For a moment—
After a brief silence—
the hundreds of pirates present suddenly felt their hearts seized by pure terror.
The atmosphere on deck…
completely exploded.
"B-Boss, did we just see that right?"
"Just now…"
"That terrifying Sea King—was it really torn apart by someone's bare hands?!"
"Impossible!"
"We must be seeing things!"
"How could such a thing exist?!"
They stood frozen, pale-faced, staring at the sea with eyes wide in disbelief.
The beast they'd seen—
a Sea King so colossal that one flick of its tail could have crushed their entire ship like a toy—
had just been annihilated by a single man.
With his bare hands.
The pirate crew had crossed the treacherous West Blue, surviving countless storms and battles, only to reach the legendary Grand Line—
and now, the first sight to greet them had smashed their confidence to pieces.
A Sea King larger than their ship—
obliterated.
Instantly.
By one man.
And that boy hadn't even taken a serious wound!
It was absolute, overwhelming power—
a one-sided slaughter.
The pirates were dumbstruck, their hearts pounding with disbelief.
"That guy's strength… it's insane!"
"He killed a giant Sea King all by himself!"
"What kind of monster could do that?!"
"I've never seen anything like it—not even in the West Blue!"
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed such a thing could happen!"
They spoke in trembling awe, still trying to make sense of what they'd witnessed.
This moment—
this sight—
would be burned into their memories for life.
A lone figure, tearing a Sea King apart with his bare hands—
the image would haunt them forever.
For the first time, they truly understood what kind of monsters roamed this ocean.
Then—
a weak, uncertain voice broke the heavy silence.
"Hey… did anyone else notice? That guy who killed the Sea King…"
"He looked like… a kid. Maybe four or five years old?"
The entire deck went dead silent.
You could've heard a pin drop.
A long moment passed before the pirate captain finally croaked, voice trembling,
"I thought it was just my imagination too… but you saw it as well, didn't you?"
"The one who tore that Sea King apart…"
"…was really just a small boy! A boy about four years old!"
"A four-year-old—who tore apart a giant Sea King with his bare hands!"
At those words, the crowd erupted again—
this time, in utter panic.
Nearly a thousand pirates froze where they stood, their faces drained of color.
Their minds blanked.
Terror.
Shock.
Horror.
Utter disbelief.
They swallowed hard, staring toward the massive Marine warship in the distance, their throats dry and trembling.
"Four years old…"
"And he tore a Sea King apart with his bare hands?!"
"Good god…"
"What kind of monster is that?!"
"Are all the people on the Grand Line like this?!"
Fear swept through the deck like wildfire.
At that moment, every single one of them began to regret it—
coming to the Grand Line.
This wasn't an ocean for small fry like them.
They didn't even have the right to set foot here!
"If… if everyone on the Grand Line is like that…"
"Then we're done for!"
"We should turn back!"
"The Grand Line's full of monsters—we don't stand a chance!"
"If we anger someone like him, we're dead men!"
Their fear spread like a plague.
Even their captain—
a man with a bounty worth tens of millions—
was trembling, pale as a ghost.
"You're right," he said hoarsely. "In fact… I was thinking the same thing."
Because if that was the kind of thing that lived on the Grand Line—
Then what was the point of staying?
Becoming Pirate King? To hell with that.
Let someone else chase that dream.
He just wanted to go home—alive.
And so—
a powerful pirate crew, fresh from the West Blue, who had lasted less than half an hour in the Grand Line—
was completely terrified out of their minds.
Because of one boy.
Because of Kai, the four-year-old who had torn apart a giant Sea King with his bare hands.
They fled in utter panic, turning their ship around at full speed and retreating back toward the West Blue.
Their captain barked orders through chattering teeth,
"Set sail! We're getting out of here! Now!"
The mighty "West Blue Pirates," bounty worth tens of millions—
were reduced to a pack of terrified children,
fleeing the Grand Line like their lives depended on it.
"Too dangerous… this sea is too damn dangerous."
"This isn't a place for people like us."
"Let's go back to the West Blue…"
"We can rule there, be kings in our own little pond."
With those thoughts, the pirates fled.
They had arrived full of pride and ambition—
and left pale-faced, broken, and humiliated.
All because of one boy, and one punch.
They had been scared off—
by Kai alone.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away—
A massive Marine warship floated quietly on the waves.
On its deck, Vice Admiral Garp stood with his arms crossed, watching the retreating pirate ship with amusement gleaming in his eyes.
"What an amusing bunch…" he muttered with a grin. "Looks like that brat Kai scared them half to death."
"Well, I suppose that saves me the trouble of sinking them myself!"
He chuckled, shaking his head.
"That kid really went and did something incredible… scared an entire pirate crew off the Grand Line with just one feat."
"In all my years sailing these seas…"
"This is the first time I've ever seen pirates run away because they were too scared!"
Garp let out a low whistle, utterly impressed.
He'd seen pirate crews destroyed—
he'd caused plenty of those himself.
But pirates who fled in sheer terror before even being attacked?
That was a first.
And all thanks to one tiny, terrifying monster of a boy.
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