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UTBW: Ch. 28
🕑 Added 2025-04-23 14:45:58 +0000 UTCHe actually felt a huge sense of threat from a fifteen-year-old boy.
Who was this boy?
What was his background?
Was he from a special race, or a Devil Fruit user?
In just a flash of thought, Reizo considered many possibilities, but none gave him a clear answer.
He thought for a moment, then smiled gently and asked, "I am Reizo, head of the G-4 Base. What's your name?"
As he spoke, he glared at the clerical Marines beside him and scolded in a low voice, "He just solved the major problem of the Ten Rat Pirate Crew. Go brew tea in my office for him. And bring out some pastries from the kitchen."
As those words were spoken, the surrounding Marines all looked as if they'd seen a ghost.
Was this really their strict and rigid Vice Admiral?
But soon enough, some sharp-witted Marines figured it out. For the rigid and serious Reizo to become so courteous, it could only mean that this boy was strong.
"I'll go brew the tea!"
"I'll check in with the kitchen!"
"I'll go too."
"I'll boil the water!"
The Marines all scattered.
On the chair, Junichi glanced at Reizo and let out a silent chuckle. "Observation Haki?"
"Haha, I just awakened it by luck, can't really use it in combat," Reizo replied with a smile.
Junichi nodded slightly and didn't say much. Among those who awakened both types of Haki, 99% remained at the Beginner-level. They rarely advanced further in their lifetime.
Clearly, Reizo was one of those people.
Although he had awakened Observation Haki, it only enhanced his senses, it couldn't be effectively used as a weapon in battle.
"My name is Uchiha Junichi." Junichi finally spoke and got to the point. "I took care of the Ten Rat Pirates. All of them are on the ship, not one left behind. I came here to collect the bounty. And I'd like all their supplies converted to berries for me if possible."
Reizo nodded immediately. "Of course. No problem at all."
Not long after, some Marines brought over tea and pastries.
Reizo invited him to taste them, chatting briefly about the origin of the tea and pastries, then politely stood up. "I need to go verify the heads of the pirate crew."
"Of course," Junichi nodded.
"Please wait a moment," Reizo said politely, then walked out of the hall.
He quietly wiped off a cold sweat.
Sitting in front of Junichi just now had felt like facing a wild beast, he'd been completely on edge.
Only after stepping out of the hall, did he finally let out a sigh of relief. That spine-prickling tension finally faded away.
"Let's go. Take me to see the bodies," he ordered.
"Yes." A subordinate led the way to the dock.
---
At the dock, 83 headless corpses were laid out on the ground, a heavy stench of blood in the air.
At the front, were the corpses of Cobb and Dustin, along with the second and third officers, who were key members of the crew.
Hiss!
Reizo couldn't help but suck in a breath. Every member of the crew had died the same way, decapitated. And there were barely any signs of a struggle on their bodies.
This meant they had all been killed in a single strike.
"Vice Admiral Reizo, please take a look at this," one of the subordinates said, pointing to a nearby cart.
"Hm?" Reizo looked over and saw that the cart held the weapons of the crew. Most eye-catching among them was a split shield.
"Dustin's alloy shield?" His eyes widened in shock. "It was cut clean in two?"
He knew how special that shield was. It could take a direct hit from a cannonball without a scratch. Even a swordsman's Steel Cutting would struggle to leave a mark on it.
"What a terrifying slash!" He walked over and closely examined the shield, immediately stunned by the cut.
It was incredibly straight, smooth as a mirror.
One could imagine that, for the swordsman who sliced through this shield, it must have felt as effortless as cutting through tofu.
"Was this the work of that boy?" Thinking of Junichi back in the hall, Reizo couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
At that moment, his impression of Junichi rose yet another level.
"Vice Admiral Reizo, we couldn't find Cobb's blade," a subordinate reported.
"Is that so?"
Reizo wasn't surprised. He had already guessed where Oni-me had gone.
"No need to worry about that for now. Have the supplies on the ship been tallied?"
The subordinate quickly reported, "A preliminary count values it at 37 million berries. The final amount may fluctuate by around one million."
Pirates were usually broke. Any money they had, they spent quickly. It was rare for them to hang on to much.
The only reason there was over 30 million on the Ten Rat Pirates' ship was because they had just completed a plunder.
"Round it up. Prepare a full 40 million berries in cash," Reizo ordered.
"Yes!" The subordinate glanced at Reizo in surprise but didn't question it. He trusted his Vice Admiral's judgment.
This boy who called himself Junichi was clearly worth the gesture.
"The rest is in your hands," Reizo said, patting the subordinate's shoulder before turning to head back to the hall.
Behind him, his subordinate and the nearby soldiers all saluted.
---
Inside the reception hall, Junichi had been sampling the pastries and tea. Now, he took out a blade maintenance kit he'd taken from Cobb.
He unsheathed Oni-me and began gently oiling it.
"Apologies, this might take a moment…"
Reizo happened to return just then. Seeing Junichi maintaining Oni-me, Reizo's pupils shrank. It was as if he were witnessing something unbelievable.
"Vice Admiral Reizo?" Junichi looked up, puzzled at his silence.
"Hahaha, sorry, just zoned out for a moment," Reizo laughed awkwardly, sweat pouring down his forehead as his mind raced.
This… this was a cursed blade? The cursed blade looked as docile as a house pet in Junichi's hands. There was none of its usual bloodthirsty, sinister, or eerie aura. The blood-red flowery pattern on the blade looked more like a real blossom, bright and elegant.
This only confirmed just how terrifying the boy truly was.
Wiping his sweat again, he nervously sat down, thinking to himself: A Swordsman?
No… even a Swordsman couldn't tame a cursed blade of this caliber. Could he be… a Great Swordsman?
At that thought, he glanced at Junichi again.
Black hair, black eyes, youthful features, he couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen.
He hesitated. In theory, only a Great Swordsman could tame a cursed blade of this rank.
But a fifteen-year-old Great Swordsman? Wasn't that a bit absurd?
Lost in wild thoughts, one of the subordinates came jogging in with a large box. He bowed first: "Apologies for the wait. The cargo has been appraised and converted into the equivalent amount in berries."
"It's in the alley just outside."
"Would you like to inspect it now?"
Hearing this, Junichi calmly finished applying the last bit of oil on his blade. He set the sword down and nodded with a smile.
The subordinate placed the box on the table and opened it.
Through Observation Haki, Junichi had already known the box was filled with cash.
Comments
NappySayian
As usual with the hissing but other than that, ain't no way the guy is a vice-admiral talking about how he just got haki by chance, ain't Haki a requirement to get to his grade or am I trippin' ?
