Chapter One Hundred: My Enemy Is All the Wicked Pirates [Part One]

[I Dreamed About My Wife Last Night.]

“He… he… Lord Diamante, this is the man who killed Captain Bellamy with a single punch!”

Sarkies pointed toward Shu Mingyuan as he emerged from the forest, speaking in terror. The horrifying combat power he had displayed that day still haunted them.

Diamante remained seated on the crate, his hands resting on his thighs, fingers interlaced beneath his chin. He narrowed his eyes as he sized up the youth who had suddenly appeared, then broke into a grin.

“So the Ghost Hunter himself has honored us with a visit. Forgive us for not welcoming you properly. In that case, Bellamy’s foolishness in provoking you was simply a death wish.”

The moment Diamante uttered Shu Mingyuan’s title, Sarkies and the others were struck with terror. They had never imagined that this seemingly frail young man was the Ghost Hunter, whose name had recently resounded across the entire sea!

They had actually been planning to trouble someone who had escaped from Impel Down, defeated the Warlord Crocodile, and single-handedly held back a million-strong rebel army. What else could that be but courting death?

“What brings the Ghost Hunter here?”

Diamante spoke calmly. The traces of the battle from several days earlier had nearly destroyed the entirety of Mock Town, and even he had been shaken by such power. Still, he was a pirate of the New World. As far as destructive force alone was concerned, he could achieve something on roughly the same level.

“I’m just wandering around,” Shu Mingyuan replied with a shrug.

“Would you be interested in joining the Donquixote Family? With your strength, I’m sure Doflamingo would welcome you with open arms. And if you’re still troubled by the unpleasantness from a few days ago, I can personally take care of these fools for you.”

Diamante laughed dismissively. In his eyes, the lives of Sarkies and the others were utterly worthless. Besides, he had originally come to deal with this group anyway. Since he now had the chance to do them a favor, why not take it?

“Lord Diamante… please don’t kill us! We’ll kneel and beg forgiveness from the Ghost Hunter! Please, show mercy and spare our lives!”

Sarkies led the pirates in dropping to their knees, repeatedly banging their heads against the ground before Shu Mingyuan.

Shu Mingyuan watched the scene impassively. In the world of pirates, he had already witnessed the law of the jungle—the strong devouring the weak and the fittest surviving—far too many times to find it strange.

“Join the Donquixote Family?” Shu Mingyuan chuckled.

Diamante threw his head back and laughed.

“That’s right. To be honest, the Donquixote Family’s underground business stretches across the entire sea. Only by becoming one of Doflamingo’s officers will you discover just how vast the world’s stage truly is.”

“Not interested.”

Shu Mingyuan rejected him without hesitation. When all was said and done, Doflamingo was merely a Warlord of the Sea. If Shu Mingyuan wished, he was entirely capable of negotiating with the World Government and taking Crocodile’s position for himself.

What was more, he had directly refused Whitebeard’s invitation. Why would he care about the benefits promised by a mere Warlord of the Sea?

“Would you not consider it more carefully? Doflamingo is destined to rule this sea and become the next Pirate King. You will never lose by following him,” Diamante said solemnly.

“The Pirate King? Hah!” Shu Mingyuan sneered. “Even if the Pirate King himself stood in my way, I would cut him down with a single stroke.”

“Are you not being far too arrogant?” Diamante frowned. “On this sea, having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy. You make enemies everywhere you go. Are you not afraid of inviting disaster upon yourself?”

“Become friends with pirates? Come now, Diamante. You seem to have forgotten who I am. I’m a pirate hunter who specializes in killing evil pirates like you.”

Shu Mingyuan smiled faintly.

“Then you intend to make an enemy of the Donquixote Family?”

Diamante’s voice turned cold.

“No, no. What I mean is that every evil pirate is my enemy—not just the Donquixote Family. After all, you provide me with Justice Points.”

His incomprehensible remark left everyone staring blankly. Yet they had clearly understood one thing: the man before them was their enemy.

“Hahahaha! You really will say anything. Even the Four Emperors would not dare make such outrageous claims. Who do you think you are? But since negotiations have failed, and you now know our family’s secret, we cannot allow you to leave alive today. So go to hell, you arrogant brat who knows nothing of the heavens or the earth!”

Diamante rose to his feet and drew the saber at his side. An evil aura radiated from his body. Under that overwhelming pressure, Sarkies and the others, still kneeling and frantically kowtowing, could do nothing but tremble with pale faces.

“You useless fools are obstructing my sight. You may as well die first.”

Diamante spoke coldly. His arm trembled, and the saber in his hand suddenly seemed to soften. The blade appeared to come alive, twisting like a raging serpent as it lashed toward Sarkies and the others.

“Run… run!”

The group attempted to flee this terrifying place, but the Serpent Sword was faster. Like a python bursting from its lair, it pierced through their chests one after another in the blink of an eye.

The Bellamy Pirates were annihilated on the spot!

“The nuisances are finally gone. Now it’s your turn… Ghost Hunter.”

Diamante ran his tongue across his lips, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face.

“Diamante, are you really so confident that you can swallow me whole?”

Shu Mingyuan smiled calmly. Diamante was indeed powerful, but at most he was currently on the level of a Marine rear admiral or vice admiral. If every officer of the Donquixote Family possessed vice-admiral-level strength, then the Marines could forget about representing justice and maintaining order throughout the world.

Diamante’s strength was roughly on the same level as his own. That made him the perfect opponent for gauging exactly where he stood on this vast sea.

“Half-Moon Funeral!”

Diamante raised his sword, and a tremendous sword aura erupted from his body. With a single swing, a violent wave of sword energy surged forth like a crescent moon, cleaving the earth in two and reducing everything in its path to ruin.

“He has the skill of a swordsman,” Shu Mingyuan murmured.

He opened his empty hand, and a Lightning Spear coalesced within it, flashing with blinding arcs of electricity. Then a white blade of energy, carrying a razor-sharp sword aura, slashed viciously forward.

“One-Sword Style: Iaijutsu!”

The two sword energies collided with thunderous force, unleashing a fierce storm of sword aura across the surroundings. The ground was carved apart by countless crisscrossing sword marks.

“Ghost Hunter, it seems your slash is inferior to mine.”

Diamante’s mocking laughter had only just begun when the pale-blue blade of sword energy hanging in midair shattered. The crescent-shaped slash continued toward Shu Mingyuan with undiminished force.

A trace of regret surfaced in Shu Mingyuan’s heart. It seemed that he truly needed to find a sword suited to him. Compared with a genuine fine blade, the Lightning Spear was ultimately inadequate, and its ability to conduct chakra was lacking as well.

To a certain extent, the sword techniques of the shinobi world were closely linked to the intensity of chakra output.

“But your slash is inferior to my fist.”

Shu Mingyuan chuckled. His fist hardened in an instant, and he drove it violently into the incoming slash.

Under the force of that punch, the crescent-shaped sword energy was shattered outright.

P.S. Cheer for RNG!

Announcement: Four chapters today!

We’ve finally reached Chapter One Hundred! Please support me with recommendation votes, collections, and rewards!