The news of such an unexpected development left every squad stunned into silence, minds fogging up with the despair of facing imminent death.
Alex sensed the despair in the air, so he tried something he never thought he'd use, not having practiced that sort of thing whatsoever.
„To all members of my squad, keep calm. We are strong; why else would we have been the ones selected to take on this mission? I know we are capable of doing this; I am certain of it. Put your faith in me, just this once."
His men and women sensed the sheer confidence, and they immediately felt their spirits lifting and their courage burning.
„Yes! Rear Admiral is right!"
"Yeah!"
Similar shouts of reinvigorated marines filled the air as they quickly regrouped in this rainforest.
Reunited, Alex's marine squad covered ground very quickly. They tore through several trees, bushes, and other obstacles that stood between them and their opponents.
After about 20 minutes of scouting the area, they finally found the place where they discovered the slave dealers and the man from the Rocks Pirates.
„Men, we will do as follows: You all will surround the area and cut off escape routes. I have sent a few of you to blow up both ships, the ones belonging to the Slaver Traders and The Rock's informant. I will ambush them and secure the fruit. Once that has been accomplished, you all have to get to the ship. If I fail to appear in the next half hour, I died, and you return to HQ with the mission a success, understood?"
His comrades grew tense, some faces looking like they were about to object, but they refrained from doing so.
They unanimously nodded and gave their consent,"Understood."
They moved as a unit and made their way to the area, positioning themselves perfectly to pick apart any who fled.
Alex, now alone but ready for battle, unsheathed his sword, and then he just… walked right into the plain field.
"Yo, mister from the Rocks Pirates and dear slave traders!" Alex shouted as he waved his hand in greeting.
The informant from the Rocks Pirates, a man named Tokikage, he wielded two guns and apparently, he had a Zoan type devil fruit, which allowed him to become a pitch black bear, his height on all fours being about 10 meters tall, broad, and packed with muscle.
Tokikage glared at the slave traders, and they quickly turned tail and ran, the heart-shaped Ope-Ope no Mi clutched in one of the traders' hands.
Alex didn't wait around; he flashed right next to the one who held it and spun in a cool sideflip, then a bone-shattering kick nearly vaporized the man's bones. The pain from receiving the kick allowed Alex to take the fruit and throw it to a nearby officer, and with a slash of his cutlass, the heads of the slave traders lay on the ground, blood coloring the grass crimson.
Alex returned to Tokikage in an instant, sword clashing with Haki-clad bear-fists.
Disengaging from the initial clash, Alex made some distance and reassessed his opponent and his capabilities.
The bear was huge and was capable of using his height to his advantage. He had Haki, which he didn't, but his technique was so fucking ass, Alex could use that to his advantage.
"Heh, this shit will be fucking awesome."
Alex let a grin split his visage and lunged in and used a small burst of Geppo and infused Soru into the movement. The result was Alex being right behind Tokikage, his sword arching beautifully to his huge legs, attempting to separate leg from body.
Yet his sword met something he couldn't cut.
„Shit. Why did he have observation Haki as well?"
This was unprecedented. Alex had to come up with some strategy to win in the remaining time he had, or he would die and be left to rot here, which obviously wasn't something he wanted to happen.
"If a leg won't work, I'll simply go for something I can damage!"
Alex flashed all over the area, using various sword techniques and even increasing his Conqueror's Haki mastery, almost managing to use Conqueror's coating to ascend beyond his current limits.
However, there were some successful developments; he slowly but surely unlocked his armament Haki, his spirit and will to punch or slash this bear becoming more and more by the second.
When he had to dodge, he tried to use his senses to stimulate observation Haki to awaken, but that was a fruitless endeavor.
As for the battle, Alex only scored glancing blows, which fucking healed, because why not?
The frustration grew to a boiling point, and so Alex tried something desperate, but maybe, just maybe, that had a chance of working. Being so close to death, he did not care anymore.
He exploded into motion, the bear meeting his charge with a bestial roar. Alex feigned a slash from the left, moving in to end up behind. He used Geppo and used Soru to wind up at the face of the bear. A Haki-coated fist whizzed past his head, which he saw coming and dodged.
Alex smiled, his eyes filled with glee as he positioned his blade to stab the bear in the eyes.
The bear roared in pain and anger, but Alex didn't stop; if the bear didn't die, his attack wouldn't suffice.
Too shallow? Stab deeper!
Alex grunted in exertion as he sent his slowly awakening Haki into the Bear, his intent to destroy the Bear clearly evident.
After one particularly deep stab, the beast's erratic movements ceased, and then the bear collapsed limply to the ground, dead.
[Notice:]
You have successfully completed the quest:
Obtain The Ope-Ope no mi
Defeat all your enemies
Reward:
Advance any one of the three Haki types
you've obtained
Fusion rate increased to 25%
…
{Error}
The user has already reached a 25% fusion rate during the recent battle.
compensation:
The user will be allowed to advance two Haki types or one type twice
[Message over]
Alex grinned as he ran back to the marine ship, which was on the other side of the island. Exhaustion racked his body, and the adrenaline wearing off was no help there, but he had to get back. There's no way he's staying on this shitty island.
But one question remained: what will he enhance?
He had a limited grasp of all three, with Conqueror's being his best yet, so does he go balanced or all-in on Conqueror's?