when the battle started.

"You don't look like an evil person. Why become an assassin?"

"Also, why would you kill West Sea Governor Andre Michael just for a bounty of 100 Berries?"

Kuzan asked, genuinely confused.

According to his investigation, Andre Michael, the West Sea Governor, was targeted because of a bounty issued on the Sandstorm Guild for his life, and the reward was a mere 100 Berries.

Such a ridiculous bounty, yet the Sandstorm Guild actually posted it, and what's worse, someone actually took the job. Not only did they accept it, but they really went and killed Andre Michael.

"How ridiculous, and it really happened to me!"

"This is the first time someone from the Marines has asked me about this. All the other Marines I've met just kill first and ask questions later, only to be killed by me afterward!"

"Since you asked, let me answer. I became an assassin because I like to kill. But I don't bother with killing defenseless civilians."

"As for your Andre Michael, I felt sorry for the one who posted the bounty. And Andre Michael did something that pissed me off."

Wei Zhuang calmly answered Kuzan's question.

He grew up in the Infinite Sea, educated with Li Yuan's ideals. Although he wasn't a saint, he didn't kill recklessly for pleasure. He had no interest in harming the weak because it would make his sword dull.

As for Andre Michael, he had secretly opened green channels for many human traffickers, and even made money from trafficking people.

Li Yuan's children were all influenced by Li Yuan's hatred for human traffickers. Wei Zhuang wasn't someone who went out of his way to handle such issues unless they came to him. However, Andre Michael had the misfortune of crossing paths with him.

One day, Wei Zhuang happened to encounter an old father whose daughter had been trafficked. After the father begged, Wei Zhuang agreed to help him, and told the father to post a bounty on the Sandstorm Guild. This led to the eventual event where Wei Zhuang killed Andre Michael for a bounty of 100 Berries.

"What did Andre Michael do to make you kill him over a bounty of 100 Berries?"

Kuzan furrowed his brow and asked again.

"Clang!!!"

However, just then, Wei Zhuang had already lost patience with Kuzan's questions. In an instant, the mighty, violent killing intent exploded as he unsheathed his Blade of the Overlord.

The Shadow Haki combined perfectly with his sword intent, and the dark energy attached to the sword, making the Blade of the Overlord look like a demonic weapon from hell.

Wei Zhuang's feet slammed into the ground, creating a large indentation as he instantly disappeared from his original spot.

"Horizontal Sword Art: Horizontal Strike Across Four Directions!"

He struck out with such speed that it seemed as though four sword illusions appeared. Four swords simultaneously struck toward Kuzan from four directions.

Wei Zhuang, like Gai Nie, had focused on Li Yuan's Infinite Swordsmanship, and then carved out his own path from it.

Perhaps it was because the two brothers were in competition, one pursued the path of vertical swordsmanship, while the other pursued the path of horizontal swordsmanship.

Kuzan had been watching Wei Zhuang closely. Even though Wei Zhuang moved incredibly fast, Kuzan's Observation Haki caught the moment Wei Zhuang struck.

"Are these illusions?"

Kuzan saw the four sword shadows and instinctively believed that only one was real and the others were fake. However, his Observation Haki couldn't discern which one was the true strike.

Thus, Kuzan could only use his Observation Haki and his Devil Fruit ability to partially turn his body into ice to avoid the attacks.

"Freezing Time Capsule!!"

As Kuzan rapidly retreated, a small ice pellet appeared beneath his feet.

Though it looked like a tiny pellet, it exploded with an incredibly powerful freezing force that froze everything within a radius of 300 meters.

"Night Guard!"

Just before the freezing force reached Wei Zhuang, massive shadow energy surrounded him, forming a protective shield around his body.

However, the freezing force still froze this shield, turning it into an elliptical ice sculpture.

"All four strikes were real. The information says he's only 17, a sword master, but he's actually a great sword master!"

"That shadow energy, it's definitely a Devil Fruit power, but I wonder which one?"

Kuzan frowned as he looked at the deep sword wounds on his body. He had avoided two of the strikes, but he hadn't been fast enough to dodge the other two.

The Marines had very little in

formation on Wei Zhuang, because anyone who had interacted with him had almost all been killed. As a result, they could barely gather any information on him.

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