The Bloodshadow Pirates, Blackhand Pirates, and Gut-Hunter Pirates.
These three pirate crews were permanent fixtures of Spring Island and held considerable strength in the Grand Line.
With their combined power, advancing to the second island, Leviathan Island, would have been an easy feat.
Yet, they chose to remain on this starting island.
Why?
It wasn't out of fear of the Grand Line's dangers but a calculated decision to consolidate their strength here.
Like gatekeepers, they stationed themselves on this island, shattering countless ambitious rookie pirate crews.
When these rookie crews disbanded after losing their captains, a few pragmatic survivors often chose to join the established crews.
In the treacherous world of pirates, betrayal is commonplace, and siding with the strong is a natural instinct.
From the wreckage of each destroyed crew, Pyke and his cohorts harvested talent, steadily growing stronger.
There was nothing inherently wrong with this strategy.
After all, sharpening one's blade patiently is the best way to fell prey with precision.
However, one cannot walk by the river without eventually getting wet.
This time, they encountered a foe they could not overcome.
Even their combined forces couldn't leave the slightest mark on this impenetrable adversary.
"All gone..."
Pyke gritted his teeth and swung his massive blade, forcing Lafitte back.
After hundreds of exchanges, he realized that Lafitte wasn't trying to kill him but merely to hold him off.
Even with that awareness, Pyke was powerless to injure Lafitte, let alone escape his grip.
This alone was proof that Lafitte's strength rivaled his own.
But what filled Pyke with despair was the fact that while Lafitte held him at bay, Maude singlehandedly annihilated everyone else.
The Blackhand Pirates, the Gut-Hunter Pirates, and even Pyke's own Bloodshadow Pirates.
Blackhand Hobson, Gut-Hunter Yatari, and every officer in the pirate crews—
All fell to Maude's blade.
This overwhelming strength had far exceeded their expectations.
Pyke's face darkened as he panted, his knife pressed to the ground for support.
He had resisted the temptation to move on to the next "paradise" of islands, choosing instead to spend years developing power and influence on this starting island.
Now, his wealth, his power, his ambitions—
Everything had been crushed by the Maude Pirates.
Lafitte, after being deliberately pushed back by Pyke's strike, stood still and calmly sheathed his sword cane.
He had intentionally retreated because Maude had already finished the others. Now, it was time for Maude to personally claim Pyke's head.
Pyke, seeing Lafitte sheathe his weapon, sensed what was coming and slowly turned to face Maude, who approached step by step.
"Bacardi Maude!"
Pyke's eyes widened in fury, flames of anger blazing within.
Maude, expressionless, radiated an oppressive aura of bloodlust accumulated from slaughtering five or six hundred people.
He didn't bother counting how many heads he'd taken.
Thirty? Sixty?
Maude didn't know.
He had stopped counting after subconsciously reaching three.
What he did know was that after killing this horde of pirates, he had unlocked his fifth Physique Star Frame.
Meanwhile, his Swordsmanship had crossed its first threshold, reaching three stars.
With his enhanced physical abilities, even his Haki had improved, though it hadn't yet reached the three-star level.
The newfound power surged within him like a galloping horse, bolstering his already overwhelming presence.
This strength, born from climbing mountains of corpses, had inadvertently cultivated an aura of pure, lethal intent.
Even a pirate like Pyke, accustomed to licking blood off his blade, could sense the deadly energy emanating from Maude, even from a hundred meters away.
It felt as though he could see wisps of blood lingering around Maude—
Like the anguished wails of the souls his blade had claimed, their cries only serving to heighten Maude's power.
"Today's defeat, I accept... but..."
Pyke's face twisted with murderous intent as he dragged his massive, dark-red blade along the stone pavement, sparks flying.
Even in death, he resolved to take a piece of Maude with him!
He charged forward, his blade scraping the ground until it burst into a blaze of sparks.
Within striking distance, Pyke raised his blade and swung it upward with explosive force.
Bloodshadow Slash!
The heavy weapon suddenly gained speed, carving a crimson arc in the air like a geyser erupting toward Maude's vital points.
Maude's eyes gleamed red as he met the attack head-on, his blade slicing downward to intercept Pyke's strike without hesitation.
Clang!
Maude's blade, Chidori, collided with Pyke's heavy weapon, shattering the force imbued in the Bloodshadow Slash in an instant.
With a slight twist of his wrist, Maude forced Pyke's blade downward, pinning it horizontally to the ground.
Sensing danger, Pyke tried to pull back his weapon to regroup for another strike.
But Maude stepped down on the massive blade, crushing Pyke's chances of retreat.
Desperate, Pyke gripped the hilt with both hands and twisted with all his might, hoping to flip the weapon and disrupt Maude's balance.
Yet his strength was no match for Maude's.
His hands slipped from the hilt, leaving him defenseless as his momentum threw him off balance.
"..."
Pyke's eyes dimmed as he stumbled into the jaws of death.
Maude's gaze flickered over Pyke's exposed vitals.
Hidden Blade Style: Windmill!
Maude's figure blurred as he dashed past Pyke.
Chidori's blade carved a series of ghostly blue afterimages in the air, repeatedly striking Pyke's chest.
When Maude reappeared several meters behind his foe—
Pyke's chest remained unscathed, but his head was sent flying skyward.
From the severed neck, blood sprayed in a fine mist, glinting in the sunlight like morning dew.
Maude flicked his blade clean and began walking toward Dada, who hung from a stone statue.
As Maude took his first step, Pyke's lifeless body crumpled to the ground.
With this, the Bloodshadow Pirates were no more.
The central street fell silent.
The surviving pirates, who had watched the entire battle, were awestruck by Maude's overwhelming power.
"A monster…"
They were shaken to their cores.
The fleeting thoughts of seizing victory as opportunistic scavengers vanished entirely.
Unbeknownst to them, Maude had already marked them as his next targets.
For now, however, he ignored them and walked straight toward the stone statue.
His priority was freeing Dada.
Through swollen, tear-filled eyes, Dada watched Maude approach.
Tears streamed down his face—not just from relief at being saved, but also from grief over the loss of his Turkey crew brothers.
Still, a triumphant smile broke through his tears.
The bloodied street, littered with corpses, was enough to soothe his anguish.
In that moment, the tall figure walking toward him etched itself indelibly into his heart.
Eternal Deity.
From Dada's heart, a path of reverence stretched forth.
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