One Punch

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Hearing Kazt's furious voice, both the hidden watchers with malicious intentions and the pirates watching from ships moored nearby instantly understood where this gunfight had come from.

Before the Battleaxe Tavern incident, no one had heard the name Usopp.

Calling him unknown was already polite.

Yet this dangerous stranger had not only slapped Aibe in Battleaxe Tavern in the most insulting way possible, but had now stormed alone onto the Sharp-Horn Pirates' ship.

The pirates stationed on nearby ships were outsiders to the matter, but that did not stop them from watching even more closely.

On the deck of the Sharp-Horn ship.

The moment Corvin heard Kazt's voice, he quickly unfastened Usopp from his back and fired at Kazt without a word.

Bang.

The lead ball flew straight toward Kazt's chest.

Corvin knew firearms had little effect on high-bounty pirates like this.

So he deliberately chose the upper body as the impact point, where his chance of hitting was higher.

Kazt's eyes widened with fury. By the time he shouted Corvin's name, he had already shifted into his hybrid form.

Facing the incoming lead ball, he brought one hoof down.

Sparks burst outward as he crushed the bullet with brute force.

When the shot failed, Corvin calmly put Usopp back over his shoulder.

Against an opponent at this level, firearms were extremely poor in a frontal fight. The firing line would be seen through too easily.

Before Kazt could attack, Corvin rushed toward the remaining Sharp-Horn crew and killed another man with his dagger.

By this point, only a little over ten small fry remained, and they no longer posed much of a threat.

As for whether anyone else was still inside the cabin, Corvin had no way of knowing.

Seeing Corvin fire once and then ignore him, Kazt's expression grew even more savage.

"Get out of the way!"

He roared, then leaped. His massive body flew through the air and crashed toward Corvin.

The members of the Sharp-Horn Pirates immediately retreated. Corvin looked at Kazt descending toward him and hopped back in time, leaving the landing zone.

Boom.

Kazt's heavy feet slammed into the deck.

Wood chips flew, and the planks buckled and shattered under the impact.

After steadying himself, Kazt did not pause for even a breath. His feet drove down hard, damaging the deck further as his thick black-furred body lunged toward Corvin again.

Wind roared up. Kazt charging head-on looked like the front of a speeding truck, full of crushing pressure.

Corvin stayed calm in the face of danger. He jumped sideways and rushed toward the Sharp-Horn crew instead. His intent was obvious.

"You bastard!"

The Sharp-Horn crew members who had already withdrawn from the fight cursed at once.

Corvin ignored them completely. He was faster than they were. While drawing Kazt over, he casually killed one crewman, then slipped out of Kazt's attack range.

Kazt's charge had already built too much momentum. With wounds all across the inside of his thighs, he could not stop sharply under these conditions.

One unlucky member of the Sharp-Horn Pirates failed to dodge and was smashed away by Kazt.

The man died in midair before he ever landed.

Corvin, having pulled out of the charge range, swept his gaze over the unlucky man's deeply caved-in chest and felt a chill.

With that level of force, if Corvin took a direct hit, he would be seriously injured even if he survived.

'How did Aibe survive that?'

Aibe's figure suddenly crossed Corvin's mind.

With a body like hers, she had taken one of Kazt's Black Hoofs head-on and somehow had not died on the spot.

Corvin shook his head slightly and looked instead at Kazt's bandaged legs. Blood was slowly seeping through the wrappings.

Seeing that, Corvin almost smiled.

This was the fundamental reason he dared come looking for trouble tonight.

Kazt's eyes were bloodshot. He completely ignored the subordinate he had killed.

He realized some of his wounds had split open, but he had no intention of slowing his attack. Once again, he rushed toward Corvin.

This time, he abandoned the charge. He intended to close the distance first and then use Black Hoof to finish Corvin.

But how could Corvin be foolish enough to give him that chance? Relying on his speed advantage, he kept circling across the deck and refused to let Kazt get close.

After several rounds of chasing and dodging with no result, Kazt was so angry he nearly lost his mind.

But he sensed Corvin's cruel intention and forced himself to calm down.

If this continued, he would not even touch one hair on Corvin's head. Instead, he would step deeper and deeper into danger.

And Gabton still had not returned. He was likely being held back.

The situation was growing more dangerous. When Kazt realized he might die in such a humiliating way, his rapid breathing gradually steadied.

In the Ox-Ox Fruit's hybrid form, his strength and physique increased greatly, but his speed dropped slightly.

If he wanted to kill this bastard...

"No balls, huh? All you can do is run?"

"Even that bitch Aibe dared face me head-on, and all you do is flee. Looks like you're less than a woman."

Kazt, gradually calming down, stared at Corvin and poured out one vulgar insult after another. The words that followed were uglier than the last.

He had decided that Corvin leaned toward speed and lacked strength.

As long as they fought head-on, Kazt was confident he could crush him with one hoof.

Listening to the filth, Corvin's expression changed faintly. He had not expected Kazt to choose this method.

Without thinking much about it, Corvin moved.

Savage joy flashed across Kazt's face.

But in the next second, his face froze as he watched Corvin rush toward his subordinates. Corvin's hand rose and fell, taking another life.

After killing the nearest member of the Sharp-Horn Pirates, Corvin smiled faintly at Kazt.

Kazt's cheek tightened several times.

"Trash!"

It was unclear whether he was cursing Corvin or his own men.

Kazt did not sit and wait. He chose plan B. Picking up blades from beside corpses, he pumped strength into his arms and threw them at Corvin.

Corvin dodged each one.

After throwing more than a dozen weapons without hurting Corvin, Kazt only aggravated the injuries in his upper body.

Kazt took a deep breath and gave up the meaningless effort.

Decisive now, he shifted his lower body back into human form.

He intended to sacrifice defense in his lower half in order to improve his current speed and stick to Corvin.

"Usopp, I'll tear you apart!"

Having committed himself, Kazt charged straight at Corvin.

His speed had clearly increased compared with before.

Corvin sighed softly.

It seemed he could not win easily after all.

Seeing what looked like weakness in Corvin's reaction, Kazt pressed him even harder.

Soon, Kazt successfully stuck to Corvin.

"I can keep up with your speed!"

Kazt was ecstatic. His long-suppressed rage poured toward Corvin.

Black Hoof.

The muscles in Kazt's arm swelled violently, and the hoof-hand carrying all his strength smashed toward Corvin's face.

Corvin stepped back and avoided the Black Hoof.

Kazt pressed the advantage. One hoof followed another, forcing Corvin back step by step.

'If I can't win easily, then...'

Corvin's stare hardened as he dodged Kazt's attacks again and again.

Kazt's strength was terrifying, but his offensive rhythm was not as dangerous as Aibe's rapid thrusts.

After avoiding more than a dozen attacks in a row, Corvin found an opening, gathered his strength, and punched Kazt in the bandaged abdomen.

"Hm?"

Kazt grunted. His feet left the ground as he flew backward about a meter. When he landed, he stumbled several more meters before stopping.

He stared at Corvin in shock, then suddenly vomited a mouthful of thick blood. Unable to withstand the heavy blow, he dropped to one knee and braced himself with one hand.

Outside the battle circle.

The surviving members of the Sharp-Horn Pirates had been watching their captain press that bastard back, and joy had just begun to rise in them.

Who could have imagined that only seconds later, their captain would be punched so hard he could not stay on his feet?

"How is this possible?"

Their mood plunged from heaven to hell.

Was this still their captain, Kazt, whose bounty exceeded thirty million?

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