Chapter 11 - Blood Fang Pirates(1)

Raiden immediately sprinted toward the village, his heart pounding with urgency. The beach was quite a distance away from the village, so he had to push himself to his limit to cover that distance quickly.

"Damnit! Rock isn't back yet! I need to hurry up." He said with a fierce expression and sped up.

As he neared the village, a sense of dread washed over him. Black smoke billowed into the sky from various locations.

Raiden gritted his teeth in anger. 'They are already here!'

You see, Rock wasn't on the island.

Now, under Rock's protection the island was peaceful and people here had the chance to prosper. In short people here were richer than average.

Many pirates had their eyes on the island, but Rock's fear kept them away. But right now, Rock was not here and for the pirates, this was the perfect time to take this treasure trove for themselves. Also, what Raiden did to their fleet made things worse.

Raiden quickly reached the village center and what he saw, made his blood freeze. Multiple houses were on fire. There were pirates dragging women and children towards their ship and killing any men and elderly they laid their eyes on.

There were already dozens of bodies scattered on the road.

Raiden pulled out his daggers with a blank face and started towards the nearest pirate he saw.

He was standing on top of a woman and was trying to force himself on her with a disgusting glint in his eye.

"Come on, sweetheart. It'll be fun. Just don't resist." The pirate said licking his lips. He didn't want to lose this chance he got with the beauty. He was sure the captain would take her for himself.

"P...please, let me go! D..don't come near me!" The woman yelled in desperation.

The pirate chuckled and licked her cheeks, making the woman cringe in disgust.

She was someone Raiden knew. Someone who always greeted him with a happy, gentle smile. But at this point, she was reduced to a sobbing mess.

Unacceptable.

*Slash!*

"Huh?" The pirate movements stilled, as he looked down. Raiden's dagger cut through air, severing the hand that was grabbing the woman by her hair.

"A..aghh! It...it hurts! Wha...who is it?!" He yelled in agony and desperation. The woman he was holding, quickly scrambled away, ignoring the blood that was spilled on her.

He tried to look up at his attacker but was immediately met with a fierce kick to his head, sending him sprawling on the ground. Before he could even get up, someone stomped down hard on his head pinning him down.

"Ah, that would be me." He heard a childish voice call him out.

'N..no way! It's him! The one who killed the vice captain!' the pirate's face paled when he realised who the kid was. The men who survived that day told them all about the little kid who wiped out their fleet and killed Cutter. They thought the men were bluffing and were just drunk. He now knew, that they were, in fact not lying.

"P..p..please! Sp..spare me?" He wheezed out, although he knew the outcome already.

Raiden tilted his head and stared at the man with contempt. "Nah, don't wanna." He said bringing down his foot on the man's neck instantly snapping it.

[Pirate Frick killed. 20 AP received.]

"Use 5 AP to restore my stamina." He quietly command his system.

[5 AP used. The host is restored to his peak physical condition.]

He quickly ran towards the woman, who was staring the gruesome scene with wide eyes.

"Eliza! A..are you alright?" He knew the woman was traumatised, but right now, all he could do was make sure she didn't have any physical injuries.

Eliza looked up at the boy who saved her a moment ago with a hazy expression. It took her a moment to realise who the boy was. "R..Raiden?! Y..you. How did yo-"

"Not right now, Eliza. Go and hide somewhere." He quickly fished out a piece of paper from his inventory and handed it to her. "You have that den den mushi right? Go and call grandpa. Hopefully he can come back in time."

Eliza, who was still processing everything, nodded her head dumbly. 'When did he become so strong? He killed that bastard instantly!' she thought. She shook her head, snapping her out of her stupor and quickly made her way towards her shop.

Raiden watched as Eliza ran off, clutching the piece of paper he'd given her. He didn't have time to dwell on it. The village was under siege, and he had to act fast.

Drawing his daggers, Raiden moved silently through the chaos. He spotted a group of pirates looting a house. He counted five of them, all armed and laughing maniacally.

"Alright," Raiden muttered to himself, "time to thin their ranks."

His form blurred as he closed the distance between himself and the pirates. The first one didn't even have time to scream as Raiden's dagger slit his throat.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

The second pirate turned, eyes widening in horror, but Raiden was already upon him, plunging a dagger into his chest.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

The remaining three pirates finally realized what was happening. One of them drew a cutlass and charged at Raiden. The boy ducked under the wild swing and sliced through the pirate's Achilles tendon, dropping him to the ground. A quick stab to the neck ended his life.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

"Wh-What the hell are you?!" one of the last two pirates stammered, backing away.

Raiden didn't bother to respond. He flashed forward, his daggers a blur of motion. The fourth pirate fell, clutching a fatal wound in his side.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

"Wa..wai-"

The last pirate turned to run, but Raiden was too fast. He tackled the man, driving his daggers into his back.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

He moved on, heading towards the sound of more screams. He saw another group of pirates dragging women and children towards their ship. Anger flared within him as he saw the terrified faces of the villagers.

'I felt bad for killing these animals? Really Raiden?' he thought, staring at the cruel games those pirates were playing.

"Just die, you disgusting pig." He whispered, appearing behind the closest pirate and driving his dagger into the man's kidney, and dragged it sideways, almost slashing the man in half. The pirate fell with a gurgle, and Raiden moved to the next target.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

This time, a pirate noticed him and swung a club at his head. Raiden ducked, feeling the rush of air as the club missed him by inches. He retaliated with a swift slash across the pirate's belly, disemboweling him.

The remaining pirates were now fully aware of Raiden's presence. They tried to form a defensive circle, but Raiden was too fast and too relentless. He used his smaller stature to his advantage, darting between them and striking at vulnerable points. These pirates were no more than thugs, who terrorized people based on sheer numbers.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

Raiden paused, breathing heavily. The bodies of the Blood Fang pirates lay around him, and he quickly scanned the area for more threats. There were still pockets of fighting throughout the village, and he knew he couldn't rest yet.

Raiden took a moment to catch his breath and quickly used 5 AP to restore his stamina.

[5 AP used. The host is restored to his peak physical condition.]

"Time to keep moving," he muttered, and set off again.

_____

"Hey, where's Frick and the others?" one pirate asked, glancing nervously around.

"No idea. They should've been back by now," another replied, his voice wavering. "You don't think...?"

"Nah! Those bastards were out of their minds. No way it wa-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, they saw him.

A small figure, moving with a fluid grace, covered in blood and carrying twin daggers. Raiden emerged from the shadows, his eyes cold and unyielding.

"Wh-what the hell?!" one of the pirates exclaimed, stumbling back in shock.

"It's him," another pirate whispered, his face paling. "The kid they talked about. The one who killed Cutter."

"No way! That's just a story!" the scoffing pirate insisted, though his voice was now edged with fear. "He can't—"

His words were cut off as Raiden launched himself at them. The boy moved like a blur, his daggers flashing in the dim light.

The first pirate didn't even have time to draw his weapon before Raiden's dagger sliced through his throat.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

The remaining pirates, who had witnessed the scene from a distance, were now thoroughly unnerved. The stories about the boy had seemed like drunken tales, but now, seeing him in action, they began to believe.

"Did you see that? He took them out like they were nothing!" one pirate hissed, his eyes wide with fear.

"I told you, the survivors weren't lying! He's the one who killed Cutter and the others!" another pirate responded, his voice shaking. "We need to tell the captain!"

"Who told you I'd let you run away." Raiden interjected pulling his dagger out of the now dead pirate and staring at the rest.

Before the pirates could react, Raiden moved.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

[Pirate killed...]

[Pirate..]

In less than a minute, Raiden had wiped out nearly half a dozen men.

"Hm?" Raiden raised an eyebrow in confusion. With a flick of his wrist, he cleaned the blood off of his dagger and stomped on the throat of the last pirate, who was barely hanging on to his life, freeing him from his misery.

[Pirate killed. 20 AP received.]

'What is going on? It feels so much easier to use these things.' Raiden thought with a frown, as he stared at the daggers in hand. Raiden shook his head and decided to focus on the task at hand first. That is cleaning up the trash.

.

.

.

By now, the remaining pirates had started to realize something was very wrong. The island was becoming eerily quiet as their comrades fell one by one.

The Blood Fang Pirates had nearly 50 members, and Raiden had already eliminated over a dozen of them by now. He moved through the village, he avoided direct confrontations, using his speed and agility to pick off pirates one by one

By the time he had killed another 25 of them, the remaining pirates, realized something was wrong. The island was becoming quieter, and their comrades were not responding.

All the pirates alive right now were veterans. And that included the captain of Blood Fang Pirates,

[Rabbid Dog, Skylar]

[Bounty - 12 million berries]

[Wanted - Dead or Alive]

He was nearly a seven foot tall man, with an angular face full of scars, framed by dark, tousled hair. He had deep crimson eyes, and an athletic build, which looked quite normal from one piece's standards.

Unlike his name Skylar was a calculating man. He was stronger than his Bounty suggested. He methodically regulated his Bounty so that it remained low. He didn't want to show off. He was slowly growing his power in East Blue and planned to enter the grand line keeping a low profile and once he firmly established himself in the grand line, he would show his true powers.

Black Rock island had a lot of rich people, everyone knew that but no one attacked it because of the Rear Admiral. He placed one of him men on the island to keep an eye on the old man.

He received the information that Rock had left the island, so he sent three ships the previous day to initiate the attack. Their main fleet was supposed to arrive a day later.

That turned out to be a very bad move, as nearly all of his men were killed that day, including his vice captain. The few men who survived, told an unbelievable tale that a young boy killed them all.

Skylar was sure that Rock was still on the island and the intel was wrong. But, he had to avenge his crewmates' death. So he bought the rest of his crew to raid the village and take down the old man.

But when they did reach the island, one thing became clear. Rock was, infact, not on the island. That alone, gave his men a much needed morale boost.

It was supposed to be an easy loot, but for some reason, his men stopped coordinating. This pissed him off.

"Sheesh! Calm down, Skylar." He took deep breaths to calm himself down.

It only took him a moment, but Skylar's eyes bulged in horror as he realised what was going on.

He had an ability that allowed him to remember the smell of anything he smelled once. Right now nearly thirty of his crewmates had their smells entangled with blood.

Skylar was on high alert. There was someone on this island capable enough to kill half his men. Suddenly, all the stories his men told him, came rushing back.

He didn't want to risk anything anymore. They had looted a decent amount of money and had good quality slaves he could sell off. As for the ones that died, they were fodder anyway. He turned towards his new vice captain and said in a serious tone, "Ron, call everyone back, load the loot and captives. We're moving." He commanded gruffly.

Before Ron could even respond he heard a *thud*.

Skylar and Ron turned towards the direction of the sound and were shocked to see a little boy, no more than ten, covered in blood walking towards them.

_____

Raiden's eyes were cold, filled with fury. He couldn't find his grandma or Bob. He had searched everywhere but couldn't find them.

He searched the entire village, cutting down anyone in his path, but he couldn't find them. But the search didn't last much longer. He reached the village center, and there they were.

Raiden watched from a distance as a group of villagers, some unconscious, some shivering in fear, were gathered together as if they were herds.

He spotted his grandma, bruised and battered, next to Bob, whose condition looked even worse.

"Well well, brat, it looks like you're the one who killed my men, huh?" Skylar walked towards Raiden, his fear of the unknown dissipating. The boy looked...pretty normal. His senses told him that the boy wasn't a threat a to him.

'He is just a kid,' Skylar sneered mentally. 'How strong could he be? He probably did sneak attacks on those useless fuckers.'

Skylar's deduction was logical. It was the only way possible for a kid as small as Raiden to kill so many of his men. According to him that is.

Still, he couldn't deny the kid's talent. "You know what, boy, join my crew and I'll let you off the hook. How about it? You're pretty good. Join my crew and I'll train you real good. You'll be even stronger. What do you say?" Skylar said with a grin.

Raiden, who never took his eyes off his grandma and Bob, looked up at Skylar for the first time.

"Oi." He said in a low voice.

Skylar felt uneasy at the little boy's gaze. His senses, that previously told him that the boy was not a threat, were screaming at him to back off.

*Shling*

Before he could do anything, an absolutely tyrannical pressure descended on the island. Skylar's smirk vanished as he staggered, the weight of an unseen power crushing his spirit. The villagers and even his crewmates, all collapsed around him, under the unrestrained raw power rampaging through the island.

*Thud*

*Thud*

[Ding!]

[A massive milestone achieved...]

[2000 AP received!]

The only one left was Skylar, who was already on his knees. 'I'm going to die!' That was his last thought before he heard a chilling voice.

"How dare you touch them... mutt."

[Host has unlocked Conqueror's Haki.]

______