Roya was not sure whether Rhodes' ability allowed him to escape from underground, nor did he bother to think too much about it. Seeing Rhodes sink beneath the earth, Roya decisively slashed his sword toward the ground.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
Shhk!!
A half-moon-shaped sword energy tore through the earth, violently ripping open the ground and carving a deep ravine. At the bottom of the fissure, blood splattered everywhere.
Roya calmly sheathed Engetsu.
Rhodes, a pirate with a bounty of 63 million Beli, was fairly strong, but in every respect he still fell short of Roya. Altogether, the difference between them amounted to an entire tier.
Even though Rhodes had managed to catch him off guard with his ability once, it could not change the outcome of his defeat.
This ability was somewhat insidious, but nothing more than that. It was meaningless against truly powerful individuals. Someone like Garp, for example—even if he were instantly buried a hundred meters underground—could still punch through the earth and force his way out.
There were no absolutely invincible abilities in this world, especially when Armament Haki and Observation Haki existed.
If Roya had already mastered Observation Haki, he might have sensed something was wrong in advance and never fallen into that trap at all.
"It seems that once I get back, I'll need to focus seriously on training Haki,"
Roya muttered. With a thought, the status panel of the Soul Sword appeared before his eyes.
The attributes themselves had not changed much, but after the battle with Rhodes, his enhancement energy had increased by nearly twenty points—slightly more than Roya had expected. He was not sure whether that was because he had been caught by surprise.
"The captain's been taken care of, so this combat mission is basically over. Still, there are quite a few pirates on this island… maybe I can find a few more officers to cut down."
A faint smile curved at the corner of Roya's mouth. Holding Engetsu, his figure flickered, and he charged toward the nearest street.
---
Elsewhere on the island.
After the Black Horn Pirates' officers were deployed, they quickly clashed with the elite trainees. The battle situation was not completely one-sided—some held advantages, others did not.
For someone like Smoker, the advantage was absolute. These pirates were decent enough, but they were nowhere near the level of mastering Haki, nor did they possess any seastone weapons. They posed almost no threat to Smoker at all.
As for the newcomers who had joined alongside Roya, some of them were already affected by bloodshed and real combat, unable to fully exert their strength. Upon encountering officers of the Black Horn Pirates, they quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Not all veteran members of the elite camp were in a favorable position either.
For example… Very Good.
At this moment, Very Good was covered in blood from head to toe, glaring fiercely at the enemy before him.
The pirate facing him was also drenched in blood—but that blood was not his own. It was Very Good's.
"Is that all you've got? Marine."
The pirate looked at Very Good with open contempt.
"Damn bastard!"
Very Good was burning with rage, and deep inside he was also on the verge of losing his mind.
He was a Paramecia-type Berry-Berry Fruit user. When attacked, he could split his body into balls to evade damage. Unfortunately, the opponent he had run into was a Paramecia-type Spike-Spike Fruit user.
Any part of that pirate's body could grow sharp spikes at will.
No matter how much Very Good split himself into balls, he would still be pierced by the spikes. It was a perfect counter to him. Worse still, Very Good was not skilled with weapons—his fists were his only weapons.
Seeing Very Good furious yet unwilling to charge at him, the pirate's scorn only deepened. He took the initiative and rushed forward.
"Damn it!"
Facing this "hedgehog" of an enemy, Very Good had a splitting headache and simply could not fight him head-on. He could only dodge awkwardly, soon being chased all over the street in utter embarrassment.
Fortunately, the pirate's speed and strength were inferior to Very Good's. Even though Very Good had not yet mastered Soru, the pirate still could not catch him.
Unable to close the distance, the pirate grew irritated and shouted angrily:
"Do you only know how to run? Marine!"
Hearing this, Very Good nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Marines chasing pirates was normal—being chased by a pirate and mocked like this was a first for him.
Driven nearly mad, Very Good even felt the urge to turn around and fight desperately.
But in the end, he restrained himself.
This was a real combat mission, not a one-on-one duel. As long as the pirates were captured or eliminated, it was a victory. There were thirty-nine others on the island besides him. As long as he ran into someone who used a sword, the two of them together could easily deal with this pirate.
Almost as soon as that thought crossed his mind, a sword-wielding figure appeared at the end of the street ahead. From the clothing alone, it was clearly a Marine trainee's uniform.
"Help! Over here!"
Very Good's eyes lit up with joy. He no longer cared about appearances and immediately called for support. This "hedgehog" had driven him completely crazy.
The sword-bearing figure heard his call and indeed stopped—but instead of approaching, he stood at a distance, watching the scene with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"This… what kind of situation is this?"
That figure was none other than Roya.
Even though Roya had used Getsuga Tenshō twice to defeat Rhodes, consuming a fair amount of stamina and focus, no one on the island could still block his path.
After sweeping through several streets, Roya noticed two figures in pursuit. Taking a closer look, he realized one of them was actually Very Good—being chased in utter panic.
At this moment, Very Good finally reached a closer distance and clearly saw Roya's face.
Then—
His running steps came to an abrupt halt, stopping mid-stride. The expression on his face instantly froze.
The atmosphere became incredibly strange.
In the next moment, a cold laugh broke the silence.
"So you finally stopped running? Oh—ran into a companion, did you?"
The pirate chasing Very Good saw another Marine appear ahead. Instead of panicking, a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as he sneered.
He was extremely confident in his ability. The spikes produced by the Spike-Spike Fruit were as hard as steel—ordinary blades could barely cut them. As long as the opponent was not using firearms, one enemy or two made no difference to him.
"I heard there are dozens of you. I'll start by taking care of the two of you."
Ignoring Roya at the end of the street, the pirate continued charging at Very Good. He suddenly thrust out his arm, which instantly erupted with countless sharp spikes, stabbing viciously toward Very Good's back.
Damn it!
Because the person who appeared ahead turned out to be Roya, Very Good hesitated for just a moment. By the time he reacted to the sneak attack from behind, it was already too late to dodge.
Although his Berry-Berry Fruit would prevent him from being killed outright, he would at least be severely wounded.
But—
Just as the spike-covered arm was about to pierce Very Good's back, Roya—who had been standing at the end of the street a moment ago—vanished in an instant.
In the next moment, he appeared directly in front of the pirate!
Shhk!!
A crimson sword flash streaked past, blood spraying everywhere.
Those steel-hard spikes were like rotten wood before Engetsu, effortlessly severed in a single strike.
The spikes on the pirate's arm—along with the arm itself—were cleanly cut off at the root. The speed was so fast that amid the spraying blood, he did not even feel pain yet.
Roya had originally found it mildly amusing to watch Very Good, a Berry-Berry Fruit user, being chased around by a spike-covered pirate. But this pirate had completely ignored Roya's presence, treating him like decoration—and even planned to deal with both of them at once.
"Taking care of two people first…?"
Roya's gaze turned cold.
"Who gave you that confidence?"