One Piece: Saving Hancock with the Batto Batto no Mi

Dressrosa's East Coast.

Under the dim moonlight, a spatial door suddenly appeared above a giant mushroom-shaped rock, shimmering faintly. A slender figure pushed the door open and stepped out, setting foot on the ground. The bright moonlight illuminated the silver-haired youth's face, highlighting his handsome features, but in his eyes, a serious glint shone.

Sephiroth took out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and dialed a number. A brief summary—an urgent call in the middle of the night.

"Hey! Sephiroth, you brat, why are you calling this old man in the middle of the night?" Zephyr's gruff voice greeted him from the other end, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"The pirates have arrived... they're split into three groups, coming from the East, South, and West..." Sephiroth reported, his tone calm yet firm. "Judging by their near-sea trajectory, it seems they don't plan to attack directly from the ports, but instead intend to land on more secluded beaches..."

"How do you know the pirates have reached the near sea?" Zephyr asked, suspicious.

"I found out by accident... click!" Sephiroth casually gave a perfunctory answer and immediately hung up, unwilling to provide further details.

On the other side, within the Dressrosa Royal Palace, Zephyr stared at the disconnected Den Den Mushi with exasperation and couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration for a few moments. However, Zephyr didn't expect the silver-haired youth to joke about something like this—he knew Sephiroth wouldn't play around when it came to security matters.

"Pirate attack!" The purple-haired old man's thunderous roar immediately echoed throughout the Royal Palace, waking everyone up. "Everyone, assemble in the square in front of the Royal Palace gates! Follow this old man to meet the enemy!"

Hearing Zephyr's roar, the Marines immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed to the square in front of the Royal Palace, battle-ready. Soon after, King Riku also arrived in the square with his two daughters, Scarlett and Violet, and faced the purple-haired old man.

"General Zephyr, my second daughter, Violet, used her Giro Giro no Mi, Paramecia-type ability, to discover that there is a pirate fleet in the near sea..." King Riku explained, his tone tense.

Hearing this, a glimmer of excitement flashed across Zephyr's face, and he quickly said: "Quickly tell me the details, so I can arrange troop deployment..."

Violet nodded, closed her eyes, and while observing the pirate fleet from above, reported to the purple-haired old man, providing vital strategic insights. "The enemy fleet is heading towards the Dressrosa Kingdom from three different directions... one group in the northeast, one in the south, and another in the southwest!"

After understanding the distribution of the pirate ships, Zephyr immediately began deploying troops, giving orders quickly and efficiently. On the other side, King Riku also began dispatching the Royal Army, which had been swiftly assembled, towards the beaches where the pirates were expected to land, preparing to resist the enemy's assault with everything they had.

Kyros, clad in armor and carrying a greatsword on his back, walked up to King Riku and respectfully said: "Your Majesty, I have left three hundred soldiers to guard your safety."

Hearing this, King Riku shook his head: "No need to leave so many soldiers here, thirty will be enough! With Violet's presence, we can observe the pirates' movements at any time. As long as we are careful, the enemy will not be able to harm us at all. Kyros, the task of fighting the pirates and protecting the citizens is entrusted to you!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Kyros replied firmly, bowing respectfully.

Soon after, the Marines and the Royal Army dispersed, preparing for the impending war, tension palpable in the air. At the same time, King Riku also used Den Den Mushi broadcasts to evacuate and relocate residents from areas likely to be involved in battle, sending them to pre-designated locations to avoid conflict for the time being, for the safety of his people. For security, King Riku also sent twenty of the remaining thirty Royal Army guards to assist with the evacuation, leaving only ten guards by his side—a decision that showed trust in Violet's abilities and the gravity of the situation.

Under the starry night sky, on the turbulent sea, waves broke the silence. Ten pirate ships, with black skull flags fluttering in the wind, sailed towards Dressrosa under the cover of night, their silhouettes menacing.

"Captain Monroe, we are now two kilometers away from landing," a crew member reported enthusiastically.

"Good, convey the order, tell the brothers to be fully alert!" Herudo Monroe commanded, his voice hoarse but spirited. "As long as we can conquer the Dressrosa Kingdom tonight, everyone can have a banquet and celebrate for three days!"

"Wah wah wah!" "Wah wah wah!"

Hearing that they would hold a feast and party for three days, the pirates on the pirate ships immediately showed uncontrollable excitement in their eyes; good wine, delicious food, women... Everything was within reach. As long as this war ended, they could enjoy anything to their heart's content!

"Captain Monroe, our numbers are only about three thousand people... The Dressrosa Kingdom has a large population... Even if we seize it, it will be difficult for us to hold it, won't it?" A combat captain named Robb asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

Hearing this, Herudo Monroe glanced at Robb, and said with a chuckle: "Don't worry! This time, numbers are not the key to victory... Even if we ultimately cannot seize Dressrosa, we can still make a huge profit." Speaking of making a fortune, he remembered the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro from the Sabaody Archipelago. That guy had hunted so many pirates, he must have a lot of treasure. It was a shame their alliance of seven Supernova Pirates attracted the attention of the Marines, otherwise, they could have made a huge profit—a lost opportunity.

"By the way... why are there so many bats in the sea?" Herudo Monroe stared at the black bats flying in the night sky from time to time, and a feeling of unease spread within him, a bad premonition.

On a pirate ship in the distance, a narrow red light flashed on and off in an instant. Without a sound, the entire ship split into two from the middle, cleanly sliced—a horrifying sight that occurred in silence.

"Enemy attack!" "Enemy attack!"

In the darkness, a figure wielding the Butcher's Blade swiftly darted through the air, moving like lightning. As the Butcher's Blade swung, Busoshoku Haki-infused Flying Slashes tore through the sky and cut through ship hulls, slicing one pirate ship after another, causing the hulls to slowly sink into the sea, creating whirlpools. In just a few breaths, five pirate ships had sunk!

After seeing Sephiroth, who had undergone vampirization in the sky—a terrifying transformation—Herudo Monroe's body also rapidly began to change. Powerful, mighty wings unfurled from his back, sharp claws grew, and even his mouth became pointed and crooked, resembling a beak. In the blink of an eye, Herudo Monroe transformed from a two-meter tall golden-haired strong man into a three-meter tall human vulture—the result of his Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Vulture, Zoan-type fruit.

The human vulture standing on the deck reached out and drew a long sword from his waist. He flapped his massive wings, creating fierce winds, and his body instantly shot into the sky, attacking Sephiroth with incredible speed.

Clang! Blades met, producing a deafening metallic clash, sparks flying in the darkness. Aerial combat was unlike ground combat; if no attacks landed, they immediately separated, adjusted positions, and attacked each other again, relying on speed and agility.

Below, the pirates on those pirate ships, seeing that Sephiroth's attack had been repelled, immediately began sailing away while also firing at him when they could, trying to provide support. His successive attacks were all successfully blocked by the human vulture's sword swings, and his opponent had no intention of fighting seriously, just one word... stalling! As long as Herudo Monroe could delay until the remaining five pirate ships landed, Sephiroth's threat level would be greatly reduced, and he might even be shot into a beehive by hundreds of pirates.

Their weapons collided again, and after separating in mid-air, the silver-haired youth immediately sneered, and an invisible sound wave—the result of advanced Kenbunshoku Haki use—spread out. Immediately after, he pulled a pistol from his waist and aimed at the human vulture who had not yet fully changed his position, pulling the trigger, firing two shots, "Bang! Bang!"

After Herudo Monroe sensed the bullets' trajectories with his Kenbunshoku Haki, he quickly and powerfully twisted his limbs, changing direction in mid-air. However... something strange happened! The two bullets, as if possessing a will of their own, shot through the air and struck his forehead and left chest, then exploded into two blood blossoms there, bringing him down.

"Phew~! Everything as calculated..." Sephiroth gently blew on the muzzle of his pistol before returning his revolver to his waist, a faint smile on his lips. The human vulture had predicted the bullets' trajectories beforehand, but what he never expected was that the Haki-infused sound wave he emitted would cause the bullets' trajectories to deviate—a clever trick that exploited the enemy's own Kenbunshoku Haki.

This feeling of achieving 100% accuracy through pre-calculation was truly exhilarating! He almost wanted to change professions and become a gunman! Sephiroth thought, his smile widening. However, this technique of his was only effective when dealing with people who hadn't mastered advanced Kenbunshoku Haki or those with low defenses—not a universal strategy.

Sephiroth watched Herudo Monroe plunge into the sea, fully submerged, before he turned his gaze back to the pirate ships below, ready to continue the clean-up.