Two hours later, the warship successfully rendezvoused with another warship. Following the major's instructions, Shiryu alone stepped onto the latter's deck via a wooden plank.
At the same time, he immediately noticed the figure of Sakazuki standing at the bow of the ship.
In Shiryu's eyes, although Vice Admiral Akainu was a head shorter than him, the aura he exuded was even more formidable than Magellan's.
This made his mood somewhat heavy, and his expression had already turned serious.
"Reporting to Vice Admiral Akainu, former Chief Jailer of Impel Down, now Marine Headquarters Captain, Shiryu, reporting for duty."
As soon as the words fell, Sakazuki slowly turned around, crossing his arms in front of his chest, his oppressive gaze sweeping over the former.
"Chief Jailer of Impel Down, you who are specifically responsible for guarding prisoners, what is your view on pirates? Speak up!"
Hearing this, Shiryu instinctively pondered the other's intentions. His knowledge of Sakazaki was limited to what was introduced in the newspapers: the title of Admiral Candidate and the power of the Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit. As for his personality, likes, and dislikes, he was completely in the dark.
Given this, he chose to answer according to his own heart.
"A bunch of trash. Except for the Devil Fruit users, the rest shouldn't be locked up wasting food. If we must make use of the waste, they can only serve as target practice for soldiers or as straw mats for testing swords."
Sakazuki raised an eyebrow. Although his expression remained unchanged, he felt quite satisfied inside. He had originally thought that if a soft-hearted person came, he would directly kick them off and let them swim back to Marineford to await reassignment.
"Not bad. I hope you can live up to your words later." After saying this, he ordered the Marine standing by: "Set sail!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine hurried back to the cabin to relay the order. Soon, the massive ship beneath their feet began to move.
"You should already be aware of this mission, right?" Sakazuki asked in a deep voice.
Shiryu nodded. On the way over, he had already read the mission details sent by the other party. It stated that the Kingdom of Medan on the fourth island of the first route in the first half of the Grand Line had been attacked by a large number of pirates.
Coincidentally, the first route was adjacent to the Calm Belt where Impel Down was located, so they were among the closer warships. Upon hearing the words "large number of pirates," Sakazuki immediately accepted the mission, not giving Marineford the chance to assign it to other nearby warships.
To save time, Sakazuki did not go to Impel Down to pick up Shiryu but instead had the latter quickly come over on another warship.
"For this mission, I won't take the lead. You will lead the team to resolve it!"
"No problem, I'm looking forward to it," Shiryu said, his right hand touching the red-wrapped hilt of his sword "Raimei," revealing a cold smile.
He never expected that right after leaving Impel Down, he would have the chance to go on a killing spree. He was even more satisfied with this transfer, though his new superior seemed overly domineering.
In Impel Down, although he was the third-in-command as the Chief Jailer, he was practically the second-in-command. Apart from following the orders of Warden Columbus, he didn't have to pay attention to anyone else, including Vice Warden Magellan.
As for the other Jailer Chiefs and Cell Block Leaders, seeing him was no different from mice seeing a cat.
As for Director Columbus, unless the World Government required his cooperation, he usually had a low profile and spoke little. Even his occasional private executions of prisoners were often overlooked. He didn't care much about the prisoners in the first four levels; in his eyes, only those with bounties exceeding a hundred million in the fifth level were considered important assets.
On the other hand, Magellan often reprimanded him for these actions, which was why he found the former so annoying. It was just a few insignificant scoundrels—why the endless nagging? When a headquarters-class warship, meticulously crafted by the shipbuilders of Water 7, sailed at full speed, it demonstrated astonishing efficiency and speed, reaching the waters near Medan Kingdom in just one hour and seven minutes.
At this distance, Sakazuki, Shiryu, and others on the deck could already hear the roar of the wind carrying the sounds of battle. In the distance, they could vaguely make out seven or eight pirate ships flying their flags, relentlessly bombarding the island's town.
Among them, one ship gradually ceased its bombardment and slowly turned its bow, seemingly preparing to leave the harbor.
"It seems they've spotted us," Shiryu chuckled, enjoying the sea breeze.
He casually took out a cigar, lit it, and took a puff. Whenever he was about to kill—especially a lot of people—his excitement would rise, and a smoke at such moments was his greatest pleasure.
Sakazuki neither responded to nor interfered with his words and actions. Since he had already entrusted this mission to Shiryu, he would let him handle it as he saw fit.
Of course, he wouldn't truly allow the pirates to escape unscathed in his presence.
[Whoosh!]
In the next moment, Shiryu, clad in his Justice Coat like the other naval officers, vanished from his spot, leaving only a faint trail of smoke in the air.
This left the officers and sailors on the deck eagerly anticipating the performance of their vice admiral.
Meanwhile, the other pirate ships also ceased their bombardment and hastily turned their bows, clearly having noticed the massive warship approaching.
Among them, the first ship to react had already completed its turn and was heading in another direction.
"Faster! Move faster!"
"Now is not the time to engage the Navy!"
On the pirate ship, a nearly four-meter-tall, burly, and menacing iron-clad giant waved his machete, urging his crew.
The other pirates on board, whether in demeanor or attire, looked more like ordinary soldiers than pirates.
[Whoosh————]
At that moment, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air, causing the giant and his crew to pale. The former instinctively shouted, "Watch out for cannon fire!"
Not just him, everyone assumed the distant warship had opened fire.
But several seconds later, as the whistling sound faded, nothing happened. There was no cannon fire hitting the ship, nor any water columns erupting from the sea.
This left them with a row of golden question marks above their heads.
"Hey, trash, your time's up. Smile~"
Suddenly, a chilling, sinister laugh echoed from above. Everyone looked up in unison and saw a naval officer over three meters tall standing atop the mast, his crimson-glowing eyes gazing down at them with mockery.
"You!"
The giant raised his machete, pointing it at the figure, about to snarl something threatening. But in the blink of an eye, the man vanished, leaving only a faint trace of blood-red light in his wake.
"Ka... Captain Cass!"
The surrounding pirates were stunned. The naval officer, who had been on the mast just a second ago, had instantly appeared behind Captain Cass. The long sword at his waist was already drawn, its cold blade glinting in the sunlight.
At the same time, a thin line of blood gradually appeared on the giant's neck, and his armor shattered into pieces, scattering across the ground.
Who knew how many slashes he had endured in that single moment?
Shiryu didn't even glance at Cass behind him. Even if the man was still breathing and conscious, in Shiryu's eyes, he was already a corpse.
[Swish!]
In the next second, Shiryu transformed into a white blur, darting at high speed through the panicked screams and cries of over a hundred armed pirates. Blood-red arcs of light sliced through the air.
When Shiryu killed, he didn't care for sinking ships or destroying vessels. He preferred to cut down his enemies one by one with his blade. The sensation of the blade slicing through flesh was something he found utterly intoxicating.
As the saying goes, killing is a bad habit, but he could never quit it!