I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

The Kuja Pirates and the Glacier Pirates, both with ships of similar size, were drawing closer to one another. Through the telescope, it was clear that both sides were quickly mobilizing on their decks.

On the red ship, countless figures filled the deck, and the Kuja warriors were preparing for battle, each drawing their snake-shaped bows and nocking wooden arrows, ready to fight.

On the gray ship of the Glacier Pirates, the previously chaotic crew had now drawn their swords, loaded their guns, and positioned themselves along the side of the deck, facing the slowly approaching red pirate ship.

"They're really about to clash!" One of the Marines beside Colonel Augat exclaimed. "Don't the Kuja pirates recognize the Glacier Pirates's flag?"

The notorious Glacier Pirates was infamous throughout South Blue. With a Captain boasting a bounty of 89 million Belly and a Vice-Captain with a bounty of 67 million Belly, the group's total bounty was a staggering 150 million Belly!

Years ago, their Vice-Captain, a user of the Elephant Elephant Fruit, had single-handedly destroyed a Marine base— albeit a remote branch in South Blue, S-952— killing over 40% of the island's civilians and leaving countless dead! 

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If the Vice-Captain was this brutal, it was easy to imagine that the Captain of the Glacier Pirates was even more terrifying.

As Marines stationed in South Blue, these soldiers had a deep-seated impression of the Glacier Pirates. 

While it was a blow to their pride to admit it, the fear was palpable— their reputation wasn't just due to having a freezing Devil Fruit user like Vice Admiral Kuzan, but because the mere mention of their name sent a chilling sense of despair through anyone who heard it!

The Marines around them murmured, and Colonel Augat couldn't help but overhear. Though he was displeased by their attitudes, he couldn't deny the facts. The Glacier Pirates was indeed formidable. 

Even their Vice-Captain, the ruthless Elephant Fruit user, was someone Augat felt he couldn't handle. How could a wolf ever defeat an elephant? It would likely take a fleet of Admirals from Headquarters to eradicate this swiftly rising pirate crew!

One of the soldiers spoke up: "The Kuja Pirates hasn't been seen in South Blue for a long time. They probably don't recognize the Glacier Pirates's flag..."

"These female pirates might be in trouble..." A Marine muttered under his breath.

The meaning was clear to everyone— what couldn't pirates do?

"Someone's coming out!" Another Marine, using a telescope, observed a massive figure emerging from the cabin of the gray ship. "It's the Vice-Captain of the Glacier Pirates, Aifente!"

Colonel Augat's pupils constricted. The terrifying figure was none other than the pirate with a bounty of 67 million Belly! Aifente casually walked to the edge of the ship and shouted something toward the Kuja pirates, who had their bows drawn and aimed at him. 

Soon, the entire crew of the Glacier pirate ship erupted in laughter. Their audacious behavior only intensified the fear surrounding Aifente's strength.

Clearly, the Kuja women had been provoked. Augat shook his head inwardly, recalling the woman who was likely the leader of the Kuja pirates. Though they had only crossed paths briefly in the ship's cabin at night, her stunning beauty had left an unforgettable impression on him. 

Unfortunately, she and the rest of the Kuja pirates had now encountered the Glacier Pirates, including the terrifying Vice-Captain Aifente...

While Augat silently lamented, he saw the beautiful figure of the leader of the Kuja pirates stepping out from behind the bowmen on their deck.

Alongside her was a man Augat despised, the one he wanted to bite his teeth at.

…

"Are they really that strong just because they're shouting?" Liam looked confused, glancing at the raucous pirates on the opposing ship.

Even if the Kuja pirates hadn't been seen in South Blue for a while, there was no way they could have forgotten about these fierce women. After all, many pirate groups from the Grand Line, upon seeing the Kuja flag, immediately turned tail and fled. Some even jumped off their ships into the sea in a desperate attempt to survive.

"Does it really matter?" Hancock replied expressionlessly. To her, the pirates across from them seemed no more than a group of noisy, wild animals. She had no interest in their words or their glares. "Since they dare approach our ship, they must be prepared to die. Fire the arrows!"

At her command, the Kuja warriors, already enraged by the provocation, swiftly bent their bows and released their arrows. In an instant, a rain of arrows flew toward the opposing ship.

The members of the Glacier Pirates, who had been laughing loudly, gradually lost their smiles. Especially when the first arrow landed with a loud 'bang', creating a hole in the deck, everyone's faces changed color, and they screamed, "What is this, an arrow?!"

"Fire!" "Open fire!" The pirates reacted quickly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The bullets rained down, intersecting with the arrows as they fell toward the Kuja Pirate ship's crew. However, it seemed as if the Kuja warriors had anticipated it. Each one adjusted their positions just in time, and the bullets intentionally missed, passing through the gaps between them, and leaving holes in the Kuja ship's deck.

"Why are we missing?" The pirates of the Glacier Pirates, their guns still smoking, stared in disbelief. "Not a single shot hit?! How is that possible?!"

Bang! 

A cannonball from the artillery shot toward the Kuja Pirate ship.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three cannonballs were fired simultaneously.

Hancock, who had somehow already nocked her Salome Snake Bow, expressionless, bent the bow and placed three wooden arrows on the string. She shot them in a swift motion, and with a whiz whiz whiz, the arrows precisely hit the three cannonballs, which exploded into fiery bursts in midair.

Such terrifying archery skills… At that moment, the Marines aboard the battleship, watching the two pirate groups clash from a distance, fell silent.

On the enemy pirate ship, however, the rain of arrows turned the massive Glacier Pirate ship into a pincushion. The deck was quickly soaked in blood. Many pirates who were hit by arrows had no time to resist, dying or getting injured on the spot. 

The few survivors were left terrified by the overwhelming power of the arrows, which exceeded their comprehension.

Vice-Captain Aifente pulled a wooden arrow from his shoulder, blood gushing out, but it quickly stopped. His massive frame swelled again, growing from three meters tall to a towering five to six meters. 

His limbs became thick and strong, his head like a bell, and a long elephant trunk hung from his face. As another wooden arrow flew toward him, he growled and swung his trunk like an afterimage, knocking the arrow aside.

"You deflected an arrow imbued with Busoshoku Haki?" A Kuja warrior exclaimed in surprise.

"Such tough skin!"

"Is he a Devil Fruit user? He looks so strange!"

The female warriors murmured among themselves, while on the opposite ship, Aifente, now resembling a white elephant, laughed loudly. "So this is the legendary Kuja Pirates? They're not bad! The arrows were pretty decent, but all they did was scratch me a little! Little ones, come a little closer… huh?"

He saw someone leap high from the Kuja Pirate ship, a man jumping directly toward them from the middle of the group of women.

"Has this guy lost his mind?" Aifente chuckled.

"Fool!" Colonel Augat on the battleship commented, "They might still have a chance if they use their long-range advantage! But jumping straight over? What a fool! Of course, now he's just a target for bullets!"

The figure that leaped from the Kuja Pirate ship was, indeed, hit by a barrage of bullets before even landing on the enemy ship.

"This is Suicide!" Colonel Augat's voice trailed off as he stared in disbelief. His mouth hung open as if his eyes were about to pop out in shock. "Is this a joke?"

The bullets hit Liam's body, but he felt nothing. The bullets, with that level of power, couldn't break through his Tekkai defense. Without any hesitation, he continued his jump and landed directly on the white elephant's face.

The startled face of the white elephant shifted beneath his foot, twisting and changing shape... Around him, the injured Glacier Pirate members and even Colonel Augat on the far-off battleship watched with their mouths agape, eyes bulging in disbelief.

Bang!

Everyone saw the solid deck explode, and the towering figure of Aifente, five to six meters tall, was suddenly gone as if swallowed by the ship. The entire Glacier Pirate ship was nearly pierced and sunk by this single blow.

"Another Zoan user? What bad luck!" Liam, using the recoil from the impact to hover in midair, glanced down at the massive body buried beneath debris in the ship's hold and shook his head.

(End Of Chapter)

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