Somewhere in the waters of the East Blue,
aboard a pirate ship,
"Run! It's the Ghost Man!!"
"We're finished, we're done for..."
"Help! Someone save us!"
...
Aboard the pirate vessel, a crowd of pirates cried out in despair, dozens huddling together and retreating step by step. Standing before them was a single person:
A man with the lower half of his face wrapped in grayish-white bandages, a mop of short black hair falling just past his brows, sharp eyes, standing well over six feet tall, dressed in a loose yet fitted light blue robe.
He carried three swords: two katana hung at his waist, while a wide, long executioner's blade rested across his back.
This was Leo,
Hannover Leo!
Just as the crew shrank back in terror from the Ghost Man's fearsome reputation, daring not take a single step forward, a burly giant strode out of the crowd, shouldering a massive saber:
"Don't be afraid! He's only one guy! If we all rush him together before his stamina runs out, there's no way he can kill every last one of us!"
Beside him, a gap-toothed pirate wearing a captain's hat hid behind the others and shouted, "That's right! Kill him! Kill this bastard, and I'll make you vice-captain!"
"V-Vice-captain?!"
"We could be vice-captain?!"
"That's right! Whoever brings me the Ghost Man's head on a platter gets to be the second-in-command!"
"Ooh!!"
"Everyone charge together!!"
"Take down the Ghost Man and make our name across the four seas!"
pumped up with adrenaline, the mob of pirates swarmed toward Leo.
Leo half-closed his eyes, resting one hand on the hilt of his blade, standing completely motionless as he waited for the pirates to close in.
A golden opportunity!
Tucked away in the middle of the charging crowd, a pirate raised a flintlock pistol, took aim at Leo's head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
The bullet tore through the air, flashing past the ferocious faces of the rushing pirates, heading straight for Leo.
And just as the projectile was about to strike, the motionless Leo—who had been putting on a master's display—finally moved.
Sidestepping, he caught the incoming bullet dead-on with the heavy blade strapped to his back. This was...
Deflecting a bullet!
A faint smirk crossed the corner of Leo's eye. Then, right before everyone's eyes, a burst of mist erupted from his body, and his figure vanished on the spot.
Disappeared?!
The pirate who had fired the sneak shot stared blankly at the water vapor, looking utterly bewildered.
He's... !
Splitch!
The pirate felt the world spinning around him, as though he were suddenly flying. He wanted to speak, but no sound came out—until he caught sight of his own body, headless.
So, I was already...
Thud!
The head hit the deck, rolling a few times, its eyes wide open in seeming disbelief.
Leo held the greatsword horizontally across his chest. The blood staining the blade slowly faded away, as if the weapon were absorbing it.
The pirates charging at the front froze in shock. Before them lay only a wisp of mist; Leo was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he?!"
"He's behind us!"
"Why is he behind us?! We didn't even see him move!"
"He killed another one of our brothers! Damn the Ghost Man!"
The men frantically spun around, raising their firearms toward Leo.
At that moment, one of the pirates suddenly turned pale as a sheet, stumbling backward and nearly tripping over his own feet, his voice trembling with horror:
"I-I remember now! That move... it's that move!"
"What is it? Spell it out, you idiot!"
"It's the very technique that made the〈Ghost Man〉famous throughout the East Blue! He slips behind you without a sound and deals a fatal blow. It's a completely inescapable attack—we're finished!"
Overwhelmed with panic, the pirate collapsed straight to the deck.
"No way... How could a move like that even exist?!"
In an instant, the pirates' morale completely collapsed.
"True enough. After all, a Perfect Counter isn't all that easy to pull off."
Leo finally spoke. His voice was low, like a man stating a simple fact. Though the pirates likely couldn't make sense of it, that didn't stop him.
"Let's finish this early."
"Here he comes!"
"Everyone, don't—"
"Personal Style: Ghost Assault!" With a fierce swing of his blade, Leo surged forward at blinding speed. A wave of murderous, dark red slashes plowed straight into the thick of the pirate ranks.
Splitch...
In the blink of an eye, severed limbs littered the deck, and blood sprayed through the air.
The tightly packed band of pirates was suddenly gutted, leaving a gaping void in their formation. The lucky ones on the outer edges escaped immediate death, but their courage was completely shattered:
"R-Run for your lives!"
With those words, the remaining pirates scattered in all directions—some diving straight into the sea, others scrambling to hide at the stern.
Leo ignored the fleeing foot soldiers. His targets were clear:
Brando, captain of the Brando Pirates, with a bounty of 9 million Belly;
and the vice-captain,〈Giant Blade〉Leoni, with a bounty of 3.1 million Belly.
"Why do you have to keep crossing us, Ghost Man?!" Brando demanded with bitter hatred.
Leo shook his head. "Are you joking? You're pirates, and I'm a bounty hunter. What's unnatural about this?"
Hearing this, Brando exchanged a glance with his vice-captain before speaking up. "I can give you all our money, as long as you let my crew go."
"You must have lost your mind, Brando. Once I kill you, the money will be mine anyway."
Realizing Leo had no intention of negotiating, Brando gritted his teeth. "So it has to come to blows?"
"I've no patience for your nonsense."
Shouldering his executioner's blade, Leo charged straight at the pair. Seeing him approach, the captain barked the first order:
"Attack!"
"Hrah!"
Leoni swung his heavy saber down toward Leo, cutting through the air with a shrill whistle. "Die!"
Splitch!
Blood sprayed into the air. Leoni's sturdy torso was cleaved straight through from left shoulder to right hip, splitting him cleanly in two.
The executioner's blade tore past the corpse, aiming straight for Captain Brando's face. Brando felt every hair on his body stand on end as a frenzied alarm blared in his mind!
"You forced my hand!!"
Brando roared, his body undergoing an immediate transformation.
His lean frame rapidly expanded, pushing up and tearing through his captain's hat to reveal a pair of massive, protruding horns. The clothes on his upper body burst into shreds, replaced entirely by thick fur.
Whoosh!
Empowered by the abilities of an unknown Zoan Devil Fruit, Brando's speed multiplied several times over, allowing him to dodge Leo's slash by a hair's breadth.
"A Devil Fruit?"
Leo tilted his head, eyeing the fierce, bull-like Brando, and half-closed his eyes.
"The Marines' intelligence network is truly garbage. A Devil Fruit user with a bounty of only nine million..."
Brando panted heavily, his eyes locked onto Leo, his low voice laced with rage that he couldn't possibly conceal:
"I was saving that for the Grand Line. I never expected you to push me this far. Looks like I have to kill you, and use your death to announce to this gr—"
How long-winded.
Leo lifted his gaze, a practically tangible murderous intent swirling around him.
——Personal Style: Ghost Slash!
What... was that?
The very instant Brando locked eyes with Leo, he felt as though a sea of blood and mountains of corpses were crashing down upon him, suffocating him. No, he truly couldn't breathe, because—
"Guh, ugh..."
A flash of crimson blade-light tore past, and only then did Brando belatedly reach up to clutch his throat, feeling a warm, viscous sensation. He wanted to cry out, but no sound would come. He could only manage to turn his head slightly, just in time to see:
Leo standing behind him, sheathing the executioner's blade back into the scabbard on his back. As Leo slowly walked away, a low whisper drifted through the air:
"Rest easy and accept the arrival of death."
Thud!
...
...