Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Edge of the Scrap Terminal — An Undetermined Destination
Rorschach stood atop a tall pile of garbage, looking down at the mountain of trash below.
"So the last target is hiding here?" he asked, turning to Karina.
Karina quickly flipped through a thick stack of bounty posters and pulled one out, handing it to Rorschach.
"Captain of the Wolf Extinction Pirates, ’Killing Beast’ Ricky — 26 million berry bounty. His vice-captain is a guy named Nandel, worth 8 million berries."
"They’re pirates who failed in the Grand Line and lost the courage to try again. Since then, they’ve been hiding out here. Their crew is extremely secretive, so they’ve stayed under the radar. If I hadn’t squeezed information out of some other bounty heads who worked with them, we never would’ve found this place."
Karina pointed proudly at a small, well-hidden shack nestled between several garbage mountains.
Rorschach spread his Observation Haki and sensed around thirty people in that direction — some inside the shack, some outside.
"These aren’t like the small-time pirates we’ve faced before," Nami said, poking her head out from Rorschach’s right side with a worried look. "They’ve been to the Grand Line. Are you sure you can handle them?"
Rorschach smiled and ruffled Nami’s short orange hair until it was a complete mess. She glared at him angrily.
"You’ve already seen what I can do these past few days, haven’t you? They’re just failures who couldn’t make it in Paradise. They’re not my opponents."
"Stay here and wait for me. I’ll be right back."
He activated the Float-Float Fruit and flew off.
"You’d better die out there, you jerk!" Nami shouted furiously while trying to fix her messy hair.
"Please be careful, Lord Rorschach," Kaya called out worriedly. No matter how strong or weak the enemy was, she always worried when he went into battle.
Rorschach waved back casually as usual, signaling her not to worry.
He landed openly on a garbage mountain and jumped straight down into the clearing in front of the shack — no stealth, no hiding.
The patrolling pirates immediately spotted him.
"Hey! Who the hell are you, brat?! Who sent you?! You’ve got some nerve sneaking up on the Wolf Extinction Pirates’ hideout. You got a death wish?!"
The pirates drew their weapons and surrounded him.
The commotion alerted the people inside the shack.
"Looks like this is the right place," Rorschach muttered, scanning the group without the slightest fear.
"You little shit, you looking down on us?!"
The door creaked open. Two tall figures stepped out.
The leader had a vicious face with a massive scar running from his eye all the way down to his chest. His cold, sharp gaze swept over his men.
"What’s all this noise about?" he asked in a chilling voice.
"Captain Ricky, some suicidal brat showed up," one pirate quickly reported.
Ricky’s eyes locked onto Rorschach. Seeing the boy showed zero fear, he grew slightly interested.
"Kid, do you know where you are?"
"I do."
"Then what are you here for? You want to join my crew?"
Hearing that Rorschach knew about their hideout, Ricky’s interest grew. Their location was supposed to be top secret. This kid must have used some special method to find them.
"No," Rorschach shook his head.
Ricky’s expression instantly turned ice-cold.
"Then you’re here to die."
"Find out who sent him, then bring him to me."
Losing patience, Ricky turned to leave.
BOOM!
Before he could take a step, a powerful wave of Conqueror’s Haki exploded outward.
All the pirate grunts collapsed instantly. Only Ricky and the large man behind him remained standing.
"Looks like my Conqueror’s Haki still needs more power," Rorschach thought. "It barely affects anyone with real strength anymore."
After the fight with Naguri, his Conqueror’s Haki had reached D-rank and he had learned Coating. Still, against someone with decent willpower like Ricky, the intimidation effect was minimal.
"So you’re that dual-wielding swordsman who’s been making waves in the black market lately," Ricky said, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I’ve been looking for you."
He glanced back at his vice-captain and frowned in displeasure.
"Nandel, you’ve really gone soft. My vice-captain is actually trembling in fear because of some kid?"
Nandel was drenched in sweat and shaking all over, even though he hadn’t passed out. His willpower was decent — much better than the average 10-million berry pirate.
"S-Sorry, Captain... I don’t know why, but my body won’t listen to me," Nandel stammered.
Ricky understood immediately.
"Some unknown Devil Fruit ability that can affect people so easily? Must be a Paramecia type."
Rorschach just smiled and didn’t bother correcting him.
"Unfortunately for you, I’m nothing like the small fries you’ve beaten before."
Ricky’s body began to swell and change. Fur grew across his back, and sharp claws extended from his fingers.
"I ate the Cat-Cat Fruit, Lynx Model! Your little fruit ability has no effect on me!"
Ricky laughed wildly as he showed off his transformed beast-like form. With a casual swipe, he left deep claw marks in the ground.
"Oh? A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user? Those are pretty rare in the East Blue," Rorschach said, still looking completely relaxed.
"Heh, you arrogant little brat. I’ll show you the cruelty of the Grand Line. I’m nothing like these East Blue country bumpkins."
In response, Rorschach casually swung his sword. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
A sharp slash flew out and cut Nandel clean in half at the waist.
The man had managed to stay conscious under Conqueror’s Haki, which showed some strength — but that same willpower had cost him his life.
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