A large ship, flying no insignia or flag, cut through the waves and approached the seas near Punk Hazard.
At its bow stood Kong, the Supreme Commander of all the Marines, gazing into the distance at a massive Navy flagship on the horizon.
Behind him stood two men—one on either side.
Though both wore nothing more than standard Marine recruit uniforms, the fact that they were accompanying the highest-ranking officer in the Navy and participating in the operation to eliminate Roya made it clear: these two were anything but ordinary.
One of them had narrow eyes and two deep, fearsome scars crossing his face. But even so, his expression radiated kindness.
Kong frowned slightly and asked, "Fujitora, anything strange about that warship?"
Fujitora furrowed his brow and replied in a low voice, "Seems like a bunch of innocent kids playing onboard. I didn't sense anything dangerous."
Kong's expression remained completely unchanged—as if he were oblivious to the web of secrets on Punk Hazard.
The other man—a young man with long, wavy black hair—chuckled.
"Fleet Admiral, aren't you being a little too cautious? We're just mopping up a bunch of pirates. Why go to all this trouble?"
Surprisingly, Kong answered patiently.
"Don't underestimate this, Green Bull. Roya's strength can only be described as... unfathomable."
"That's why I must approach this battle with absolute caution."
"If my carelessness gets any of you killed, I would never forgive myself."
"In short—you must be prepared to fight to the death. Otherwise, we won't fare any better than Sengoku did."
Farther back on the deck, Kizaru pursed his lips with a rare grimace.
Akainu stood silent, eyes fixed on the gentle ripple of the sea, deep in thought.
Suddenly, a Navy warship marked with the word "Trainee" barged into the area without warning.
Without so much as a word, it charged directly toward the warship Roya had brought with him.
Even from hundreds of meters away, it opened fire.
Kong watched the events unfold, completely unable to stop them.
He slammed his palm onto the rail with a loud bang, yelling in fury:
"Zephyr, that bastard! He's never understood the meaning of following orders!"
"If you're going to ignore the plan, don't blame me for using you as cannon fodder!"
Dozens of cannonballs whistled through the air—at least seven or eight landed within the range of Roya's ship's deck.
The children onboard—too numerous and large to be housed inside—had been gathered on the deck. In an instant, they were plunged into mortal danger.
Though their bodies had been gigantified by toxins, that didn't mean they could withstand naval artillery.
And having spent their lives trapped on the island, these kids had no understanding of naval warfare or the danger of cannon fire.
They simply stared, blank and helpless, at the incoming shells.
Then—whoosh—a figure leapt from below deck, flickering midair, vanishing and reappearing repeatedly. In a blink, he passed through the entire bombardment zone, before landing steadily on the deck.
Only then did the first cannonball he had knocked away with the sheath of his blade finally crash into the sea.
The rest rained down like dumplings—one by one, harmlessly splashing into the water.
Fujitora's ears twitched, and he muttered in amazement,
"Such incredible speed..."
Kong took a deep breath and nodded.
"That's the Whirl Spider, Squard—Roya's strongest known swordsman."
Green Bull snorted.
"What good's just being fast? He can't even break through defenses. I could stand still and let him slash me until he drops from exhaustion."
Akainu scoffed.
"He can slice clean through my magma form in one strike. If you think he's only fast, you might want to rethink that."
Green Bull dismissed it with a shrug.
"Exactly—that proves he's only got speed. 'Cause if it were me cutting you instead, you'd be dead already."
"Tch. You three should be grateful. If I wasn't too lazy to act, none of you would've ever made Admiral."
Kong coughed lightly to shut down Green Bull's smug mockery.
"We're boarding. Let's see how this plays out."
As he spoke, Zephyr had already leapt across the dozens of meters between ships, landing right in front of Squard.
He raised his Seastone-infused mechanical arm—the Crusher—and without a word, unleashed a full barrage.
From its core, a storm of Seastone bullets erupted, covering the area in a torrential downpour of death.
A few of the nearby children, caught within the spray, were suddenly in danger.
Squard squinted slightly—he could tell immediately that these bullets were not ordinary.
He drew his blade and began to slash with dazzling speed.
Each swing of his sword struck a bullet dead center—with such exact force that it perfectly neutralized their velocity and dropped them to the deck without further harm.
One man. One blade.
He single-handedly sealed off the entire bullet storm of the Crusher.
Rather than angered, Zephyr looked thrilled.
Grinning savagely, he pulled a vial of stimulant from his pocket and inhaled it deeply.
"Your swordsmanship is the fastest and most precise I've ever seen among pirates."
"Now... let's see if you've got the strength to back it up!"
With that, his right arm tensed. The Crusher rumbled, gathering terrifying force—then struck straight at Squard, no flourish, no tricks—just raw power.
Squard's lips curled into a cold smile.
He sheathed his blade and assumed an iai stance.
Just as the Crusher was barely an inch from his forehead—
Shing!
With a deafening crack, he unleashed a slash.
The shockwave of metal on metal burst out from the two as the epicenter.
The next moment, Squard's sword shattered into pieces.
It had been a standard blade—ordinary steel. It simply couldn't endure a head-on clash with Seastone force.
Seeing this, Zephyr's smile grew wider.
He drew back his arm to strike again—
But suddenly froze.
There—on the surface of the Crusher—was a massive crack, more than an inch deep!
Had it been made of anything other than Seastone, that single slash might've taken his life!
And as he recoiled, the crack spread like a spiderweb—within seconds, it had engulfed the entire mechanical arm.
Zephyr stared in disbelief as his treasured weapon fractured piece by piece, falling to the deck like broken glass.
Only now did he realize—
He had lost.
Completely.
He had attacked with a Seastone war machine. Squard had blocked with a plain sword.
Both weapons were destroyed. But the outcome was clear—Zephyr had come out the loser.
Zephyr looked down at his right arm, which hadn't been without the Crusher for ages, his face filled with disbelief.
At that moment, the island suddenly shook with a deep, thunderous tremor.
Kong let out a silent sigh.
He said gravely,
"Let's go. There's nothing more to watch here."
"That tremor must've come from thread-based destruction collapsing part of the structure. That means Doflamingo and Roya are already locked in combat. Let's move!"
Six figures leapt from the deck one after another—racing toward Punk Hazard.
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