# Chapter 6: Mutual Harm
Su Xiao stood at the edge of the ship's railing, holding D·Assassination, his gaze sweeping left and right. If anyone dared to show their head, he would send them a bullet worth 900 Paradise Coins.
He had already killed over fifty enemies, and the cost of bullets alone amounted to tens of thousands of Paradise Coins. The reason he expended bullets on these ordinary pirates was mainly to quickly raise his status within the Don Quixote Family.
There could be no saving bullets in the first battle. There were too many contractors in this world, and the competition was fiercer. If he fell behind even one step, it would be very difficult to catch up to the first echelon.
Plop, plop...
Splashing sounds came from the vicinity of the four enemy ships. Anyone daring to jump into the water under these circumstances could only be contractors.
Contractors all carried diving equipment. Unsure whether Su Xiao was friend or foe, they preferred to swim to Dressrosa Island rather than clash with him here. After all, there were many ways to gain pirate reputation.
The contractors were all beginning to choose their factions. In the sea area where Su Xiao was located, there were probably over a dozen contractors, most of whom had joined the Big Mom Pirates. Doflamingo's faction was too weak and the risks too high.
Among these dozen or so contractors, five chose to jump into the sea and retreat, frightened by the power of D·Assassination. The remaining ten were watching, with six having already joined Big Mom's faction, two joining Doflamingo's faction, and two choosing to wait and see.
Blazing flames burned on the ship's hull. Su Xiao felt the vessel beneath him sinking; within half an hour, this ship would sink into the sea.
Compared to using D·Assassination to keep those pirates pinned down, Su Xiao actually wanted to use Duke of Annihilation to blast those four ships to pieces. However, given the terrifying recoil of Duke of Annihilation, the first thing to sink wouldn't be the enemy ships, but the Black Peach.
According to Su Xiao's estimation, if he fired just one shot with Duke of Annihilation, the powerful recoil would be enough to shatter the Black Peach. Duke of Annihilation was originally a sniper cannon mounted on city walls, and it required hydraulic buffer devices installed beneath it.
Just as Su Xiao was considering whether to first destroy the enemy ships, a large hole suddenly burst open in the cabin of an enemy ship over seventy meters away. Amidst flying wooden debris, a rocket-propelled grenade shot toward the Black Peach.
Seeing this rocket, Su Xiao immediately recognized it as an attack from a contractor. After a brief prediction, he pulled the trigger.
A crisp *ding* rang out as D·Assassination's bullet struck the tail fin of the rocket. The rocket's flight trajectory changed, but it did not explode.
Rockets of this type mostly had contact fuses at the front. As long as the contact point wasn't touched and the core part of the projectile wasn't damaged, these things weren't so easy to detonate.
The rocket flew diagonally over the Black Peach. Su Xiao put away D·Assassination. The ship he was on would definitely sink, so he might as well find a ship to take down with it.
"You go meet up with Amu first."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang turned and rushed toward the other side of the railing, and moments later, a splash was heard.
"This..."
The pirate squad leader tried to speak but found a three-meter-long "strange gun" appearing in Su Xiao's hands.
Before the squad leader could voice his confusion, Su Xiao had already loaded an earth-element bullet into Duke of Annihilation's chamber. Earth element had effects like blunt force, crushing, and knockback—perfect for blasting ships.
Su Xiao pulled back Duke of Annihilation's bolt, chambering the round.
Four contractors on the enemy ship all saw this, and they were all members of the same team.
"Should we stop him?"
A female contractor in tight leather clothing spoke.
"Forget it. This guy's firepower is a bit intense."
"Bullshit. If we let him keep killing like this, this sea battle will be lost sooner or later, and we'll all end up as dogs in the water."
A hot-tempered man clearly wanted to attack Su Xiao with ranged means. Just as he was about to poke his head out of the cabin, a rough hand grabbed the back of his collar.
"Do you want to eat a bullet? Let him kill. We've already won this sea battle. Look over there."
The hot-tempered man looked into the distance and saw three enemy ships wrapped in some kind of black substance, slowly sinking into the sea.
"Speio is surprisingly fierce. Sure enough, joining Big Mom's faction carries lower risk. At this rate, we do have the advantage. Even if Big Mom's faction ultimately loses, we can still safely reap substantial benefits."
"So let that guy kill. The pirate reputation rewarded for winning this local sea battle is definitely more than what you'd get from mass killing."
While these contractors were discussing, Su Xiao had already aimed. Although the pirates on the four enemy ships were suppressed by firepower, their ships were gradually closing in on the Black Peach, apparently preparing for boarding.
Su Xiao exerted force with his feet. As the wooden planks cracked, he pulled the trigger.
Boom!
A thunderous sound spread across the surrounding sea area. A yellow beam shot out from Duke of Annihilation's muzzle, blasting straight toward the bow of an enemy ship.
The moment the bullet left the chamber, the powerful recoil acted on Su Xiao's shoulder. This recoil first passed through his body, then spread to the ship beneath his feet.
Splinters and iron nails flew everywhere beneath Su Xiao's feet. The Black Peach's waterline instantly reached the railing level.
A crisp *crack* came from within the Black Peach's hull. The ship's keel had been snapped by Duke of Annihilation's recoil.
Su Xiao's body first penetrated the deck, then burst out from within the ship's hull. He had anticipated this would happen, which was why he had been reluctant to use Duke of Annihilation.
The Black Peach sank, and the ship hit by Duke of Annihilation wasn't much better off.
The earth-element bullet first entered the enemy ship's bow. The unique living figurehead of the Big Mom Pirates was instantly shattered. The bullet continued to advance into the ship's hull, plowing a barrel-wide hole wherever it passed.
In the sight of the pirates on the neighboring ship, a yellow light first blasted into the bow of the Trans, then the entire Trans was pierced through from front to back and began sinking rapidly.
The pirates on the Trans shouted and screamed as they jumped into the water, quickly swimming away as if something terrifying was about to happen.
In the seawater, Su Xiao put away Duke of Annihilation. A string of bubbles escaped from his mouth as he swam toward the sinking Black Peach.
Within two seconds, Su Xiao's feet were already on the Black Peach's hull. He pushed off hard with his feet, turning his entire body into a black shadow in the water as he shot into the distance.
The sinking of a large ship was actually a terrifying thing. The volume of a large ship that could accommodate over a hundred pirates was unimaginable.
As the ship sank rapidly, it would cause a whirlpool in the water above. Anyone caught in the whirlpool would likely sink to the seabed along with the wreck. This was why those pirates had fled in panic earlier.
In the seawater, Su Xiao took out his goggles and aqualung. The aqualung would allow him to stay in shallow waters for about two to three hours.
After putting on the black aqualung and goggles, Su Xiao looked like an underwater bandit.
Su Xiao looked around in the sea. On the surface, there were many yellow lights and dark shadows. The yellow lights were burning wooden planks, while the dark shadows were pirates from both sides who had fallen into the water.
After entering the sea, Su Xiao thought of a very good plan. He discovered that destroying enemy ships actually earned 50 points of pirate reputation, which was much more efficient than killing pirates.
Just as Su Xiao was about to implement his plan, a dark shadow flashed past in the seawater.