Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Kill
"Finish me off? What arrogance!" The CP9 agent sneered instead of getting angry. "You? A mere brat?"
Though this CP9 agent had only recently mastered the Six Powers, he was already a minor powerhouse with a combat power exceeding a hundred. How could he tolerate such disdain from a mere child?
"Me!" Shanlan Te responded coldly, launching a fierce attack.
"Tekkai!"
His punch landed as if striking solid steel. However, this time, Shanlan Te was prepared. Without hesitation, he delivered a knee strike aimed at the CP9 agent's groin.
The agent was startled—no one trains their Tekkai to defend there, after all.
"Kami-e!" Like a sheet of paper caught in the wind, the CP9 agent floated aside, effortlessly avoiding Shanlan Te's knee strike.
Shanlan Te had miscalculated. He hadn't expected this agent to possess such a skill, allowing him to evade the follow-up attack entirely.
"Surprised, aren't you, kid? This is our CP9's signature technique—'Six Powers.' A transcendent martial art that pushes the body to its absolute limits. With it, one of us can take on a hundred ordinary men single-handedly!"
"You talk too much."
Shanlan Te couldn't deny his gratitude for the enemy's incessant chatter, which had revealed plenty of useful information.
"You arrogant brat," the CP9 agent growled, clearly irritated. "I'll finish you now!"
"Soru!"
"Shigan!"
Seeing the enemy's fierce onslaught, Shanlan Te darted behind a large tree for cover.
The agent pursued relentlessly, stabbing out with one Shigan after another.
Given the speed disparity, it should have been impossible for Shanlan Te to evade all the attacks. Yet, miraculously, he did.
He wasn't even sure how he managed it. He merely acted on instinct, letting his body move without conscious thought.
This uncanny ability stemmed from his past life. In the grand stage of the Central World, a CP9 agent of this level wouldn't even qualify as a background extra—barely a small fry. Meanwhile, Shanlan Te had been one of the central figures, nearly akin to a protagonist.
Although he had lost his memories and forgotten all his combat skills, the instincts honed over countless battles were deeply etched into his very soul.
Guided by this extraordinary battle instinct, Shanlan Te—despite his disadvantage in speed and strength—managed to fight the CP9 agent to a stalemate.
"Shigan!"
"Shigan!"
"Shigan!"
The CP9 agent unleashed three consecutive attacks. Shanlan Te evaded each with backflips, dodging every strike.
Using the momentum from his backflip, Shanlan Te delivered an upward kick, striking the CP9 agent's jaw and sending him flying.
Mid-air, the agent executed two Geppo kicks to regain balance. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he smirked. "Not bad, kid."
The injury was minor since he hadn't had time to activate Tekkai earlier.
A sudden "whoosh" cut through the air. Two wind blades, double the size of the previous ones, shot toward Shanlan Te—one aiming for his knees, the other for his neck.
The blades were so large that neither jumping nor crouching would evade them completely. With a five-to-six-meter span, dodging sideways was also futile.
Before Shanlan Te could recover his stance from the earlier kick, the CP9 agent closed in with another Soru.
Fortunately, Shanlan Te's combat instincts kicked in once more. Before his mind could devise a plan, his body acted. With a rapid series of backward kicks, he lay nearly flat against the ground and retreated swiftly, narrowly avoiding the wind blades.
Yet the danger wasn't over. Though he escaped the wind blades, the CP9 agent was now right in front of him.
"Shigan!"
The agent's attack drove toward Shanlan Te, who rolled desperately to avoid it. While lacking finesse, his rolling was effective—the Shigan struck the ground instead.
The CP9 agent's flurry of strikes forced Shanlan Te to scramble across the ground, completely losing his composure. But despite his disheveled state, he remained unscathed.
Still, such a strategy couldn't last forever. Prolonged defense inevitably leads to failure. If he wasn't careful, he could end up dead in an instant.
Meanwhile, the CP9 agent grew increasingly frustrated. "This brat is so slippery! If I don't take care of him soon, I'll be a laughingstock when I return."
Worse still, lingering in Ohara while the Buster Call was underway could spell disaster.
His momentary distraction slowed his hand slightly. Shanlan Te seized the opportunity, sweeping out a leg.
Startled, the agent dodged the sweep but gave Shanlan Te the chance to flip upright, escaping his predicament.
"Damn it! Where did this kid get so much battle experience?"
The agent was incredulous. As a member of CP9, the government's elite assassin squad, he had fought countless battles. Yet here he was, being outmaneuvered by a brat. It was unthinkable.
Shanlan Te, observing his opponent's pause, refrained from attacking. Tekkai rendered most of his strikes ineffective unless he targeted vulnerable spots like the throat, eyes, or groin.
The battle dragged on, but both fighters were pressed for time. Shanlan Te, anxious for Nico Robin's safety, grew increasingly desperate. The CP9 agent, on the other hand, was stressed about completing his mission and returning before the Buster Call escalated.
"Enough of this!" the agent roared, unleashing a ferocious Shigan that pierced through a tree trunk Shanlan Te had taken cover behind.
Hearing the tree splinter, Shanlan Te dodged just in time, heart pounding.
I have to end this quickly. There's no room for error.
"Soru!"
"Shigan!"
The agent aimed a killing blow at Shanlan Te's throat. Shanlan Te, however, leaned into the attack, letting the Shigan pierce his left shoulder.
The agent was stunned.
"Crazy brat! Does he not understand the power of Shigan? Or has he run out of stamina?"
"Die!" Shanlan Te used the moment to drive his right fist into the agent's throat, pouring every ounce of strength into the blow.
The agent tried to retreat, but Shanlan Te clamped his shoulder around the agent's hand, preventing escape despite the excruciating pain.
"Tekkai!" the agent cried out in desperation, but it was too late. Shanlan Te's punch shattered his windpipe, the sickening sound of breaking bones ringing out.
The CP9 agent flew backward, pulling his bloodied hand free and leaving Shanlan Te's shoulder a mangled mess, the white of bone visible through the gore.
Shanlan Te clutched his injured shoulder, hastily bandaging it before sprinting toward the Tree of Knowledge.
He didn't spare a glance at the CP9 agent.
He knew—his opponent was already dead.
---
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Get early access to 30+ Chapters and faster updates by
joining the Pirate King Membership tier for just $5! You can choose to support me on :
Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/KZ478
Your support helps keep this story alive, and I deeply appreciate every contribution
Thank you for reading and supporting my work.