Looking at the big idiot in front of him, still stunned because his weapon had been stopped, Aiden smiled.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Zephyr behind him, who also looked shocked.
"Instructor, are you okay?"
The cold look on Aiden's face disappeared, replaced by an easy smile. He even used his free hand to fix his bangs, which had been messed up by the wind. "Sorry, I'm a step late because that idiot Smoker was slow on the way. Leave the rest to—"
However, he couldn't keep looking cool for even three seconds.
Before Aiden could even finish saying "leave it to me," Weevil lost his temper. His full-force strike had been blocked, and his simple mind could not accept it.
"Let go!!"
Weevil shouted.
His arms swelled, and the veins on them stood out. He did not care that his blade was trapped. He used both hands and swung the weapon to the side with Aiden still holding on to it.
"I—"
Aiden was still turning his head and smiling at Zephyr when a heavy force slammed into his palm.
The next second.
Boom!
A heavy crash shook the deck.
Under the stunned eyes of Zephyr and the surviving Marines, Rear Admiral Aiden, who had just made a perfect entrance, was slammed straight into the deck along with the weapon.
The steel deck cracked apart, sending wood splinters and metal fragments flying everywhere.
The force carried Aiden all the way down. He smashed through three layers of cabins and finally crashed into the bottom ballast tank, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
—
Silence fell over the deck.
Only Weevil's excited shouting echoed. "I hit him! Mama! I smashed!"
"Good job, son!"
Bakkin, who was hiding in the corner, screamed with excitement. Aiden's arrival had terrified her earlier, but now that she saw him knocked away in one hit, she became arrogant again. "Now is the time! Kill that old man!"
"Okay! Kill that old man!"
Weevil threw away the twisted piece of scrap metal in his hand. Shouting again, he raised his huge fists and charged at Zephyr.
"That idiot—"
Zephyr looked at the deep, dark hole in the deck, and his mouth twitched.
But Zephyr was still a veteran. He did not panic because of this sudden turn. His Observation Haki had already sensed that the brat who had been smashed into the lower deck was still fine.
Using the time Aiden had bought by blocking the blade, he had quickly pulled up the injured recruit hanging outside the railing and kicked him behind cover.
Facing the charging Weevil again, Zephyr took a deep breath and got into a fighting stance.
"Come on, monster!"
However, before Weevil's fists could fall,
Bzzzt—
A sharp sound of electricity came from the dark hole.
Right after that,
Shoom!
A blue-white flash shot upward from below the deck.
Everything blurred before Weevil's eyes.
Aiden came out of the hole like a bolt of lightning and drove an electrified kick straight into Weevil's face.
Bam!
This time, it was Weevil's turn to fly.
The giant was lifted off his feet by the kick. He spun through the air before crashing into the distant railing.
Crack!
The steel railing snapped. Weevil cried out as half his body became stuck in the twisted metal, leaving a charred footprint on his face.
Phew—
The lightning faded.
Aiden reappeared on the deck.
He looked a bit messy now. His spotless Justice coat was covered in wood splinters and dust, and his hair was a mess.
He brushed the dust off himself and stared at the big idiot struggling to get up in the distance. His teeth clenched. "Good. Very good. You big idiot, you just crossed the line."
Aiden took a deep breath. Sparks of electricity began to crackle in the air around him. "It's one thing to hit me, but how dare you make me lose face like this in front of my instructor and the female recruits?!"
"This is unforgivable!"
Zephyr froze for a moment and subconsciously looked around.
On the deck, there were clearly dozens of male recruits who, though injured, were still conscious and watching.
A question slowly appeared in Zephyr's mind.
There are clearly so many male recruits watching here—
Why does he only care about losing face in front of the girls?
Is something wrong with this kid's focus?
"Instructor."
Aiden ignored Zephyr's strange look. He cracked his neck with a loud pop and waved his hand with his back turned to Zephyr. "Go rest over there for a bit, and take care of the wounded while you're at it."
"What happens next might not be suitable for children."
With that, Aiden vanished again.
The next moment, he appeared right in front of Weevil, who had just pulled his head out of the railing.
"Mama! It hurts!"
Weevil held his charred face. Just as he was about to cry out, he found the terrifying man already standing right in front of him.
"Does it hurt? This is only the beginning."
Aiden's eyes were cold. He clenched his right fist, coating it in Armament Haki and pale lightning.
Then he stepped in and punched.
Again.
And again.
Aiden's fists landed across Weevil's chest, stomach, shoulders, and jaw without giving him room to breathe. Each blow carried Haki and electricity, making Weevil's huge body jerk with every hit.
Weevil's strength meant little when he could not catch Aiden. His Armament Haki held for a while, but Aiden kept striking the same places until blood began to spill.
"Aaaah!!"
Weevil was driven back across the deck. Every impact made the already damaged warship shake.
"What a tough turtle shell."
After landing dozens of punches, Aiden stepped back to create distance, his brow furrowing slightly.
Although Weevil was beaten black and blue and covered in smoke, he still kept getting back up, which surprised Aiden a little.
If those attacks had hit a normal high-ranking pirate, they would have been down already. But Weevil was still standing with only shallow wounds.
"Is this the kind of body that inherits that man's bloodline?"
Aiden narrowed his eyes, thinking for a split second.
Just an incomplete fool could have a body this strong. What about Edward Newgate himself?
Whitebeard seems to be under sixty right now, right?
He has no illness, no old age or weakness, and is still in his prime.
How strong is the man known as the "Strongest Man in the World" right now?
Aiden forced his focus back to the current battle.
If he did not use a real finishing blow and only relied on ordinary attacks, he would probably have to tear this entire ship apart just to wear Weevil down.
Clang—
A clear ring of a sword echoed.
The famous sword Kogarashi, inherited from Shiki the Golden Lion, instantly left its sheath.
Aiden stepped forward and slashed.
The blade moved with the speed of lightning. Wrapped in Haki and electricity, it cut a deep wound into Weevil's chest, exposing the bone.
"Waaah! It hurts! I'm bleeding!"
Weevil screamed as blood gushed out. But he did not fall down like Aiden expected. Instead, the pain only made him more violent.
"Bad guy! I'll cut you to death!"
Weevil shouted. His huge hand was coated in Armament Haki. He swung it down hard toward Aiden.
"You're pretty fast."
Aiden shifted his body slightly. The giant hand brushed past the tip of his nose and smashed into the deck.
Boom!
Wood splinters flew as the hard deck was smashed open into a large hole.
Taking advantage of the brief opening before Weevil could recover his stance, Aiden moved Kogarashi again.
Slash, slash, slash!
Several sharp cuts landed on Weevil's arms and shoulders one after another. Every strike cut deep to the bone, sending blood across the deck.
However, Weevil barely reacted to the pain. Even though he was covered in blood, he still swung his arms wildly, trying to grab Aiden.
The two exchanged several quick rounds on the deck. Aiden kept leaving wounds, while Weevil could not land a clean hit on him. Even so, Aiden's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
This guy was too hard to kill. Wounds of this level looked terrible, but they were not fatal.
If he wanted to kill him, he would probably have to chop him into pieces.
Tch—
Aiden kicked Weevil's chest, using the force to push himself back and create distance. Looking at the blood-covered man who still kept moving, Aiden's impatience became obvious.
Although he never minded killing, he had no interest in dragging it out.
This kind of fight, where he had to keep cutting the enemy over and over just to wear him down, made him feel annoyed and bored.
Aiden sighed. Since he was going to kill him, he might as well make it quick.
Phew—
He slowly exhaled. In his left hand, the other famous sword, Oto, appeared.
Two swords.
"Um... Instructor Zephyr."
Aiden suddenly turned his head and asked, feeling a bit embarrassed, "This warship... it's fine if we scrap it, right?"
Zephyr stared at him.
Before Zephyr could even process the meaning of the question, Aiden nodded, as if he'd been given permission. "I'll take that as a yes. Later, I'll go to Water 7 and commission a custom warship for you as a replacement."
After finishing his sentence, Aiden turned his head away and stopped looking at anyone.
He held a sword in each hand, pointing the blades diagonally toward the ground.
Bzzzt—
The blue-white lightning around his body began to darken.
Armament Haki spread over the blades, mixing with the electricity until black lightning wrapped around both swords.
The air around Aiden grew heavy.
"What... what is that..."
Bakkin looked at the man covered in black lightning and felt fear crawl up her back.
"Son! Run! Run away quickly!" she screamed.
"Run?"
Aiden sneered.
He raised both swords and crossed them in front of his chest.
The storm clouds above began to move. Lightning gathered over Aiden, drawn toward the blades in his hands.
Weevil felt the danger. He shouted and raised both arms to block.
But Aiden had already moved.
He swung both swords at once.
Two black slashes shot forward in an X shape, carrying violent lightning with them.
For an instant, the rain around the slashes was blown away.
Weevil's huge body was swallowed by the black lightning. Before he could even scream, his eyes rolled back and he passed out. His body was blown hundreds of meters away and crashed into the distant sea.
But the slashes did not stop.
They tore upward through the storm and slammed into the thick clouds above.
Rumble...!
Thunder followed a moment later, making everyone's ears ache.
Everyone on the deck looked up in stunned silence.
The dark purple storm clouds covering the sea were split open by the strike, leaving a huge crack above them.
The crack stretched for thousands of meters across the sky.
Then,
sunlight spilled down through the opening.
It fell directly onto Aiden as he stood on the deck and sheathed his swords.
Click.
With the soft click of the sword guard meeting the sheath,
the wind stopped, and the rain ceased.
The sky cleared.
To Be Continued
---------------------------------
https://www.patreon.com/c/LIZBETH1242
40 chapters available in advance!