The warship shook with every impact. Splinters rained from the masts as the deck groaned under the violence that now unfolded upon it.
Kuma roared, the sound splitting the ocean air. His paw-shaped handprint gleamed with gathered force, veins bulging as raw muscle and bestial instinct fused into one devastating strike.
"Bear's Mark!" he bellowed, slamming his massive palm forward.
The five brown-suited enforcers surged as one, no hesitation, no testing blows. Each of them had killed dozens, perhaps hundreds, under the World Government's flag. And now, facing a creature of muscle and fury, they drew only their strongest techniques.
"Iron Body—Hook!" one snarled, twisting his arms like steel cables.
"Finger Gun—Scatter Shot!" barked another, ten digits blurring into a hail of piercing thrusts.
"Iron Body—Diamond Form!" a third shouted, body stiffening until he gleamed like metal.
"Tempest Kick—Tail Slash!" a fourth spun, leg cutting air into a slicing crescent.
"Iron Body—Earth Split!" roared the fifth, stamping down to shatter the deck beneath Kuma's feet.
The air itself tore apart under the assault. This was not sparring. This was execution.
Kuma's bulk twisted, far more agile than his size suggested. The crescent blade of compressed air grazed past his fur. But the others struck home—two kicks crashed into his ribs, a seismic stomp jarred his balance, and the scatter-shot thrusts speared into his shoulders like daggers.
Pain burned through his frame. Kuma's eyes flared, not with fear but exhilaration.
"Die!" he roared, and his Bear's Mark descended.
His paw smashed into the chest of the Finger Gun specialist. Bone shattered. Flesh pulped. The man's arm exploded in a spray of blood before the strike hurled him backwards like a cannonball. His body tore through the deck rail, vanished into the churning sea with a scream that ended in silence.
The fight had lasted less than a breath, and already one of the Government's chosen was gone.
Gasps broke across the deck. Even the hardened black-suits flinched.
The Celestial Dragon, Charlmarco, shrieked within his bubble helmet. "No! No! Kill it! Kill that filthy beast! Kill it now!" He stumbled backwards, tripping over the cloth laid to protect his shoes.
The veteran officer beside him clenched his jaw. This was spiraling. They had underestimated the bear. They had underestimated everything.
Across the deck, Jin hadn't moved. He leaned casually, one hand buried in his pocket, the other resting loosely at his side. His violet eyes glowed faintly as they fixed on the pale man in the white fedora—the leader of the brown-suits.
"You're not moving," Jin said softly, almost conversational. His smile was thin, cold. "Why is that?"
The fedora man's face was a mask. He could feel it—the oppressive presence bleeding off Jin like an endless tide of blood. Move recklessly, and that tide would swallow him whole.
Jin's smile sharpened. "Good instincts. Shame they won't save you."
The four remaining suits shifted tactics, no longer charging headlong. They circled Kuma, darting in and out, cutting him with shallow strikes and retreating before his massive paws could land.
Blood began to streak Kuma's fur. His back bore gashes, his shoulder bled freely, his breath came heavier. But his grin only widened. Each wound seemed to ignite his spirit further.
The ship itself was suffering. Every exchange tore fresh wounds in the deck. Beams cracked, planks shattered, and the warship's body groaned as if it were alive and dying.
"Tempest Kick—Tail Slash!"
"Iron Body—Split Fang!"
Blades of air cut, reinforced fists hammered, feet like steel pistons struck. Kuma staggered, blood dripping into his eyes.
Then one opponent saw the opening he'd waited for.
"Iron Body—Drill!"
He spun like a screw, arm extended into a single hardened spear, a whirling drill aimed directly for Kuma's back.
The bear-man grinned through the blood.
"Been waiting," he muttered.
His instincts had catalogued every rhythm, every habit. He knew this strike was coming.
At the last second, he twisted his hulking body aside. The drill grazed his ribs, tearing fur and skin—but left his heart untouched.
His massive arm whipped back.
The fist struck the spinning man mid-rotation, crushing ribs like twigs, blasting the air from his lungs in a spray of blood. His body bent unnaturally, spine snapping as he rocketed across the deck and into the sea with a sickening crunch.
Silence fell for a moment. Then came the Celestial Dragon's scream.
"No! No, no, no! You useless dogs, do something! Protect me!"
The remaining three circled warily, bloodied and shaken. They had expected to overwhelm a beast. Instead, the beast was chewing through them one by one.
Jin tilted his head, eyes still locked on the fedora man.
"You look… nervous."
The man's voice rasped, cold and steady despite the sweat dripping from his temple. "For them, death is an honor. They die in service to the World Government."
Jin's smile deepened, humorless. "Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?" He stretched lazily, as though the battle were an evening stroll. "Well, don't worry. You'll be joining them soon enough. I'd like to get some sleep myself."
The fedora man's eyes narrowed. His muscles coiled. He vanished.
The first strike was a blur, a whipcrack of speed and precision. His leg lashed out like a blade, aimed for Jin's skull.
Jin's hand rose, fingers snapping shut around the ankle like an iron trap. The kick stopped cold.
The assassin's other leg came down in a crushing axe strike, his body flipping with impossible grace.
Jin stepped back a fraction, and the blow smashed into the deck, exploding planks into jagged shards.
Dust swirled.
Jin's eyes gleamed through it, violet light cutting like a knife. "Not bad," he said calmly, releasing the trapped ankle. "Your power's decent."
Behind them, Kuma roared again.
"Bear's Mark!"
His paw slammed forward, catching one of the circling suits off guard. The man's Iron Body cracked like pottery under a hammer. Bones burst. Blood sprayed. He flew backwards, smashing into the mainmast with such force the wood splintered and collapsed, mast crashing down in a cloud of debris.
The ship wailed under the destruction.
Two left.
They looked at each other, fear finally flashing in their eyes.
Kuma licked blood from his lips and grinned. "Good. Don't run. Makes it more fun."
The deck was chaos now—fire from shattered lanterns licking at splinters, smoke curling into the sky, screams of crewmen who dared not intervene. And at the center of it stood Jin, calm as a blade in its sheath, watching, waiting.
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T/N :
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