Near Paldea Island, in the surrounding sea area.
Dark clouds billowed, blocking out the sky and the sun.
From time to time, lightning flashed and thunder roared across the inky sky, and heavy rain poured down.
On the churning sea, several gigantic tornadoes stretched from the heavens to the earth, emitting heart - stopping howls.
The fierce air currents in the sky intermittently pounded the surface of the sea, stirring up endless waves!
In the midst of these tornadoes and their eye walls, five ships struggled, engaging in a fierce battle against the natural disasters.
Among them, four ships flew the black Jolly Roger, while the remaining one was a warship flying the white seagull flag.
Boom! Boom! Boom! ...
Amidst the howling wind and pelting rain, four pirate ships launched a Fire the Cannons attack on the warship from four different directions.
"Teacher Zephyr, we're surrounded!" Shuzo shouted anxiously.
"Don't panic! Steady. Fire the Cannons from the left and right flanks in return. Leave the ship in front to me. You go and guard the rear of the warship..."
After saying that, Zephyr leaped into the air, using the Moonwalk, and swiftly rushed towards a large sailing ship in front. Shuzo gritted his teeth and quickly ran to the rear of the warship to intercept the cannonballs fired by the pirate ships...
Originally, they had four warships conducting an interception mission here, but the sudden sea storm had separated them from the other three.
Unfortunately, on their way to Paldea Island, the four pirate ships spotted this warship and launched an attack.
On the deck, a group of cadets also picked up their weapons and took positions on both sides of the warship, staring at the two pirate ships charging straight towards them with solemn expressions.
On those two pirate ships, dozens of pirates stood, all wearing ferocious grins and waving their swords menacingly.
Obviously, they thought they had already won...
After his vampire transformation, Sephiroth stood on the starboard side of the warship. His chest rose and fell gently with his rhythmic breathing.
He tightly grasped the hilt of his sword with his right hand, and his eyes were fixed on the two - masted sailing ship approaching the warship.
Sephiroth's Haki continued to gather in his right hand, condensing and compressing. His aura also began to rise steadily, as sharp as a blade.
When the two - masted sailing ship turned and drew alongside, closing the distance between the two ships to less than five meters in preparation for boarding...
He finally made his move!
Boom!!!
As a thunderbolt flashed across the overcast sky, the overwhelming aura that the silver - haired youth had gathered to the extreme suddenly erupted!
Shua!
To the stupefied cadets, as the silver - haired youth drew his sword at an extremely high speed, a crimson Blade Qi Slash more than ten meters long shot out from the blade, instantly cutting the oncoming two - masted sailing ship in half!
The broken hull of the two - masted sailing ship was soon submerged in the sea by the pounding waves. The pirates on board could only pick up life - saving equipment in a panic and jump into the sea to escape.
"Whew!"
Sephiroth let out a long sigh. He endured the weakness resulting from the complete depletion of his Haki and stopped looking at the pirate ship. Instead, he shouted at the cadets who were still in a daze.
"Quit daydreaming! Go and support the other side of the warship for a boarding fight!"
Hearing this, the cadets finally came to their senses, turned around and rushed to the left.
On the other side, more than a dozen cadets, led by Kaku and Gion, were at a numerical disadvantage. However, they were all Navy elites, far superior to ordinary pirates. As soon as the battle started, the pirates suffered a severe blow.
Sephiroth's side ended the battle without a boarding fight. After more than a dozen cadets quickly joined the battle on the right side of the warship, the pirates began to retreat steadily and were counterattacked onto the pirate ship by the cadets.
Seeing this, Sephiroth didn't go to support the right side of the warship. Instead, he headed to the back of the warship, to Shuzo's position.
Boom! Boom! Boom! …
The sound of artillery fire roared continuously. The three - masted sailing ship following the warship showed no intention of getting close. It continuously attacked the warship with its broadside cannons, forcing Shuzo to be busy dealing with it, using the Navy Six Styles to intercept the cannonballs.
"This won't do. The other side has got an absolute advantage..." Sephiroth frowned and said.
"We can only counter - attack after Teacher Zephyr and you deal with those two pirate crews."
Shuzo sighed helplessly. He leaped into the air, waved his hands, and knocked two incoming cannonballs away.
"Forget it. I'll go and take them on..."
After saying that, Sephiroth flapped the black wings on his back, soared into the sky, and rushed towards the three - masted sailing ship.
Bang! Bang! Bang! …
When the young man got close enough, the pirates on the three - masted sailing ship immediately raised their guns and pulled the triggers, shooting at him.
Under the dense rain of bullets, Sephiroth, flying in the air, couldn't dodge all the bullets. Even though he used Moonwalk to step on the air and quickly change directions, several bullets still hit his body.
Fortunately, his flying speed was fast. In just a few seconds, he reached the sky above the three - masted sailing ship.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! …
The young man's body quickly split into black bats in mid - air and dived towards the three - masted sailing ship.
Meanwhile, the pitch - black mist quickly spread on the deck, obscuring the pirates' vision.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
…
Plop! Plop! …
Sephiroth's figure was like a ghost. Under the cover of the black mist, he quickly reaped the lives of the pirates. They were completely defenseless and could only wait for death...
Suddenly!
A strong wind suddenly blew across the sea, dispersing a lot of the black mist and revealing the silver - haired young man's figure.
In the crowd, a black - haired man quickly rushed towards him and immediately swung his right fist at his temple.
Sephiroth didn't think much and swung his sword backhand at the approaching person.
Unexpectedly, the other party neither dodged nor evaded. He changed his fist into a claw, with his palm covered in the pitch - black Armament Haki, and firmly grabbed the Akiba Sword.
Immediately, the silver - haired young man exerted force on his arm. He was trying to pull out his long sword.
However...
With a surprised look on his face, the front end of the Akiba Sword held by the black - haired Devil Fruit user was instantly corroded into rust!
The remaining fiery red sword tip fell onto the deck...
He's... a Devil Fruit user!
In a moment of distraction, Sephiroth was punched solidly in the chest. He was sent flying and crashed through a huge gap in the bulkhead of the three - masted sailing ship with a loud "boom".
"Damn it! I got screwed on a small thing!"
Looking at the Akiba Sword that was a quarter shorter in his hand, the silver - haired young man couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain.
"Damn! My 1.5 million berries!"
"A swordsman without a sword is like a tiger without teeth... My Rust - Rust Fruit is the bane of all swordsmen!"
Moore the Blood - Hand, a robust man with black hair and a height of two meters, walked into the cabin with a teasing smile on his face.
Bang!
A sudden gunshot rang out. A bullet infused with Haki instantly pierced through Moore the Blood - Hand's chest, creating a bloody hole. His body fell straight onto the deck.
"The times have changed! ... Nowadays, it's trendy for swordsmen to carry a pistol as a secondary weapon..."
With a gloomy face, Sephiroth silently sheathed his sword and then put the pistol in his left hand back on the outside of his thigh.
Without his long sword, he still had sharp long nails on his hands!
After activating [Tekkai], he still mowed down the pirates at an astonishing speed.
After clearing the pirates on the deck, he turned and rushed into the cabin.
In a short while, he had killed all the pirates on the three - masted sailing ship.
When the other cadets boarded the three - masted sailing ship, they only saw Sephiroth, covered in blood and with his white military uniform completely stained red, walking out of the cabin leisurely.
With each step he took, a bloody footprint appeared beneath his feet...
Gulp!
Looking at the silver - haired young man who looked like a Shura, many cadets swallowed hard and felt a chill in their hearts.
"Sephiroth, are you okay? Why are you covered in so much blood..." Gion asked cautiously.
The silver - haired young man shook off the semi - congealed blood on his hands and explained casually:
"It's okay... Since my sword was broken by that Devil Fruit user and I couldn't find a suitable weapon, I had to use my hands..."
After the battle ended, everyone began to clean up the battlefield, detain the pirates, and count the Bounty criminals.
Fortunately, the Navy soldiers who participated in this battle were all quite strong. Although some were injured, no one died.
As for the pirates, the casualties were quite heavy. One hundred and one died, one hundred and seventy - two were injured, and the number of those missing in the shipwreck was impossible to count.
On the deck of the warship, the cadets formed a square formation and stood upright.
Zephyr stood in front of everyone. When he heard Shuzo's report on the statistics, the corner of his eye couldn't help twitching slightly.
He, the teacher, didn't kill any of the pirates and only injured eighty - one of them...
Sephiroth, as a student, was really ruthless. He didn't leave a single pirate alive and killed eighty - four of them!
This style made Zephyr can't help thinking of one of his former students, Sakazuki...
That guy was the same. Whenever he encountered pirates, he would kill them all. Unless there were orders from above, there would never be any pirates left alive under his hands!
Although Zephyr didn't like Sephiroth's bloodthirsty behavior, he had to admit that the young man had made great contributions in this battle. He single - handedly took care of two pirate crews, greatly reducing the pressure on their side.
So, he forced a smile, walked into the cadets' formation, in front of Sephiroth, patted the young man on the shoulder, and said with a wry smile:
"Ahem! Sephiroth...
Can you leave some pirates alive next time? Wiping them out completely is a bit...
Anyway, generally speaking, you performed very well in this battle. I'll report to Fleet Admiral Kong when I get back and ask him to reward you well."
Seeing the old man Zephyr smiling so awkwardly, Sephiroth curled his lips and said irritably:
"What's the use of a reward?
Can you give me something practical?
For example, reward me with a Supreme Grade Great Sword. Of course, I won't mind a Great Grade Sword as well."
"Hey! You little rascal, give you an inch and you'll take a mile?!"
As he spoke, Zephyr immediately put on a stern face and slapped the silver - haired boy on the back of the head, making the latter grimace in pain.
"You old geezer, if you won't give it, then forget it. Why are you hitting me!" Sephiroth muttered with a dissatisfied look on his face.
"I'll report your desire for a good sword to the higher - ups, but I can't guarantee what grade of sword Fleet Admiral Kong will give you."
Zephyr walked away with his hands behind his back. His voice drifted over after he had walked some distance.