The Sea King suddenly appeared beside the warship. Such an enormous disturbance naturally caused the entire ship to shudder. The Marines aboard either opened the portholes to look outside or rushed straight onto the deck.
Then—
Everyone's expressions were astonishingly identical: complete shock. Cold sweat broke out almost simultaneously, and terror filled their eyes.
"Th-This is bad… this is really bad!!"
Many people on the warship were not passing through the Calm Belt for the first time, but encountering a situation this awful was something almost everyone was experiencing for the first time. Their faces turned deathly pale.
If they encountered a small Sea King, the warship's artillery would not fear it.
If they encountered a large or even gigantic Sea King, it might not even care about something as tiny as a warship. As long as they did not provoke it, the ship could quickly escape the danger zone.
The worst possible scenario was encountering a medium-sized Sea King—one whose size was not much different from the warship itself!
Relying solely on the ship's artillery, it was extremely difficult to fight a Sea King of this size head-on. And once targeted by a Sea King on the open sea, escape was almost impossible. Even the warship's propulsion system could not possibly be faster than a Sea King's swimming speed.
On the warship—
Including warrant officers, as well as lieutenant commanders and commanders, all the officers were stiff from head to toe. Cold sweat continuously overflowed from their foreheads. Under the invisible pressure radiating from the Sea King, no one dared to move.
The Calm Belt had no wind. The sea surface was utterly tranquil.
At this moment, the atmosphere seemed to freeze solid.
The warship continued sailing forward, passing in front of the Sea King. After emerging from the water, the Sea King did not move. Everyone on the ship also dared not move, their eyes fixed firmly on the creature as they prayed it would not notice them.
Unfortunately, the Sea King was not blind.
The reason it stopped after surfacing was that it immediately noticed the warship—and was utterly stunned by it.
Why was there nothing down below in the sea, yet upon reaching the surface, a "monster" suddenly appeared?!
The Sea King was startled.
When it reacted, it instinctively launched an attack on the warship. In an instant, it thrust out a terrifying tentacle dozens of meters long and more than ten meters thick, whipping violently toward the ship.
Before the massive tentacle even struck, a horrifying pressure of wind nearly suffocated everyone, as if carrying a force capable of overturning mountains and seas, crashing down with overwhelming power.
Faced with such an attack, everyone on the warship—despite holding swords, guns, and ammunition—felt their entire bodies go numb. Under this terrifying oppression, they could not move even a single finger, nor could they summon the slightest will to fight.
Their hearts were filled with icy despair as they watched the enormous tentacle descend, carrying power like the collapse of heaven and earth.
However—
In the very next instant, the massive tentacle did not land on the warship.
"Tsk… if the ship gets damaged, that would be a real headache."
Roya's figure appeared in midair at some unknown moment. As he spoke in a calm tone, he delivered a fierce kick, wrapped in Armament Haki, striking the Sea King's enormous tentacle head-on.
The terrifying wind pressure that seemed to freeze the air abruptly came to a halt.
Between heaven and earth, everything became calm and light.
BOOM!!
In the next instant, the two compressed forces of wind pressure violently collided and exploded, producing a deafening roar that shook the sky and earth. A visible shockwave surged outward to both sides.
That terrifying tentacle, which seemed capable of crushing the entire warship, was actually kicked backward and forced to recoil by Roya's seemingly tiny body!
During this period, Roya had not even dared to conduct his daily training on the warship, fearing that one careless exertion of strength might damage the ship. And now a Sea King dared to attack his ship—this was simply unforgivable.
Roya was very unhappy.
After kicking the massive tentacle back, he did not pause for even a moment. With a flick of his hand, the hilt of Engetsu appeared in his grasp. He drew the blade in a flash and slashed fiercely downward at the Sea King below.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Roya had no intention of holding back. He directly unleashed Getsuga Tenshō, swinging out a dazzling white sword energy. In an instant, it swept across the Sea King's body. The creature was a living target, completely unable to dodge, and was struck cleanly by the slash.
Its tough skin was as fragile as paper before Roya's sword energy. There was not even a sound. The crescent-moon-like blade light flashed past and vanished.
Silently.
A clear bloodline, dozens of meters long, appeared prominently across the Sea King's massive body!
SPLASH!!
In the next moment, strange blue blood gushed wildly from the wound, dyeing the surrounding sea a bizarre color resembling blueberry jam.
The warship fell into complete silence.
From Roya's appearance, to blasting away the tentacle that was about to strike the ship, to cutting down a Sea King even larger than the warship itself with a single slash—everything happened in almost the blink of an eye.
Clang!
Someone's sword slipped from their grasp and fell onto the deck.
Everyone on the warship felt their minds buzzing, as if thunder were roaring in their ears. Their hearts were filled with disbelief as they stared at the scene in utter shock.
Strong!
Too strong!!
They were not unfamiliar with battles against Sea Kings. At most, they had seen Marine officers fight Sea Kings fiercely and eventually drive them away with great effort.
But someone like Roya—who could face a Sea King head-on, withstand its attack, and then kill it outright with a single slash—this was like a dream to these mid- and lower-ranking Marine officers.
Roya sheathed Engetsu and lightly landed back on the deck. His lingering displeasure vanished with that satisfying strike, carried away by the wind.
"So now… I can also one-shot a Sea King with a single move…"
Recalling long ago, during an elite training mission when crossing the Calm Belt, how Zephyr had smashed two large Sea Kings with just his fists, Roya could not help but curl his lips.
The first two times, he could only watch.
This time, it was finally his turn.
The reason he believed one needed at least the strength of a Headquarters Vice Admiral to venture out into the sea was not only because, on the Grand Line, lacking such power meant being crushed wherever one went—but also because even during ordinary voyages, encountering certain monsters could already be beyond one's ability to handle.
"Blueberry-colored blood… this thing probably isn't edible."
Roya glanced at the discolored seawater below and shook his head. Then, suddenly, he felt a chill—why had he even thought about eating it? Was he starting to turn into a glutton like Luffy?!
That would be a truly terrifying development.
Without hesitation, Roya forcibly obliterated that thought from his mind, leaving not even dust behind. Then he turned around, glanced at the Marines still standing there in a daze, left behind a single order to continue advancing, and returned to his cabin.