“You b*stard, how dare you use such a brutish method!”
“Is there something wrong with your head? As long as a fighting style is effective, isn’t that enough?”
Jack initially thought Cavendish was a courageous warrior. It wasn’t unheard of for people to challenge the Beasts Pirates in the past, but it was rare to see someone charge forward on their own.
But now his opinion had changed—Cavendish was simply not right in the head.
“Savage brute! Blade of Beauty: Blue Bird!”
Cavendish, having climbed back to his feet, launched a fierce thrust at Jack. The speed of the sword strike was astonishing, creating air currents on either side of the blade due to its speed. However, this strike was no different from the previous slash.
The gap between the New World and the first half of the Grand Line became apparent. In the first half of the Grand Line, Cavendish was a prodigious swordsman. If he spent some time honing himself in the New World, he could become a true powerhouse.
But without having developed Haki, as a swordsman, it was very difficult for him to harm Jack.
Although Cavendish was much faster than Jack, all Jack needed to do was unleash his Haki, rendering Cavendish unable to break through his defense. So, the same thing happened again—Cavendish took another slap, once again sent flying back to where he started.
This time, Jack slapped the other side of Cavendish’s face, making him look much more symmetrical.
“For a rookie, you’re not bad. So I’ll give you one more chance.”
Jack glanced briefly at the battlefield where Sheepshead and Ginrummy were fighting. The Mammoth Man and the Elephant Man had already led their team to break through the enemy’s defenses. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the battle was over.
“I refuse! I will never join a brutish group like yours!”
“Hmm, looks like I’ll have to try a different method.”
Following Kaido’s teachings: When you want to recruit someone, you must first demonstrate your strength to intimidate them. If they surrender right away, you can proceed to the next step.
If they refuse, then beat them up to make them fully understand the difference in power. After that, recruit them again.
If they still refuse, bring them back with you and let them experience the consequences of saying no.
“I’ll make sure you work elegantly. You can discuss etiquette with those guys all you want.”
Elegance always comes at a price, such as mining elegantly.
Cavendish didn’t continue his attack. Although he had been slapped twice in a row, it made him realize the vast difference in their strengths. He had never faced an opponent whose skin he couldn’t even cut.
Closing his eyes, Cavendish seemed to lose consciousness. When he opened them again, his eyes had turned white, and his mouth twisted into an exaggerated grin—he had awakened his inner personality.
Cavendish was well aware of this bloodthirsty alter ego. It was utterly insane, almost devoid of reason. This was why Cavendish usually suppressed him, and only when he slept did this inner personality have a chance to emerge.
Though unhinged, this alter ego possessed even greater talent in swordsmanship than Cavendish, who was already a sword genius.
Sharing the same body as Cavendish, this personality grew stronger as Cavendish himself grew stronger.
When faced with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, Cavendish would deliberately allow this personality to take over and fight his enemies.
Under the influence of his alter ego, Cavendish’s speed increased even further. The sound of the air being sliced filled the battlefield. In an instant, Cavendish appeared beside Jack, wielding Durandal to unleash a dense web of slashes that successfully shredded Jack’s sleeveless jacket.
“I quite liked that jacket.”
Jack’s upper body was now exposed, revealing his muscular physique. Although the alter ego’s attacks were rapid and its swordsmanship superb, he still failed to break through Jack’s defense, leaving only faint white marks on his skin.
Even the usually arrogant alter ego showed a hint of shock on its exaggerated expression.
Moments later, just like Cavendish before him, the alter ego took a solid slap from Jack.
Cavendish and his alter ego could communicate with each other. As long as neither was completely asleep, they were aware of what was happening in the outside world. That slap completely drove Cavendish’s alter ego crazy.
“You bstard! Bstard! I’ll tear you apart—completely rip you to shreds!”
Back in the Rommel Kingdom, murders occurred every nightfall. Even the Marines sent to assist were no match, unable to even see who the enemy was.
Speed was the defining trait of Cavendish’s alter ego. Its instantaneous killing speed was so fast, like a gust of wind, that people began to refer to the murder incident, not knowing who was responsible, as “Kamaitachi of Rommel.”
Now, he was relentlessly attacking Jack from all directions, attempting to find a weakness. At such high speeds, Jack’s attacks struggled to land a hit. But Jack had already prepared a countermeasure.
He steadied his stance, planting his feet firmly and assumed a punching position.
“Fish-Man Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist!”
The essence of Fish-Man Karate lies in striking the water within the human body to inflict greater damage. Arabesque Brick Fist is a special technique that generates a 360-degree shockwave with each punch.
Against a high-speed but fragile opponent, this technique is highly effective.
To attack Jack, Cavendish had to get close, and this punch perfectly countered him, knocking him away.
This time, Jack didn’t slap Cavendish away. Instead, he grabbed him firmly in his hand, giving him no chance to continue his attacks.
“9 minutes—just on time. Hey! Sheepshead, you’re too slow!”
“Captain Jack, we’re almost done. Please wait a little longer.”
Hearing Jack’s urging, Sheepshead and others sped up their attacks. It wasn’t long before they completely defeated the Beautiful Pirates.
“Reporting to Captain Jack! Including the captain, we’ve captured 74 members of the Beautiful Pirates, one white horse, a decent amount of treasures, and… countless love letters.”
They perfectly executed Jack’s orders to capture the entire crew alive. Compared to the captain’s gap in strength, the disparity between ordinary crew members in the New World was even more terrifying.
Under the leadership of Jack’s low-ranking officer, the Beautiful Pirates collapsed rapidly. Everything on their ship fell into the hands of the Beasts Pirates.
“Captain Jack, why are we capturing them?”
“We’ll see if we can recruit them. Besides, the mines in Wano seem to be short-staffed lately. These energetic fellows should be a good fit.
Go find a Seastone chain to lock him up—this guy seems a bit problematic.”
After defeating Cavendish’s alter ego, Cavendish didn’t return. Instead, he fell into a deep sleep. This was a deliberate decision on his part to allow his alter ego to achieve higher combat performance. Only when the other personality is fully asleep can the awake personality unleash its full strength.
However, what Cavendish didn’t anticipate was that his trump card was still weak in Jack’s eyes. It only forced Jack to use a few regular techniques, nothing more.
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