One Piece: I Can Simplify Skills - Chapter 56

This was the perfect opportunity to take him out!

…A few days later, near the waters of the Sabaody Archipelago.

A man wearing a Marine lieutenant’s cloak with the word “Justice” on the back lay on a small boat, leisurely chewing on a blade of grass. This man was none other than Rokujin. He was there to wait for Dias and his pirate crew.

Before long, a black pirate ship appeared on the horizon. The ship was black, and its pirate flag featured a black demon—Dias and his Demon Pirates.

“It’s you guys!” Rokujin said with a light smile as he stood up, staring at the distant pirate ship. He then steered his small boat towards the Demon Pirates.

A few minutes later, the crew on the pirate ship spotted Rokujin and hurriedly reported to Dias. “Captain! There’s a Marine lieutenant ahead!”

“Marine? What’s a Marine doing out here?” Dias frowned, looking ahead but seeing nothing. “Marine? Where? I don’t see any ship!”

“Are you trying to deceive me?”
“Captain! There’s only one Marine right there! Use your spyglass and see for yourself!” the pirate pointed in Rokujin’s direction.

“Hmm?” Dias followed the pirate’s direction and finally saw Rokujin sitting on a small boat. He burst into laughter. “Ha ha ha! A single Marine! Did you need to report just one Marine to me?”

“Uh…” The pirate hesitated, thinking the captain might have a point. After all, as subordinates of a Warlord of the Sea, what could a lone Marine do to them?

At that moment, a terrifying aura surged forth. “Demon Flame Slash!” Dias looked up to see a terrifying black sword energy descending like a devil engulfed in black flames.

“What?” Dias’s face changed, and he quickly dodged to the side. Realising the threat, the other pirates already found the black sword energy upon them, feeling immense pressure and searing heat from above.

“Boom!” The Demon Flame Slash struck, cleaving Dias’s ship in half. The ship’s debris fell from the sky amid screams of agony. The rampant sword energy shredded some pirates, some sank into the sea, and others were left severely injured and unconscious. Few survived the attack.

Rokujin glanced at the ship’s interior and saw the enslaved people, mostly Fish-Men, who were about to be sold. They were all oddly shaped, with hardly any of them looking appealing. Rokujin scanned the area, searching for Dias. His mission was to kill Dias!

Suddenly, a pirate wielding a long knife charged at him from the side. “Die!” Without looking, Rokujin moved his hand, and the sword light flashed across the pirate’s neck.

“Ugh…” The pirate stood frozen, blood spurting from his neck, and within moments, he was dead. The remaining pirates, seeing this, hid behind the broken ship parts, not daring to attack. Only their captain, Dias, could handle such a powerful Marine.

Rokujin searched the ship’s wreckage but couldn’t find Dias. He grabbed a crew member and demanded, “Where’s your captain, Dias? Where is he?”

“Th-There, I saw him just now!” the pirate pointed to the ship’s left side, stammering. He had seen someone get killed instantly and didn’t dare to lie.

Following the pirate’s direction, Rokujin found a dishevelled Dias. He was ugly, with two large tufts of hair sticking out like a middle part.
[Character: Dias]
[Position: Captain of the Demon Pirates]
[Level: B+]
[Skills: Armament Haki (B-), Fruit Development (B+)]
[Bounty: 60 million Berries]

Such weak strength! His bounty must be high because he’s one of Doflamingo’s men.

Noticing Rokujin, Dias held a thin, long sword and shouted, “Marine! Who are you? Why attack our ship? We are subordinates of Warlord Doflamingo!”

“You talk too much. How about you die first?” Rokujin’s eyes turned cold, and he reached for his sword. Seeing this, Dias grabbed a nearby Fish-Man, placed the sword to his neck, and threatened, “Marine! If you move, I’ll kill him!”

“What does that have to do with me? I’m here to kill you. Their lives mean nothing to me,” Rokujin replied coldly. If he had cared about the enslaved people, he wouldn’t have split Dias’s ship in half earlier.

“You…” Dias was momentarily speechless. Suddenly, Rokujin drew two swords and unleashed two sword slashes—red and black—towards Dias.

“What!” Dias’s face twisted in fear. He waved his hand, releasing two black mist-like entities. He had never seen a Marine so indifferent to civilian lives. The black mists expanded and twisted, eventually forming two figures resembling Dias, each holding a long sword, blocking Rokujin’s sword energy.

“This is interesting!” Rokujin smiled. He knew Dias had eaten a Devil Fruit, but he wasn’t sure what its abilities were. According to the storyline, Dias would eventually be sold to the Celestial Dragons. Because he wore Seastone shackles and attempted to escape, he was killed by a Celestial Dragon.

The black mist seemed to materialise into entities with similar strength to Dias. However, their overall strength should be weaker.

“Marine! Since you want to kill me, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Dias shouted, continuously waving his hands and releasing numerous black masses. These black masses expanded, twisted, and finally transformed into black creatures resembling Dias. Let’s call them Demons for now.

Dozens of Demons surrounded Rokujin, attacking him simultaneously. These Demons were like mindless creatures, wielding their weapons wildly. Each Demon had about B- level strength. Apart from their numbers, they had no other advantages.

Rokujin easily cut down several Demons, but Dias kept creating more. It seemed Dias hadn’t developed any other abilities from his Devil Fruit.

“Two-Sword Style: Dragon…” Rokujin, holding two swords, was about to release a sword technique when his Observation Haki detected a trace of danger. He quickly covered his body with Armament Haki. At that moment, the charging Demons began to collide violently, as if they were about to explode like overinflated balloons.

“Demons: Explosive Men!”

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