chapter 22

"Oh no, we've been discovered."

Pekin and Xia Qi exchanged glances, a hint of embarrassment flashing across their faces.

"You stay here!" Pekin ordered.

As if venting the frustration she'd been harboring for some time, Lieutenant Colonel Hina immediately attacked upon discovering the other pirates, without waiting for Major General Bastiu's orders.

"Shave!"

With a swift movement, Hina instantly appeared above the Polar, reaching out to grab Pekin and Xia Qi. Using her Devil Fruit abilities, she could lock them in her Black Cage the moment she made contact.

"What do you plan to do to my companions?!"

Rhodes leaped into action, blocking Hina's attack. Just as she lunged to grab Pekin and Xia Qi, Rhodes kicked toward her with impressive force.

Sensing the incoming strike, Hina adjusted mid-air, twisting her body gracefully to dodge his attack. She braced herself against the ship's mast and countered with a powerful kick of her own.

Her quick reflexes surprised Rhodes. In his mind, Hina was never known for her physical combat abilities. He hadn't expected such agility from her.

While this thought flashed through his mind, Rhodes twisted his body to evade her kick. As they passed each other in the air, Rhodes grabbed at her instinctively.

When the two finally landed—Rhodes on the observation deck and Hina on the deck below—Rhodes looked down at his hand, holding something unexpected.

Hina's shoe.

Rhodes' expression turned to one of embarrassment. He stared at the shoe in his hand, his emotions shifting from surprise to amusement.

Hina, standing on deck with one bare foot, felt a rush of shame. Seeing her shoe in Rhodes' hand only fueled her anger.

"Hina is very angry!" she snapped.

Her hands glowed faintly with a black hue as she unleashed her Devil Fruit power. A murderous aura surrounded her as she extended two black bars toward Rhodes, nearly tearing the entire Polar apart.

"Shave!"

Rhodes, who had been standing atop the observation deck, disappeared in an instant, reappearing right in front of Hina. He countered with a powerful kick before she could fully unleash her attack.

Hina barely had time to react. She felt an immense force hit her abdomen, sending her flying across the deck and crashing into the nearby port.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hina!"

Despite the long description, the entire battle from Hina's first move to her being knocked back lasted less than ten seconds.

Colonel Barrow, who had witnessed everything, was furious. Seeing his goddess kicked away by a young, red-haired pirate, his anger reached its peak. He grabbed his long gun, fired three shots at Rhodes, and then tossed the empty weapon aside to charge at him.

"This guy's shooting is decent, and he's using the Navy's new multi-shot flintlock rifle," Rhodes thought, noticing the bullets heading his way.

But his comrade was quicker.

As Barrow fired, Neru pulled out his own black pistol and shot three times, hitting each of Barrow's bullets with precision. Barrow's eyes widened in shock.

"That kind of accuracy!"

Barrow had always been confident in his marksmanship, but he couldn't believe someone had intercepted his bullets mid-air. Achieving such precision required not only skill but also an instantaneous calculation of angles, speeds, and even environmental factors like wind and humidity.

"How is that even possible?!"

"Observation Haki," Bastiu, standing nearby, muttered to himself, quickly realizing what had happened. However, even advanced Observation Haki couldn't usually achieve this kind of precision.

"People this dangerous can't be allowed to leave the North Blue. If they make it to the Grand Line, who knows what chaos they'll cause!" Bastiu thought, tightening his grip on his massive sword, Shark Slash. Without wasting any more time, he leaped from his warship.

Rhodes' expression changed when he saw the powerful Major General approaching. In an instant, he unsheathed his own sword and moved to intercept Bastiu, their weapons clashing with a loud clang.

"You—you're using Shave?!" Bastiu exclaimed, shocked as their swords met.

Feeling the strength in Rhodes' attacks, Bastiu realized that the young man in front of him wasn't weaker than him. What surprised him even more was that Rhodes had used Shave, a technique from the Navy's Six Powers, and he had used it with surprising skill.

"I thought I saw it wrong the first time, but no—it's definitely Shave! When did you learn it?"

Though Bastiu voiced the question, he already had a suspicion.

"Oh, you mean that technique? I just picked it up," Rhodes replied casually, using his strength to push Bastiu back towards the port. He landed back on the deck, still holding Hina's shoe in one hand and his sword in the other.

"Give back Lieutenant Colonel Hina's shoe, you red-haired bastard!" Colonel Barrow roared, charging toward Rhodes with his muscles tensed for a powerful punch.

Bang!

Rhodes blocked the punch with his arms, creating a shockwave. Barrow was stunned. Despite using his full strength, he couldn't shake Rhodes at all.

Without giving him a chance to recover, Rhodes swung his sword at Barrow, cutting through him in one swift motion.

Slash!

Blood splattered as Barrow stumbled back, clutching his abdomen, leaning against the ship's guardrail. But instead of covering his wound, he raised something high in his hand—a shoe.

"I… I got it!" Barrow wheezed, a triumphant grin spreading across his face despite the blood dripping from his arms.

Rhodes blinked in confusion. Barrow had managed to grab Hina's other shoe.

"Shouldn't you be covering your wound right now?"

As a swordsman, Rhodes knew that his strike had inflicted a serious wound, judging by the amount of blood pouring from Barrow.

"Are you seriously this obsessed with her shoes? What are you, a pervert?" Rhodes couldn't help but ask.

"Pervert? You're the one who stole Lieutenant Colonel Hina's shoe in the first place!" Barrow shot back, his voice filled with indignation.