Chapter 20 Whetstone

That nonchalant remark sent a jolt through the buck-toothed Commodore.

On the eve of the Reverie, pirates and outlaws targeting royalty invariably surfaced in droves.

Whether motivated by ransom or commissioned by unknown benefactors, these individuals acted with distinct and deliberate intentions. Consequently, the World Government routinely dispatched the Marines to provide escort and protection.

Once this time of year arrived, such attacks on royalty were commonplace across the Grand Line, though they rarely occurred in the Four Blues.

The thorny nuisance before him was coming for the Carnet royal family...

Based on the casual words dropped by Morley, the Commodore instantly pinned down his adversary's motive.

Little did he know, it was merely a smoke grenade casually tossed out by Morley.

"You came from that direction, didn't you?"

Morley ascended into the air via Moon Walk. Keeping his eyes fixed on the Commodore, he straightened his gun-wielding right arm, pointing the muzzle directly toward the royal ship of Carnet.

That was also the direction where the second warship lay.

"Prepare to die!"

Unwilling to waste breath on meaningless chatter, the Commodore kicked off the deck, his figure shooting toward the airborne Morley like a sharpened sword.

He did not know the Six Powers.

In terms of raw strength, though inferior to the monsters at the very top, he nonetheless stood as one of the vital pillars.

His greatest reliance was an exquisite mastery of swordsmanship.

Bounding toward Morley through the air, the Commodore swung his blade across his front from several meters away, whipping up a series of seemingly purposeless crescent blade-flashes.

Hidden Blade!

The flashes swept forward swiftly, vibrating to churn out a trail of afterimages.

The longsword, which should have led the charge at the forefront of the afterimages, was maneuvered through a flurry of flashy techniques to conceal itself behind them.

Afterimages in front, blade in the rear.

This was a visual deception technique that the Commodore had integrated seamlessly into his swordsmanship.

However...

Morley withdrew his gun and drew his blade, opening his Observation Haki as a crimson glow welled up in the depths of his eyes.

The trajectory of the longsword hidden within the afterimages of the blade-flash instantly became crystal clear.

Immediately following, his sword Chidori thrust straight out, intercepting and locking against the Commodore's fiercely slashing blade.

In an instant, those dazzling afterimages vanished entirely.

Clang—!

Blade struck blade, scattering a flurry of sparks.

With the hidden blade parried, the Commodore’s eyes narrowed.

His technique was most vulnerable to this exact kind of ability that could pierce straight through illusion to reality at a single glance.

Morley poured sudden strength into his hands gripping the hilt, suppressing the upward charging momentum of the Commodore.

Having gained the upper hand through suppression, Morley violently leaned his upper body forward while consecutively kicking the air with both feet, deploying the Moon Walk.

Bang! Bang!

The recoil generated by the Moon Walk channeled through Morley’s body and straight down into the blade.

That abruptly amplified force caused the Commodore’s body to plummet toward the deck like a shooting star, smashing directly through the planks and plunging deep into the hold.

Having beaten the Commodore down with a single blow, Morley rose back into the air with Moon Walk, landing upon the crossbar near the crow's nest on the mainmast.

Before the Commodore could return to the deck, Morley took advantage of the lull to fire two shots, felling two more Marines in the chaotic melee and alleviating a fraction of Lafayette's pressure.

After firing, Morley reloaded while keeping a watchful eye on the movements of the royal ship and the second warship.

He noticed that the Carnet royal vessel was furling its sails in an attempt to decelerate and distance itself from the battle zone, while the other warship was leveraging the wind to bypass the royal ship and close in on their position.

This transparent intent curved Morley’s lips into a faint smile.

Occupying the high vantage point expanded Morley’s field of view, but it simultaneously exposed him directly to the muzzles below.

How could the Marines on the second warship miss such a prime opportunity? They immediately raised their rifles and unleashed a volley of lead shot toward Morley on the crossbar.

Morley leaned backward, gracefully evading the barrage of gunfire as he descended toward the deck.

Landing firmly on the deck with a backflip, Morley did not pause for a fraction of a second. He raised his gun and squeezed the trigger toward the hole the Commodore had punched out upon impact.

Bang!

A lead bullet tore through the rifling amidst a puff of gunsmoke, flying straight and true.

Right at that moment, the Commodore burst up through the deck breach, and the pre-aimed projectile arrived squarely before his face.

"Calculated the timing, huh..."

In a rush, the Commodore swung his blade, cleaving the bullet cleanly in two.

Before the Commodore could retract his weapon, Morley pressed the offensive, slashing forward with Chidori wrapped in Busoshoku Haki.

"Armament Haki..."

The Commodore furrowed his brow slightly. Rushing to manifest his own Armament Haki, he hastily raised his sword to parry.

The moment the blades met, they parted instantly, only to crash together again, bursting forth with brilliant showers of sparks.

Clang, clang...!

Morley swung his blade with wind-like swiftness, devoid of any conventional form, relying entirely on a sheer velocity backed by pure physical conditioning.

The Commodore was forced onto the defensive, yet he managed to precisely block every single slash Morley threw his way.

His profound mastery of swordsmanship was glaringly evident.

"This brat’s swordsmanship is unpolished; there’s still a trace of greenness to it."

After a mere few seconds of exchange, the Commodore spotted the flaw in Morley's offensive.

Only...

A dozen seconds ticked by.

Both combatants had exchanged dozens of blows.

Despite discerning the flaw, the Commodore found himself unable to mount an effective counterattack.

"It’s Observation Haki..."

A look of deep gravity surfaced in the Commodore’s eyes.

Armament Haki was something ordinary people could learn through day-in, day-out training followed by proper guidance.

Observation Haki, however, was a different beast altogether, where innate talent vastly outweighed sheer effort.

In this world, many individuals mastered Armament Haki while remaining utterly inept at Observation Haki.

The Commodore happened to be one of them.

Though it was a completely formless, frantic assault, Morley was utilizing Observation Haki to seal off his counterattacks a step in advance.

The Commodore frowned deeply.

Being able to spot the flaws yet unable to exploit them.

It was an intensely frustrating sensation.

Unreconciled, the Commodore tried several more times, only to meet with failure at every turn.

Every single attempt fell short by just a hair's breadth...

"Damn that Observation Haki," the Commodore cursed inwardly.

Relying solely on experience and reflexes, he could hold his ground against Morley's frantic onslaught.

However, what he wanted was to crush Morley, not engage in a meaningless stalemate.

In stark contrast to the Commodore’s mounting agitation, Morley was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Swordsmanship differed from physical conditioning; grinding away at it day after day merely laid down a solid foundation.

If one wished to push swordsmanship to the next level, actual combat was undoubtedly among the fastest paths.

With every clash of blades, Morley felt as though he could practically watch his experience points ticking upward bit by bit.

"This feeling... isn't bad at all."

Morley smiled.

The buck-toothed uncle before him was neither overly weak nor overwhelmingly strong.

To him, he made for an absolute, pristine whetstone.

The Commodore's gaze pierced through the intertwined arcs of blade-light, landing squarely on Morley's smile.

"Find something funny?"

The Commodore’s eyes turned glacial.

Morley simply ignored him, keeping his focus entirely locked on each clash of steel.

It was rare to find a sparring partner this suitable in a place like the East Blue; he intended to cherish the opportunity thoroughly.

Several minutes elapsed, and the Commodore began to sense something amiss.

"This guy... is he using me to hone his sword?"

The chill in the Commodore’s eyes grew even more intense.

Meanwhile.

Lafayette cut down the final Marine soldier.

By the time the battle concluded, he had carefully culled twenty-four heads that he deemed satisfactory.

Lafayette first glanced at the approaching second warship, then shifted his gaze to Morley, who was still locked in fierce combat with the Commodore.

With his discerning eye, he could tell the Commodore was the highest combat asset across both warships.

Therefore, before the reinforcements from the other warship arrived, it would be best to join forces and eliminate the Commodore first.

With that thought, Lafayette stirred into motion.

"Don't help."

Yet, before Lafayette had taken more than a few steps, Morley's voice rang out.

"Understood."

Lafayette glanced at the look of exhilaration on Morley's face, chuckled softly, and shifted his attention back toward the closing warship instead.

"Can't have you interrupting Morley's fun..."

His tone was dripping with bone-chilling intent.