Chapter 39: Hunting

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T Bone blinked, only now noticing that his commanding officer, Arashi, was completely unscathed despite being shot. 

Rosinante was equally stunned. Although the bullet had clearly hit its mark, there wasn't a single wound on Arashi's body.

Meanwhile, about five or six hundred meters away from the Marine ship, a man holding a rifle at the port was filled with shock. 

"That shot should have hit! Even a Marine officer shouldn't be completely unharmed!"

He quickly readjusted his scope, trying to aim again. 

But in the next instant, the figure of the young officer he was targeting vanished from his sight. 

"Gone?!" the man exclaimed in disbelief. 

At the same time, a white figure with the word "Justice" emblazoned on it appeared above him, causing his nearby comrades to scream in panic.

"The Marines are here!!" The man looked up sharply, his heart sinking. 

The speed was too fast! Despite being separated by five or six hundred meters, the young Marine officer had closed the distance in less than a second—so fast that it was almost impossible to react.

"You have good aim," Arashi remarked calmly, looking down at the rifleman, their eyes locking. 

At the same time, his right leg was already lifted. 

Using the Iron Body technique in a localized manner, his entire leg tensed, and blood flow accelerated, making it as solid as forged steel. 

In the next moment, his right leg slashed down like a massive blade.

"Rankyaku!" It was just a simple Rankyaku technique, but the speed and power were beyond imagination. 

After his battle with Rayleigh, Arashi's physical abilities had skyrocketed, making him on par with the world's top fighters. 

While he hadn't measured his combat power (Douriki), he estimated it to be well over 10,000.

As his leg slashed down, the air rippled, and the blue arc-shaped slash expanded rapidly to dozens of meters, shining brilliantly. 

It then crashed violently into the pirate ship below, which had just begun to move.

"Crack!" The fierce slash brutally cut the pirate ship in half, causing the pirates on board to scream in terror. 

The pirate who had fired the shot was almost split in two from head to groin.

By the time Arashi, who had been in mid-air, touched down, he was already standing on the port.

"Rear Admiral!" T Bone shouted excitedly, quickly jumping off the ship to follow behind him. 

Rosinante stared in shock at the pirate ship, now reduced to a pile of wreckage, and swallowed hard. 

At that moment, he finally understood why Sengoku had assigned him to follow this man. 

This terrifying strength was something he had never encountered in his life.

"Rosinante!" Arashi's voice suddenly called out.

"Here!" Rosinante immediately stood straight and responded loudly.

"Keep up!" Arashi ordered, scanning the chaotic surroundings. "In a situation like this, don't get separated!"

Rosinante quickly flipped over and ran to catch up. 

The three of them moved swiftly toward the interior of the Sabaody Archipelago, surveying the area where battles were breaking out everywhere. 

It was clear that the pirates had caused significant havoc, pushing from the inner areas to the port, with some already trying to escape.

"Bang!" Another gunshot suddenly rang out. Arashi reached out and blocked the bullet aimed at Rosinante's face.

"Clang!" The bullet collided with his hand, producing a metallic sound and sparking slightly. 

Rosinante froze, cold sweat forming on his forehead. 

He stared at the twisted bullet caught between Arashi's fingers, realizing that if his superior hadn't intervened, he would likely be dead.

T Penn, on the other hand, looked at Arashi with admiration. 

To have mastered the Rokushiki to this level, his superior was beyond impressive.

This was the first time Rosinante had seen someone use the Iron Body technique while still being able to move freely. 

"Stay on high alert, trainee!" Arashi said calmly. "In this chaotic situation, I can't always guarantee your safety."

He casually tossed aside the twisted bullet he had caught, which then struck a nearby pirate holding a gun. 

The pirate groaned and collapsed, the bullet having pierced directly through his forehead. 

This scene sent shockwaves of fear through the pirate's comrades.

"Yes, sir!" Rosinante responded loudly. Arashi continued moving forward, not getting too involved in the chaotic battles around him. 

His primary mission was to deal with the Supernovas causing trouble on the Sabaody Archipelago. 

The three of them moved quickly through the battlefield, with Arashi effortlessly dealing with anyone who attacked them. 

T Bone also swung his long sword, cutting down several pirates. Before long, the pirates realized that these three were not to be trifled with.

A short while later, Arashi met with a Marine commander and a lieutenant commander in charge of the local forces.

"Rear Admiral Arashi, dispatched by Marine Headquarters for support!"

"Rear Admiral Arashi?!" The lieutenant commander was visibly excited upon hearing his name. 

He quickly composed himself and reported the current situation. 

"The officer in charge of the island's operations is Vice Admiral Jonah!" 

"The main troublemakers are five Supernova pirate crews, each led by a rookie captain with a bounty of over 200 million berries."

The lieutenant commander spoke rapidly, handing Arashi a list of details. "Your primary task is to capture these Supernovas." 

"As for the other pirates taking advantage of the situation, they're not much of a threat; we can handle them."

Arashi glanced over the list, getting a sense of the situation. 

There were five Supernova crews on the island, including a powerful swordsman and several Devil Fruit users. 

Their bounties ranged from 100 million to 300 million berries, but their numbers and the fact that they were scattered across the island had caused considerable chaos.

"Leave it to me!" Arashi said, taking the Den Den Mushi (transponder snail) used for communication. 

He then led T BonePenn and Rosinante away without meeting Vice Admiral Jonah or needing any further discussion.

"Of the five pirate crews, four are true pirates, with at least a thousand civilian deaths on their hands," Arashi muttered. 

"They deserve no mercy. But this one…"

Arashi's eyes narrowed as he read the information about the final crew, the Ivans Pirate Crew. 

This crew consisted of five members: a cook, a navigator, a sniper, a swordsman, and a shipwright. 

Each member was highly skilled, with bounties exceeding 50 million berries. 

The crew's captain, Ivan Thorne, was an exceptionally powerful sniper with a bounty of 320 million berries. 

Unlike the other pirate crews, the Ivan Pirate Crew had no civilian deaths to their name; in fact, they had done many good deeds wherever they passed.

"Ivan Thorne, born in the North Blue, from Flevance, the White City. At the age of eight, his parents died due to the oppression of the nobility." 

"At sixteen, he set out to sea, quickly making a name for himself and forming a pirate crew."

As he read this information, Arashi fell into deep thought. 

Meanwhile, Rosinante, who had been exchanging enemy information with the Marines through the Den Den Mushi, suddenly looked up.

"Rear Admiral Arashi," Rosinante called out. "The Ironbone Pirates have been located just ahead! Our forces have them completely surrounded."

Arashi looked up in response, glancing ahead. 

He saw Marine squads cautiously advancing in an encircling formation while the building ahead was eerily silent.

"Let's wrap this up quickly. I don't have time to waste here!" Arashi said coldly. Even as he spoke, his figure vanished from sight. 

He was eager to resolve the situation here and move on to the New World.

<End Chapter>

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