Chapter 116: I Am Navy

The fierce clash of blades startled the surviving pirates, who scrambled in panic toward the hole in the wall.

Before this, none among them had been a match for that monstrous woman.

What they had thought was strength in numbers proved utterly powerless against her.

Fortunately, the mighty Usopp had, just as they hoped, truly managed to block that monstrous woman.

Now, though the area in front of the hole was littered with corpses, it was genuinely unobstructed.

If not now, then when?

The pirates reversed course, frantically fleeing toward the hole in the wall.

As they fled, they glanced back at the sword duel unfolding between Morde and Gion.

The force that cracked the surrounding ground silently transformed into a shadow in their eyes, reaching deep into their hearts.

The world of the strong.

In that instant, the weaklings thought thus, then fled even faster.

Within the battle circle, Morde struggled to withstand the heavy power transmitted through the blade of the Thousand Bird.

Had he not just severed Robi’s experience points and possessed sufficiently skilled Armament Haki, Gion’s strike would have easily knocked him down.

The importance of Armament Haki was unmistakable at this moment.

Gion’s gaze pierced through the clashing blades, landing on Morde’s gritting, resolute face.

Her expression was as calm as still water, yet tumultuous waves surged within her heart.

Under normal circumstances, a beginner like Morde, who had only recently broken through his hard shell, could not possibly wield such skillful Haki techniques.

Even Soul, a veteran member of the Roger Pirates who had weathered many storms, had nearly dropped his eyes when witnessing Morde’s example.

Not to mention Gion, who knew Morde’s background better than Soul did.

“No wonder Robi lost. This boy’s talent…”

Gion’s eyes flickered as she leaned slightly forward, sending even greater force through her arm into her blade.

Suddenly, Morde felt as if a mountain pressed down upon the Thousand Bird’s blade.

Crack—

The ground beneath Morde’s feet fractured once again.

His desperate defense collapsed in an instant.

Unable to match the power…

At the critical moment, Morde thought of releasing some of the pressure.

The thought barely formed before he acted, without time to consider the consequences.

Enduring the strain on his wrist, he tilted the blade of the Thousand Bird slightly to the left, then eased his grip.

The sudden disappearance of resistance caused Gion’s sword to slam the Thousand Bird down onto the ground violently.

“Naive.”

In a flash, Gion saw through Morde’s plan.

Though releasing pressure could alleviate the strain, it also granted the opponent an opening.

Gion swiftly withdrew her force, then suddenly redoubled it.

Her timing was perfect, intercepting precisely as Morde attempted to pull his blade back.

Morde’s attempt failed; he could only watch helplessly as the Thousand Bird was pinned to the earth.

With the tip crashing heavily down, the force radiating out caused pain to shoot up Morde’s arm.

Killing intent flashed in Gion’s eyes; she twisted her wrist, lifting her sword from the Thousand Bird to deliver a diagonal slash toward Morde’s neck.

Had this strike landed true, it would have meant instant decapitation.

Fortunately, Morde remained calm, activating Observation Haki to lean backward just in time, narrowly avoiding the deadly blade.

At the same time, despite the pain, he lifted the freed Thousand Bird and swung blindly forward, aiming to disrupt.

However, Gion was faster.

As Morde made his move, she followed the arc of her missed strike, twisted her waist, and delivered a back kick to Morde’s abdomen.

A flash of red light flickered in Morde’s eyes; aided by Observation Haki, he quickly activated Armament Haki to defend.

Still, the kick—infused with Armament—landed solidly.

Boom!

With a dull thud, Morde’s body flew backward like a cannonball.

Droplets of blood fell through the air, splattering on the ground below.

Gion’s kick, enhanced by Armament Haki, should have ended the fight outright.

But in the brief contact, she realized Morde used Observation Haki, allowing him to brace with Armament just in time.

Yet, Morde’s Armament was inferior to hers.

So even with prior defense, he was still injured by the kick.

“Even Observation Haki…!”

Gion retracted her leg, eyes burning with intensified killing intent as she looked at Morde suspended in midair.

Such talent…

Though reluctant to believe it, the facts before her left no choice.

Without further thought, Gion gathered her sword’s momentum, ready to unleash a slash of sword energy at Morde before he landed.

Bang—

A gunshot rang out.

A lead bullet, warm with heat, came hurtling toward Gion.

She halted her sword, dodging the bullet sideways as she turned to see the shooter—Sunny.

With a fleeting glance, she quickly withdrew her gaze and refocused on Morde, who was about to hit the ground.

The timely bullet disrupted Gion’s next attack.

Yet, she ignored Sunny entirely, planting her foot and advancing toward Morde.

Sunny, watching Gion’s action from a different angle, was momentarily stunned.

The moment she pulled the trigger, she was prepared for whatever might come.

But she hadn’t expected that, after being interrupted by the shot, Gion would just cast her a casual glance before continuing her pursuit of Morde.

“Is it just because Morde killed that Marine…”

Sunny deeply sensed Gion’s ferocious murderous intent toward Morde.

The only reason she could conceive was Robi’s death.

But the true reason was the increasing weight Morde held in Gion’s eyes.

In just a few months, his physical prowess, marksmanship, swordsmanship, and even his mastery of dual-color Haki had all surged.

Such extraordinary talent and rapid growth—unless it was guided by the cursed gun—Gion would never believe it.

Given this connection, Gion could not allow Morde to continue growing.

Sunny was unaware of Gion’s true target of killing intent.

Seeing Gion charge at Morde, she hurriedly reloaded and fired at Gion again.

Yet, no matter her interference, Gion’s pursuit remained unhindered; she didn’t even waste a moment’s thought on Sunny.

“Damn!”

Sunny reloaded once more.

Her full attention fixed on Gion, she failed to notice a swift shadow approaching from behind.

That figure arrived silently, cloaked in shadow beneath the sunlight.

Sunny caught sight of the shadow cast before her and was shocked, spinning around sharply.

“Wolf Rat!”

Recognizing the figure, Sunny exclaimed with relief, “You’re just in time. Mor—Usopp is in great danger now. Go help him quickly!”

Wolf Rat looked at Sunny expressionlessly and said, “No need to correct yourself—I know his name is Morde, not Usopp.”

“…”

Sunny immediately realized the truth and raised her hand suddenly.

But Wolf Rat acted first, snatching her flintlock pistol.

“Wolf Rat, you…”

Sunny’s eyes narrowed sharply.

With a slight squeeze of his hand, Wolf Rat crushed the flintlock pistol.

The shattered pieces fell to the ground before Sunny’s eyes.

“I am a Marine,” Wolf Rat said calmly.

In the distance, Morde landed and rolled several times.

Stopping, he immediately stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth.

“Gunshot… was that Sunny?”

Before Gion attacked again, Morde quickly glanced toward Sunny’s position.

His eyes brightened when he saw Wolf Rat.

But when Wolf Rat crushed Sunny’s pistol, Morde’s heart sank.

At that moment, Gion was already close by.