Chapter 150: Weak? Switching Templates! (Patreon)

"Die! Die! All of you, just die!"

Krieg had fallen into a frenzy, roaring at Ren and Mihawk.

As he shouted, the gun barrels mounted on his dark steel armor opened fire on both of them.

Mihawk's hand twitched slightly toward the Black Blade Yoru, ready to deflect the incoming bullets with the edge of his sword.

But he stopped. His gaze snapped toward Krieg, and his pupils narrowed slightly.

In his eyes, Ren had appeared beside Krieg and beheaded him in a single, extremely high-speed slash.

Was that Shave?

No... It was similar, but clearly different from Shave.

And that white lightning he used earlier...

How interesting... After killing Krieg, Ren gained 100 Level EXP.

[Level: 16 (545/800)]

Ren couldn't help feeling it was a pity.

The Dreadnaught Saber had carried nearly a hundred men.

Ren had killed only thirty-odd. The rest had fallen into the sea with the wreckage after Mihawk's attack, whether they survived or perished was unknown.

That had kept the Yamamoto Character Template from reaching Level 17.

In a flash, Ren used Shunpo and returned to his original position.

Among those present, only Mihawk, Luffy, and Zoro had caught Ren's movements.

To everyone else, it seemed as if Ren had vanished for an instant, then reappeared.

Many instinctively rubbed their eyes, thinking they had imagined it.

But as they did, they suddenly noticed a rain of blood in their vision.

Looking again, they saw Krieg's headless body and the blood still gushing from his severed neck.

Their minds blanked for a moment.

The next second, screams erupted.

"Ahhh! A dead body!"

"Krieg! Krieg is dead!!"

"Who killed him!?"

"The overlord of the East Blue, just like that!?"

"Hawkeye! It must have been Hawkeye!"

...

Mihawk paid no attention to the panicking crowd. His hawk-like eyes fixed on Ren.

"Young man... why did you attack me?"

An ordinary person would have felt fear when meeting Mihawk's gaze.

But Ren's expression remained calm.

"Because you stole my prey."

Mihawk was unsatisfied with that answer.

In his view, Ren was too young.

The strong prey upon the weak. Prey belonged to the strongest.

In Mihawk's view, Ren was simply a weaker opponent.

Though Ren had displayed some skill, Mihawk still found him too weak, weak enough to handle with just his cross-shaped dagger.

And Ren, being weak, should have sensed the gap in their power from Mihawk's earlier attack that destroyed the Dreadnaught Saber.

But not only was he unaware of his weakness, he had even provoked a stronger opponent over who the prey belonged to...

Very well.

Since he had encountered someone who interested him, he would give Ren a memorable lesson.

With that thought, Mihawk lightly leaped from his coffin boat and landed across from Ren.

The uproar caused by Krieg's death gradually died down. The people on the Baratie were drawn to the confrontation and turned their attention to the two facing each other.

Looking at Ren and Mihawk standing opposite each other, and recalling their earlier exchange, everyone knew a battle was about to begin.

A tense atmosphere began to spread.

Zoro watched Mihawk intently.

Although he was eager to fight the World's Greatest Swordsman, since Ren had taken the lead, he could only suppress his surging fighting spirit.

At the same time, he wanted to see the true strength of the legendary swordsman.

Nami kept her eyes fixed on Ren.

Although she had confidence in him, thinking about Mihawk's identity still made her anxious.

Under everyone's gaze, Mihawk slowly drew the small cross-shaped dagger hanging from the necklace on his chest and pointed it at Ren.

"Make the first move. Otherwise, you won't get the chance."

Seeing the dagger, which was even smaller than a fruit knife, the onlookers couldn't help but show shocked expressions.

Although Mihawk held the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman, Ren was still a "great pirate" with a bounty of 50 million Berries.

To fight Ren using only such a small dagger, wasn't that looking down on him too much?

Zoro, Luffy, and Nami's expressions became unpleasant.

They were Ren's companions.

Mihawk looking down on Ren was equivalent to looking down on them.

However, they said nothing.

They simply watched on silently.

"Bakudō #1: Sai!"

Ren raised a finger and chanted toward Mihawk.

Ren wanted to see how much of an effect Kidō would have on a powerhouse of Mihawk's level.

A trace of surprise crossed Mihawk's face.

He felt an invisible force attempting to bind his hands.

Unfortunately, this power was too weak. It could not even make his hands tremble slightly.

Zoro and Luffy's expressions grew serious.

They experienced Bakudō #1: Sai almost every day, so they understood the power of this technique.

They had never expected that Mihawk would remain completely unaffected by it.

This kind of strength...

Nami also knew Ren's technique, and her expression became even more anxious.

The others could not understand what Ren was doing.

From their perspective, Ren had merely pointed at Mihawk, and then nothing happened.

Ren seemed to have anticipated this.

He raised his palm toward Mihawk and chanted again:

"Self-destruct, Black Dog of Rondanini!"

"Upon a single glance, burn completely, and sever your own throat..."

"Bakudō #9: Hōrin!"

The Yamamoto Character Template's Kidō was E-Rank, allowing him to use Kidō spells numbered below 10.

Bakudō #9 was the strongest binding spell among them.

Perhaps because of the Character Template, or perhaps because of the special nature of the One Piece world, everyone could see the Reiryoku ropes forming Hōrin.

Expressions of astonishment spread across their faces.

It was the first time they had seen such a unique ability.

Mihawk became even more interested in Ren's "Devil Fruit" ability.

Facing the Hōrin ropes as they coiled toward him, he raised his cross-shaped dagger and slashed.

But to his surprise, although his blade passed through the Hōrin ropes, it did not cause any damage.

A technique that's immune to physical attacks... a Logia-type Devil Fruit?

With that thought, Mihawk struck again at an extremely fast speed.

This slash was infused with a trace of Armament Haki.

The Hōrin ropes instantly shattered under the blow.

Ren had already attacked twice.

Although the techniques were certainly unusual, they were far too weak, causing Mihawk to lose interest.

Mihawk slowly walked toward Ren and said as he advanced:

"Now, I'll show you just how weak you are."

"Weak...?" Ren let out an enigmatic chuckle.

Inwardly, he commanded:

Switch to Gilgamesh Character Template!

...