Pirates' Magic Odyssey: Unveiling Eight Skills At The Beginning - Chapter 3

Q: What’s it like to get shot in the head face to face?

Yang Ming actually didn’t know.

When Borshemi, the pirate, pulled the trigger, Yang Ming’s dynamic vision couldn’t keep up with the bullet’s speed, unable to track its trajectory, let alone react in advance to dodge.

As he watched the bullet approach his forehead, Borshemi’s smile grew.

He could already foresee the moment when the bullet would pass through the brat’s head.

“Don’t even think about harming him!”

Just at that moment, a small figure suddenly dashed out from the side.

Luffy took a deep breath, letting the air inflate his rubber-like body. His entire body expanded rapidly, and with a visible speed, he swiftly expanded his abdomen, using the broad area to shield Yang Ming behind him.

“Bang!”

The bullet hit Luffy’s soft belly, causing it to indent but not penetrate.

In fact, as the bullet’s momentum diminished, Luffy’s belly, with its resilient elasticity, rapidly forced the bullet out, rebounding it even faster.

“Damn!”

Borshemi was shocked, managing to only sidestep.

Unluckily, the rebounding bullet was too fast, and he could only dodge away from critical areas, getting hit in the thigh.

Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit him with its full force, but the impact was still embedded deep into his thigh muscle.

The pain surged through his leg, and Borshemi gasped, his face turning cold. He shouted to his two companions:

“What are you idiots waiting for? Start shooting!”

“Our boss said, when dealing with these brats, make sure they either die or get killed!”

The two companions snapped out of their daze, quickly drawing their guns from their waist.

With Luffy protecting Yang Ming, Ace and Sabo had a tacit understanding. They rushed forward, one on the left, the other on the right.

The marksmanship of ordinary pirates was terrible, at best, they might hit four out of ten shots if the target was stationary. But when facing moving targets, their accuracy dropped by at least half.

Furthermore, Ace and Sabo had undergone brutal training since childhood, not running in a straight line but using irregular S-shaped positions to constantly dodge incoming bullets.

The flintlock guns the regular pirates had were outdated models. After firing a shot, they had to wait three seconds before firing again to allow the heated barrel to cool down, or it risked exploding.

Three seconds might sound short, but it was enough for Ace and Sabo to close the gap to the two regular pirates.

Ace often fought with street ruffians, so he knew he was at a disadvantage in terms of strength compared to regular pirates. Therefore, he didn’t intend to confront the enemy head-on. Instead, he used a burst of speed, followed by a sliding tackle.

The soft sand became the perfect area for the sliding tackle, as Ace kicked a regular pirate’s leg, instantly causing the opponent to lose balance and fall to one side.

Before the opponent could react, a small boy in a blue noble’s attire rushed from the side.

Sabo pulled out two pieces of iron tubing from his waist, piecing them together to form a steel staff. He twirled it in his hand, then suddenly leaped into the air, striking the back of the regular pirate’s head with the staff.

The back of the head is a vulnerable spot in the human body, closely connected to the brain’s nerves. Upon receiving a frontal blow like this, the regular pirate’s eyes rolled back, and he immediately collapsed, unconscious.

This is the body’s stress response, designed to protect the brain from damage caused by sudden impact.

Due to Sabo’s strength, he could only stun the enemy for a limited time. The opponent would quickly regain consciousness.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

Sabo stood firm, his chest heaving with heavy breaths.

Don’t be deceived by how easy his movements seemed earlier. After all, facing regular pirates who could open fire at any moment meant that a single mistake could result in being shot by the enemy. He was constantly dancing on the edge, under significant psychological pressure.

Sabo sighed of relief, put his hands on his hips, and laughed with a rather provocative tone at Borshemi and another regular pirate, saying:

“Wow, you guys are so weak. If you’re tough, then shoot me!”

“Come on! Show me what you’ve got!”

While saying this, Sabo even stuck his tongue out at the pirates, going all out to taunt them.

Borshemi and his companion suddenly felt their dignity as adults being trampled by a little brat, pressed to the ground, and rubbed repeatedly. They were instantly infuriated, their blood rushing to their brains. Without much thought, they immediately aimed their guns at where Sabo was.

“Bang! Bang!”

In the moment they raised their guns, Sabo had already anticipated it, rolling away tactically to the side, allowing the regular pirate who was originally behind him to become a human sandbag.

Without Sabo blocking in front, the two bullets hit the unfortunate pirate as expected.

“Real pain, hitting my teammate!”

Facing a betrayal from a comrade, this unfortunate guy immediately let out a painful scream, waking up from dizziness, only to find himself inexplicably shot in the back twice.

“Who shot me?”

Borshemi and his companion averted their gaze, too scared to speak.

It’s unclear whether to criticize the outdated firearms of these pirates or praise the remarkable physical resilience in the One Piece world.

The ordinary pirate who was shot staggered to his feet, seemingly still able to fight.

Seeing the splendid coordination between Ace and Sabo, Yang Ming was secretly amazed.

It must be said that those who will become influential figures in the future show hints of their potential from a young age.

The two acted decisively, with an extremely seamless cooperation, their movements smooth and practiced, indicating it’s not their first time working together.

However, it’s a pity that the strength of kids was ultimately limited.

If an adult had struck the ordinary pirate’s head like Sabo did earlier, the opponent wouldn’t have recovered so quickly.

After the previous lessons, Borshemi and his companions hurriedly tore a piece of cloth from their clothes, loosely bandaging the wounds. Then they attempted to shrink the encirclement, confine Ace and Sabo within a small area, compressing their room to maneuver.

Once they succeeded, Ace and Sabo would be in danger.

Seeing the situation become precarious, Yang Ming immediately whispered to Luffy and they both grabbed a handful of sand and rushed to support their comrades.

Their different speeds already showed the disparity in their physical conditions.

Luffy didn’t exert much effort so he rode on Juechen, and quickly outpaced Yang Ming, leaving him far behind, quickly drawing the attention of three pirates.

On the contrary, Yang Ming’s speed was slower, and being a bit of a weakling, he didn’t attract much attention from the three pirates.

By the time Yang Ming finally approached the battlefield, both sides were in a brawl.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were experienced in combat! They took advantage of their short stature, circling around the three enemies.

Given the close proximity to each other and the lesson from accidentally hurting their comrade earlier, Borshemi and his companions knew they weren’t skilled marksmen, so they abandoned shooting to avoid causing accidental casualties again.

With their limitations, Borshemi’s group attempted to display their brave side, attempting to launch a series of attacks the moment they saw an opportunity, aiming for a chain of continuous strikes.

Ace, in his encounter with Borshemi earlier, had taken a knee strike to the back of his neck, which sent him flying and nearly made him regurgitate the fish he’d had for lunch.

Fortunately, Luffy arrived in time and following Yang Ming’s advice, scooped up a cup of sand and threw it at Borshemi.

“Ptuh! Ptuh! Ptuh!”

With sand in his eyes, Borshemi experienced momentary blindness. Luffy took advantage of the moment and jumped on him, biting down hard on Borshemi’s wrist. This caused Borshemi to release Ace, letting him escape.

As Borshemi finally managed to rub the sand from his eyes, Yang Ming, quite craftily, arrived and once again threw a handful of freshly heated sand at him, plunging him into a short-lived state of blindness.

Within that brief interval of blindness, Borshemi saw Yang Ming’s blurry figure, feeling his chest fill with boundless rage.

“If I can’t handle the three of Ace’s group, can I even handle you?”

“Damn brat, once I catch you, I’ll make you regret it a thousandfold!”

Amidst a furious roar, Borshemi pounced in the direction where he remembered Yang Ming’s being, trying to use his height and weight advantage to knock him down onto the sand.

Fortunately, Yang Ming was quick to learn. After observing Ace and Sabo’s coordination earlier, he understood and realized that things weren’t looking good when Borshemi raised his arms. He reacted instantly, employing a not very graceful, yet effective, rolling maneuver on the ground to avoid the enemy’s attack.

Yang Ming got back on his feet, looking in Borshemi’s direction.

Perhaps due to the overly exaggerated move, Borshemi inadvertently let go of his tactical grip, causing his gun to fly out unexpectedly, landing not far from Yang Ming.

Yang Ming’s eyes gleamed, and immediately, he rushed over, grabbing the old-fashioned flintlock pistol from the ground.

At this moment, Borshemi got up from the ground, wiping the sand from his eyes, restoring his normal vision, and seeing that the kid he originally dismissed was now wearing a somewhat smug expression, seemingly smiling at him.

“But none of this matters!”

What matters is that this kid is now standing right in front of him, aiming the flintlock pistol at his lower body from a close range.

Yang Ming was acutely aware that falling into the hands of these ruthless pirates would at best lead to being sold to human traffickers. So without hesitation, he immediately aimed the gun and fired at the opponent’s lower body.

Chaos ensued, blood spattering!

Yang Ming took a breath, dispersing the gun smoke in the air, and coldly said:

“Death as the wind, always accompanying me!”