One Piece Shadow Army - Chapter 4
Curls had only consumed the Shadow-Shadow Fruit a month ago, and during his exploration of its abilities, he hadn’t summoned many shadow creatures.
Apart from the previously summoned vagrant, there were six gang members who had died in a fight, an orange cat, and a hunting dog.
Even if he summoned them all, they wouldn’t stand a chance against these two experienced pirates.
Therefore, he had kept his abilities hidden.
He let the enemy believe he was just a physically strong Marine recruit, waiting for Yadon to lower his guard before silently summoning a shadow soldier to shoot and eliminate him.
Even though this shadow soldier was just a basic one, it could still deal significant damage with a weapon.
Unfortunately, Yadon didn’t know he was a special Devil Fruit user.
Carelessness led to his tragic death by Curls’ ability.
Now, Curls no longer needed to hide. Unleashing the power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, he summoned all his shadow soldiers into the alley.
The dead pirate Yadon was also summoned as a new shadow soldier.
The situation in the alley shifted instantly!
One side was the pirate Ardren.
The other side was the Marine recruit Curls, shadow soldier Yadon, seven previously summoned shadow soldiers, and a shadow hunting dog.
The orange cat had no combat ability, so Curls didn’t summon it.
“Damn it!”
Facing Curls, who had revealed his Devil Fruit ability, Ardren cursed but didn’t show much fear.
Captain William had told him that Devil Fruit users weren’t scary, and they could be defeated with the right strategy.
Although the gunshot might have alerted the Marines, they would take some time to arrive. Ardren decided to avenge his companion Yadon in that time, even if the opponent was a Devil Fruit user!
Not all pirates were devoid of emotions. At least the William Pirates had bonds.
The plan to capture Marine recruits was to rescue the first mate who had been captured half a month ago.
As for why they didn’t capture civilians to threaten the Marines?
Captain William had said they were different pirates. It was natural to be enemies of the Marines, but they wouldn’t harm civilians.
So, they chose Marine recruits as hostages for their plan.
Ardren drew his sharp long knife, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Facing a real pirate, Curls remained highly vigilant.
Bang!
A shadow soldier aimed a flintlock pistol at Ardren and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed in the alley again.
Ardren reacted quickly, taking cover behind nearby obstacles.
Curls ordered the shadow soldiers to keep firing.
Bang, bang, bang!
The gunfire continued, causing panic among the nearby townsfolk.
After dodging several bullets, Ardren seized the moment and quickly approached Curls.
Despite the greater threat posed by the black shadow holding the flintlock pistol, he targeted Curls.
No matter what kind of Devil Fruit ability it was, as long as he dealt with the user, those strange powers would cease.
Ardren’s speed was impressive, and his long knife slashed down like lightning, aiming for Curls’ neck to kill him in one strike.
But Curls was prepared.
The shadow soldier Yadon blocked Ardren’s attack with his large hands.
Catching a blade barehanded would have crippled Yadon’s hands if he were still human, but now he was a shadow soldier.
Shadow soldiers didn’t feel pain, and even if their bodies were shattered, they could reassemble using shadow power.
The only thing consumed in their regeneration was Curls’ willpower. Unless he lost consciousness, the shadow soldiers would not be completely defeated.
“Yadon, what are you doing?” Ardren asked angrily.
Shadow soldier Yadon didn’t respond. Being a basic shadow soldier, he couldn’t communicate.
Ardren withdrew his knife, trying to strike Curls again, but was constantly thwarted by Yadon’s blocking.
The seven shadow soldiers and one shadow hunting dog also attacked and interfered with Ardren.
Seeing this, Ardren slashed the shadow hunting dog on his left, but a moment later, it reformed and attacked him again.
“Damn ability!”
Ardren cursed.
He swung his knife repeatedly, attacking the strange “monsters.”
The shadow soldiers shattered and reformed!
Shattered and reformed!
Having trained at the Isshin Dojo, Ardren’s swordsmanship was strong.
But facing these virtually immortal “monsters,” he felt like he was sinking into a swamp, a sense of powerlessness creeping in.
Bang!
Blood splattered as Ardren was hit in the arm by a bullet amid the shadow soldiers’ attacks.
Sweat appeared on Ardren’s forehead, and the gunshot wound on his arm told him he was losing the fight and needed to retreat.
Reluctantly, he turned and fled the alley.
Seeing this, Curls commanded the shadow soldier Yadon.
“Hold him off!”
Yadon quickly intercepted Ardren, blocking his escape route.
Suppressing his anger, Ardren shouted, “Yadon, get out of my way!”
Shadow soldier Yadon didn’t respond, following the summoner’s command to block the pirate’s retreat.
Seeing his last hope vanish, Ardren gripped his knife tightly, using his legs to propel a full-force attack on Yadon.
“Do you know why you never beat me in our spars?”
Shadow soldier Yadon didn’t respond.
Ardren continued, not expecting an answer.
“Is it bad luck? No, it’s because you always thought ‘almost’ was good enough during training. After many such instances, you’ve fallen far behind!”
Ardren’s speed increased, his knife slicing Yadon in half.
Tap, tap, tap!
Heavy footsteps approached from the distance.
In the corner of his eye, Ardren saw the Marines coming. He knew he couldn’t stay and quickly left, muttering, “Sorry, I had to tell you this after your death.”
As Ardren’s figure disappeared, shadow soldier Yadon reformed. Without a target, he stood still.
Though he couldn’t capture Ardren, killing Yadon was still a success.
When the Marines arrived, Curls retracted his shadow-Shadow Fruit powers, and the shadow soldiers melted into his shadow, disappearing.
Become a Patron to read chapters ahead of public release and support me 😉
Read up to 40 chapters ahead on p atreon.