"Fire!"
At Sera's command, the pink-haired woman, the hunters lining the ship's rail—each armed with flintlock rifles—pulled their triggers in unison.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In an instant, a dense web of bullets wove through the air, pouring down like a storm toward the small wooden boat carrying Morishita Ichirou and Hanks.
At the same time, the dozen or so dark cannon barrels mounted on the hull of the large ship erupted in bursts of flame.
Then came the deafening roar of close-range cannon fire.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Heavy black cannonballs shot out of the barrels, merging with the rain of bullets as they all rained down relentlessly on the small wooden vessel.
"What a ruthless woman. She really just started shooting—no hesitation, no sentiment at all. Sera! Heh… If that old man Jonathan had even half your decisiveness back then, the Hunters Guild wouldn't have fallen into such decline."
Despite the overwhelming onslaught of cannon fire, Morishita Ichirou's face remained calm and composed.
Suddenly, a zipper appeared on the wooden deck beneath his feet. With a loud zrrip, a dark crevice opened at the bottom of the small boat and swallowed up all three men onboard.
The very next second—
The storm of firepower rained down, and the small boat was shredded to pieces amid a hail of bullets and cannonballs, splinters flying everywhere.
"Zrrrip."
From the hull of the bounty hunters' own ship, a zipper unzipped to reveal an opening. The round, ball-like Morishita Ichirou rolled out and bounced onto the deck, landing behind a row of unsuspecting hunters. With a swift motion, he raised both hands.
"Ninjutsu! Fire Style: Shuriken!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A flurry of shuriken, each tied with explosive charges, whistled through the air and slammed into the backs of more than a dozen bounty hunters, detonating in a chain of massive explosions.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fiery blasts erupted across the deck, shaking the massive ship violently.
"What are you two standing around for?! Get moving! I've already contacted President Gulliver—he'll be here any moment. Andre and Sera… they're all going to die!"
Morishita Ichirou turned and shouted when he saw Hanks and Jean Ango still hesitating behind him.
Though Jean Ango had made a mistake due to his greed, Jonathan had merely ordered Hanks to bring him back—not to kill him.
But now that betrayal was in the air, if Andre captured him and dragged him back to Guild HQ, Jean Ango would be lucky to survive without getting skinned alive.
As for William Hanks—he had once joined the Hunters Guild out of admiration for the legendary King of Hunters.
Compared to pirates, who committed every kind of evil, and the hypocritical Marines, he had always preferred the freedom of the hunters.
In the past, when he took down infamous bounty targets, his name would appear in the World News, earning him glory and recognition.
It made Hanks truly proud to call himself a hunter.
But just as Morishita Ichirou had said, the current Hunters Guild… was no longer what it once was.
The Guild President is old, and many of the top hunters have gradually left.
Now, people like him, Morishita Ichirou, and Andre—Six-Star Hunters—had become the strongest upper-echelon members in the guild aside from the president himself.
But even if the few of them joined forces, they still couldn't stand up to those long-established and infamous pirates.
The glory of the past was long gone.
"Maybe… it really is time for a change."
Hanks clenched his fists as he looked at the charging Andre, roaring with fury.
Gritting his teeth, he stomped down and launched himself forward, his fist glowing with brilliant light as he struck at the incoming Andre.
"Solar Fist!"
"Hanks! You're not my match! Go down!"
"Wave Shock!"
The six-meter-tall Andre slammed his massive fist down with his eyes closed.
His colossal arm created a massive visual impact.
But at that moment, the entire ship was already flooded with the blinding light radiating from Hanks.
Aside from a few, no one could clearly see the two fighters exchanging blows.
"Boom!"
The two powerful fists collided in midair.
Andre's fist was also cloaked in jet-black Armament Haki.
As his punch landed, a circular shockwave erupted from his knuckles and surged along Hanks' brilliant fist, hitting him squarely in the chest. Hanks let out a muffled grunt as his body was blasted backward from the sheer force.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The deck trembled violently as Andre, eyes still shut, charged forward, pursuing the airborne Hanks.
The hundred or so hunters aboard all shielded their eyes—unable to fight.
The light pouring off Hanks' body was far too blinding, turning the entire ship stark white.
Under the intense glare, even the temperature on the ship noticeably rose.
"Ninjutsu! Earth Style! Earth Split Technique!"
With eyes closed, Morishita Ichirou quickly formed hand seals and made a pulling motion toward Andre's feet.
"Shhhhkk!"
Suddenly, the deck beneath Andre split open with a zipper-like tear, revealing a large hole.
Andre stepped into thin air and immediately fell, his massive body plunging into the gap.
"Jean Ango! If you don't want Lord Gulliver to kill you, use your ability to help out! That weapon you're holding—it's perfect for your power, isn't it?"
Morishita Ichirou shouted as he rolled across the deck and kicked toward the charging Sera.
Still with her eyes closed, Sera reached behind her back, drawing two short blades—each about a foot long—and dashed forward with agile precision, slashing at the leg that came at her.
Facing the blades slicing toward his thigh, Morishita Ichirou didn't dodge. He kept his leg extended, aiming a kick straight at Sera's full chest.
"Heh, Sera, I seem to recall you haven't awakened Armament Haki yet, right? AAGGHH!"
His laughter was quickly replaced by a cry of pain.
Two deep, bone-revealing gashes opened up on his shin.
Sera's petite figure weaved skillfully across the deck, easily avoiding Ichirou's wild black punch. A mocking smirk tugged at her lips.
"That's right, I haven't awakened Armament Haki. But my blades are sharp enough. Fat bastard, don't you know how lousy your Haki is?"
"You damn witch! Not gentle at all! Go to hell!"
Tears welled up from the pain as Morishita Ichirou waved his hand, and the deck beneath Sera cracked open.
The zipper-slit tore wide like a giant mouth, lunging toward Sera's lower body.
But the woman, armored in her heavy metal gear, evaded it with ease and agility.
Meanwhile, Jean Ango—eyes still shut—raised the Heavenly Dragon Halberd and hurled it at Andre, who was trapped with his lower body inside the dark zipper space.
"Don't blame me for this, Andre!"
"Sonic Javelin!"
(End of Chapter)
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