Chapter 40: Vs Ironbone Pirates

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"Captain Aion, we have to break through!" someone shouted. "If we stay here any longer, we're done for!" 

"The Marines have sealed off all our escape routes!" another voice said, "The longer we drag this out, the more Marine reinforcements will arrive!" 

Inside the sealed-off building, the low growls and tense atmosphere revealed the fear gripping the 20 to 30 members of the Ironbone Pirates. 

They had retreated and gathered here after clashing with the Marines and were now being cornered.

"What if an Admiral shows up?!" a trembling voice said, causing everyone to freeze, fear evident in their eyes. 

Sabaody Archipelago's proximity to Marine Headquarters made it one of the worst places to cause trouble, as it could easily lead to an Admiral-led assault.

A man in his thirties, wearing a captain's hat and sporting a vicious scar on his cheek, turned around and suddenly laughed. 

"What are you afraid of?" he sneered. "We didn't mess with the Celestial Dragons, so why would an Admiral bother with us?" 

Besides, this whole mess was started by the Jones Pirates, those lunatics. The Marines are focusing most of their forces in Area 32." 

After taking a deep breath, a cruel smile spread across Aion's face. 

"We're just waiting here to lure all these Marines in, so we can wipe them out in one go."

The others blinked in surprise, then sighed in relief. "We've lost so many crew members. We can't let this grudge go unavenged!" 

Aion's cold voice echoed through the room. He glanced at the pile of civilian corpses stacked like a small mountain behind him, licking his lips. 

Killing civilians held no satisfaction for him; it was the Marines that he wanted to take his anger out on.

"It's about time!" Aion said, peering out the window at the Marine forces just 50 meters away. He grinned and stood up. 

"Let's kill all these Marines, cut off their heads, and stack them into a mountain of skulls!" 

His words sent the pirates behind him into a bloodthirsty frenzy, their eyes turning red with rage.

However, just as he finished speaking, the ceiling above them shattered with a loud crash. 

The roof was split in two, sending countless splinters and debris flying everywhere. 

Screams filled the air as over ten pirates were either injured or killed on the spot. Aion froze, then erupted in fury.

Outside, the Marine captain leading the siege was equally stunned. "Who did that?! I haven't given the order to attack yet!" 

The captain stared in shock at the Marine officer who had sliced through the building with a single kick, hovering in the air. His eyes widened in disbelief. 

The building where the pirates were hiding was six stories high, yet that figure had nearly split it in half with one strike.

"I've never seen such a powerful Tempest Kick before!" he exclaimed. In the next instant, the figure vanished. 

When Arashi reappeared, he stood in the middle of the Ironbone Pirates. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring the pirates' vision.

"It's the Marines!" someone yelled, followed by a barrage of gunfire.

"Iron Body!" Arashi's muscles tensed, and the bullets clanged off his body, the impact producing sparks as the bullets twisted upon contact.

"Is this guy a monster?" one of the pirates gasped, eyes wide with terror as they realized that even bullets couldn't penetrate him. 

But Arashi didn't give them time to react. He appeared before a pirate in a flash, grabbed the man's head, and slammed it into the ground.

"Boom!" The ground shook, dust flew everywhere, and the entire building trembled, causing those inside to lose their balance. 

Aion's pupils contracted in fear as he watched the man in the Justice cape crush the skull of one of his powerful comrades with a single strike.

"This has to be a joke! Barrens had a bounty of 180 million berries!" Aion stammered in disbelief. 

But the next moment, he witnessed a scene he would never forget. 

The young Marine, whose name he didn't know, moved so fast that Aion couldn't keep up with his speed.

With just one kick, the pirate with a 200-million-berry bounty, the vice-captain, was sent flying out of the room, smashing through over a dozen buildings before crashing heavily to the ground. 

The others were even less of a challenge. In a flash, they were all dead—either with their organs ruptured or their heads pierced. 

The entire Ironbone Pirates were annihilated in just seconds, leaving only Aion alive.

"Demon!!" Aion trembled as he spoke.

"Oh?" Arashi smiled. He turned to face the lone captain. "I like your praise."

Aion took a deep breath, forcing himself out of terror and fixing his crazed gaze on Arashi. "I'm not like them!" he shouted. 

"I'm the user of the Ironbone Fruit! My bones and body are as hard as steel."

Arashi raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. In the next moment, he disappeared. 

Soru! When he reappeared, he was already in front of Aion, close enough to see the bewildered expression on the pirate's face.

Clench! The Seastone gloves tightened with a faint sound. 

Arashi, still not mastering the art of Armament Haki, relied on these gloves as his most effective weapon against Devil Fruit users.

"Iron Fist!"

With a powerful punch, Arashi's cape fluttered behind him. There was no flourish, just a straightforward, forceful strike. 

In the next second, the Seastone gloves connected with Aion's face. 

The supposedly steel-hard body caved in, twisted like a ripple in the water, and then collapsed to the ground with a resounding crash. 

The entire six-story building shook as dust filled the air.

Arashi straightened up slowly, looking down at Aion, whose form was now unrecognizable, and shook his head. "I overestimated you."

He then kicked through the wall before him, passing through the ranks of stunned Marines.

"Salute!"

"Thank you, Sir!" His eyes burning with admiration and excitement, the captain in charge shouted as he saluted.

Arashi waved his hand dismissively and left with Rosinante and T-Bone. 

Comparing the list in his hand with Rosinante's continuous reports on enemy positions, Arashi set out toward the remaining Supernovas. 

Over the next half hour, he effortlessly dealt with two more pirate crews.

Then, the Den Den Mushi buzzed with a message: Vice Admiral Jonar had captured the Jones Pirates.

"That leaves just one crew," Arashi said, glancing at Rosinante, the only pirate crew left unchecked on the list.

"They're in Area 45!" Rosinante replied. "Not too far from here."

Arashi looked up, sighing softly. "Dealing with a pirate crew that actually has some sense of humanity... it's kind of complicated for me."

T-Bone looked at his superior hesitantly. "So, Sir, what are you going to do?"

"Our ship could use a few more apprentice Marines for odd jobs, don't you think?" Arashi responded, seemingly off-topic.

T-Bone: "???"

Rosinante, however, burst into laughter. "So that means I'm off the hook for grunt work!"

Arashi snorted. "Apprentice Marines do apprentice Marine tasks! Rosinante, don't get any ideas."

<End Chapter>

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