One Piece: Blood Clan

"Is this the hideout of that insolent brat?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Find him for me—no excuses!"

Staring at the seemingly deranged man before him, Bors couldn't help but wonder. Had he somehow provoked this fellow? Why did the pirate's glare brim with such personal hatred?

Bors found it hard to believe someone could be so petty as to resent him simply for stealing the spotlight. In his eyes, no one in the world was so narrow-minded.

Sure enough, it was clear the man had come searching for him. Bors wasn't one to sit idly by and wait for trouble to find him.

Deciding to take the initiative, he grabbed his recently purchased sword— Bi Maru—and slipped away quietly. (After all, he'd just bought the legendary sword, and no one had yet dared test its mettle.)

Unlike his "Blood Drink," Bi Maru had a heft that suited him perfectly. As a vampire, his natural strength already surpassed that of ordinary humans; he'd long thought the Blood Drink felt too insubstantial.

Perhaps Bi Maru, with its substantial weight, would prove even more fitting for his purposes.

Meanwhile, Captain Laru's features darkened as he stared at a modest inn across the street. "Forget it," he growled, "I'm not going to search for him. Instead, let's burn this place down."

"But Captain," interjected one of his crew nervously, "what if he isn't inside? There might be innocent people there…"

Hidden in the shadows, Bors couldn't help but be surprised. Had this pirate still retained a shred of conscience? How rare—a man with even a hint of honor.

Bors mentally noted that if it came time to dispatch this crew, he'd make sure to finish them cleanly.

"Are you questioning my decision?" Laru's eyes turned cold as ice.

"Not at all, Captain—I'm just offering a suggestion…"

Before the reply could finish, a loud bang shattered the air. In one swift motion, Laru produced his pistol and fired—silencing the would-be dissent with ruthless efficiency.

The crew fell silent; no one dared utter a word after witnessing how two simple sentences had cost one of their own his life.

Seconds later, Laru bellowed, "What are you all waiting for?"

"Burn it down, now!" came the collective shout as the surrounding pirates surged toward the inn, desperate not to lose any time.

"Ah!"

In the very next moment, Laru cried out in agony—a fresh, crimson streak nearly half a meter long appeared along his back as several droplets of blood trailed down the blade of A Bi Maru.

"Truly a fine sword—a sword forged in fifty strikes. The grip is superb, and its hardness is more than sufficient. The only shortfall is that it isn't as keen as the Blood Drink—if it were, that blow would have cleaved his upper body in two."

"Hey! What's that guy saying? Did I hear him correctly? Is he mad? How dare he speak so?" one pirate shouted in disbelief.

"Damn it, you bastard—drop dead!" Laru roared furiously.

In an instant, Laru's body began to swell uncontrollably until, before anyone's eyes, he transformed into a towering, upright creature with the head of a ram—nearly four meters tall.

Bors, who stood just 1.1 meters tall, suddenly appeared no more than a plaything in the presence of this monstrous, ram-headed brute.

"Is that what a Devil Fruit user looks like? Fascinating…" Bors observed, his eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and anticipation. Although he had been deliberately targeting low-risk pirates with bounties in the several millions for safety's sake, deep inside he craved a challenge—a fight against a real powerhouse.

Ever since acquiring the "Reaching the Pinnacle" skill, his outlook had shifted dramatically. He now hungered to test his strength against formidable opponents—as much as Zoro yearned to become the world's greatest swordsman.

"Kid, I won't kill you without a fight. I'll make you regret what you've done!" Laru howled in a frenzy.

"Alright."

"You bastard!" Laru screamed, his rage mounting as he glared at Bors's relaxed demeanor. Nothing irked him more than someone stealing the spotlight—and showing no deference to his authority.

Memories of his former captain flashed in Laru's mind: a time when his own boss had neglected him, prompting him to devour a Devil Fruit in secret and eventually murder his superior.

Enraged, Laru lashed out, his legs propelling him forward at an astonishing speed. Yet lacking any formal training, his Devil Fruit ability only amplified his raw speed and strength.

Bors, ever resourceful with his mastery of Observation Haki, evaded Laru's charge with a swift tilt of his head, narrowly dodging a crushing hoof.

In one fluid motion, Bors drove Bi Maru into Laru's back, then immediately leapt aside as his foe staggered backward in shock.

The quick skirmish confirmed something to Bors: this man, with a bounty of 16 million, was no pushover. Laru's initial assault had barely nicked him—only slicing open flesh, and when his famed blade reached the bone, A Bi Maru hesitated.

Had it been Zoro wielding the blade, it would have cleaved him in one clean stroke. But Bors wasn't Zoro; his grasp of swordsmanship was still rudimentary.

Laru's injury, a deep gash across his chest, only fanned the flames of his fury. His face flushed crimson as he bellowed, "What the hell are you waiting for? Come at me!" Immediately, his enraged voice rallied the surrounding pirates. "All of you, attack!"

Responding on instinct, the bystanders charged. In the ensuing chaos, Bors gripped Bi Maru tightly and swung it in one powerful arc—slicing one of the attackers cleanly in two.

The sudden display of lethal precision brought the charging pirates to a halt. They stared in terror at Bors—a red-eyed, sharp-toothed youth—whose presence now far eclipsed even their own fearsome captain.

"Idiots! Can't you fight without resorting to guns?" Bors shouted, incredulous at Laru's command.

At Laru's shout, Bors's heart skipped a beat. For a moment he wondered—did the villain actually possess a modicum of intelligence? He wasn't Luffy, after all; he still dreaded bullets.

Even though vampires can rapidly recover from injuries if they aren't near death, they aren't immortal.

Fortunately, it was night—and Bors felt his strength bolstered by the darkness. Hastily, he withdrew a blood bag and took a long, empowering swig. Instantly, his entire body pulsed with newfound energy—a step up in power.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Before he could fully regain his focus, a relentless barrage of gunfire erupted. Despite the protective boost provided by his Observation Haki, the sheer density of bullets struck him several times—puncturing his abdomen and left hand.

"Damn it! These bastards… using guns against a kid like me?" Bors gritted his teeth.

Gritting through the pain, he managed to pry the bullets from his body, then guzzled another swig of blood.

Slowly, his wounds began to mend; within roughly three minutes the bleeding had ceased.

With a sufficient reserve of fresh blood at his disposal, the regenerative ability of a vampire was nothing short of miraculous—even more so now that he was only a mid-level vampire. Once he evolved into a high-level vampire, his healing powers would become even more extraordinary.