"You little brat…" Houston's eyes narrowed as realization dawned. They'd been baited from the start.
Thud. Thud. Thud!
In the blink of an eye, several of Houston's officers surrounded Roy and Gangplank in a tight circle.
"Captain," one scout whispered at Houston's side, "looks like it's just these two on board."
"I know." Houston's face darkened. "Those bastards lured us in on purpose."
Even if the whole thing reeked of a trap, Houston kept his composure. If these two weren't strong, they were just suicidal. Either way—he'd test them himself.
"Kill them both!" he ordered, waving a hand.
A wave of pirates surged forward—swinging katanas, axes, warhammers—anything sharp and deadly.
Gangplank leapt nimbly to the top of the mast, as agile as a monkey.
Roy, on the other hand, didn't budge. The blades slashed through his body, blood spraying everywhere—but he remained seated, legs crossed, hands resting calmly on his knees. Even with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he kept smiling.
"We got one!"
A blond rookie pirate shouted in glee. It was his first real kill. Until now, the others had mocked him for never spilling blood. But now, he was a real pirate!
Then—
Click.
He felt cold steel press against his forehead.
Looking up, he saw that greasy old sailor from earlier—Gangplank—standing level with him atop the mast. A cannon-barrel-sized flintlock was aimed straight at his skull.
BANG!
The shot rang out. The blond pirate's head exploded, and his body dropped into the sea.
The others froze.
Quickly, they began yanking their weapons out of Roy's unmoving body and backing away, eyes darting toward their captain. Clearly, only Houston might be able to handle these monsters.
But then—their understanding of the world shattered again.
To their horror, Roy slowly stood up, drenched in blood.
"Damn it, Gangplank! Kill every last one of them. No survivors. They ruined my brand-new outfit—that thing was expensive!"
Roy grumbled as he casually walked into the cabin to change clothes.
A few pirates tried to follow him—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
They fell instantly.
"You dumb bastards heard my boss, didn't you?" Gangplank sneered. "Now we're not just takin' your ship—we're takin' your lives too!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
More shots. More corpses.
Houston could only stare, stunned, as Roy disappeared into the cabin. How the hell is this guy still alive?
He'd spent years in the North Blue and the Grand Line, but never had he seen a man survive such fatal wounds and walk away like nothing happened.
Gangplank, meanwhile, kept pulling the trigger—one shot, one kill.
Why use a blade when you've got a cannon for a pistol? He wasn't here to play games.
Reloading? Please. Ever heard of infinite-ammo flintlocks?
"Captain! Snap out of it! If you keep spacing out, that monster's gonna wipe us all out!"
BOOM.
The officer's head exploded before he finished his sentence.
He'd dodged Gangplank's bullet—only to be hit by it after it curved midair.
A homing shot. Targeted skills. You could run all the way to the New World, and the bullet would still catch up to you.
"C-Captain..." Houston's first mate gulped. "I—I just remembered... I think I've heard of that boy before. There's a bounty hunter in the North Blue who supposedly killed the pirate Fiers—the guy with a 30 million bounty. They say he... can't die."
"Bullshit!" Houston growled. "I'm not some third-rate 30 million berry pirate! I'm Captain Houston of the Rocket Pirates, worth 50 million and fresh from the Grand Line!"
But he was shaking. He'd seen it. That monster Gangplank's bullets turned. And if that wasn't bad enough, this walking artillery battery was just someone's crew member.
Then how strong is the guy who commands him...?
Just then, Roy stepped out of the cabin in a new outfit, looking fresh as ever.
"Not bad, Gangplank. The pre–Grand Line trash is piling up these days. Good time to do some cleanup."
Hearing that, the last few remaining pirates looked at Houston in panic.
"Run... Jump into the sea!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
They didn't make it.
Now only Houston was left.
"Fine then!" Houston roared, face contorted with rage. He raised his giant right fist overhead.
"Armament!"
His fist turned jet-black with Haki as he launched a punch toward Gangplank.
"Armament Haki, huh? You don't usually see that in the North Blue," Roy mused, a little impressed.
SHING—
The blackened fist sailed through the air—alone.
Gangplank's curved blade had already cleaved Houston's arm clean off. A powerful kick followed, sending Houston's massive body crashing through the rear deck in an explosion of splinters.
Cough!
The pirate captain spat blood, struggling to crawl from the wreckage—only to find Gangplank towering over him like a mountain.
"P-please... have mercy..." Houston whimpered.
Gangplank's grin widened.
"Begging won't save you, old man. Now, feel the mercy of Bilgewater!"
The blade flashed. Houston's head flew through the air—
—and was blasted into pulp midair by a shot from Gangplank's pistol.
Blood rained from the sky.
Roy winced. "Dude... did you really have to do that?"
Gangplank turned, confused. "What? You told me to leave no one alive."
"Yeah, but not like that! Do you have any idea how much his head was worth?! That shot just cost me 50 million berries!"
Gangplank blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
Roy pulled out a bounty poster and held it up.
"Fifty. Million. Berries. That was our paycheck!"
"Damn it all..." Gangplank facepalmed. "You should've told me! I love gold!"
"I assumed that was obvious!"
"I swear," Gangplank muttered, "next time I won't go for the head. I promise, boss. Screw it—curse this evil world and its cursed money!"
Roy shrugged. "Forget it. Let's check out our new ship."
He leapt aboard the Rocket Pirates' vessel, with Gangplank following close behind.
Most of the surviving crew had already jumped into the sea in terror.
"Boss, one guy ran off with a Den Den Mushi taking pictures of us. I would've shot him, but that snail was kinda cute..."
"Let it go. Their heads aren't worth anything anyway."