A flock of seagulls flapped their wings, soaring high in the sky, leaving graceful and beautiful arcs over the vast expanse of the blue ocean. But that peace was not to last.
Not far away, on a two-masted sailing ship, a black skull flag fluttered in the wind, an ominous sign for anyone who saw it. On deck, more than twenty pirates, armed with swords and rifles, howled with glee, their eyes filled with greed.
At the very front of the crowd, a muscular bald man, two and a half meters tall, raised his stout right hand and bellowed to his subordinates, "Brothers! See that commercial cruise ship ahead? Soon we'll approach, steal money, steal food, steal women!"
"Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh!"
The more than twenty pirates cheered in response, sharp glints in their eyes, revealing wild, grinning smiles. The bald, muscular man before them was their Captain, Crazy Chris, with a bounty of 84 million Berries—a formidable figure in these waters.
Their captain was a Paramecia Devil Fruit user, the Ame Ame no Mi, which granted him an extraordinary ability: immunity to damage from any bullets or swords. Even if attacked with fists, the assailant would get stuck in his sticky body, unable to break free. Thanks to his Ame Ame abilities, Captain Chris always charged forward, acting as a living shield, and after neutralizing enemy attacks, his crew could rush in and quickly defeat opponents!
"Quick, fire! Block that ship's path, then we'll close in!" Chris commanded, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
"Yes, Captain!" Upon receiving the order, the gunners immediately fired at the three-masted sailing ship in the distance. They knew the rules: if the enemy refused to turn around, their powerful cannonballs would damage the hull, or even cause the ship to take on water and slowly sink. That way, they could approach and engage in brutal combat!
However...
Just as everyone was excited, a figure soared from the three-masted sailing ship in the distance, speeding towards them, like a diving eagle.
"Captain! There's... someone flying from the sky!" The lookout, standing on the mast, after clearly seeing Sephiroth with black wings on his back, immediately shouted, his voice cracking with shock.
"What are you panicking about! That guy must also be a Devil Fruit user," Chris grinned, completely undeterred. "Just watch how I deal with him!" As he spoke, Chris's right hand suddenly stretched and extended, transforming into a sticky green candy-like blade.
"That's right! That's right! The Captain will definitely defeat that guy!"
"Our Captain is invincible!"
While the pirate group was still praising Chris with full confidence, Sephiroth had already flown close to the sky above the pirate ship, his silhouette becoming clearer. With his sharp eyes, he naturally saw the green blade in the bald man's right hand, so he immediately judged his opponent was a Devil Fruit user.
Thus, with the intention of testing him, he put his left hand inside his clothes, took out a revolver, and wrapped Busoshoku Haki around the bullet—an amplified shot, ready to pierce any defense.
When Chris saw the silver-haired youth pull out a revolver, a slight look of disdain inevitably showed on his face. He was confident in his Ame Ame ability. He stood there, unmoving, using his ability to turn his body into soft candy. He prepared to directly withstand this bullet, to display his invincible, heroic demeanor before his subordinates, proving himself an unshakable giant.
Whoosh!
With a deafening gunshot, Chris's head immediately exploded like a ripe watermelon, splattering red and white onto the faces of the pirates standing in front of him. They all fell silent, frozen in place.
Thud!
When the headless corpse slammed onto the deck, the stunned pirate group finally reacted to what had just happened... Their invincible captain had just died like this...!? With just one shot!? Their minds reeled, enveloped in horror.
"That's all? What the hell!" Sephiroth grumbled inwardly, slightly disappointed by the overly easy resistance.
In the blink of an eye, Sephiroth's feet landed steadily on the edge of the ship. He slowly retracted the black wings on his back, making them vanish, and said in a light tone, "Yo! You pirate bastards... Have you had lunch yet?"
Amidst the still-shocked crowd, several pirates subconsciously shook their heads.
"Is that so! Then you can only continue your journey on an empty stomach~!" Sephiroth grinned, a faint, cold smile on his lips. As Sephiroth's words fell, he drew the Slaughter Blade from his waist. His figure was like an arrow shooting swiftly, transforming into a blur among the crowd, creating a piercing gust of wind.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The light of the Slaughter Blade flashed repeatedly, creating blood-red streaks in the air. Before the pirates could react, Sephiroth's figure had already appeared behind them, as if teleporting.
"One Sword Style: Consecutive Slashes!" Sephiroth's voice was cold, like a whisper of death, and at that moment, he slowly sheathed the Slaughter Blade in his hand...!?
"What's happening?"
"He actually ran behind us!"
The pirate group couldn't help but feel terrified, not understanding what had just happened. Chaos erupted.
Thud!
Thud!
Amidst the crowd, pirates who wanted to turn around and face the enemy suddenly fell to the deck one by one, their bodies split in two. Blood continuously flowed from their wounds, forming crimson pools on the ship's deck. At this point, waves of intense pain finally reached their bodies. They were all shocked to discover that they had been severely wounded! What was even more terrifying for them was that their skin quickly shriveled and withered, as if something was draining their vitality—the horrific effect of the Slaughter Blade's curse.
Sephiroth ignored the wails and screams of the pirates behind him, the sounds of death he had grown accustomed to. He entered the ship's cabin unhurriedly, dispatching one by one the people remaining in the cabins below, and while doing so, he searched for the treasure room on the two-masted sailing ship.
Not long after, the silver-haired youth found the Captain's cabin. With a casual movement, he unlocked the door, kicked it open, and stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was a large wooden chest conspicuously placed in a small room sealed with iron bars within the Captain's cabin—clearly the main treasure storage.
Sephiroth drew the Slaughter Blade from his waist, coated it with Busoshoku Haki, then swung it three times casually, cutting a triangular hole in the iron bars. He stepped through the bars, swung his sword again, and the large iron lock on the wooden chest clicked open with a satisfying sound.
Click!
The silver-haired youth slowly opened the wooden chest with the back of his sword and found that besides two alluring stacks of ten thousand Berry banknotes, there were actually two Devil Fruits connected by a heart-shaped stem...
"No! This is actually just one Devil Fruit!!!" he exclaimed inwardly, a little surprised. The two fruits, one blue and one reddish-blue, were covered in peculiar heart-shaped spiral patterns!
This is...?
Although this fruit was not recorded in any Devil Fruit encyclopedia he had read, because of its extremely peculiar shape among Devil Fruits, Sephiroth recognized it... The Paramecia type Mero Mero no Mi!
He didn't know what effect this Mero Mero Fruit would have if others ate it, as he only knew its effect on one person. But, he knew that if Boa Hancock ate the Mero Mero no Mi, it would definitely be a strategic-level ultimate weapon!
Hmm! Against those with lustful hearts, regardless of gender, it's basically an instant kill! Sephiroth naturally fell into this category... He shivered slightly inwardly, realizing how dangerous the Fruit was in the right hands.
After finding a cloth bag and carefully storing the Devil Fruit inside, he left the Captain's cabin, went to the deck, spread his black wings, and flapped them to pursue the commercial cruise ship that had almost disappeared on the horizon.
When he returned to the three-masted sailing ship, the Captain of the commercial cruise, a middle-aged man in a purple suit with a thick mustache, immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply to him, relief and gratitude emanating from his face.
"Thank you, young man. You truly helped us solve a huge problem!" the Captain said sincerely.
"You're welcome, it was just a small favor!" Sephiroth exchanged pleasantries with the Captain, offering a faint smile, then returned to the restaurant and leisurely enjoyed his lunch.
"Hmm! The steak is delicious, and the wine is also very good!" The silver-haired youth praised inwardly, as if nothing had happened, returning to enjoy the peace that had just been snatched away.