"Pass down my order…"
"Today, we feast!"
"Such a massive Sea King—there's no way we're letting it go to waste."
"The taste of Sea King meat is simply unforgettable."
"This time, we're really going to eat well."
After a long moment, Garp stared at the enormous corpse of the Sea King and couldn't help but swallow hard. His appetite instantly flared up.
A Sea King weighing tens of tons—its meat was said to be delicious beyond words.
Just imagining it made Garp's heart race with excitement. He could hardly wait to order the men to haul the Sea King's carcass back to the warship's freezer.
Unfortunately… that could only stay an imagination.
The warship, though large enough to carry over a thousand sailors, faced significant challenges transporting such a behemoth weighing tens of tons.
Moreover, with so many Marine personnel aboard, adding such an enormous carcass would severely drag down the ship's speed—making the entire trip counterproductive.
So—
after thinking for a moment, Garp immediately issued a new command to the men beside him:
"Everyone, listen up! Start cutting up the choicest parts of that Sea King's meat right away!"
"Fill the entire cold storage if you have to—this kind of opportunity doesn't come twice, so don't waste it!"
"Cut out the best pieces first. Tonight, every sailor gets to feast!"
"The rest of the decent cuts, stack them in the freezer until it's full."
"As for whatever's left after that…"
"Well, we'll just let it feed the other Sea Kings out there."
Under Garp's orders, the sailors immediately got busy.
Especially the ship's cooks—
their eyes gleamed with barely contained hunger as they stared at the Sea King's massive carcass.
Every Sea King corpse was a rare delicacy of the sea, the finest ingredient a cook could ever hope to work with.
To a true chef, the chance to prepare a Sea King was nothing short of divine ecstasy.
"Hold it! Don't rush in!"
"Don't you dare ruin the natural texture of that meat!"
"When I tell you how to cut, you follow my orders to the letter!"
"No one makes a move until then!"
"Whoever damages that prime Sea King meat… will be eating nothing but cold air tonight!"
The head chef barked his orders with commanding authority.
Then—
sailors began leaping into the sea one after another, including the chef himself.
They swam up to the enormous floating carcass, gazing in awe at the gigantic beast that loomed before them.
Up close, they could see it clearly—
The Sea King's entire body was riddled with countless ghastly wounds.
It was covered in savage gashes from head to tail.
"Unbelievable…"
"A creature this massive… was killed by Mr. Kai alone? Without any help?"
"He actually punched it to death with his bare hands?!"
"That's insane!"
"Mr. Kai really is a monster."
The closer they got, the more shocked they felt.
Before seeing it for themselves, none of them could truly grasp just how enormous this Sea King was.
Only when they were standing right next to it did they understand the horror of Kai's strength—what kind of monster could single-handedly destroy such a colossus?
The corpse was so huge that even at close range, they couldn't see it all at once.
Blood seeped endlessly from its body, staining the surrounding sea a deep, eerie crimson.
The metallic stench of blood filled the air, so thick it nearly suffocated them. Those nearest the carcass felt as if they were standing in a sea of blood.
One sailor reached out with trembling hands and touched the Sea King's scaly hide.
The scales were hard—
as hard as diamond!
Every scale on its body radiated a sense of indestructible toughness.
After a brief moment of astonishment, he drew the sharp dagger from his waist and plunged it down with all his strength—
Bang!
A light crack rang out. The Sea King's corpse didn't even flinch.
Instead, his dagger shattered under the recoil.
Crack!Crack!
Fissures spread across the blade, and with a light touch—
it broke apart completely, scattering into fragments that sank into the depths below.
The sailor froze.
His throat went dry, his mouth opened soundlessly.
He stared down at the dagger hilt still clutched in his hand—its blade completely gone, reduced to fragments at the bottom of the sea.
He was utterly dumbfounded.
"Wh–what the…?"
"My dagger can't even scratch its hide?"
"And it broke from the impact?!"
"This has to be a dream…"
"This Sea King's defense is that monstrous?"
"Good heavens…"
"Then how did Mr. Kai even kill it?!"
The realization hit him like a thunderclap.
If even a fully armed sailor couldn't pierce its skin with a dagger, then just how terrifying was its natural armor?
And yet Kai… had killed it.
That question now haunted every sailor's mind.
Because the same thing was happening all around them.
One after another, sailors found their blades shattering before they could even cut into the corpse. The Sea King's skin was so tough that it destroyed their weapons outright.
They all froze, staring blankly at the broken remnants in their hands.
"Wh–what the hell?!"
"Our weapons can't even cut through its skin?!"
"Holy crap…"
"Then how in the world did Mr. Kai kill it with his bare hands?"
"Seriously, how?"
"Our blades can't even leave a scratch, and yet he literally tore it apart with his fists!"
A chorus of disbelief rippled through the crew.
Then, as the shock settled in, their eyes collectively turned toward the man standing atop the Sea King's massive corpse.
Only now did they truly understand…
How powerful Kai really was.
How terrifying his strength had to be to shatter such a creature with nothing but his fists.
He wasn't human.
He was a monster—
a monster in the shape of a man.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/ZeusOp