The pirate ship's deck was in chaos under the bombardment—smoke and screaming everywhere. Amid the frenzy, all eyes turned skyward as they spotted that Moonwalk figure.
"What's that kid trying to do?" a female pirate officer exclaimed.
"He's flying so fast… is that Moonwalk?"
Even Missaya looked up at the figure above with a cold glance. Her face was expressionless as she drew her bow, switching her aim from the incoming cannonballs to that shadow in the sky.
Moonwalk didn't impress her. She wasn't interested in guessing his motives either. If something was in her way, she only needed to shoot it down.
Whizz! Three translucent feathered arrows shot forth at blinding speed, aimed straight at Nao's head.
Above the ship—
Bounding skyward with Moonwalk, Nao hovered just above the Hawkeye ship, studying the pirates below. This was floating in mid-air, a high-level Moonwalk technique he'd only recently mastered. It couldn't be sustained for long and drained a lot of stamina—but it was more than enough for the current situation."
Shwoosh.
Three arrows sliced through the air toward him—but Nao anticipated them. With the speed boost from his "Boots of Lightness" and an agility stat of 24, he dodged every shot without breaking form.
"Still shooting, huh?"
Nao smirked down at Missaya on the bow. Hands casually drifted to both sword hilts: the red-hilted Azakana Blade and the white-hilted Wind Sword.
"I let you have your fun. Now it's my turn."
He didn't shout "Draw!"—he simply drew both swords and surged with the brutal aura of a true swordmaster.
In an instant, two towering waves of sword energy—over ten meters long and coated with Armament Haki—erupted from his blades. They spiraled down like black serpents slicing through the air and struck the pirate ship below.
Wham!
The massive ship—big enough for hundreds—snapped in half with a cross-strike through the middle, then fractured into four segments.
Masts collapsed into the sea. Decks flipped. Wood cracked and splintered. Waves boiled. Pirates screamed as they plunged into the ocean, many splitting off on the broken ship's debris.
Some worse-off pirates got knocked out or dragged down, but many survived by clinging to floating planks. Wet hair and terrified gazes stared up at Nao's floating silhouette.
"What kind of monster is that?!"
"He... he just split our ship with one slash?!"
On the Marine ship—
The Marines watched, mouths agape. Shuma gazed with eyes like saucers, jaw drooping.
"Boss is totally unreal!"
Even steady Rear Admiral Buma stood stunned at the sight of a pirate ship cut to pieces. After a long moment, she snapped out of it.
So that kid… is a swordsman too?
Such mastery of Moonwalk. That devastating sword energy. No wonder he dared to charge ahead solo.
But… he's still so young. Just a rookie in training, yet already possessing this level of power?
Even most prodigies couldn't pull that off. He might just be the kind of elite talent that only appears once in decades at Marine HQ.
"Rear Admiral, look—over there!"
One of her officers shouted, snapping her out of it. Buma turned toward the sea, spotting something drifting among the wreckage—dozens of translucent glass-like coffins floating upright in the water.
Each coffin was about two meters tall and eerily resembled a standing casket. There were nearly a hundred of them, and within, vague silhouettes of human figures could be seen.
"Bring me Binoculars!"
The officer handed it over. Buma peered through the lens—and her heart sank.
Inside those frozen coffins were unconscious children.
There were dozens—boys and girls—from what looked like thirteen or fourteen years old, down to six or seven. Their skin was pale, eyes closed; they seemed stunned.
"We received reports: near the Twin Towers region, kids have been mysteriously disappearing. We couldn't find a lead…"
Buma's face turned ashen.
"Turns out it's the Hawkeye Pirates behind this sick kidnapping!"
"Cease fire! Full speed ahead!"
She roared orders: "Prepare for close-quarters combat! Surround the remaining pirates and retrieve those children in the ice coffins!"
"Forget the ones trying to flee. Make sure every single child is brought back to the ship unharmed!"
The Marines answered like thunder:
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
High in the sky—
Nao sheathed his blades, nodding in satisfaction at the shattered pirate vessel below.
That had been his first full-powered sword aura strike since stepping into the realm of a true swordsman.
Sure, he wasn't yet at the level where he could casually destroy entire fleets like the greatswordsmen of legend… but to cause this kind of destruction with just a basic slash? Not bad at all.
Speaking of which, the one who truly deserves the 'Hawkeye' title… he should be starting out on the Grand Line right about now.
Nao fell silent in thought.
Dracule Mihawk—only three years older than him, technically still a peer—wasn't famous yet.
But with that man's talent and strength, it wouldn't be long. Soon, the whole sea would know his name.
"Hmm?"
Nao's eyes flicked downward, finally noticing the floating ice coffins drifting from the wreckage.
He was far closer than the Marines—he didn't need a telescope to clearly see the faces of the children through the glass.
A quick deduction later, and he had the gist of the situation. His expression darkened, fury igniting in his chest.
The Hawkeye Pirates were trafficking children?!
Nao had many bottom lines across both his lives—and this kind of depravity, even in the lawless chaos of the Great Pirate Era, was absolutely intolerable.
Just then, a wave surged, threatening to sweep three of the coffins under.
Heart racing, he abandoned thoughts of chasing pirates or claiming bounties, and prepared to dive down using Moonwalk to save them.
But—
Right then, that all-too-familiar whistling of arrows sliced the air beside his ears.
His eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he dodged and snatched two of the translucent arrows from midair, snapping them cleanly in half. Then he turned toward the source.
Missaya hovered dozens of meters away, graceful and poised in midair. A pair of black wings sprouted from her back, gently flapping to keep her aloft as if walking on solid ground.
Expressionless, she raised her bow, staring Nao down.
"Oh? You destroy my ship and now you think you can play hero right in front of me?"
Their eyes locked as she suddenly licked her lips and sneered.
"Tell me, brat—at a time like this, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself instead?"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin