Under the sunlight.
Golden rays scattered across the fenced expanse of sea, dazzling as they danced over the waves.
The surface of the ocean shimmered, flashing with blinding halos.
Warmth flowed quietly through the air.
A colossal warship rested upon the boundless waters of the Grand Line.
On the deck—
Hundreds of Marine s, led by Garp and Bogard, stood frozen.
Their gazes were locked, stunned and wide-eyed, on a massive Sea King corpse floating a hundred meters away.
And upon that titanic carcass—
A small figure stood.
His frame was lean, yet every muscle on his body was sharply defined, gleaming like steel under the sunlight.
That body—
Broad, corded, and fierce.
It radiated a crushing, primal pressure.
He had just come through a baptism of blood.
Now, his entire body was streaked in crimson, the color dark and demonic, exuding a chilling murderous aura.
Savage.
Terrifying beyond compare.
Even from a hundred meters away, every Marine on the warship could feel that suffocating pressure rolling off the child's body—
as if it could reach across the sea and crush their hearts.
"D–Dead… it's dead…"
"The Sea King—really died!"
"This isn't an illusion!"
The eerie silence shattered as a trembling voice broke out.
And then—
The entire warship exploded with noise!
The atmosphere erupted like a detonated cannon shell.
Hundreds of shocked, awestruck faces turned toward that floating corpse, unable to tear their eyes away.
What they saw had completely overturned their understanding of the world.
"My god!"
"Am I… am I dreaming?"
A Marine rubbed his eyes, doubting what he saw.
But when he opened them again, the same horrifying sight remained.
At that moment, he believed it.
This was real.
"Mr. Kai… he tore a Sea King apart with his bare hands?!"
"He's too strong!"
"Bare-handed, without any weapon or aid—he just ripped apart a Sea King tens of tons in weight?!"
"Unbelievable… terrifying!"
Voices broke out across the deck, filled with awe and disbelief.
They had all witnessed it—
The moment Kai pressed that monstrous Sea King into the depths and beat it to death with his fists.
It had been like watching a nightmare come alive.
When they looked again at that figure standing atop the Sea King's corpse, their hearts filled with reverence and shock.
"He's like a monster…"
"Bare hands alone—to kill a Sea King!"
"And not a small one either—it weighed tens of tons!"
"That monster didn't even have a chance to fight back against Mr. Kai!"
"The scariest part is…"
"Mr. Kai is only four years old."
Four.
Years.
Old.
"To slay a Sea King barehanded at four years old—what kind of concept is that?!"
The Marine s were speechless, their hearts trembling.
The sea breeze carried the thick, metallic scent of blood toward them, so strong it stung their noses.
The waters within a hundred meters had turned a ghastly crimson, dyed by the creature's blood.
Strange.
Brilliant.
Horrifying.
The Marine s stared at the corpse and at the boy standing upon it—
speechless.
At first, they were worried.
They feared that Kai would fall in his attempt to challenge the Sea King with nothing but his own body.
After all,
Everyone knew the truth of this sea—
The strongest beings upon it were often the Sea Kings, though exceptional human strength, like that of the greatest warriors, can rival them.
So when they first heard that Kai intended to fight one barehanded, the Marine s couldn't hide their anxiety.
But what happened next…
defied belief.
In less than fifteen minutes,
that monstrous Sea King—tens of tons in weight—had been slain.
By hand.
By a four-year-old child.
The shock it left in their hearts was indescribable.
"I think…"
"There isn't a second person on this sea who could do that at four years old."
"No doubt about it," someone said with trembling conviction.
"Except for Mr. Kai, there's no other like him in this entire ocean."
"When others were four, they were still crawling around crying for milk."
"But Mr. Kai—he's already slaying Sea Kings with his bare hands!"
"Ripping a Sea King apart with his own strength—
It's too much. It's… beyond comprehension."
One by one, the Marine s sighed in awe.
Thinking back to what they had been like at four years old—
and then looking at the boy before them—
they felt only shame.
"Compared to him, we're nothing but useless trash."
"Mr. Kai is a terrifying monster."
"Let's stop comparing ourselves to him—it's bad for morale."
"Exactly! How many like him could this sea possibly have? Only one!"
"To compare ourselves with a monster like that is pure self-torture."
The laughter was bitter.
They all agreed—
How could mere mortals compare to a being like Kai?
"We're not worthy."
"We don't even deserve to polish his boots."
Someone grumbled,
"Who was it that said earlier Mr. Kai couldn't kill a Sea King? Step forward! I'll slap you myself!"
"Now you see the difference between a genius and a monster?"
"This is what true talent looks like!"
"Mr. Kai isn't someone we can comprehend. None of us can imagine how terrifying a monster's potential really is."
All eyes turned to that small, upright figure on the distant corpse.
Though the child's back looked small, in their eyes it loomed vast, unshakable, commanding awe and respect.
Huff…
Bogard let out a deep breath, finally waking from the shock.
He still couldn't quite process it.
That enormous Sea King—
slain so easily by a four-year-old boy, using only his fists.
"Mr. Kai… what a terrifying monster," he murmured.
"Stronger than I could ever imagine."
He had watched the entire battle, and awe now filled his heart.
To slay a Sea King with one's bare hands—
That, he thought,
was the truest form of manly romance.
A real man should fight like that.
Just like Kai had.
Fierce.
Wild.
Dominating.
Even that massive Sea King had seemed frail and insignificant before him.
A battle of flesh against flesh—
and the victor was clear.
Kai.
At only four years old, he had fought and triumphed against a Sea King with nothing but his body.
"What's a monster?" Bogard muttered.
"This—this is a monster."
"A real one."
"Even at four years old, Mr. Kai already has the bearing of a great general!"
His voice trembled, his thoughts reeling.
The more he thought about it, the deeper his shock became.
"That boy Kai… he's too strong."
"Far beyond what I ever imagined."
Beside him, Garp exhaled deeply, eyes shining with pride.
"With nothing but his own flesh, he killed a Sea King," Garp said slowly.
"The fragile human body—
in that boy's hands, it's become a terrifying weapon."
"Even barehanded, he can crush a Sea King!"
He paused—then laughed heartily, unable to contain his joy.
"Hahahaha! That's my grandson, all right!"
"Such talent—unprecedented! Unmatched in the world!"
"My grandson, Kai…"
"is the most terrifying monster on this entire sea!"
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