Chapter 66: Curse the Scarecrow!
Unexpectedly, there were people secretly watching the area where the battle had just ended.
Considering how sharp Ace and the others' Observation Haki was, this was unusual.
None of them had noticed the presence of these four individuals—until Hawkins' divination revealed it, and the group revealed themselves.
If it weren't for that, Ryuunosuke and his crew might still be unaware of their presence.
"The Dragon Hunter Pirates live up to the legend," one of them sneered. "Strong… and arrogant."
He took a step forward with a mocking smirk. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Di Rodner—a special-class member of the Celestial Dragon Guards."
Despite standing before one of the most infamous pirate crews on the sea, Rodner remained calm, almost relaxed, like he had the upper hand.
This wasn't because they underestimated Ryuunosuke and the others. No, quite the opposite.
They had been observing from the sidelines. After witnessing Ryuunosuke's strength firsthand, they still showed no fear.
That could only mean one thing—they were confident their own strength was greater.
"Wells."
"Cachino."
"Bester."
The other three casually introduced themselves, stepping behind Rodner. They looked thoroughly bored, as if this mission was beneath them.
"Boss, can we finish this fast?" Wells said with a frown. "The air outside stinks."
Clearly, they didn't believe it took this much effort to deal with newcomers.
Morgans had stirred up trouble, so the Celestial Dragons sent them out to clean it up. But to them, dealing with rookie pirates was a job for the Navy, not the elite Celestial Dragon Guards.
"This should've been the Navy's mess," Rodner said with a shrug. "We were just forced to come check things out."
He turned his cold gaze to Ryuunosuke. "So, what'll it be? Come quietly? Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll reach Mariejos in one piece."
"Confident, aren't you?" Ryuunosuke grinned, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
He reappeared instantly behind Rodner.
"What—?!" Rodner's eyes widened.
He had been tracking Ryuunosuke's every move with Observation Haki, anticipating a sneak attack.
But even so—he hadn't seen a thing.
Not just Rodner—Wells was stunned too. Ryuunosuke now stood exactly where he'd been a second ago.
When did they switch places?
There hadn't even been a ripple of energy from Ryuunosuke's body.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed.
Wells appeared in front of Ryuunosuke—his chest impaled.
"You talk big," Ryuunosuke said coldly. "But that just means you get to die first."
With a twist, he kicked Wells' corpse aside, the lifeless body thudding against the ground.
"Is that where all your arrogance came from?" he asked, smirking. "Pathetic."
"You bastard!" Rodner's calm cracked as rage twisted his features.
"You dare lay a hand on a Celestial Dragon Guard?!"
"Do you know what that means?!" he roared. "Everyone connected to you will vanish from this world!"
Rodner's fury was real—but not because of honor or duty.
He, like the others, had grown soft living in the lap of luxury in Mary Geoise. Missions like this were rare—only carried out when the Celestial Dragons demanded it.
Now they were actually being forced to hunt pirates?
Ridiculous.
"You sure talk a lot," Ryuunosuke said, unfazed.
Ace yawned and picked at his nose. "Man, you guys really are like those spoiled Celestial Dragons—trash in uniform."
He didn't care if he offended them. Even if a Celestial Dragon stood here, Ace wouldn't give a damn.
"So that's the attitude of the Dragon Hunter Pirates?" Rodner sneered. "Fine. Then let's fight."
A surge of violent energy exploded around him.
Rodner wasn't a special-class just because of his title—he had power to back it up.
BOOM!
He launched forward—and the other two joined the assault.
"Hawkins!" Ryuunosuke called out calmly. "Take care of them. From now on, you're an official crew member."
He sat down on a nearby boulder, wearing a grin.
Hawkins froze for a second, stunned.
An official member?
It was what he'd been working toward all along.
Every divination, every mission—was for this moment.
"With pleasure, Captain!"
A demonic figure loomed behind Hawkins as he summoned his power. A massive demon-slaying image rose, sword raised.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He swung his blade, forcing the three attackers back.
Their original plan had been to take them down one by one.
But now Ace and Akame had returned to Ryuunosuke's side, leaving Hawkins to stand alone in the middle of the battlefield.
And he was relentless.
The three enemies were forced to shift their attention to him.
"Scarecrow Reversal!"
Hawkins drew a card, and a brilliant light flashed behind him.
Two more demon-slaying spirits emerged, surrounding him.
Now it was three versus three.
The tide had turned.
"Hawkins, that's enough," Ryuunosuke said lazily. "We've got bigger enemies ahead. Materials are collected. Don't overdo it."
"Got it, Captain."
"You three are lucky," Hawkins said, his voice eerily calm. "This ability—was granted to me by my great captain."
"Be honored to die under it."
He pulled three scarecrows from thin air.
They dripped with blood, clothed in torn fabric—fragments from the enemies' clothes, hair, and flesh he'd collected mid-battle.
"What the hell is that…?"
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Three long needles stabbed into the scarecrows.
"AAAAHHH!"
Agonized screams erupted as the three opponents clutched their chests.
Blood gushed from their mouths, and their bodies fell, lifeless.
Ryuunosuke chuckled. "That's more like it."
"This… is what a scarecrow should really be doing."
This technique—he had only casually suggested it to Hawkins once.
"If you can read fate, you can curse it too, right?"
He never expected Hawkins to actually develop such a deadly method.
But clearly, the results spoke for themselves.
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