"Oh, we've been discovered."
Penguin and Shachi exchanged glances, a hint of embarrassment flickering across their faces.
"You should stay here!"
As if to vent the resentment that had been building up for some time, upon confirming the other party's pirate affiliation, Lieutenant Commander Hina launched an immediate attack without waiting for Rear Admiral Bastille's orders.
"Shave!"
Accompanied by a whooshing sound, her body instantly appeared above the Polaris, reaching out to grab Penguin and Shachi.
With her Ori Ori no Mi ability, as soon as she caught them, they would be locked within her black cage.
"What do you think you're doing to my crewmates?"
While Hina was in motion, Rhodes leaped high and positioned himself between her and Penguin and Shachi. The moment Lieutenant Commander Hina appeared, he unleashed a sudden kick.
Sensing the approaching gust of wind from the kick, Hina's expression shifted slightly. Her body altered its trajectory mid-air, twisting at the waist to evade Rhodes's attack.
Then, she braced her hands on the mast and retaliated with a kick as Rhodes and her body intertwined.
What a quick reaction!
Rhodes was slightly surprised by Hina's response.
In his recollection, Hina wasn't particularly renowned for her physical prowess, and her combat strength wasn't considered outstanding. He hadn't anticipated such agility in battle.
With this thought flashing through his mind, Rhode twisted his body and swung his arms to meet the opponent, feeling Hina's kick connect with his back.
Swish——
The two figures passed each other. Rhode took a step back and landed on the crow's nest, while Hina's body descended.
"Uh…"
Looking at Hina's shoes clutched in his hand, Rhode's face registered a moment of awkwardness.
The next instant, his expression changed subtly, his gaze fixed on the shoes. Complex emotions flickered in his eyes: first surprise, then amusement, and a hint of laughter.
Hina landed on the Polaris's deck with one bare foot, a trace of shame coloring her face. When she saw her shoes still held in Rhode's hand and the peculiar expression on his face, her anger intensified.
"Hina is very angry!"
A faint black light emanated from Hina's hands, and a palpable murderous aura enveloped her.
As Hina's arms swung out suddenly, two black barriers extended outwards, nearly bisecting the entire Polaris.
"Shave!"
Rhodes, who had been standing on the crow's nest above the mast, registered a slight shift in his expression. His entire being vanished in an instant, only to reappear directly in front of Hina, delivering a fierce kick.
Before she could bring her arms down, Hina felt a tremendous force impact her abdomen, sending her flying backward instantly to crash heavily onto the port.
"Lieutenant Commander Hina!"
It took a while to describe, but in reality, from Hina's rush towards the Polaris to her being kicked by Rhodes towards the port, only about ten seconds had elapsed.
Colonel Barrow had already been incensed when he saw Rhode holding Lieutenant Commander Hina's shoes. When he witnessed his idol being kicked away by the red-haired boy on the opposing ship, he was practically burning with rage. He grabbed the long gun slung across his back and fired three shots at Rhodes. Then, discarding the now-empty flintlock rifle, he charged towards Rhodes.
This guy's shooting skills are good, and he's using the Navy's latest multi-shot flintlock rifle.
Sensing the bullets fired by the unknown navy officer, surprise flickered in Rhodes's eyes.
However, his crewmate on this side was more than capable.
Simultaneously with Colonel Barrow's shots, Neru also drew his black gun and fired three rounds. To Colonel Barrow's utter shock, the three bullets he had fired were accurately intercepted by Neru's shots.
This kind of accuracy!
Barrow had always been confident in his marksmanship, but now his heart was filled with disbelief. He had never imagined someone could intercept bullets with other bullets.
This not only required terrifying precision but also the instantaneous calculation of the speed and angle of the bullets from both sides, not to mention wind speed, air humidity, and other external factors.
How could anyone do this?
Observation Haki!
Compared to Colonel Barrow, Rear Admiral Bastille possessed far greater knowledge and instantly recognized the reason.
However, even rudimentary Observation Haki couldn't achieve this level of accuracy. Within the Navy Headquarters, there weren't many who could accomplish such a feat.
There are people in the North Blue who can train their Observation Haki to this level. They are truly a dangerous group!
They must be contained within the North Blue. If such individuals enter the Grand Line, there's no telling what kind of chaos they will unleash!
With this thought flashing through his mind, Bastille no longer bothered to observe the remaining crew members. He gripped his [Shark Slash] sword and leaped from the warship.
Looking at Bastille descending from the sky, Rhode's expression shifted slightly. He drew the long sword hanging at his waist and appeared before Bastille in a flash, swinging his blade to clash against the opponent's massive sword.
"I thought I had seen it wrong, but it was indeed true upon closer inspection. You kid used [Shave]!"
The swords met, and Bastille was shocked again when he felt that the opponent's strength was not inferior to his own.
More importantly, this kid in front of him had merely displayed enhanced speed during his initial skirmish with Lieutenant Commander Hina. But when he had kicked Lieutenant Commander Hina away the second time, the way he had appeared before her was clearly [Shave] from the Navy Six Styles!
At first, he had dismissed it as a misinterpretation, but this time he had seen very clearly that the other party had definitely used [Shave], and with even greater proficiency than before!
"When did you learn this?"
Although he posed the question, Rear Admiral Bastille already knew the answer in his heart.
"Are you talking about moving like this? I just picked it up!"
Rhodes used his strength to hurl the opposing navy officer towards the port, landing gracefully on the deck, a knife in one hand and Hina's shoes in the other.
"Give me Lieutenant Commander Hina's shoes back! You red-haired bastard!"
Colonel Barrow roared, tensing his muscles and throwing a powerful punch.
Bang!
Rhodes crossed his arms, colliding with the opponent's fist and creating a burst of violent airflow.
The force I used to rush at him couldn't even budge him!
Looking at Rhodes's youthful face so close to his own, shock filled Colonel Barrow's eyes.
Without giving the opponent much time to react, while blocking the attack, Rhodes swung the long knife in his other hand mercilessly, slashing at Colonel Barrow.
Pfft——
Blood splattered. Colonel Barrow stumbled backward a few steps and leaned against the Polaris's railing. He clutched his hands tightly to his abdomen, bowing slightly as blood dripped down his arms.
"I got it!"
He raised his head slightly. Although injured, a triumphant smile stretched across Colonel Barrow's face.
"??"
As Colonel Barrow straightened up, Rhodes saw Lieutenant Commander Hina's shoe held tightly in his arms.
Shouldn't you be covering the wound at this point?
As a knife wielder, Rhodes knew very well that the wound left by his previous strike on the opponent's abdomen was by no means superficial, evident from the amount of blood he was currently losing.
"Just to get the shoes back? Are you a pervert?"
Looking at the navy officer with a manic grin, clutching a woman's leather shoe, Rhodes couldn't help but voice his bewilderment.
"Obviously, you're the pervert! You were the one who stole Lieutenant Commander Hina's shoes, right?"
Barrow became agitated upon hearing Rhodes's accusation.