Chapter 59 - One Punch
Listening to Kazit's voice filled with indignation, everyone—whether it was the secret sentries with hidden mischief or the pirate watchers who had anchored their pirate ships nearby—instantly understood the origin of the gunfight.
Before the Tomahawk Tavern incident, no one had ever heard of the name Alex.
It would be polite to say that the name was unknown.
But this was someone who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a ruthless person who not only slapped Abbey in the Tomahawk Tavern, adding an extremely insulting meaning to the act, but now even single-handedly charged directly into the face of the Pointed Bull Pirates.
The surrounding pirates stationed on their ships kept their distance, but that didn't stop them from edging closer to watch the spectacle.
On the deck of the Pointed Bull pirate ship, the moment Kazit's voice rang out, Alex quickly unhooked [Usopp] from behind him and, without a word, fired a shot at Kazit.
Bang!
The lead bullet screamed straight toward Kazit's chest.
Alex knew that firearms were often ineffective against pirates with high bounties, so he purposely aimed for the upper body, where the hit rate was higher.
Kazit's eyes widened in anger. He had already transformed into his human-beast form the moment he shouted Alex's name.
Now, he greeted the incoming lead bullet with a hoof, slamming it down with force.
Sparks erupted as the hard hoof crushed the bullet.
The first shot missed, and Alex calmly slung [Usopp] back behind him.
Against an opponent of this caliber, frontal gunfire was largely ineffective, and the trajectory of the bullet would be easily predicted.
Without waiting for Kazit to attack, Alex took advantage of the moment to rush toward the remaining members of the Pointed Bull Pirates. With a swift dagger strike, he took down another one.
By now, only ten of the low-level enemies remained, posing little to no threat.
As for whether there were others in the cabin, Alex couldn't be sure.
Seeing that Alex had ignored him after firing a single shot, Kazit's expression grew fiercer.
"Get out of the way, you idiots!" he roared, leaping into the air with a single vertical jump, his towering body lunging toward Alex.
The members of the Pointed Bull Pirates immediately scrambled backward at the sound of his voice, while Alex leaped back lightly, exiting the range of Kazit's landing point just in time.
Boom!
Kazit's powerful hooves slammed into the deck.
Wood shavings flew as the wooden floor warped and shattered under the impact.
Without pausing, Kazit violently stomped on the deck, further damaging it, and lunged at Alex once again.
The sound of wind whistled as Kazit charged forward like a speeding truck, his oppressive force overwhelming.
Alex, however, remained calm in the face of danger. He sidestepped and rushed toward the members of the Pointed Bull Pirates, his intentions clear.
"Assholes!" the members of the Pointed Bull Pirates cursed angrily as they retreated.
But Alex turned a deaf ear, his speed outpacing theirs. He drew Kazit in, first slaughtering a member of the Pointed Bull Pirates with his own hands, then pulling himself out of the range of Kazit's attack.
Kazit's momentum was unstoppable, and with his inner thighs covered in wounds, he couldn't brake sharply.
An unlucky member of the Pointed Bull Pirates failed to avoid him in time and was knocked away.
Before he could hit the ground, he gasped for breath in mid-air, his chest deeply sunken.
Alex, who had withdrawn from the collision range, glanced at the unlucky pirate and was secretly shocked.
With this level of power, a direct hit would either kill him or leave him severely injured.
"I really don't know how Abbey survived it," Alex thought, recalling Abbey's figure.
Despite his size, Abbey had taken a direct hit from Kazit's black hoof and hadn't died on the spot.
Shaking his head slightly, Alex turned to look at Kazit's bandaged legs, noticing that the bandages were slowly seeping blood.
Seeing this, Alex couldn't help but smile faintly.
This was the fundamental reason he had dared to come looking for trouble tonight.
Kazit's eyes were crimson, and he ignored the henchman he had trampled.
Realizing that his wound had reopened slightly, he chose not to slow down his attack and instead rushed toward Alex once more.
This time, he abandoned the charging method, intending to close the distance and finish Alex off with [Black Hoof].
But Alex was no fool. Using his speed advantage, he weaved around the deck, refusing to give Kazit a chance to get close.
After a few laps of chasing, Kazit was so furious he nearly had a brain hemorrhage.
However, he sensed Alex's sinister strategy and forced himself to calm down.
Continuing like this would only put him in greater danger without harming Alex.
Moreover, Gabaldon's delayed return likely meant he had been held back by someone.
The situation was growing grim, and Kazit's rapid breathing gradually slowed as he realized the stakes.
While the human-beast form of the Cow-Cow Fruit greatly enhanced strength and physique, it also reduced speed slightly.
The beast form would be even slower.
If he wanted to finish off the bastard in front of him...
"You spineless coward, always running away!" Kazit spat.
"Even that Abbey bitch dared to fight me head-on, while you only know how to run. It seems you're not even as good as a bitch!"
Gradually calming down, Kazit decided Alex was the type who favored speed over strength.
If they fought head-on, he was confident he could kill Alex with a single hoof.
Hearing the filthy words, a flash of anger crossed Alex's eyes, but he didn't fall for Kazit's provocation.
Instead, he moved swiftly, rushing toward Kazit's men and taking another life.
After slaughtering one of the nearest members of the Pointed Bull Pirates, Alex smiled faintly at Kazit.
Kazit's cheeks twitched several times as he angrily muttered, "Waste!"
It wasn't clear whether he was cursing Alex or his own men.
Rather than sitting idle, Kazit adopted Plan B. He picked up swords and knives from nearby corpses, gathered his strength, and hurled them at Alex.
But Alex dodged them one by one.
Instead of harming Alex, Kazit's throws injured his own men.
Taking a deep breath, Kazit abandoned the futile tactic.
He decisively transformed his lower body back into human form, sacrificing defense for increased speed to close the gap with Alex.
"Alex, I will definitely dismantle you!" Kazit roared, charging straight toward him.
His speed had significantly increased compared to before.
Alex sighed lightly at the sight. "It seems I can't win easily," he thought.
Kazit, interpreting Alex's reaction as weakness, felt his murderous intent grow even stronger.
Soon, he managed to close the distance.
"Finally, I've caught up!" Kazit thought, ecstatic.
[Black Hoof]
Kazit's arm muscles swelled as his hoof, brimming with power, viciously swung toward Alex's face.
Alex retreated, dodging the black hoof.
Kazit pressed on, hoof after hoof, forcing Alex into a staggered retreat.
"Since I can't win easily, then..." Alex's eyes glowed with a cold light as he dodged Kazit's attacks.
Though Kazit's strength was formidable, his attacks lacked the precision of Abbey's [Speed Sword].
After dodging more than a dozen attacks, Alex seized the right moment, gathered his strength, and punched Kazit squarely in his bandaged abdomen.
"Huh?!" Kazit grunted, his feet leaving the ground as he flew backward about a meter.
He landed heavily, skidding several meters before stopping.
He looked at Alex in shock, then violently vomited a mouthful of thick blood.
Unable to withstand the powerful blow, he dropped to one knee, propping himself up with his palms.
Outside the battle circle, the remaining members of the Pointed Bull Pirates had watched as their captain pinned Alex down, their joy surging.
But a few seconds later, their captain was sent flying by a single punch.
"How could this happen?" they wondered, their mood plummeting from heaven to hell.
Was this still their Captain Kazit, the man with a bounty of over thirty million berries?