One Piece Shadow Army - Chapter 53
“Destroy the Krieg Pirate Fleet!”
At any other time, hearing such audacious words from someone else, Krieg and his pirates would have laughed heartily and ridiculed the speaker.
But after witnessing the destruction of twelve pirate ships, their hearts were now filled with dread.
The dark shadow soldiers exuded a formidable aura that made the pirates’ eyelids twitch and their hearts quiver.
This young Marine officer seemed genuinely capable of annihilating them!
However, as the commander of thousands of pirates, Krieg would not be easily intimidated. Even if death was imminent, he would not sit idly by.
Moreover, based on the unique nature of the shadow soldiers, Krieg deduced that Curls was a Devil Fruit user.
“Men, don’t be afraid! If we kill this Marine, all our problems will be solved!”
Clank!
Krieg’s armor shifted, revealing the sophisticated weaponry concealed beneath. The dark barrels of his guns aimed directly at Curls.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Fire burst from the barrels as a barrage of bullets shot out.
Whoosh!
Curls used Soru, vanishing from his position. The bullets struck the wooden mast, leaving it riddled with holes and splinters.
The shadow soldiers did not evade. Instead, they absorbed the bullets, their bodies riddled with holes.
But in a wave of shadow energy, the soldiers’ bodies regenerated, their bullet holes closing up.
This bizarre scene sent chills through the pirates on the flagship.
“Are they immortal?”
Gin’s sunken eyes widened in disbelief.
As Krieg attacked, the shadow soldiers also began their assault on the pirates.
Lanros swung his blade, striking down the second division commander of the Krieg Pirates.
This massive man, who believed his iron shield made him invincible, was cut down as his shield was sliced through like butter. Balu died instantly.
Meanwhile, Barbossa faced off against Gin, the first division commander of the Krieg Pirates. With his enhanced strength from his second distillation form, Barbossa easily overpowered Gin, who was skilled in martial arts.
Nearly a hundred shadow soldiers clashed with the pirates on the flagship.
Under the overwhelming power of the shadow soldiers, the battle quickly turned into a massacre.
However, not a single shadow soldier attacked Krieg.
For he was the “king’s” prey.
At the top of the main mast, Curls watched the scene unfold below. Then, he dived down.
“Slash!”
Using the momentum of his ten-meter drop, Curls delivered a powerful strike.
Krieg raised his massive shield, blocking Curls’s attack.
The clash of metal rang out, sparks flying.
Though Curls’s swordsmanship was top-notch, he had yet to reach the level of cutting steel. His blade could not penetrate Krieg’s armor.
Krieg raised his arm shield, revealing a large circular opening.
Seeing this, the pirates felt even more terror than when they saw the shadow soldiers.
For within the shield was Krieg’s specially designed poison gas bomb. Once launched, anyone inhaling the gas would be fatally poisoned.
It was a weapon of mass destruction!
“Admiral, you can’t use MH5 here!”
Gin, struggling against Barbossa, shouted urgently.
“Yeah, Captain!”
“You can’t use it! We’ll all die!”
The pirates on the ship nodded in agreement. Without gas masks, they too would be poisoned.
Krieg, hidden behind his shield, cared little for their pleas. Sensing the Marine’s immense power, he knew his only chance was to use the poison gas bomb.
Though this would also kill the pirates who were unprepared, it didn’t matter to him.
As long as he won, the sacrifice of others was irrelevant!
“Die!”
Facing Krieg’s cold smile, Curls anticipated the poison gas bomb and did not hold back.
He swept his right leg across, sending Krieg flying and throwing him off balance.
The poison gas bomb intended for Curls missed its mark and struck a nearby pirate ship.
Boom!
The ship was engulfed in a cloud of purple gas. The pirates on board, caught off guard, quickly succumbed to the poison, their faces turning a deathly purple as they lost all strength.
Back on the flagship, Krieg disoriented from the blow, was struck again by Curls, sending him higher into the air.
Curls released his sword, his right hand forming a fist. A surge of shadow energy gathered around it.
Besides his own immense strength, the shadow energy surged powerfully!
“Shadow Rising Dragon Punch!”
As Krieg plummeted down, he was met with Curls’s powerful uppercut.
The shadow energy formed a fierce, unstoppable dragon shape, smashing into Krieg’s armor.
Crack!
The punch shattered Krieg’s armor. The immense force caused excruciating pain, blood gushing from Krieg’s mouth as he lost consciousness.
Krieg’s body soared tens of meters into the air before plummeting back down, crashing through several layers of the ship’s deck until he lay still, fate uncertain.
On the deck, the Krieg Pirates were systematically defeated, none able to stand.
With the battle on the flagship concluded, the remaining twenty or so pirate ships were swiftly dealt with by the shadow soldiers.
The Krieg Pirates, rulers of the East Blue, with a fleet of over three thousand, were crushed by Curls and his shadow soldiers in a single night!
If one were to calculate the time, the entire battle lasted less than half an hour.
Curls ordered the patrol ship’s Marines to contact the Roguetown Marine Base.
Handling the aftermath of a three-thousand-man pirate fleet required more than the fifty Marines on the patrol ship.
……
Late at night.
In the communication room of the Roguetown Marine Base, the den den mushi rang incessantly.
A duty Marine answered, “Hello, this is Roguetown…”
Hearing the message from the other end, the Marine’s expression turned to shock.
He ran out, shouting wildly.
“Important news! The Krieg Pirates have been defeated by Ensign Curls!”
“The fleet of three thousand has been defeated!”
“Admiral Krieg has been captured alive!”
In an instant, the previously dark Marine Base lit up brightly.
……
Near the Roguetown waters.
Several hours had passed since the battle with the Krieg Pirates.
On the flagship of the Krieg Pirates, the unconscious Krieg was dragged onto the deck by shadow soldiers.
Despite his severe injuries, Krieg was still alive, captured by Curls.
Turning away from Krieg, Curls focused on a gaunt middle-aged man who had endured many attacks but still clung to life.
Earlier, he had overheard other pirates refer to this man as “Mr. Gin.”
Gin, the enigmatic member of the Krieg Pirates, was a figure Curls remembered well from his previous life. Various theories surrounded his true identity.
He hadn’t expected to capture Gin.
Could Gin really have a special background?
At that moment, a familiar ship approached from afar.
It wasn’t a Marine ship but the “William Pirate Crew” Curls had encountered before!
The next arc of the East Blue saga was about to begin.
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