One Piece Gunslinger

"In that case, brothers, pick up your weapons!" Ace shouted. "There is no other way but to fight!"

Since they had made a promise to become the Pirate King, Ace, like Luffy, would not back down even in the face of death. They had prepared to die long before setting sail.

At Ace's command, the other crew members scrambled to their feet, drew their weapons, and prepared to fight the Whitebeard Pirates to the death. Leon silently pulled out his shotgun; since he couldn't just stand by and watch, and Whitebeard had already attacked him, he had no choice but to fight alongside Ace.

"Sigh, in the end I still got on your pirate ship."

As expected, those who managed to board Ace's ship were at least not afraid of death; like Ace, they were capable of charging into battle against the strong. They even dared to fight Whitebeard. And even Leon, who wasn't a member of the Spade Pirates, drew his weapon after boarding Ace's ship.

Seeing this, Whitebeard became even more satisfied with Ace and his Spade Pirates. Not only Ace himself, but also the group of companions he had gathered, all greatly impressed Whitebeard.

"Gurarara, good, good, good!" Whitebeard hadn't been happy in a long time, and he said "good" three times in a row.

"In that case, let's have a proper fight. Marco, the rest is up to you. Remember, don't kill anyone."

"Don't worry, Dad, I understand," Marco nodded.

Whitebeard was overjoyed, a fact his sons noticed. They knew what to do. Since these future brothers wanted a fight, let the sons handle it; it would be too boring for their father to get involved.

Chapter 317 The Pain of War

Whitebeard had never met a son who suited him so well, but if there was anything amiss with this operation, something that made Whitebeard feel a little unhappy about, it would be this:

That can only be Li Ang from the revolutionary army.

This is why Whitebeard was the first to attack Leon.

Although he didn't know why, Whitebeard had a feeling that the Revolutionary Army was haunted by some ghost lately. Especially this Li Ang, why was he everywhere? It seemed like the chief of staff was involved in everything.

While Whitebeard was bold, magnanimous, and somewhat unconventional, his charisma didn't make him foolish. On the contrary, he was a clever man.

Previously, Whitebeard had used Crocodile's connection to make him make a promise, thus using him to prevent the World Government from attacking the Revolutionary Army when it was at its weakest. However, Whitebeard had seen it all and was not a petty person, so he didn't take it to heart.

But what happened next was quite strange. Not long after, a request came from Neptune. Neptune wanted to establish diplomatic relations and further cooperation with the Revolutionary Army and wanted to ask Whitebeard for his opinion.

Whitebeard, of course, had no objections. He had initially protected Fish-Man Island out of good intentions, hoping to stop the World Government's persecution of the islanders. But while the overt persecution ceased, mermaids remained among the most sought-after slaves in secret.

It's not that they want anything from Fishman Island, nor do they have any strong sense of territory, like "my territory, and no one else is allowed to interfere."

Now that Fish-Man Island wanted to develop and seize this opportunity to expand, Whitebeard had no reason to refuse. He replied to Neptune, "Do whatever you want, you don't need to ask my opinion," and didn't take it to heart anymore, even feeling happy for Fish-Man Island.

But the story didn't end there. Jinbe then went to act as the messenger, and he was greeted by Leon. Later, when Jinbe was drinking and talking with Whitebeard, he mentioned Leon and quoted a few of Leon's "famous sayings".

What was said without intention was taken seriously by the listener. Whitebeard quickly connected it to Leon, whom Crocodile had mentioned in his letter. Both men, without prior agreement, expressed their admiration for Leon's ideas.

Thus, the name Li Ang came into Whitebeard's view.

Not long after, when Whitebeard became interested in Ace, his intelligence network informed him that both Leon and Ace were on Sabaody Archipelago. Just the day before, newspapers had reported the murder of two Celestial Dragons, the killer being a member of the Revolutionary Army.

Although there was no evidence, his intuition told him that since the person who did this was a revolutionary, it must be Li Ang.

Then, a day later, it was learned that Leon and Ace had gone to the Ryugu Kingdom together. At the same time, the newspapers published news that Buggy had become a new Shichibukai. Buggy, Ace, and Leon were all in the same place at the time. Whitebeard knew Buggy; he was a kid on Roger's ship back in the day. But to say he could become a Shichibukai was definitely a stretch. It's hard to say that Leon's influence wasn't behind this.

Another day passed, and Neptune informed them that Leon and Ace had solved a long-standing problem plaguing Fish-Man Island: the Vander Decken Pirates, whose lineage had lasted for over a century. Furthermore, Leon, representing the Revolutionary Army, made additional demands, intending to directly bring Fish-Man Island into the Revolutionary Army's camp.

Another day passed, and Whitebeard learned from Neptune that Leon had gone to Lady Shirley for a divination. The question was unknown; only Lady Shirley and Leon knew.

Another day passed, and Ace and Leon went to Madam Shirley's place early in the morning. Ace came out at noon, while Leon was still inside. Madam Shirley did not reveal what they were doing.

Another day has passed...

Finally, today, Li Ang and Ace came to him again.

Damn, it feels like Whitebeard has been hearing news about this Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff every day lately, even though he hasn't been deliberately gathering information about Leon. It's like he's haunting him relentlessly.

Similarly, Marco and the other captains thought the same way. Although there was no basis for their suspicions, there was always a sense of conspiracy in their minds.

The result was just like when Whitebeard and the others saw Li Ang; they were as if they'd seen a ghost, wondering if all of this was part of Li Ang's plan. But if that were the case, where did Li Ang get the information from? Surely one of his sons couldn't be a Revolutionary Army spy. Whitebeard didn't believe any of his sons would betray him.

"Yes," Blackbeard Teach laughed.

Although Whitebeard didn't care what the Revolutionary Army was up to, since he'd encountered the persistent Li Ang, he couldn't remain silent. His previous attack was a signal to Li Ang: "Don't run, I'm watching you." Then, he forcefully prevented Li Ang from being a mere bystander, making him fight alongside Ace.

That's Whitebeard's style: if he doesn't like you, he'll beat you up, no matter the reason. He'll teach you a lesson first.

Before the battle, Whitebeard specifically told the captains to teach Li Ang a lesson, but not to actually kill him.

So, after Whitebeard left, the battle began. Marco leaped into the air, his arms transforming into fiery wings, and charged towards Ace. Ace, naturally fearless, stepped forward and engaged Marco in combat. The fight quickly became a fierce and evenly matched contest.

Marco truly lives up to his reputation as one of the two division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates; he can go toe-to-toe with anyone, regardless of strength. Whether it's a Marine Admiral or Ace.

For a moment, neither could gain the upper hand, making Li Ang somewhat ashamed. Marco's ability to slack off and be a sparring partner was truly impressive. Ace's side was definitely going to lose; it was just a matter of how long Marco wanted to play around.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Spade Pirates were also entangled in the combat teams under these captains. It truly was a case of soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. Li Ang also observed for a moment and didn't see Blackbeard Teach, probably because the second division captain was missing, so the second division didn't participate in this operation.

However, Li Ang quickly lost interest in the others, as another person he recognized approached, wielding dual swords. This was the captain of the fifth team, Vista the Flower Swordsman.

Fortunately, the Whitebeard Pirates' captains were too arrogant and didn't all come up together; they only sent one of them to fight Leon one-on-one. Otherwise, there would have been no need for a fight; they would have surrendered instantly.

For these captains, the only two truly worthy opponents were Ace and Leon. Marco, quick-witted and agile, flew down to find Ace as soon as the battle began. Both were skilled with fire, so fighting together wouldn't be a problem.

Judging from his weaponry, the remaining Li Ang was a gunman, so logically, it should have been Captain Courier of the Tenth Squad who fought him. A duel between gunmen.

But everyone witnessed Whitebeard's attack on Leon. Although it was a casual strike, Leon was able to withstand it unscathed and even displayed Armament Haki, indicating he wasn't just a simple gunslinger. Therefore, the 10th Division Commander, Curiel, was clearly no match for him.

Finally, among the top-ranked captains, it was Vista who volunteered to challenge Li Ang, otherwise Li Ang would have had a hard time finding an opponent.

However, for Leon, Vista was definitely the most difficult captain to deal with. Among these top captains, whose strengths were roughly equal, Vista was the only one without a Devil Fruit ability. Without an ability, he also meant without a weakness.

Even against Diamond Man George and Marco, both possessing Devil Fruit abilities, Li Ang would be easier to deal with, given his Seastone bullets, which are specifically designed to counter such users. A moment of carelessness could allow Li Ang to quickly secure victory.

As for Sachi, the captain of the fourth team, Li Ang had not witnessed his strength and could not judge him.

“I’ll be your opponent, my friend from the Revolutionary Army. But you might feel it’s a bit unfair, so I’d like to apologize.” Unlike Marco, who would have acted without a word, Vista first gave a gentlemanly salute.

Li Ang returned the greeting and said, "Well, it seems we can't escape this fight. But you don't need to apologize. We didn't agree to a fair fight, and there's nothing unfair about it. If you treat me like an ordinary gunman, be careful you'll suffer the consequences."

At close range, a swordsman is at a disadvantage against a gunslinger, while at a distance of over a thousand meters, the swordsman would be at a disadvantage. Furthermore, there's no quantifiable standard of fairness to be found in this situation.

Moreover, Li Ang had already realized that sniper rifles were not very effective in this small place, so he had prepared shotguns, which were better suited for close combat.

"Whitebeard Pirates, Fifth Division Commander, Vista the Flower Sword."

"Revolutionary Army, Chief of Staff, Li Ang."

The two on this side were much more convincing than Ace and Marco; they even used their pale faces and introduced themselves. After the two finished their introductions and pale faces, Vista, wanting to strike first, held his twin swords to his chest and charged forward quickly.

However, Vista wasn't stupid. Although he didn't know the power of the weapon in Leon's hand, he didn't intend to test its effectiveness with his body and charge straight at it under fire. Instead, he used a serpentine maneuver.

Between Vista's crossed swords, a few petals drifted faintly, but beneath these beautiful petals lay a merciless killing intent. If this attack struck, Li Ang would be sliced ​​into four pieces. However, Vista's movements were swift, and Li Ang's were no slower.

However, as soon as Vista appeared, Leon was already fully focused, activating his Observation Haki. Therefore, Vista's every move was under the lock of Leon's Observation Haki.

Since that was the case, Li Ang did not hesitate, raised his gun towards Vista's trajectory, and pulled the trigger.

Chapter 318 Flower Sword

"boom."

With Li Ang's gunshot, the visual effect was fantastic; Vista's black cloak was shattered into pieces.

Yes, it was very powerful, but unfortunately, not a single bullet from the scattered shrapnel hit Vista.

"this!"

Li Ang's eyes widened when he saw that he had fired a blank shot. It had been a long time since he had ever missed a shot like this, let alone under his Observation Haki, let alone at such close range, let alone with a weapon like a shotgun that has a certain area of ​​effect.

Not to mention three, logically speaking, in this situation, even missing a shot would be difficult. In Li Ang's imagination, no one except Kizaru should be able to dodge it. But now, Li Ang has surprisingly managed to fire a blank shot.

Li Ang considered many possibilities, including accepting that his attack was easily blocked by the enemy and he suffered no damage.

There have been instances before where Li Ang's attacks were blocked. For example, against Fujitora and Ryu, even if Li Ang stood still and let him shoot, he would find it difficult to break through their defenses. Another example is Whitebeard; Li Ang believed that if he fired at Whitebeard, the bullets would be deflected in front of him.

But Vista, the foil fencer, did what others couldn't: he dodged the shot.

However, there was no time for Li Ang to think. Vista, having dodged the shot, quickly closed in on Li Ang. Li Ang had no choice but to unleash his Armament Haki and kick in the direction Vista had struck.

"Clang!" With a sound of metal clashing, Vista took a step back, while Leon, who was in a hurry to react, was thrown out and almost fell into the sea. He only stopped after hitting the side of the ship.

In reality, Leon wasn't that much weaker than Starr in terms of strength, and even if there was a difference, it wasn't this significant. Leon himself could sense that Starr's strength was actually quite similar to his own. The current situation, however, has another reason behind it.

The reason is that, in Li Ang's imagination, his kick would be a perfect response to Vista's sword technique. Then, the two would engage in a power struggle to see who had the greater strength, thus allowing them to formulate their subsequent tactics.

But that wasn't the case. Li Ang's prediction was wrong once again; his kick came too late. Or rather, Vista's movement was faster than he anticipated, striking first.

This meant that when Vista's twin swords struck Leon's foot, Leon hadn't even exerted his full strength yet; he had only used half of his power, and his leg wasn't fully straight.

Both times Li Ang suffered setbacks, it was for the same reason: he misjudged Vista's movements. However, these two setbacks were not entirely without merit; at least he gained some insight into Vista's swordsmanship.

Although Leon was sent flying, he wasn't seriously injured and quickly got up. After calmly dusting himself off, Leon asked Vista, "If I'm not mistaken, it was because of those flower petals, right?"

"Yes."

Since Li Ang had figured it out, he didn't hide it anymore and openly admitted it, confirming Li Ang's guess.

When Vista uses his swordsmanship, he is always surrounded by flower petals. Originally, Li Ang did not understand the purpose of these petals, but after fighting Vista, he quickly figured it out.

The only thing that can explain Vista's ghostly movements is the petals that Leon had previously used for nothing but showing off.

Leon was confident in his abilities and wouldn't make any silly mistakes. Vista's speed couldn't possibly reach Kizaru's level, so after much thought, Leon came to a conclusion.

The information I received was false.

Judgments and responses made based on false information are naturally useless.

The first shot fired earlier, which Li Ang predicted should have hit Vista, actually struck Vista's cloak squarely, indicating that Li Ang had been aiming at Vista's cloak before he even fired.

Similarly, Li Ang's subsequent kick was too late; Vista himself had already made his move first.

"Impressive. No wonder you're the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' combat division. These petals can even interfere with Observation Haki. I admire you, truly admire you," Li Ang praised without reservation.

Vista replied, "Not at all, you figured it out quickly too, didn't you? People say the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff is incredibly resourceful, far surpassing ordinary people, and they're right. Besides, I'm not invincible; once my Observation Haki reaches a certain level, I become immune to its effects."

Indeed, if Vista's foil technique is unbreakable, he would have been the greatest swordsman long ago, and Hawkeye would have no chance.

Hey, this isn't going well. If these two weren't fighting, and the conversation continued like this, it might turn into a tense and intense exchange of compliments.

However, even if Leon wanted to dabble in his area of ​​expertise, Vista wouldn't agree. So he had to give up.

This time, it was Li Ang's turn to strike first. Before Vista could unleash his sword technique, which could interfere with senses and even Observation Haki, he pulled the trigger in Vista's direction.

What worries Li Ang is that Vista's foil has more than one use. In fact, Vista's foil has only demonstrated this one application to Li Ang so far.

Currently, Li Ang knows that Vista's movements are slightly faster than he perceives. But what if Vista reverses this, and Li Ang's information is faster than Vista's movements? In that case, a blind attack would allow Vista to exploit the weakness in his technique, where he is using old moves and hasn't yet developed new ones.