Meanwhile, about a kilometer away—
A massive Marine warship was anchored in place, unmoving.
On the deck, leaning against the rail, Garp and the Marines stared dumbfounded at the battle raging aboard the pirate ship ahead.
"So… so brutal!"
A Marine swallowed hard, blurting it out without thinking.
Just now, they had clearly witnessed it—Kai smashing a pirate's body with a single punch. Then tearing off his shirt, baring his muscular torso… his body coiled and taut like a beast ready to spring.
The muscle lines rippled with explosive power!
Even from a distance, they could feel the oppressive aura radiating from Kai's back.
"Too savage!"
"One punch, and that pirate covered in blood was obliterated on the spot!"
"This—this is how men fight!"
The Marines' blood surged as they clenched their fists. They longed to join in, their hearts boiling at the sight of a raw, bare-handed brawl.
"Vice Admiral Garp…"
"Your grandson, Kai, is a born fighter!"
Bogard's voice shook with disbelief. "His first kill, and not only is he unshaken—he looks exhilarated. I've never seen a case like this. If he doesn't become a Marine… I have a hunch, sooner or later, your grandson will become one of the most fearsome, ruthless pirates this sea has ever known!"
"His savage temperament, combined with his prodigious talent…"
"He's destined to be a top-tier powerhouse in the future!"
Garp nodded slowly, agreeing with every word.
At first, his idea was simply to let Kai get his hands bloody—an essential step in growth. A way to make him adapt early to the harsh rules of this world.
But now… Garp realized he had underestimated him.
"No—this kid… it's like he was born for this sea," Garp thought.
"The cruel laws of the ocean… it's as if they were made for him."
"He doesn't need to adapt."
"Because…"
"…the instinct for violence runs in his very bones."
Garp replayed the image in his mind—Kai's fist bursting that pirate apart, the boy ripping his shirt as his wild aura erupted.
He had miscalculated.
Kai's usual calm demeanor had fooled him. Once thrown into battle, he was a beast, ferocious and untamed—like a tiger on the brink of slaughter.
"An innate love for combat, etched into his marrow?"
"I misjudged him."
"Kai… you don't need tempering through blood and death. You were born to dominate this brutal ocean!"
For the first time, Garp was truly relieved. He no longer feared Kai would hesitate or falter in battle, showing mercy that would cost him.
As Bogard had said:
If Kai didn't join the Marines, Garp could imagine it—one day, the seas would tremble before a terrifying pirate, a monster of blood and violence.
"Within that boy's body lies a dangerous, violent factor," Garp admitted to himself.
Beside him, young Ace stared blankly at the carnage on the pirate ship. His freckled face had gone pale, his hands trembling as his child's heart was shaken to the core.
"This is the cruelty of the sea…"
"Every day, people die."
"The strong feed on the weak."
"Only the fit survive."
Ace felt crushed by what he saw. Watching Kai's muscled frame radiating dominance, he felt an overwhelming pressure weighing down on him.
Once again, the truth hit him hard.
The gap between himself and Kai…
It wasn't just "big."
It was a chasm, an unbridgeable gulf.
His lips pressed tight, his face twisted with unwillingness, but in his heart—he knew it was true.
Aboard the pirate ship, silence.
Not a sound.
Only the sea breeze carried the thick stench of blood into every pirate's nose.
Waves lapped against the hull.
Every member of the White Ostrich Pirates, led by Kukari, stared at the bare-chested boy before them with fear and disbelief.
Up close, they saw the muscle lines etched into his young body. Though small and childlike, the sheer presence of those taut muscles pressed down on them like a weight.
"This brat…"
"…isn't ordinary," Kukari muttered, his face grim.
Even he hadn't clearly seen how his crewmate had been crushed in that single blow. From Kai's eyes, he caught glimpses of something—bloodlust, coldness, the pure instinct to kill.
The realization made his stomach sink.
"This brat is a monster. At this age, already so decisive, so merciless…"
"…it's like he was born just to fight."
The aura pouring off Kai pressed even Kukari—the 11-million-Berry captain, wielder of a Zoan Devil Fruit. He could feel it, faint but undeniable.
"Boss, let me take him!" one pirate shouted.
"Brothers, attack!"
"Kill this brat!"
"He's just one kid—if each of us spit, he'd drown!"
"There's no way he can fight all of us!"
The mob surged forward, blades and clubs flashing.
"Wait! Don't—!" Kukari tried to stop them, but it was too late.
Over a hundred pirates charged Kai from every direction, murderous intent filling the air.
"Die, brat!" snarled a short, wiry pirate, lunging with a dagger aimed straight at Kai's heart.
But—
Before it could land, Kai's hand shot out, gripping the man's arm.
Their eyes met.
The pirate saw it then—Kai's gaze, devoid of all human warmth, gleaming like a beast's. Volcanic rage simmered beneath those pupils, ready to erupt.
Like a tiger baring its fangs.
"No—don't!" the man gasped, his face draining of blood.
Crack!
Kai squeezed. The bones shattered in his grip.
"AAAHH!" The shriek split the air, agony flooding the pirate's nerves.
"The battle begins now."
Kai grinned.
Grabbing the man's body one-handed, he swung him like a weapon, hurling him into the oncoming crowd.
BOOM!
The man's body slammed into his comrades with an earth-shaking crash, sending several flying, coughing blood as they tumbled across the deck.
"MY ARM! AHHH!"
"Help me!"
Chaos erupted instantly. Pirates toppled and collided as the makeshift human projectile sowed havoc, scattering dozens. Screams and wails filled the air.
"Your turn."
Kai turned to face a dozen more charging with fury.
His legs tensed. BOOM! The deck beneath his feet cracked as he launched forward like an arrow, like a tiger descending the mountain, like a wolf among sheep.
Before the pirates could react, his fists smashed into bodies one after another.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
Fists met flesh, each strike lethal.
Dozens were blasted away, flung meters through the air. Some spewed blood, some went limp with eyes rolled back, others died outright—chests caved in, guts pierced through.
One after another, they fell, tumbling into the sea with splashes.
The water churned red.
The deck shook with the force of bodies falling and bones breaking.
And then—silence.
Around Kai stretched an empty circle.
No pirate dared step within.
He stood like a tyrant.
A muscle tyrant.
One man had swept the entire field.
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