Chapter 49: First Test
Just as they were about to reach the Navy's G-8 base, when Satoru thought his luck was good and they wouldn't run into a single pirate crew... a large, gaudy ship appeared on the horizon.
"All hands, battle stations! Pirate ship sighted ahead!"
At the order from the ship's executive officer, every sailor snapped into action. Their faces turned deadly serious. Gunners took their positions. Swordsmen drew their blades. Even Admiral Kizaru stood on the deck, watching the distant pirate ship.
Any pirate crew that survived in the New World was not to be underestimated. They all had some real strength.
Kizaru's gaze then slowly drifted over to Satoru. The meaning was clear.
"Alright, I get it," Satoru said with a sigh. "I'll show you my strength, Admiral Kizaru."
Maybe the pirates were eating, drinking, and relaxing on their ship. Maybe they were careless and hadn't spotted the Marine warship yet. But the distance was closing fast. Soon it would be within cannon range.
As he finished speaking, Satoru's body vanished from the warship.
"Hmm~" Kizaru mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Faster than my light speed? Is it really a spatial ability...?"
Under his Observation Haki, he felt it. The moment Satoru disappeared from the warship, he had already appeared high in the air, directly above the pirate ship.
"If only all the pirates in the New World were as trash as you guys."
Standing above them, Satoru had a perfect view of the deck. They seemed to be having a party. Everyone was eating roasted meat, drinking, laughing loudly with smug grins.
Satoru's voice drifted down to them. The pirates froze, mid-celebration. Soon, they spotted the white-haired boy floating above them.
"Where'd this Navy brat come from?" one slurred, not grasping the situation.
But then, the realization hit. A Navy here meant a warship nearby.
"Captain!" the lookout screamed, panic in his voice. "There's a Marine warship ahead! It's... it's Admiral Kizaru's ship!"
Hearing the name 'Kizaru,' the color drained from every pirate's face. The casual mood vanished, replaced by pure fear. They had some self-awareness. Against a Vice Admiral (except maybe Garp), they'd take their chances. But against an Admiral? That was suicide.
Their eyes then locked onto Satoru, hovering above them. A dark, desperate plan began to form in the captain's mind.
"If we take him hostage... we might be able to escape from Kizaru."
"You want to take me hostage?" Satoru's voice came again, clear as a bell.
The pirate captain jolted. He hadn't expected the kid to guess his thoughts.
"Don't ask how I know. Your plan is written all over your face."
"Since you know... and you're not running... then you can stay right here!" the captain roared.
He leapt, his powerful legs launching him straight up into the air, putting him level with Satoru. His fist, coated in a thick layer of Armament Haki, swung straight for Satoru's head. He intended to knock the boy out in one blow.
"This power... it really is a cut above the guys in Paradise."
Satoru could feel it. The Haki on this man's fist was stronger than what Chermo or Dralion had used. Combined, those two might not match this unknown pirate's Haki.
Too bad he met Satoru.
If he'd met anyone else on Kizaru's warship—except Kizaru himself—he could have put up a decent fight. But he met the most unreasonable person of all.
His fist aimed for Satoru's face... but a tiny distance away, it simply stopped. It couldn't move forward another inch.
The sudden resistance made his eyes widen. A terrible feeling bloomed in his gut.
"A white-haired kid... I remember now!" one pirate below yelled, pointing. "He's that Navy! The youngest Rear Admiral in history! The one they call the Navy's 'Supernova'!"
"Ah?" Satoru blinked. "I'm already that famous? I'm a little embarrassed. But 'white-haired kid'? Seriously, what kind of nickname is that?" he muttered to himself.
Pirates across the New World, and the world, had seen the news about Satoru. Most had dismissed it as cheap Navy propaganda, using a child to boost morale. They'd laughed at how low the Navy had sunk.
But the scene unfolding before them made them doubt. The Navy's propaganda might have been true. Their captain's full-power Haki punch hadn't even touched him. Some Vice Admirals couldn't do that.
"Why... why can't I hit you?!" the captain snarled, still pushing against the invisible wall. "I'm using Haki! Any Devil Fruit power should be useless against Haki!"
"Why? It's a bother to explain," Satoru said with a lazy smile. "So I won't."
He pulled his own fist back. Black and red energy crackled around it.
"Black Flash."
BOOM!
The punch connected. The pirate captain was smashed downward like a meteor. He crashed through his own ship's deck with a deafening crunch, leaving a massive hole.
"If you want to blame someone," Satoru called down, his voice carrying over the chaos, "blame Admiral Kizaru. He made me do it. So... sayonara, pirates."
He brought his hands together, fingers interlacing.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
A small, perfect sphere of blue light appeared just above the main mast.
Then, the world seemed to twist. A violent, irresistible suction erupted from the blue sphere. The pirate ship groaned, its timbers shrieking as they were torn apart. It snapped clean in half at the middle.
In the merciless environment of the New World, a broken ship at sea meant only one thing: a dead end.
Satoru watched for a moment as the two halves of the ship were pulled into the vortex and crushed, then vanished. He reappeared back on the deck of Kizaru's warship, not a hair out of place.
"Mission accomplished, Admiral," he said casually.
Kizaru looked from the disappearing wreckage on the horizon back to Satoru. He adjusted his sunglasses.
"How terrifying~" he drawled, a slow smile spreading. "It seems the G-8 base is in good hands. We'll arrive soon. I expect great things, Rear Admiral Monkey D. Satoru."
(End of Chapter)
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