A Pirate's Spring Awakening

"Don't you find such tactics a little too… feeble?"

Bellamy slowly rose to his feet and walked over to stand beside his first mate. Mere Clone Soldiers wouldn't be enough to save the Vinsmokes today. This was a point that Reiju and Ichiji clearly hadn't grasped yet.

However, there was one person who understood this perfectly and had already acted upon it.

"Prepare for a combination attack!"

A somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out from the side. Yonji, who should have been incapacitated, emerged looking surprisingly unharmed.

The three siblings exchanged a glance, then simultaneously struck a peculiar pose.

"Don't get too cocky, Bellamy!" "The Vinsmoke family is not to be underestimated!"

A dazzling light flared from their Germa Raid Suits as the three of them unleashed their most powerful signature moves with desperate force.

"Sparking Light Fist!" "Corrosive Poison!" "Winch Onslaught!"

Flashes of red, purple, and green light collided rapidly in mid-air. The three distinctly different styles of attack merged with uncanny synergy. Out of thin air, a colossal, multi-hued tornado materialized.

"Chromatic Assault!"

With a unified battle cry, the tornado surged violently towards Bellamy and Drake.

"So they still had this up their sleeves."

Facing the furiously approaching tornado, Bellamy let out a savage grin. He slammed a fist into the floor, blasting a large hole through it. The multi-ton Allosaurus immediately plummeted downwards. Bellamy followed close behind, leaping down as well.

The kaleidoscopic tornado swept over the spot where they had just been standing, hitting nothing but air.

"Not good!"

Their attack had missed. Before the Vinsmokes could recover, a ferocious dinosaur head burst upwards from beneath the floorboards where the three siblings stood. Reiju, caught completely off guard, nearly had her head bitten off by Drake. While she avoided that fate, one of her arms wasn't so lucky; Drake tore it clean off.

The woman was poisonous through and through. After ripping her arm off, Drake immediately spat it out. Even so, his tongue was corroded by the potent venom, turning a dark, purplish hue.

Bellamy stood on Drake's shoulder, his expression unreadable as he looked down at the three genetically modified humans. The outcome of their earlier clash had already been decided.

"You rely too much on those Raid Suits. Every attack you launch is channeled through them."

Such methods might be highly effective the first time, but with repeated use, once an enemy became familiar with them, they were easily countered. The moment they began their wind-ups, Bellamy knew exactly what techniques they were about to use.

A battle like this held no enjoyment for him whatsoever.

"As for your tuition fee, you can pay with your lives."

Bellamy wasn't in the habit of letting enemies off easily. Since they had already crossed the line, they might as well become sworn, dead enemies.

"Wait a minute!" Yonji suddenly stepped forward. "Bellamy, we admit defeat."

Not only had they lost, but they had lost miserably. This was the most complete defeat they had suffered since their debut. It just went to show, the North Blue was indeed too small a pond.

Yonji ripped open his Raid Suit, revealing a large bundle of explosives strapped underneath.

"This bundle of specially made liquid explosives is enough to blow all of us to kingdom come." "Make your choice, Bellamy." "Either leave, or we all die together!"

It was unexpected that Yonji had prepared such a desperate measure in such a short time. Upon seeing Yonji's actions, Ichiji and Reiju said nothing, tacitly approving his decision.

"You truly continue to surprise me."

This green-clad fellow had managed to astonish Bellamy several times now.

"Your name is Vinsmoke Yonji, isn't it? I'll remember that."

But Bellamy was not one to yield to such a threat. To think they could make him retreat with a mere bundle of explosives – they were dreaming.

Bellamy's gaze sharpened instantly. His Observation Haki, not yet fully recovered, was forcibly activated, blanketing everything around them.

The Vinsmoke siblings saw the change in his eyes. Realizing Bellamy had no intention of compromising, Yonji's heart sank. His injuries hadn't actually healed; he was only able to keep fighting by relying on his Raid Suit. Forcing out that combination attack just now had severely aggravated his wounds. If Bellamy refused to back down, they wouldn't be able to muster another combination attack to counter.

A flicker of relief passed through Yonji; at least his contingency plan could still be put to use. Without any hesitation, he tore the explosives from his body and hurled them forcefully onto the ground.

"Let's die together!"

Seeing his action, Bellamy's pupils contracted violently. Just as he was about to move to stop it, the information relayed by his Observation Haki made him pause.

"Something's wrong!"

His Haki detected no sense of resolute, suicidal intent from them. Yonji and the others had no intention of perishing together.

"They're trying to escape!" Bellamy instantly understood their true plan.

Just then, the bundle of "explosives" landed on the ground.

BANG!

With a loud report, a dense cloud of grey-black smoke rapidly billowed outwards. After inhaling a few lungfuls, Bellamy felt a tightness in his chest.

"It's poisonous!"

Bellamy thrust a palm forward violently, generating a fierce gust of wind. The smoke was momentarily dispersed, only to quickly re-coalesce. There was something strange about this smoke; it couldn't be cleared away in a short time.

"Retreat."

The smoke was clearly laced with toxins. Bellamy couldn't remain within it and had no choice but to withdraw for now. Drake immediately deactivated his transformation, and he and Bellamy retreated to the deck.

At that moment, Bellamy's Observation Haki detected a strange disturbance emanating from beneath the warship. In the brief time they had taken to evade the poisonous smoke, something had slipped away from under the sea. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a submarine.

"They actually managed to get away."

So much for advanced technology. Were they mocking him for being stuck with a sailboat? Bellamy's disdain for this world's level of technological development grew even more profound. Once he reached the Grand Line, he swore he'd get himself an amphibious warship that could fly, submerge, and traverse land.

"Captain, should we switch ships?"

Yonji and his siblings had fled, but their warship remained. Yet, Bellamy had no intention of commandeering it. An old, established family like the Vinsmokes was bound to have countless tricks up their sleeves. If Bellamy dared to keep this ship, he'd be walking right into one of their traps, nine times out of ten.

"This ship is a no-go." "Loot anything useful off it, then sink her."

Although he'd let them escape, it wasn't a total loss. This time, he should at least be able to acquire some new Clone Soldiers or their technology.