Chapter 63: The Three Years Are Up

Chapter 63: The Three Years Are Up

The realm of the Swordmaster?

The breath of all things?

All the pirates, including Krieg, stared blankly. What in the world was this woman talking about? How were they supposed to understand any of that?

"You're wasting your breath," Nojiko said, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh. She was clearly enjoying this. "You should save that speech for the pirates on the Grand Line. These idiots won't get it."

"..."

Kuina's cool expression faltered. She turned her head, slightly annoyed and about to argue with Nojiko, when her brow suddenly furrowed.

Her sharp, swordswoman's intuition sensed a subtle shift in the air behind her—someone was approaching rapidly.

"You bitch!"

In the next instant, an iron-ball tonfa whistled toward her back. Her glasses reflected Gin's cold, ruthless face. "Let the Captain go!"

So slow.

At best, he was on the same level as Zoro.

Kuina pursed her lips, unimpressed. Just as she was about to counter, a blinding flash of bluish-purple lightning shot past her shoulder, streaking toward the man behind her!

BOOM!

The lightning exploded on the ground. The pirates closest to the blast didn't even have time to scream before they were turned into charred corpses.

Gin stared down in disbelief at his own chest, where a blackened hole the size of a dinner plate now sizzled.

His lips trembled a few times before his eyes went vacant, and he fell backward, completely silent.

"CAPTAIN GIN!!!"

Cries of grief and rage erupted from his subordinates.

AWOOOO—!

A wolf's howl suddenly echoed across the coast.

"Th-That's..."

Under the terrified gazes of the pirates, Gin stepped out from the forest, his stride steady and powerful. He shot a cold glance at the intruders.

Three years had passed.

He had long since shed the clumsy, goofy appearance of his pup stage.

Now, a magnificent silver wolf stood proudly before them, two meters tall at the shoulder and three meters long. Its fur flowed like a cascade of pure white snow.

The electricity from his Azure Lightning Breath still crackled around him. A faint light shimmered within his deep purple eyes, and arcs of blue lightning coursed from his spine down to his limbs, glowing with a menacing light.

Thump.

Krieg's entire body trembled. He dropped to his knees with a thud, his courage completely shattered, all thoughts of resistance gone.

"...Coward."

Kuina was momentarily stunned, then shot him a look of disdain.

She sheathed her sword and looked happily at the giant wolf. "Gin, you're here too! Your attack... no, your breath came at the perfect time. You just saved my life, you know!"

"..." Gin gave her a look that clearly said, 'Are you an idiot?' before lazily plopping down on the ground.

"Shot down in flames, weren't you?"

Nojiko couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. "I know you want to get on Gin's good side, but it's useless. Gin is always very aloof with outsiders. He's super affectionate with my brother and me, though. Don't believe me? Watch this. Gin! Come here!"

This time, Gin didn't even bother to lift his head. He yawned and closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap in the sun.

Nojiko's smile froze on her face.

"Pfft-hahahahahaha!!!"

Now it was Kuina's turn to clutch her stomach and laugh. "That's what you get for bragging! So, whose cold shoulder was colder, huh?"

"Shut up!"

Nojiko, flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger, stomped over and started tugging on Gin's ear.

"You ungrateful mutt! Have you already forgotten who secretly bought you extra strawberry milk when you got into trouble, hiding it from my brother?"

Gin let out a few soft grunts but didn't struggle, offering her a tiny bit of face. He rested his head back down and continued his comfortable nap.

"Hmph!"

Still fuming, Nojiko put her hands on her hips, about to scold him again, when she seemed to notice something. She turned her head. "Huh? That's weird. Where'd that big guy go?"

Kuina followed her gaze, her brow also furrowing slightly.

The spot was empty. Krieg, who had been kneeling on the ground just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.

"I'm over here, you morons!!" a triumphant voice shouted from the distance.

Somehow, Krieg had managed to sneak away to the edge of the docks, hundreds of meters away. He now had an old man—who seemed to have just finished his meal and come out for a stroll—in a chokehold.

Kuina and Nojiko stared, then exchanged a strange look.

"You bastard!" Kuina suddenly drew her sword, trying her best to keep a straight face as she roared, "Let that old man go!"

"Oh? Looks like you know him. That makes things even easier! Don't come any closer!! If you take one step, I'll kill him!"

Krieg sneered. "And put that sword away! Don't try any funny business. The moment I see the slightest movement, I'll snap this old geezer's neck."

He looked down at the pathetic old man in his arm and grinned.

"Scared to death, aren't you, old man? You'd better behave. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for being so unlucky. What were you doing taking a walk on the coast at a time like this?"

With that, Krieg kept a tight grip on the old man's neck, his eyes fixed on Kuina in the distance. He carefully backed up the gangplank onto his ship, then waved a hand and barked an order:

"OPEN FIRE! BLAST THE ENTIRE DOCK TO PIECES! I'll show those two bitches, and that coward who doesn't even dare to show his face, the firepower of my invincible fleet!"

"But Captain!" a pirate on deck exclaimed, his eyes wide. "We still have so many of our men on the shore!"

"Did you not hear what I said?" Krieg shot him a venomous glare. "Unleash a full barrage! FIRE! I don't want to say it a third time! If those idiots can't survive, it's their own damn fault for being useless!"

"Y-Yes, Captain!"

Terrified by his usual ruthless authority, the men remaining on the ship didn't dare argue. They scrambled back to their posts.

A moment later, with a series of creaks and groans, the cannons of fifteen ships turned to aim at the docks.

"Wh-What is he doing?!"

"Oh no! It's our turn to be sacrificed!"

"Captain Krieg! Don't leave us behind!!!"

The pirates on the shore cried out in a mixture of anger and terror.

Krieg remained unmoved, staring coldly down at the scene below.

Then, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. The docks, and even the entire island, seemed to be getting lower and farther away...

No!

It was his perspective that was rising!

Krieg realized with a jolt that he was somehow hundreds of meters in the air!

The cannoneers on the ship below stared up, mouths agape, unsure whether they should still fire.

In the next instant, Krieg felt a powerful, aged hand clamp down on his neck, and an intense feeling of suffocation washed over him.

"Hey."

Red and blue flames sputtered from Zeff's right foot, allowing him to hover steadily in mid-air. He looked at Krieg, whose face was turning purple, and grinned. "Let's reintroduce ourselves. I used to be a pirate myself, you know. Had a bit of a name for myself in the East Blue..."

"And because of that, there's nothing I despise more than scum like you who would so easily abandon their own comrades."

CRACK!

The moment he finished speaking, Zeff released his grip and, with all his strength, delivered a vicious kick directly to Krieg's neck—

…

Shane, wearing an apron, stood at the sink, washing the dishes under the running water.

"Is it over?"

Through the window, he could faintly see a body plummeting from the sky in the distance. A thought dawned on him. "No wonder it took so long. So it was the Krieg Pirates who came this time."

His reflection shimmered in the glass.

He stood at one hundred and eighty-five centimeters, with a well-proportioned, slender build. His features were handsome and refined, his eyes clear and bright. When he smiled, he looked even gentler, like the approachable big brother next door who had just graduated from school, radiating a friendly charm.

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