One Piece: Saving Hancock with the Batto Batto no Mi

The bright moon hung high in the Dressrosa sky, and its cold light illuminated the sea's surface, creating a silver path across it.

In the air, Sephiroth raised the Butcher's Blade in his hand and swung it down fiercely. Whish! A narrow, crimson energy sword, carrying incredibly sharp momentum, slashed towards the center of a pirate ship. If the Flying Slash connected, the entire ship would be cut in two!

Whoosh! A large, rectangular transparent barrier immediately appeared, shimmering under the moonlight, blocking the sword's energy slash.

"Hahaha! As long as I'm here, there's no way you can destroy this ship." Joseph Kutt, 1.8 meters tall, with a thick beard, and a bounty of 220 million Berries, stood at the ship's edge, hooking his middle and index fingers, laughing arrogantly with a triumphant expression. His Bari Bari no Mi, Paramecia-type fruit, could withstand all attacks, be it bullets, explosives, cannonballs, or sword slashes; it could perfectly defend against everything—an absolute defense.

"Hm...!" Suddenly! Joseph Kutt felt a piercing pain in his neck. His eyes suddenly widened, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. He lowered his head and glanced at the Butcher's Blade that had appeared out of nowhere in front of him, directly piercing his neck—too fast to react.

Swish! As the blade was pulled from his neck, blood spurted out like a fountain, drenching the deck. Thump! Until his death, Joseph Kutt did not understand how the opponent's Butcher's Blade had bypassed his barrier and penetrated his neck—his final mystery.

Sephiroth expressionlessly retracted his blade, and with another sword energy slash, he cut the pirate ship below into two halves, proving the true power of his attack.

The barrier created by the Bari Bari no Mi was incredibly powerful defensively. Even an Emperor-tier expert might not be able to break through his barrier... If old man Zephyr were to meet this person, it might be difficult for him too! Sephiroth thought, assessing his opponent's strength. Unfortunately, Joseph Kutt met Sephiroth... The Doa Doa no Mi, Paramecia-type ability, was a perfect counter for the opponent, coupled with the opponent's blind self-confidence, resulting in him being unable to withstand a single move against Sephiroth!

His technique of swinging his blade in the air, cutting space, and instantly having the high-speed moving blade appear in another location required extremely precise perception, thus being limited by the range of his Kenbunshoku Haki's perception. As far as his Kenbunshoku Haki could observe in detail, that's how far he could attack—a limitation he wished to surpass.

However, recently Sephiroth had been researching how to make his bats created with his Vampire Fruit ability also possess Kenbunshoku Haki, and link that Kenbunshoku Haki's perception to his main body. If he successfully developed this derivative ability, combined with the Doa Doa no Mi, its effect could only be described with one word... terrifying! Enemies wouldn't even see his figure before being directly slashed by him from hundreds of kilometers away! Even Enel's Judgment of Thunder wasn't as brutal as he would be!

After sinking ten pirate ships, the Haki in the youth's body was mostly depleted, feeling exhausted. Currently, his total Haki wasn't luxurious enough to use a Haki-infused Flying Slash as a regular attack. In fact, if it weren't for the Butcher's Blade helping to condense and purify Haki, he wouldn't be able to easily unleash a Steel-Cutting Flying Slash of a Great Swordsman's level—a highly demanding technique.

Wait!... Compressing and refining Haki!? A flash of inspiration crossed the silver-haired youth's mind, a sudden enlightenment. The problem he had been facing was precisely the inability to exert extremely precise control over Busoshoku Haki, which prevented him from refining it internally, right? If he could use the characteristics of the Butcher's Blade to infuse Haki into the blade, then absorb the Haki from the blade back into himself after accumulating enough Haki, just like how Zoro forcefully retrieved the Haki that Enma itself absorbed...

All this time, Sephiroth, due to the peculiarity of his Vampire Fruit, which granted him almost excessive stamina, had never paid attention to his life force and Busoshoku Haki being taken by his blade, thus falling into a cognitive blind spot... At that time, as long as his body could withstand it, the burden borne by his body from the refined Busoshoku Haki would be equivalent to the Butcher's Blade using him as a "Black Blade" for tempering, wouldn't it?

That's a good idea! I'll use this method to temper my body from now on! Sephiroth temporarily suppressed the urges in his heart and calmed his emotions, focusing on the new goal.

Soon after, he checked the pirate fleets in the other two directions by sharing vision with his bats, utilizing his Vampire Fruit ability. In just a short time, ten pirate ships had already docked on a secluded beach in the west! One by one, armed pirates leaped from the ships and, utilizing the cover of night, rushed towards the city of Dressrosa, the threat drawing closer.

On the other side, Zephyr and Tokikake led fifty Marines and two hundred Royal Army personnel towards the South Beach, ready for battle. Gion, Smoker, and other Military School Students, along with other Marines and three hundred Royal Army personnel, rushed towards the East Beach, forming a defensive line. Under Kyros's leadership, nearly a thousand Royal Army personnel quickly headed towards the West Beach, strategizing.

Above the sea surface, the silver-haired youth, flapping his black, fleshy wings, quickly swung his Butcher's Blade, opening a spatial door, and pushed it to step inside. Trusting old man Zephyr and his classmates, he chose to head towards the West Beach to support the Royal Army—a strategic decision. As for... the pirates who fell into the sea on the East Coast, it would still take them time to swim to shore, and the two most troublesome ones had already been dealt with by him. The rest would be left to the reinforcements who arrived later!

Dressrosa West Coast.

The bright moon hung high, and its clear light illuminated the earth, casting long shadows.

At the entrance of the gorge leading to the city, a silver-haired youth holding a blue-black Butcher's Blade stood there. He was slender, his handsome face showed no emotion, his eyes were full of indifference, and the aura around him was deep, dark, and cold, as if he were the Grim Reaper from hell—an intimidating presence.

Tap, tap! Tap, tap!... A series of messy footsteps sounded, and thousands of armed pirates quickly appeared at the gorge entrance, the darkness of night swallowing them. Upon seeing the silver-haired youth standing under the moonlight, the pirates didn't hesitate to raise their weapons and pull the trigger.

Bang bang bang...! Sephiroth continuously swung the Butcher's Blade in his hand, sparks flying in the night air, blocking bullet after bullet with incredible precision. At the same time, his figure was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, charging into the pirate crowd. The blade in his hand traced a terrifying red trajectory, mercilessly harvesting lives. Every one of his attacks was clean and decisive, directly hitting vital points, leaving victims severely wounded even if not immediately killed—brutal efficiency.

Unconsciously, a thick black mist billowed, swallowing the moonlight in the gorge, making it impossible for the pirates to see their hands in front of their faces. Even the torches in their hands couldn't illuminate the sides of their bodies, creating panic.

When Kyros arrived at the edge of the city, at the gorge entrance, with nearly a thousand Royal Army personnel, he immediately raised his hand to halt the troops behind him. In his Kenbunshoku Haki's perception, within the gorge filled with black mist, there was a dangerous aura like a ferocious ancient beast, wildly charging amidst the pirate crowd, causing a feeling of unease to rise in his heart—an instinct of danger.

"Form a defensive formation and hold your ground. We don't know the situation inside the black mist, don't advance recklessly!" Exercising caution, Kyros issued an order to the Royal Army behind him, prioritizing safety.

At the edge of the gorge, outside the black mist.

"All of you, fall back and get out of the way! Let me try him! Don't block my path..." A black-robed man, wielding two swords, two meters tall, and with a walrus mustache, shouted loudly, full of confidence.

"Yes, Captain Viktor!" The hesitant group of pirates immediately felt as if they had been granted amnesty, and they quickly cleared a path.

The newcomer was Robert Viktor, with a bounty of 235 million Berries, nicknamed the Storm Swordsman, a user of the Kama Kama no Mi, Paramecia-type fruit, capable of compressing air to form invisible vacuum slashes—a formidable opponent.

Two-Sword Style: Tornado! Viktor stood in front of the black mist. He continuously swung and crossed the two swords in his hands in the air, and extremely sharp air currents began to spin and interlace, accompanied by his low roar.

"Go!" A tornado storm over thirty meters high immediately formed and swept through the black mist in the gorge, sucking it into its vortex.

A strong warning sign immediately appeared in Sephiroth's heart. He instantly used Soru and rushed towards the city, appearing before Kyros and nearly a thousand Royal Army personnel, just in time.

Boom! Amidst the earth-shaking tremor, debris flew and dust rolled in the gorge. Many pirates caught within it only had time to let out a wail before being sliced into bloody minced meat by the wind blades, while the black mist that Sephiroth had created using his abilities was instantly blown away and completely vanished—a horrifying sight that demonstrated Viktor's power.

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