Chapter 11 - The Slaughter Begins
Vasco Shot never expected the sudden onslaught.
One moment, he was lounging behind the bars, laughing at Shiryu's defeat. The next, his world turned red.
Bound by heavy, specialized Seastone cuffs designed to drain the strength of even the most formidable Devil Fruit users, his movements were dulled—sluggish, helpless.
He didn't even have time to dodge.
SHLICK!
A flash of steel tore through the air, and pain followed a heartbeat later.
"AAAHHHHHH!!!"
His agonized scream echoed through the cavernous expanse of Level 6—Infinite Hell—shaking the walls like the roar of a dying beast.
"Shiryu of the Rain! You bastard! You dare lay a hand on me?!" Vasco Shot roared, his voice trembling with fury and pain.
Clutching the bleeding stump of his arm, he pressed back against the bars, face twisted in rage. "If I weren't chained up in this goddamn cage, turning you into minced meat would be child's play!"
Shiryu, his face splattered with droplets of fresh blood, responded with a cruel smile. "Then why don't you come out and try it?"
His eyes glinted with amusement as Vasco writhed in pain.
"Hmph! Even with one hand, I'd break your spine in two!"
"Oi, oi, what's with the barking back there?" another voice interjected, cool and casual. "You guys forget I'm still here?"
Nathan's voice cut through the heated exchange like a blade through silk.
He stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold with a smirk tugging at his lips. "So you're Vasco Shot, huh? Heard you were a big deal once upon a time."
His eyes swept over the pirate's bloodied form, unimpressed. "But in your current state… maybe focus on stopping that bleeding first. I'll deal with Shiryu of the Rain first, then maybe come back for a little chat. Just don't bleed out before then."
The words were lighthearted, even mocking—but they landed like hammer blows in the silence that followed.
Shiryu turned his attention back to Nathan, the tension in the room sharpening. He had felt it from the start—this young man wasn't to be underestimated.
He was no ordinary interloper.
"Get the hell out of my way!!" Shiryu bellowed.
"Slash Wave!"
With a roar, he raised Raigū high above his head. The edge shimmered with compressed force. Then, with a single downward arc, he unleashed a blue crescent wave of pure cutting energy that tore through the dungeon air like a raging tsunami.
It surged forward with terrifying speed, aiming to split Nathan in half.
But Nathan was already moving.
"Eight Gates Released Formation—Gate of Shock, open!!"
A surge of power exploded from within him.
The seventh gate, also known as the Gate of Shock, unlocked, and Nathan's body began to emit a thick, blue mist. It wasn't smoke—it was vapor, born from the sheer heat generated by his body's hyper-accelerated metabolism.
His skin glowed faintly, flushed with internal pressure.
His heart thundered like a war drum.
The world around him seemed to slow.
To most, Shiryu's attack would've been a death sentence—but to Nathan, now empowered by the seventh gate, the incoming wave was nothing more than a ripple in a pond.
He sidestepped.
Not with effort. Not with panic. But with the calm, fluid grace of someone who now danced at the edge of godhood.
BOOM!!
The Slash Wave struck the wall behind him with an earth-shattering crash, blasting apart stone and sending debris flying. A massive crack split up the wall, jagged and steaming.
Nathan didn't look back.
"Alright, Shiryu," he said, stepping forward. "Game over."
He slammed his fists together, blue mist swirling violently around him.
"Daytime Tiger!"
The very air trembled as Nathan gathered pressure around his arm. The moisture, the heat, the atmosphere itself—all compressed into a single point, forming a gigantic air cannon shaped like a roaring tiger.
The tiger's maw gaped, a vortex of concentrated destruction within its fangs.
In the span of a breath, Nathan's punch launched it forward.
Before Shiryu could even process the sight, the tiger-shaped cannon was upon him.
BOOM!!!
His face contorted in shock and horror the instant before the punch connected.
Then he was gone—blasted backward like a broken kite caught in a hurricane.
The resulting shockwave exploded in all directions.
Even Domino, still recovering some distance away, was caught by the residual force. She staggered, her feet skidding across the stone floor as a burst of wind slammed into her.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
She hadn't even been hit directly—and yet just the aftershock was enough to injure her.
Just how strong is this guy…?
The dungeon fell into stunned silence.
Then—
Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating the enemy. You have earned 40,000 reputation points.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating the enemy. You have earned 30,000 reputation points.
Two system notifications appeared simultaneously.
Nathan blinked.
"…Wait, what?"
He stared at the notifications for a second. "Did I just get a… buy-one-get-one-free deal?"
The first message was obviously for Shiryu—defeating him was worth the big haul.
But the second one… Domino? No way. That reward wasn't for her.
He'd received 50,000 points earlier for defeating Magellan, the Warden of Impel Down. Domino's strength wasn't even close to that tier. She wasn't even on the same level as Hannibal, the Vice-Warden.
Then where did the extra points come from?
A sudden glint of red caught his eye.
Blood.
It was leaking from one of the nearby cells.
Nathan turned.
Inside, Vasco Shot lay collapsed, his bulky frame crumpled on the floor like a discarded rag doll. His eyes stared lifelessly at the ceiling—wide, glassy, and filled with disbelief.
He was dead.
Even with Seastone restraints and severe blood loss, he hadn't expected to die here. Not like this.
After Shiryu severed his arm, the damage had been grave—but survivable.
But then Nathan's Daytime Tiger hit. The resulting shockwave had crushed the pirate's internal organs.
Instant death.
Nathan's brows rose. "So even these locked-up legends give out reputation points, huh?"
A grin spread across his face. "Looks like I hit the jackpot."
Level 6—the burial ground for the most notorious criminals in the world.
Every one of them a legend in their own right. And now… walking bags of reputation points.
He clenched his fists.
But he wasn't without limits.
The Eight Gates technique came at a terrible cost. Unlocking the eighth gate—Gate of Death—meant certain death without extreme plot protection. Even the seventh gate, which he now wielded, placed immense strain on his body.
The pain would come soon.
The heat would fade, and with it, his invincibility.
But for now, as long as the Gate of Shock remained open, he still had a window of power.
He stepped slowly toward Domino.
She looked up, dazed, blood dripping from her lip. Her expression was mixed—fear, awe, confusion.
Before either of them could speak, a sudden uproar echoed through the dungeon.
Dozens of voices—gruff, desperate, hungry for freedom.
They'd seen it. Felt it. The overwhelming force Nathan had just unleashed.
The power to kill Shiryu.
To flatten Vasco Shot.
And perhaps… to free them all.
A new voice shouted over the others.
"I'm Avalo Pizarro! Let me out! I'll be your strongest crew member!"
A tall, wild-haired man dressed in a long fur coat of white and dark brown pounded on his cell bars. He wore a pale purple necklace, and his eyes gleamed like a predator's—feline and cunning.
His voice was thunderous, desperate yet calculating.
Nathan glanced around at the rising chaos.
The prison had become a den of monsters—and they'd all seen a new king step into their domain.
The slaughter had only just begun.