One Piece: Starting with Breathing Techniques

Chapter 158 Shanks?!

Faced with Kilo's angry shouts, the cloaked figure fell silent, showing no sign of responding.

He seemed to look around before his gaze finally settled on Kiro's face.

Kiro narrowed his eyes, his expression suddenly changed, and his figure blurred and disappeared from the spot.

Almost simultaneously, the cloaked figure vanished from the spot, transforming into an elusive afterimage as it sped toward the distant coast.

Before he could even take a few steps, Kiro blocked his path as if he had foreseen it.

Left with no other choice, the mysterious man drew a strangely shaped Western sword from his waist and launched a lightning-fast counterattack.

The next moment, the rapier and Kilo's dragon-slaying sword suddenly clashed and intertwined.

"Boom!" "Oh?"

Feeling the immense force emanating from his hand, Kilo narrowed his eyes slightly, somewhat surprised.

Although his sword strike was not imbued with sword intent, it was still a full-force attack under normal circumstances, yet his opponent was able to parry it.

Who is it?

He used his right hand to deflect the force and turned around. With a "whoosh," the Dragon Slayer was tinged with a layer of shimmering white light, leaving behind afterimages in the air that were invisible to the naked eye.

"Bang bang bang!!"

A tremendous clang of metal resounded in the air, and the powerful sound waves swept through the air, forcing the Eastern Army soldiers watching from a distance to retreat several steps.

After a brief stalemate, Kiro keenly spotted a slight flaw in his opponent's sword technique. Seizing the moment when his opponent had not yet generated new strength, he slashed down with his sword without hesitation.

"Bang!!"

The Dragon Slayer Sword cleanly and swiftly sliced ​​through the air, only to be blocked at the last moment by the rapier that stood in the middle.

However, seriously injuring his opponent was not Kiro's main objective. Seeing the situation unfold as he had anticipated, he stopped using his longsword and instead slashed upwards.

"call out"

The longsword pierced the air, narrowly missing the opponent's nose as it tilted back, but the gust of wind it generated lifted the hood that was covering the opponent's face.

The moment they saw the man's face, everyone, including Kiro, widened their eyes in shock.

Beneath the cloak, a resolute face appeared that was all too familiar, with striking red curly hair on its head.

"—Red-haired Shanks?!" Ginny exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock.

Robin, standing nearby, also stared wide-eyed in shock at the familiar figure.

"Is it that great pirate from the New World, a former member of Roger's pirate ship, Shanks, the Red-Haired Pirate?"

The man's appearance was almost identical to that of the legendary Shanks, with his signature short stubble and identical eyebrows and eyes.

However, after carefully examining the other person's face for a moment, Kiro shook his head.

"No, he is not Shanks."

He stepped forward and used several powerful slashes to forcefully drag the opponent, who was trying to escape, out of the area. Finally, he used a horizontal slash that was both crimson and white to force the opponent back several steps.

"—The captain of the Knights of God, Shanks' twin brother."

"Should I call you—Shamlock?"

The moment Kilo finished speaking, the other person's body stiffened for a moment, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He brandished his rapier, halting his retreat, and slowly turned around, looking at Kiro with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"—Who told you that name?"

Seeing this, Kiro smiled. "So, you really are Shamrock!"

"I thought it was some lurking rat, but it was you!"

Seeing this, Shamrock sighed, "Why do you have to be so eager to die?"

"If you hadn't called out that name, I might have let you go—"

He ripped off his cloak, revealing a magnificent long-sleeved garment beneath, and long red hair cascaded down his sides, instantly exuding a dangerous aura.

"Now, you will all die!"

Faced with Shamrock's threat, Kiro scoffed dismissively, raising an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me?"

"Even your father, Grimm, was nearly killed by me in Mary Geoise—and now, you think you can kill me?"

"Or do you want to avenge your father?"

Upon hearing this, Shamrock's face immediately darkened, and he swung his rapier sharply, the sharp tip cutting through the air with a terrifying whistling sound.

"Don't mention him to me, I'm not like him!!"

"Just because that damned old bastard can't beat you doesn't mean I can't!"

"No matter how you found out who I am, you're all going to die here today!"

He then pulled an exquisite object from his pocket and crushed it violently.

But after waiting for a while, nothing unusual happened.

Shamlock's face darkened, his brows furrowed, and he glanced at the dense jungle behind him.

Kiro keenly noticed the change in Shamrock's eyes, immediately understood, and grinned.

"What, are you waiting for your CP0 comrade?"

Shamlock's breath hitched, and he barely managed to suppress his surprise, but the observant Kiro eventually noticed something amiss.

"As expected, but it's a pity—"

"You probably won't be able to see them again."

Before he finished speaking, heavy footsteps emerged from the jungle behind Shamrock.

"I'm sorry."

His massive, muscular body bore several wounds, and his usually gentle and composed face was now stained with blood.

"Mr. Kiro, Ginny, I'm late."

The bear emerged from the jungle with a complex expression, his hands already stained with blood, and in his left hand he was carrying a CP0 member whose face was filled with terror.

spy.

Shamrock's pupils contracted. "—You!?"

"Sir, they're all dead!!"

The CP0 agent, his face contorted with fear, had eyes brimming with despair, as if he had just witnessed some immense horror.

"They all died at the hands of this guy called Big Bear, and I'm the only one who survived!!"

"Help me!!!"

Ignoring Shamlock's unchanging expression, Kiro blurred for a moment and appeared next to Big Bear, taking the terrified CPO agent from his hands.

Before notifying Big Bear to come over, he specifically instructed him to deal with the surrounding henchmen first, and made sure to leave one alive.

As for the purpose of leaving survivors—

"Big Bear, wait a moment."

Kiro narrowed his eyes, his icy gaze sweeping over the CP0 agent whose face was filled with fear, and said indifferently, "I'll give you a chance to tell me the purpose of your operation."

The CP0 member swallowed hard. "I, we're here to—"

Before he finished speaking, Kiro raised his index and middle fingers together and struck the man's meridian with lightning speed.

Under the extremely subtle control of Observation Haki, countless tiny sword energies followed the meridians, recklessly traversing along all pain-sensing nerves, tearing and piercing every painful nerve.

The instant Kilo made his move, an indescribable, terrifying pain suddenly surged into the agent's mind.

"iiiiiiii guest, his face contorted instantly, and he screamed hoarsely, the pain of which could almost be felt by everyone present."

After a moment, Kiro released his sword fingers that were channeling sword energy, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"If you lie again, this sword energy will pierce through your entire body, and this pain will last for about an hour before you die in endless agony."

"Now, tell us, what is the purpose of your actions?"