The Fifth Emperor of the Sea

In less than fifteen minutes, four pirate ships sailed fully into view.

"Eustass Kid!"

"'Red Flag' X Drake!"

"The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law!"

"Scratchmen Apoo!"

Marco instantly recognized the flags flying on each ship.

"Just as I thought—these are the Supernovas who were gathered in the Sabaody Archipelago. What are they doing here?"

Nearby, Squard ran his long tongue along his chin and said coldly,

"Whatever they're here for, if they try anything funny, I'll cut them down where they stand."

Suddenly, a massive slab of metal launched from Kid's flagship.

Kid and Killer stood atop the slab, soaring toward the Moby Dick under Kid's magnetic control. From the adjacent ships, two figures leapt high into the air and landed alongside them.

They were Trafalgar Law and X Drake.

The slab hovered above the Moby Dick's deck for a moment before the four jumped down together.

The entrance was flashy—clearly meant to provoke.

As soon as they landed, Kid pulled out a short knife and began picking at his fingernails with it, sneering.

"So where's this 'Fifth Emperor of the Sea'? Us Supernovas are dying to see him for ourselves!"

Squard's right hand went straight to the hilt of his longsword.

A flash of cold steel, and his blade was already drawn.

Among the four Supernovas, Drake reacted fastest. As Squard's blade moved, he thrust his Western-style sword to intercept.

But the flash vanished as quickly as it appeared—like it had never been there at all.

Drake's sword slashed only at empty air.

He was a moment too slow.

Kid's smile froze as he looked down… at a cleanly sliced fingernail falling to the deck.

Squard's slash had clipped part of his nail—without so much as scratching the skin.

A clean strike.

A fast strike.

Drake's eyelid twitched involuntarily.

"He just caught us off guard… In a straight duel, I'd be faster than him!"

Drake forced himself to believe it, sheathing his sword.

Squard cast him a dismissive glance before turning his scorn on Kid.

"My master's time is precious. There's no way he'd waste it on trash like you. If you want to challenge him, you'll have to get through me first."

Kid paused, then burst into a deranged laugh.

"A real fight isn't just about swinging swords, you idiot. You've got no Devil Fruit power, and you haven't even awakened your Haki. If I get serious, you won't even be able to lift that blade!"

"Stop wasting my time. I've got better things to do."

"Bring out Roya already! Let's see if he really deserves to be called a 'Fifth Emperor!'"

Drake chimed in, grinning.

"A guy with just a 1 billion bounty gets called an Emperor? That's a joke."

"Marco, your bounty's already what—1.3 billion? Wouldn't you make a better Emperor than this 'Roya'?"

Marco glanced lazily at Drake.

"You serious? Even you're falling for the most obvious bait in the world?"

"Not even I can get a full grasp on Vice Captain Roya's strength. And you rookies think you can challenge him directly?"

He looked again at Squard, who stood tall and poised like an iron pillar, and something clicked in Marco's mind.

"Roya must've foreseen these four idiots showing up—and sent Squard to deal with them."

He chuckled, stepping back casually.

"Squard's Roya's blade slave. If you want to face Roya, beating him is the obvious first step."

Killer stepped forward with a shake of his arms.

He and Kid shared an unspoken understanding.

Squard, Roya's so-called "sword slave," was clearly meant to fend off any challengers.

Likewise, Killer had always been Kid's vanguard, sent to test an opponent's strength.

Suddenly, a voice rang down from the crow's nest above.

It was Law.

"Take your time with the fight. Pretend I'm not even here."

"That guy hanging up there's pretty interesting. I want to study him a bit."

He gestured toward Moria, still dangling from the mast.

The implication couldn't have been more obvious.

Kid, of course, paid him no mind.

His triangular eyes burned with killing intent as he locked onto Squard.

Drake, on the other hand, glanced up, saw Moria, and his pupils shrank in shock—but he quickly forced himself to look away.

Then Killer made his move!

With a single burst, he crossed the five meters separating them in a blink.

He lunged with both fists, aiming directly at Squard's temples from either side.

But Squard didn't even flinch.

Instead, he shifted his left foot back and assumed a textbook iaijutsu stance.

His mouth curled into a sneer as he stared straight into Killer's eyes.

Killer's heart sank. He knew instantly—his secret killing move had already been seen through.

Still, he didn't retreat. He twisted his feet, accelerating even more!

With a flick of his wrists, two black sickle blades sprang from his gauntlets, crossing toward Squard's throat.

The twin hammer strike had been a decoy. The hidden, rotating hand-scythes were the true finisher!

But in that very instant—

Squard's blade moved again.

CLANG. CLANG.

Two sharp chimes rang out in quick succession.

Both of Killer's scythes were parried—cleanly deflected by Squard's sword.

A wide gap opened in the center of his guard.

Without hesitation, Squard brought his blade down, straight at Killer's face!

Kid's eyes widened in alarm. He moved to activate his powers, desperate to save Killer.

But Squard had already sheathed his sword and resumed his stance.

He had won—with a single strike.

Kid exhaled, a strange sense of relief washing over him.

"Good thing his blade's all speed and no power… If he had real strength behind it, that slash could've cracked Killer's helmet—and Killer might not be standing."

Just as the thought formed, a crack rang out.

Killer's steel helmet—never once removed—split cleanly down the middle and clattered to the deck.

Gulp.

Someone audibly swallowed hard.

They weren't alone in being stunned.

Just a few days ago, wasn't Squard still "just" the Great Whirlpool Spider?

When did his swordsmanship get this insane?

And a guy like that is serving Roya… as a sword slave?

PS: Access advance chapters at

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