On the blood-red hilt, translucent, illusory tentacles, like tree roots, penetrated deeply into the blood vessels of Ron's arm.
Ron frowned, feeling only a slight pain. Before he could fully process the changes after Crimson Cry's evolution, a sudden roar echoed in his ears.
"Damn Marine! How dare you kill my deputy captain!"
Bloom, the captain of the Raiding Pirates, looked like a fox with colorful hair, a human body, and an animal's head. His blood-red eyes glared at Ron, and his sharp claws swiped toward him.
"Crazy Claw Attack!"
Swish!
A few barely visible wind blades sliced through the air.
"A fox? Zoan Devil Fruit user?"
A frown crossed Ron's face as he observed Bloom's attacks. Why did this fruit user seem so weak? Was it an illusion?
Ron swung his blade. The blood-red slash collided with Bloom's wind blades. After a brief struggle, the bright red energy consumed the wind blades. Bloom's body was flung across the deck, leaving a gaping wound from his chest to his abdomen.
"How can a Marine colonel be this strong?" Bloom gasped as he landed on his ship's deck, horrified. His blood seemed to surge uncontrollably, and as he looked down, he noticed the blood flowing from his chest wound defying gravity and moving toward Ron's warship.
"What is this?" Ron's eyes widened as he watched the blood floating through the air. As the blood was absorbed by the blade, a pure stream of energy flowed back into Ron through the illusory tentacles on the hilt. His strength surged, especially his speed and agility, which more than doubled.
Ron marveled at the effect of Crimson Cry's evolution. Not only did the blade devour blood and strengthen itself, but it also enhanced his own power. It was almost like a cheat code.
"Bloom is a Zoan-type fruit user, so my increased power seems to focus on speed and agility," Ron mused. He wondered if there were other abilities he had yet to discover. His anticipation for Crimson Cry's next evolution grew stronger.
Bloom's lifeless body, drained of blood, fell into the sea like a mummified corpse. The other pirates were paralyzed with fear. Their captain, Bloom the Fox, a pirate with a 50 million bounty, had been slain in an instant by this terrifying Marine.
Could it be that this was no ordinary Marine? Did they send a Vice Admiral disguised as a colonel to catch them off guard? How underhanded!
If only their captain hadn't been caught by surprise, he might not have died so easily.
"Shave!"
Ron vanished, leaving behind an afterimage, and reappeared on the pirate ship. His approach to pirates was simple: kill them all. A dead pirate was the best kind. He'd learned this after sparing a few only to see them massacre an innocent village.
Pirates in this world weren't as romanticized as in anime. Thousands of pirates set sail each year, but only a few were driven by dreams. Most were ruthless villains with blood-stained hands.
Swish!
A blood-red slash engulfed the entire pirate ship. Hundreds of pirates were slain in an instant. Their blood fed Red Cry, deepening the crimson hue of the blade. Ron squinted slightly; his power had already skyrocketed by half in just a few minutes.
But now, his thoughts turned elsewhere.
"If I kill all these pirates, how strong could I get?" he wondered. "Would I even be able to challenge a Vice Admiral?"
Ron calculated his growing strength. Killing these notorious pirates, many of whom carried bounties in the millions, could push his power to the level of a Rear Admiral.
As for reaching Vice Admiral level, that might require a stroke of luck.
Still, with Red Cry's abilities, he felt confident that even a Vice Admiral would have trouble facing him. After all, as long as he landed a single cut, Red Cry would drain their blood.
"One step at a time. Rear Admiral strength is enough for now. There's plenty of time," Ron thought, satisfied with his progress.
The leap from a colonel to a Rear Admiral was no small feat. Naval Headquarters had so many colonels that they were almost a dime a dozen, but becoming a Rear Admiral came with real power—command of a fleet of Marines and a direct line to the Marshal.
Even Vice Admirals would think twice before giving orders. At Rear Admiral rank, Ron would be able to ignore them if he pleased.
However, in the second half of the Grand Line, even Rear Admirals were just bigger pawns. True influence came with the Vice Admiral rank, a position that granted the authority to participate in high-level decision-making.
"Vice Admiral… that's a tough climb," Ron muttered, shaking his head. It wasn't something he needed to think about just yet. To become a Vice Admiral, he would need fame, merit, and, most importantly, power.
Vice Admirals were the Marine's elite force, deployed only for significant military operations like the Buster Call. Even at its peak, the Marine never had more than fifty Vice Admirals.
Of those, more than twenty were formidable warriors, some even rivaling Admiral-level strength.
"The sea belongs to pirates, but dead pirates are the best pirates," Ron thought grimly. "Fire! Don't let any of the pirates escape!"
Back on his warship, Ron issued the order. His Marines, reinvigorated by the sight of their colonel's strength, loaded their cannons and began bombarding the remaining pirate ships.
Boom! Boom!
Artillery roared, and the pirate ships trembled under the onslaught. Ron used Moonwalk to leap across the water, landing on one of the pirate ships in the blink of an eye.
"Red Moon!"
With a single slash, the blade's glowing arc resembled a crescent moon, slicing through the ship and splitting it in two.