One Piece Gunslinger

So after much deliberation, Kevin gritted his teeth and decided to deal with Captain Jack Sparrow before he became too powerful.

So he picked up the Den Den Mushi and said, "Tell them I've taken this job. Tell them to bring the money, and tomorrow morning they'll hear the news of Captain Jack's death."

This is also the rule of Hell's Gate: regardless of success or failure, an assassination can only be carried out once. The money is not refunded if it fails, because failure often means the death of a member. That money is then considered a compensation payment, or rather, a life-saving fee.

After saying that, he hung up the phone, took out a small knife from the drawer, and then disappeared underground.

Kevin always takes unconventional routes, which is why even the shadowy figure can't figure out Kevin's timing and modus operandi. It can only be roughly inferred that Kevin possesses a stealth and concealment ability.

It's often said that there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong given names.

Since Kevin calls himself a "demon," his Devil Fruit ability is related to it. As a Devil Fruit user, he can transform himself into a ghost, without mass, and his entire body is like an illusion, able to pass through any object.

Of course, besides water and sea stone.

However, this ability has a drawback: it's sensitive to light. Normal light doesn't affect it, but if exposed to strong light, it will not only lose its ability but also suffer a burning injury.

Therefore, Kevin always operated at night, carrying out assassinations by passing through the ground and walls. Presumably, no one sleeps with the lights on, especially brightly lit, without even a shadow.

That day, late at night.

Kevin traveled underground for half a day before finally drifting from the royal capital, Gran, to Pacqui City late at night.

Meanwhile, the city of Paque was already eerily silent. The once bustling taverns and glittering casinos were now completely still, and people had long since returned to their homes, turned off the lights, and gone to sleep.

At this critical moment when a major battle is about to erupt, no one will be idly strolling the streets. If you accidentally stumble upon a gang fight and get caught up in it, even ten lives wouldn't be enough.

Fighting is inevitable. The question now is when the war will begin.

This kind of environment is indeed somewhat disadvantageous for Kevin.

Both the Red Rock Society and the Black Bear Society have raised their guard and increased patrols within their bases, with guards stationed at every gate and passageway.

Even though Kevin had a map, he still needed reference points to understand it. To confirm his current location, Kevin had to peek out from underground every now and then to check the situation.

Fortunately, Kevin could tell if someone was above him by the vibrations on the floor. Otherwise, it would be very embarrassing if he were seen as soon as he peeked out.

Kevin also spent some time in this place before finally getting to Jack's room.

Once the harbor had turned onto the floor, Kevin saw Jack lying on the bed, fast asleep.

"Just as the intelligence said, he's incredibly slovenly, he hasn't even taken off his clothes and shoes." Kevin thought to himself, looking at Jack's unseemly posture.

It wasn't that Jack wanted to look this sloppy, but rather that he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be woken up by some unexpected event, and by then it would be too late to get dressed again.

This is also for the convenience of being deployed at any time.

Kevin was an experienced handyman. He pulled out the small knife, floated over slowly, and stabbed it into Jack's neck.

It could be said that from the moment Kevin slipped into Jack's room until he stabbed him, he was in a spirit-like state, without even causing a ripple in the air.

However, our Captain Jack Sparrow is indeed a young man who has awakened Observation Haki. Although he has not had much training, he can still keenly sense danger that is close at hand.

Jack was instantly jolted awake. In the blink of an eye, without even having time to open his eyes, he rolled to the side with his eyes still closed.

"Pfft!" Jack was startled by the sound that came from beside him and broke out in a cold sweat.

Kevin thought to himself, "This is bad," and quickly pulled out the dagger stuck in the bed, continuing to stab Jack.

Kevin was completely taken aback by the empty space at first; he had never encountered a situation like this before.

Having just escaped death, Jack was now intently watching Kevin's movements. When Kevin lunged at him with another stab, Jack quickly sprang to his feet, narrowly avoiding the dagger which grazed his back and tore his clothes.

Jack quickly jumped off the bed, reached behind him and felt lucky; his clothes were only torn and he wasn't actually hurt.

Who knows if the assassin's dagger was also unpoisoned? If it had been, even a small cut would have been fatal.

At that moment, Kevin, relentless and taking advantage of his advantageous position, stepped forward and thrust again.

Faced with the unavoidable slash, Jack remained calm and raised his hand to block it.

Of course, to Kevin's surprise, the knife did not strike Jack's arm directly, but was blocked by a small knife that had appeared in Jack's hand at some point.

It turned out that when Jack raised his hand, he opened his spatial bag and took out a tactical knife that had been sealed away for a long time.

He might not be good at wielding a curved knife, but for someone who inherited Li Ang's skills, this tactical knife is a piece of cake.

Despite Jack's repeated evasion of Kevin's attacks, he is still in danger.

As mentioned before, most people turn off the lights before going to bed, and Jack is no exception.

Since there were no windows in the basement, moonlight couldn't get in, and the whole room was pitch black.

The only sliver of light came through the crack in the door, from the lights in the hallway.

So, let alone what the assassin looks like, Jack doesn't even know where the assassin is.

Only when Kevin attacks can one detect the faint sound of the wind and the almost invisible glint of cold light.

Jack knew that the reason he could withstand such an attack was because he had been fully focused and activated his Observation Haki.

However, even with Jack's enhanced physical abilities, he couldn't maintain them for long. In less than a minute, Jack would be finished.

To fight against it, you need light.

So Jack scrambled and crawled, struggling to stay afloat as he fought his way back toward the door.

Of course, Kevin also knew that if Jack opened the door, their current advantage would be gone, and they would even have to consider running away before reinforcements arrived. So he intensified his offensive.

Jack was incredibly frustrated; he felt like he was being humiliated by the assassin. He resolved that once he escaped this ordeal, he would never sleep in the basement again; at least there was moonlight outside, so he wouldn't be in such a passive position.

Moreover, if Haku and Fujitora hadn't been sent out by Jack to cause trouble, they could have come to support us right now.

Just as Jack approached the door, Kevin took a large step forward and swung his dagger fiercely at Jack. The intention was to force Jack to open the door, leaving him either dead or severely injured, thus forcing Jack away.

But this was the moment Jack had been waiting for. He rolled to the side to dodge, then slapped the switch on the wall with his backhand.

And so the lights on the ceiling of the room came on.

Chapter 49 Discovering Weaknesses

Seeing the light come on on the ceiling, Kevin had a bad feeling.

Unexpectedly, Captain Jack Sparrow is quite cunning; even in this sudden emergency, he remained calm and composed.

His actions throughout, such as glancing at the door out of the corner of his eye every now and then, were all deceiving Kevin, making him think that he wanted to open the door.

In fact, Jack had been secretly plotting something, and had long ago set his sights on the switch.

The light that Nal hung from the ceiling was covered by a cylindrical lampshade. In the dim basement, this made the light very soft and not too glaring.

Now Jack can finally see what the newcomer looks like... well, okay, still not.

The newcomer was dressed in a black robe, his face covered with a black veil, and he held a gleaming short knife. Perhaps due to his slightly hunched posture, he appeared rather short. His eyes, not hidden by the veil, gleamed with a chilling ferocity as he stared hatefully at Jack.

Holding the knife, Jack was still slightly shaken. He had only managed to escape this ordeal thanks to his recently awakened Observation Haki.

All this commotion has taken a toll on Jack's stamina, especially when he was using his Haki, which drained his energy very quickly. Now that the lights are on, he can barely catch his breath.

Seeing this, Kevin also felt that Jack was just running out of steam and that he still had a great advantage. As long as he launched an attack, he could easily take down Jack.

……

Take him away? Kevin isn't stupid. He can complete a large number of high-difficulty assassination missions. It's not just his Devil Fruit ability and skills that can be done. Intelligence is also very important.

In fact, Kevin had already started cursing at the incomplete data, saying what kind of nonsense it was, what it meant to be bad at close combat and to use a scimitar terribly.

Yes, Jack didn't use the curved knife in this emergency; he was clearly wielding a small knife. Even in the darkness just now, they couldn't do anything to Jack for a short time. If they rashly approach now, wouldn't that be using their weakness to attack his strength?

Kevin's expression hardened, and he suddenly swung his sword upwards, throwing the dagger at the light on the ceiling.

The logic is simple: if the light is on, all I have to do is turn it off again. Since the switch is in your hands, Jack, I'll just destroy the light source.

Jack, of course, dared not be careless and kept a close eye on Kevin's movements. Upon seeing Kevin's actions, Jack immediately realized Kevin's intentions.

Ignoring the strain, Jack quickly held his breath and focused, and the Punisher appeared in his other hand. Almost the instant Kevin threw the dagger, Jack pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

"Ding!"

The two voices rang out almost simultaneously, intertwining with each other, so much so that it was impossible to tell which one came first and which came later.

Kevin's dagger was knocked away by the shot, spinning and embedding itself diagonally in the ceiling to one side.

Although a considerable amount of writing was devoted to this, it was all accomplished in a very short period of time.

From the moment Jack turned on the switch to the moment he shot Kevin's dagger away, the situation had already reversed in a very short time.

As Kevin faced Jack pointing a gun at him, he couldn't help but admire him in his heart: "Jack's marksmanship is indeed legendary; he managed to hit my dagger even with that shot."

Jack pointed his gun at Kevin, now feeling he had the upper hand. He said slowly, "Speak, who are you? And who sent you to assassinate the great Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Kevin remained silent. Completing the mission now would be far too difficult. But if they retreated today, they might never have another chance like this to assassinate Jack.

Kevin was silent for a moment, then thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, "After a few years of comfortable life, have I even lost the courage to fight? Although I've lost my advantage now, I might still be able to take down Jack with my Devil Fruit powers." In the end, Kevin steeled himself and decided to continue the mission.

Seeing that Kevin didn't speak, Jack wasn't in a hurry at all. He already had victory in his grasp, so there was nothing to rush. He simply pointed the Punisher at Kevin quietly.

To everyone's surprise, Kevin snorted and charged straight at Jack.

Jack was completely bewildered. This guy was charging at me with my gun pointed at him—it was outrageous! Still confused, Jack aimed at Kevin's thigh and fired.

However, when the shot was fired, Kevin's body suddenly became somewhat ethereal and transparent. The shot passed through the transparent Kevin and hit the floor.

Jack saw it clearly: the firearms couldn't cause any real damage to the assassin. Could it be some kind of Devil Fruit power?

In the instant Jack was stunned, Kevin had already closed in on him. From Jack's current angle, it was clear that a small, short blade, about the size of a fruit knife, was hidden in his sleeve.

Jack hadn't expected Kevin to carry more than just a dagger; he also had other weapons. Adding to this the bullet that had mysteriously pierced Kevin's thigh earlier, Jack couldn't help but mentally scream, "Holy crap!"

But now is not the time for lamentation. Seeing that the hidden blade was about to pierce his heart, Jack quickly used his knife to stop it.

Jack is now regretting it a bit. Why did he have to leave tonight, of all times? Haku and Fujitora had to leave. Otherwise, with such a commotion, the two of them would have come to help much sooner.

As for those clueless guards, Jack had no hope of them. They were usually kept out of this area to maintain secrecy, and even if they came now, it wouldn't be of much use against this ability.

After a period of intense fighting, Jack was starting to get a headache. Every time he managed to find an opening in the assassin's defenses, the assassin would become ethereal and transparent. Each swing of his blade felt like it was striking thin air, passing through the assassin's body without any resistance.

With each attack, the assassin's body solidified. Jack, caught in this grueling struggle, gained no advantage and instead sustained numerous wounds.

However, Jack didn't come away empty-handed. He didn't take those hits for nothing; at least he discovered a weakness in the assassin's abilities.

He is sometimes illusory, sometimes solid, a mix of reality and illusion, truth and falsehood, making him extremely bizarre.

However, Jack noticed that, regardless of the circumstances, the assassin always avoided standing under the central light, constantly avoiding direct exposure to it. This was in conjunction with the assassin's previous reactions to light sources.