Jora had every intention of ending this fast. He drew one of his blades, closed the distance in a flash, and brought the sword down in a vicious overhead slash aimed right at Gral.
But what happened next caught Jora off guard. There was no satisfying spray of blood, no clean split. Instead, Gral's body simply burst into a pile of flour, collapsing to the ground before reforming back into a human shape.
"There it is! The boss's invincible power!"
Gral's men erupted in cheers, hyping up their leader.
"A Logia-type Devil Fruit, huh?" Jora muttered under his breath, so quietly that no one around him caught a single word.
"How about that, punk? I'm untouchable! Hahahaha!"
Gral threw his head back and laughed, arrogance dripping from every note.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the two militia men were busy filling Shirakawa in on Gral's background.
"Gral used to be just some nobody thug around here. But then, out of nowhere, he got his hands on some kind of invincible power. Since then, he's been the top dog of the island's underworld. Even our captain can't do a thing about him."
The militia man sighed, clearly frustrated.
"Invincible power? What kind of invincible are we talking about?" Shirakawa asked, genuinely curious.
"Nothing can hurt him. Swords, bullets, cannonballs. Even if you land a hit, it doesn't do a thing."
"So why hasn't he wiped you guys out yet, if he's so invincible?"
"Our captain figured out some way to keep him in check. That's the only reason Gral hasn't gone completely off the rails."
"I see."
Shirakawa didn't give it much thought after that. What he didn't know was that his crewmate was already trading blows with the man in question.
"No matter how many times you swing that blade, you'll never leave a scratch on me."
Gral taunted Jora, his confidence overflowing.
"Is that so? Mind if I try one more time?"
"Go ahead. Swing as many times as you like. You'll never draw blood."
Gral puffed out his chest, utterly sure of himself. But Jora just smiled. A quiet, knowing smile. This might just be the easiest fight he'd ever had against a Logia user.
Jora coated his blade in Armament Haki. The steel turned pitch black, gleaming with a dull sheen.
"What the... why'd his sword turn black?"
"Beats me." The onlookers exchanged confused glances, their heads full of question marks.
The instant Jora swung, a chill shot down Gral's spine. Every hair on his body stood on end. Danger. Real, genuine danger.
But Jora's strike was too fast. There was no time to dodge.
The black blade carved a brutal path from Gral's shoulder all the way down to his abdomen. Hot blood sprayed into the air.
"AAAAAGH! It hurts!"
Gral crumpled to the ground, clutching at the wound, writhing in agony. It was the first time since eating his Devil Fruit that he'd ever taken a hit this severe.
"No way... the boss is bleeding?"
Gral's men stared in stunned disbelief. How long had it been since they'd seen their boss so much as scrape a knee, let alone take a wound this grievous?
"How did he do that?"
"I have no idea." The question marks in their heads multiplied.
"Damn it... it hurts like hell..." In this world, a wound like that wasn't necessarily fatal, but it bled. A lot.
After a long, painful moment, Gral slowly pushed himself upright, his glare fixed on Jora, dark and venomous.
"What did you do to me?"
Ever since getting his powers, he'd run plenty of tests. The only way to hurt him was to douse him with water first. Once wet, his body would clump together, and his abilities would fail him.
But he'd seen Jora's blade. It was dry. No water. So why had it cut him?
"It's called Armament Haki. Not that explaining it would help you understand. Just know that it lets me hit Logia users like you."
"Bastard."
Gral cursed under his breath. He'd gotten careless. His own ignorance was to blame. He'd never even heard of such a technique.
Right now, his combat strength was shot. The wound was too severe. Every movement sent fresh waves of agony through his torso. He had no edge left to press.
All he wanted was a doctor. Someone to stitch him up before he bled out.
"Look, how about we call it even? You can have any weapon in my shop. Pick whatever you want. It's yours."
"Begging now? Don't you think it's a little late for that?"
"Not late. Not late at all." Inside, Gral was seething with hatred. But he was at a disadvantage. Better to play nice, heal up, and come back for revenge later.
Once he knew to watch out for that "Armament Haki" trick, he'd find a way to handle this punk.
"I seem to recall you saying something before the fight. About capturing me as a gift for my captain. Sounds like you've got some history with him too."
"No, no! That was all a misunderstanding!"
Gral mentally kicked himself. Why had he run his mouth like that?
"Oh, really?"
"Yes! Absolutely!"
"Too bad. I'm not letting you walk away."
"You... you're messing with me!" The moment those words left Jora's mouth, Gral realized he'd been played.
"Mess with you? I never said I'd let you go."
"What's going on over here? Why's there such a big crowd?"
As luck would have it, Shirakawa and the two militia men happened upon the scene right at that moment.
As militia members, maintaining order was their job. They couldn't just ignore a commotion like this.
"Move aside. Coming through." The two pushed their way into the crowd, Shirakawa trailing close behind.
"The militia's here," someone whispered.
"What the... how did Gral get hurt that badly?"
When they finally reached the front and saw the scene before them, the two militiamen were floored. They'd never imagined the "invincible" Gral could take damage like this.
"So that's Gral? Doesn't look like much." The wound was gruesome. Left untreated, he'd bleed out for sure.
Shirakawa spotted Jora immediately. Seeing the blackened blade, he pieced it together. Gral was a Devil Fruit user. Either Logia or some quirky Paramecia type.
"Militia! Perfect timing! This man is trying to kill me!"
The moment he spotted the militia, Gral's eyes lit up like they were his guardian angels. For the first time in his life, he thought those town watchdogs looked downright adorable.
"Captain, you made it." Jora noticed Shirakawa approaching and walked over to join him.
"Yeah."
/-\
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