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  Leaping down from the pirate ship, Rojen swiftly made his way toward the heart of the isnd.

  Perched on his shoulder, the cat remained silent, not uttering a sound, though its occasional gnces forward betrayed its worry.

  It feared that Rojen might enter danger. After a few days of panionship, a bond had formed between the man and the cat.

  Passing through the coastal jungle, Rojen soon caught sight of the town at the isnd's ter.

  The once peaceful town had desded into chaos the moment this pirate crew arrived. These ruthless pirates showed no kindness or mercy. Their first act upon nding was a sughter— a brutal massacre meant to intimidate the vilgers and force them to surreheir wealth.

  Refusal or hesitatio death.

  Blood pooled into a small river, flowing slowly along the gravel paths of the town. The faint st of blood hung in the air, and a grim atmosphere settled over the isnd.

  "We're only here to rob, nothing else."

  "Hand over your money, and we'll leave you unharmed."

  From the back of the pirate crowd, a rge figure bellowed loudly.

  In front of them, the vilgers stood together in fear, clutg makeshift ons like shovels and hoes.

  Faced with dahese people chose not to submit but to resist.

  Betweewo groups y dozens of corpses.

  "Enough with the nonsehis bsted vilge has already wasted two hours of our time. The captain's busy!"

  A burly, bald man stepped forward, wielding a machete, its bde pointed directly at the vilgers.

  "I'll give you two more mio decide. If you don't hand over your money, I'll sughter every st one of you!"

  "Captain!"

  At these words, the pirates behind him grew uneasy.

  Pirates are ranked by their infamy and bouheir captain, though cruel, had always held bapared to the most notorious and bloodthirsty pirates. Those at the top of the Marines' wanted lists were drenched in blood, capable of annihitiire isnds and their inhabitants.

  They had always avoided such rge-scale massacres to prevent drawing the Marines' full attention.

  They knew all too well that if the Marines decided to hunt them down seriously, they'd be finished! But this time, the captain—!

  "Enough talk! After this job, we're heading to the Grand Line!"

  "Once we've amassed 100 million berries, we'll do a few more jobs along the way. Then, we'll find an au and buy a few Devil Fruits. What's there to fear then?"

  The bald captain waved his hand arrogantly and shouted.

  At this, the crew uood.

  They were close to Reverse Mountain. If they wao leave, the Marines would hardly be able to stop them.

  And if they decided to go, could the Marines of South Blue even hahem? On the Grand Lihey could use their wealth to buy a few Devil Fruits, bolster their crew's strength, and then they wouldn't have to fear the Marines anymore.

  This was how most pirates operated these days. They weren't fools. They accumuted wealth through plunder in the early stages, theered the Grand Lio find Devil Fruits and grow their power.

  Seeing the sudden ferocity in the pirates' eyes, the vilgers visibly panicked.

  pared to the pirates, who lived on the edge of death through stant battles, the vilgers were clearly outmatched. Ohe fighting started, the vilgers would almost certainly be wiped out.

  "Two minutes are up!"

  The captain had reached the limit of his patience. After ting down with a stopwatch, he let out a furious roar.

  "Have you made your decision?" The bald captai the vilgers with murderous i.

  None of the vilgers spoke, but they tighteheir grips on their ons.

  "Fine, fine, fine!"

  The bald captain ughed ireme anger. He suddenly raised his hand into the air, about to swing it down and give the order to sughter the defiant vilgers in one go.

  But at that moment, painful screams erupted from behind the pirate crowd.

  "Ah, help!"

  "There's an enemy!"

  "Be careful!"

  Several cries quickly rang out but were abruptly cut off.

  The pirates turned around in fusion and saw a young figure holding a sword in his right hand, slowly walking toward them.

  "Who is he?"

  The bald captain gnced over and immediately asked the pirate beside him.

  "I don't kher!"

  The pirate looked bewildered.

  The young man held a sword in his right hand, and on his shoulder sat a small cat. The cat's eyes were filled with fear, evoking pity. Its gaze darted around, looking both cute and lively.

  But it was this strange pair.

  With each step they took, 4-5 pirates fell.

  In the few moments it took for the bald captain to react, the young man's sword had already cimed dozens of lives among the pirate crowd.

  "Dammit!"

  The bald captain finally reacted a out a roar.

  "What are you lot standing around for? Kill that brat!"

  His roar was like a thundercp, instantly snapping the dazed pirates out of their stupor.

  Then, chaos erupted. Nearly a hundred pirates surrounded one person, encirg Rojen in the ter.

  But for a moment, none of the pirates dared to step forward.

  "Meow!"

  The cat let out a worried cry.

  "Don't be afraid. These are just weaklings."

  Rojen's face was cold, his tone indifferent to the pirates.

  At the same time, he secretly tacted the system.

  "Summon an e-grade soul for me, category: Sword ons!"

  "Specifying the category will double the cost. Please firm."

  The system's cold voice responded.

  "firm!"

  With Rojen's current strength, dealing with these pirates wouldn't take much effort. But an e-grade soul was no longer a burden for him.

  His main goal was to master multiple skills.

  In a fsh of light, a young figure with scarlet hair and a lion-like scar on his face, holding a long sword, suddenly stepped forward and merged into Rojen's body.

  With a slight tremor, Rojen's eyes immediately showed a fsh of enlighte.

  "Cost: 200,000. Summoned character: Himura Kenshin!" "Skills acquired: Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū!"

  Himura Kenshin, a character worth 100,000, was someone Rojen was pletely familiar with.

  At the same time, the sword in his hand ged its stance, and his style abruptly shifted. His entire demeanor underwent a subtle transformation.

  Of course, none of this was noticeable to the pirates in front of him.

  In a fsh, Rojen's figure disappeared from the pirates' sight.

  The swleamed, and at this moment, Rojen's movements were too fast to follow.

  In just three breaths, dozens more bodies fell to the ground.

  Himura Kenshin's sword teiques, bined with the power within Rojen's body, unleashed a terrifying forbsp;

  (End of Chapter)