"Kill!"
"Seize the throne!"
"Seize the crown!"
Steel clashed and voices roared as the pirates surged across the snow, weapons raised high. Led by Razor Dam, they stormed toward the castle that lived vividly in Mushuru's memory.
But when his eyes landed on the familiar hilltop, Mushuru froze.
"Eh? My castle… where is my castle?"
Gone. The towering fortress, his symbol of legitimacy, had vanished.
In its place loomed something far stranger.
A warship.
Its deck flat and broad, its sides sheared smooth like the edge of a blade, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster. It sat silent, a slumbering steel beast waiting to wake.
"Look! There—someone's standing there!"
The navigator pirate pointed toward the prow. Amid the swirling blizzard, a lone figure stood tall, overlooking them with chilling calm.
"That's him?" Mushuru narrowed his eyes, teeth gritted.
"The one who killed my brother?"
Without hesitation, he drew a pistol and fired. "Shoot! Kill him now!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Dozens of flintlocks roared, bullets spraying through the storm.
At the same moment, Razor Dam unsheathed his long blade, his eyes gleaming. "Men! A hundred million Berries lie before us! Take his head!"
"Wooooh!"
"Kill him!"
The mob surged forward, snow churning under their boots.
Jin tilted his head slightly, a bullet whistling past his cheek. He spread his arms wide, almost as if embracing the charging swarm.
"I've been waiting for you."
The silent warship groaned. Its prow split open, a colossal cannon sliding outward, flanked by countless honeycombed barrels.
In the past month, Jin had not only trained his body but had also fed the ship a steady diet of weapons, cannons, and ammunition from Wapol's castle.
Now, it wasn't merely a carrier. It was an arsenal.
When poor—fight with strategy.
When rich—fight with firepower.
"Fire!"
BOOOOM!
The main cannon roared, hurling a massive shell straight toward Mushuru's position.
Ratatatatata!
The smaller guns spat bullets in a torrential spray, the snowfield ahead exploding into chaos as bullets tore the ground into geysers of powder.
The charging pirates froze mid-step.
Holy shit!
What kind of monster was this?
One man's firepower… eclipsed two hundred of theirs combined.
It wasn't fair.
Panic shattered their morale. Pirates turned en masse, scrambling over one another, desperate to flee. If they could've sprouted extra legs, they would have.
Those too slow lifted blades, shields, even their comrades to block the storm of lead.
When the barrage ended, a third of their force lay dead or bleeding in the snow.
"Bastard!"
Razor Dam's eyes went bloodshot. With a roar, he slashed, cleaving a shell in two midair. He bounded through the snow like a beast, weaving through the hail of bullets, sword flashing as he batted aside what he couldn't dodge.
Jin blinked, impressed. Oh? A real fighter among them?
The world's weapons mostly resembled those of the 18th century—flintlocks, solid shot. Dangerous, yes, but not to true monsters. Yet the seas also birthed strange technologies—lasers, genetic marvels, weapons that seemed out of place entirely.
Jin's fingers twitched. His knuckles itched. Finally—a worthy opponent.
"Little Ai, keep Mushuru and the rest busy. I'll handle this one."
"Understood, Master."
Jin vaulted from the prow.
Midair, he swung a leg in a sweeping kick, aiming straight at the bald-headed brute.
Dam stopped cold, blade flashing upward.
"Razor Art: Middle Part!"
Once a barber in the West Blue, Dam had turned his scissors into swords, slicing off more than just hair until the World Government placed a bounty on his head. His entire fighting style revolved around the head—every strike aimed at skulls and necks.
His blade was terrifyingly sharp. Even a grazing breeze from its arc nicked Jin's arm, drawing blood.
Jin's expression hardened. This wasn't training. This was survival. He steeled himself, every nerve alive.
Meanwhile, Little Ai seized the ship.
"Transformation: Hound Warrior!"
A bizarre tune blared as the ship twisted grotesquely, morphing into a massive steel hound. Its jaws split wide, grinding with mechanical hunger.
The iron beast barreled forward, swallowing corpses, weapons, and screaming pirates alike.
Mushuru's heart seized. His pupils shrank.
"The… the Munch-Munch Fruit?!"
Boom boom boom!
The ground trembled beneath the creature's charge. Mushuru stumbled back, terror washing over him. His instincts screamed—whatever that thing was, he could not withstand it.
Desperation clawed him. He unleashed his own powers.
"Spore Waltz!"
"Hyper Growth!"
"Spore Bomb!"
The Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit. A Paramecia, not without potential. But Mushuru… Mushuru was a fool. His development was shallow, his body weak.
And Little Ai? A hyper-intelligent AI, forged in temporal fire, operating an awakened Devil Fruit.
The battle was no contest.
The steel hound crushed his attacks, shrugged off his spores, and chased him across the snow like a nightmare. Within minutes, its jaws snapped shut.
Mushuru was gone.
The rest of his pirates were devoured in a storm of steel and fire.
Only Jin and Razor Dam still clashed, blades and fists cracking through the snow. But when Dam glimpsed the monstrous ship—saw Mushuru swallowed whole—his courage broke.
Survival outweighed pride. He tried to flee.
Jin sighed, his interest fading. "Tch. Lost your will already?"
He signaled. The ship lurched forward, steel jaws snapping, and Dam was captured alive.
"This one stays," Jin said coolly. "He'll make a fine sparring partner. As for the rest… throw them into the furnaces. Fuel for the ship."
Mercy was a luxury. Pirates had chosen their path. They were enemies—nothing more.
"Understood, Master," Little Ai replied.
Jin's gaze flickered. "And about Devil Fruits—you're sure the ship can seize them?"
"Eighty percent certainty," Little Ai answered. "From the fusion process, it appears Devil Fruits are not physical objects but magnetic, psychic imprints. If a strong enough interference field is applied at the moment of transfer, the imprint binds to the nearest vessel. This is how Devil Fruit weapons were first created."
"So theoretically… we can snatch a power from a living host. As Blackbeard did."
"Correct. But further study requires more samples."
Jin's lips curled. "Good enough."
…
The snow fell silent as the blizzard ended.
The pirates were gone. Mushuru was gone.
Only Jin remained standing.
"Where are the pirates? Where's Mushuru?"
Dalton, Jason, the militia, and villagers crept closer, eyes wide. And then they saw.
The battlefield empty. Their king unharmed.
The answer was obvious.
"His Majesty won!"
"The King defeated them!"
Cheers erupted like thunder.
"Thank the heavens!"
"The pirates are gone! The villains destroyed!"
"Long live the King!"
Across Drum Island, drums pounded, firecrackers burst, and fireworks bloomed in the snowy night.
The new king was not only wise. He was invincible.
One man against two hundred pirates—victorious.
For the first time in years, the people felt safe.
In this chaotic Great Pirate Era, what greater blessing could ordinary folk ask for?