Chapter Eighty-Seven: Lieutenant General Tuqi (First Update, Monthly Votes Requested)

A Marine seemed to recognize the newcomer and cried out in shock.

Vice Admiral Tuchi? Who is that?

Loran was certain this fellow was not one of the vice admirals from the original story, because that ratlike, sly-faced look felt strangely familiar. He seemed to have seen him somewhere before.

Where had it been?

“A vice admiral from Headquarters, an Armored Armadillo Fruit user. He is extremely powerful,” the Marine explained, swallowing hard.

“An Armored Armadillo Fruit user?” Loran stroked his chin, still drawing a blank, until he noticed the identical mustache curling beside the man’s mouth, the same as Colonel Mouse’s, and only then did he finally understand.

So that was it. No wonder the man looked so familiar. It turned out he was connected to that Colonel Mouse. No wonder Mouse, after Loran had cut off both his hands last time, had still dared to glare at him like that. So he had such a backer.

“Co-Colonel Loran, do you have some grudge against him?” the Marine asked.

“If killing a corrupt, sycophantic branch officer counts as having a grudge with him, then I suppose I do.”

Loran took Nara in hand as well and ordered, “All right, leave him to me. Prepare yourselves to fight the other Marines. This man is abusing his authority for private gain. If we survive, Headquarters will deal with them.”

“Then please be careful, Colonel Loran.”

The Marine took one last look at Vice Admiral Tuchi, who was charging across the sea toward them, then led the surrounding soldiers away.

They did not know whether Colonel Loran could stand against Vice Admiral Tuchi, but staying would only make them a burden.

After all, within Naval Headquarters, Vice Admiral Tuchi was a presence even more cruel than those hawkish generals.

In every battle against pirates, which great pirate had not been bitten to death alive by Vice Admiral Tuchi?

“A vice admiral? I never expected to meet an opponent of this level so soon. What an honor.”

With a rapid slash, Loran sent out two Flying Slashes, intending to disrupt Tuchi’s movement.

“Loran, if this is all you have, then go and be buried with my brother!”

Tuchi, sprinting across the sea on Moonwalk, fully matched the title of vice admiral. Loran’s Flying Slashes, which no one in the East Blue could withstand, were something Tuchi did not even bother to dodge. He simply coated his whole body in Armament Haki and took them head-on.

“Your brother? Oh, you mean that rat-faced Colonel Mouse from Branch 116? What a pity. You didn’t even get to see him one last time. Before he died, he kept saying his brother would avenge him. But now it seems his brother can only go down and keep him company.”

Loran spat out his taunts without hesitation. Since they were enemies locked in a fight to the death, showing weakness at the outset was never his style.

“You weak ant. While you still live, enjoy your tongue.”

Tuchi sneered. The instant he closed in on the warship, he combined Moonwalk with Soru and appeared before Loran in an instant.

“Six Powers: Six King Gun.”

With a ferocious grin, Tuchi opened with a brutal finishing move.

Both hands braced against Loran’s chest, his palms seemed motionless, yet they hammered out at terrifying speed, compressing all their force into one point and blasting it into Loran.

Fortunately, Loran had already understood that the gap in strength between them was enormous. The instant Tuchi appeared, he had activated Observation Haki and caught the movement.

But compared to Tuchi’s speed, Loran’s level-five speed was simply nothing.

With dodging impossible, Loran concentrated all his Armament Haki over his chest and took the Six King Gun head-on.

Amid the explosion of air, Loran was blasted away by Tuchi. Only after smashing through the mast on the deck did he barely steady himself and keep from falling into the sea.

“How terrifying—”

After coughing up a mouthful of blood, Loran stared at Tuchi, his face pale.

Since setting sail, everything had gone too smoothly, and because of that he had badly misjudged his opponent’s power.

If not for covering his chest with all his Armament Haki at the last moment, that Six King Gun might have taken half his life.

“One-Sword Style: Cloud Cleave.”

Covering his whole body in Armament Haki, Loran attacked first. A flash of cold light passed, and he vanished from where he stood, appearing behind Tuchi.

“One-Sword Style: Sky Break.”

Loran could clearly sense that although Cloud Cleave had struck Tuchi, it had barely injured him under the protection of his Armament Haki.

So he had no time to breathe and struck again.

As the piercing sound of the air being torn apart rang out, Nara in Loran’s left hand pointed straight at Tuchi’s heart.

If slashes could not inflict meaningful damage, then perhaps a point could break the surface.

Perhaps Tuchi sensed the threat, or perhaps he had grown tired of this farce. This time he did not stand in place and endure Loran’s attack.

Using Soru to vanish from where he stood, then Moonwalk to rise into the air, he cast a mocking glance at Loran before roaring, “Six Powers: Tempest Leg, Six-Strike Combo!”

His legs lashed out at high speed, and six cyan Flying Slashes shot forth in succession, tearing through the air before streaking straight at Loran.

Unlike Loran’s Flying Slashes, Tuchi’s Tempest Leg slashes moved at terrifying speed, even causing brief detonations in the air as they fell with a shrill, piercing howl like divine punishment.

Though it was not even the high-level technique of the Six King Gun, merely an ordinary Tempest Leg, under Tuchi’s feet it revealed a power altogether different.

“Two-Sword Style: Heavy Cloud Slash!”

With no way to avoid them, Loran hastily changed his move. The half-released Sky Break was instantly withdrawn. His gaze narrowed to a single point, and both blades met Tuchi’s Tempest Leg slashes.

From the razor edges of Nara and the short blade, two fierce Flying Slashes burst forth, one cyan and one red.

Unlike the previous slashes, these two Flying Slashes drew close the moment they left the blades, as if they were about to merge.

In the end, however, they did not merge. Instead, they overlapped one above the other, surging upward like a crescent moon.

The next instant, the two sides’ slashes collided. The air was instantly forced aside by the immense power and swept outward in all directions, stirring a fierce gale over the windless sea.

“You think this is over?”

Tuchi sneered, changing position with Moonwalk and appearing behind Loran in an instant.

As Loran slowly turned around, Tuchi continued to sneer and struck without mercy.

“Six Powers...”

At this moment Tuchi’s power was unleashed without reservation. While his fists hammered out at high speed, his hands kept circling.

From afar, one could only see Tuchi’s hands rapidly drawing circles behind Loran, unable to make out anything else.

But under the perception of Observation Haki, Loran could clearly see every movement Tuchi made, even the rapidly gathering spiral force. It was all laid bare before him.

But what good was seeing it?

Sasuke, when he awakened the Sharingan, could see Little Lee’s movements clearly, but his body still could not keep up with Little Lee’s speed.

Loran’s situation now was exactly the same. He could see it, but his reactions could not catch up.

He could only do his utmost to gather Armament Haki behind him and lessen the damage as much as possible.

“Spiral Six King Gun!”

With a thunderous roar, Tuchi unleashed the terrifying spiral force. In the blink of an eye, Loran was blasted away, spinning helplessly through the air.

On Loran’s back, the pitch-black Armament Haki was utterly shattered, leaving behind a vicious wound.

It was as though a drill had been driven straight into his back. Beneath the spiral-shaped injury, the spine could faintly be seen.

“Loran!”

Nami, who had been watching the battle from the corner, immediately rushed out.