At that very moment—the same moment Colonel Addkin praised him as a boy "with a heart of gold"—
Longinus sat with a dark, gloomy expression atop the head of a massive serpent-type Sea King, surrounded by splintered wreckage from the ship that had nearly been destroyed beneath him.
Sea Kings were ferocious creatures, but the deep sea was their domain.
Seeing one float up to the surface was rare.
Being unlucky enough to have one ram your ship?
Longinus might as well have bought a winning lottery ticket.
But this incident only strengthened his resolve: he would never eat a Devil Fruit.
Unless he had abilities like Aokiji or Doflamingo, who could turn the sea or sky into a second battlefield, sailing the Grand Line as a Devil Fruit user was basically a coin toss with death.
Even a big-shot like Golden Lion Shiki had suffered a catastrophic defeat due to nothing more than a sudden storm. If not for that weather nullifying his powers, Longinus couldn't imagine how a ship's steering wheel had ended up lodged in his skull.
Meanwhile, the Roger Pirates—who rarely ate Devil Fruits—never had to worry about sinking the moment they hit the water.
That was why Longinus placed so much importance on the Moonwalk of the Navy's Rokushiki…
and on Life Return, the "hidden seventh technique" everyone joked about.
Moonwalk's value needed no explanation—whether for rapid pursuit or retreat, it was essential.
But Life Return…
For Longinus, it was the cornerstone of a dream:
dominating the entire sea.
Even he could only stay underwater for fifteen minutes, and only maintain peak combat strength for about five of those.
To hunt those colossal Sea Kings at ten thousand meters below the sea—
even if he had the strength—
the pressure alone could crush steel, and no one could hold their breath that long.
But if he could reshape his own body temporarily with Life Return, adapting himself into a creature suited for the deep sea…
Then even that insane dream… might become reality.
"...Gunpowder."
Carried on the wind was the unmistakable tang of smoke.
Longinus' drifting thoughts snapped back into focus.
Standing atop the trembling Sea King, he looked across the open waters.
On the endless sea, two fleets faced one another in tense standoff—
a battle ready to erupt at any moment.
"Captain Jacks, if you agree to let us go, I can offer a full shipload of supplies."
The noble-looking middle-aged man spoke with equal parts plea and steel.
"But if you truly wish to fight us to the death, we will not back down!"
As if to demonstrate his point, a unified battle cry rose from his crew—far too disciplined for an ordinary merchant fleet.
"Heh! One ship of supplies won't fill my appetite.
But if you hand over everything you're transporting…
that might barely satisfy me."
The hook-nosed pirate captain smirked wickedly.
"Your greed will choke you one day!"
The nobleman's eyes flashed with restrained fury.
"Heh heh—no need for Lord General Louis to worry about that."
"You—!"
Louis' anger surged so intensely that the railing bent under his grip.
But he forced down the rage.
"One-third. That's the highest I can offer."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Jacks applauded theatrically.
"Tsk tsk! Lord Louis really knows how to bend and stretch.
The offer almost moved me.
Almost.
But sadly, I'm an honest pirate—
and if I say I'll kill your whole family, then I'll kill your whole family."
"And once I claim the head of the Guardian General of the Kingdom of Hiska,
I'm sure King Azka won't mind paying quite handsomely!"
"What? The Azka Kingdom would stoop to cooperate with scum like you?"
"Heheheh. General Louis… how adorably naïve you are.
In war, if one can win through underhanded means, who bothers with rules?
You and Azka are already at war—
it's hardly shocking their king made such a decision."
"In that case, there's nothing left to say.
I've killed pirates like you by the dozens."
"Then let me teach you the difference between land and sea!
On the ocean, landlubbers like you are nothing!
Bring a hundred more—it won't matter!"
Jacks sneered, shouting to his men:
"Listen up!
Try not to damage them too much—we can sell them to the slave ships afterward.
That's another solid payday!"
His pirates burst into wild laughter.
To them, kingdom troops who rarely left their homeland were just prey on the food chain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Cannons thundered.
Waves exploded.
And the difference between land and sea became brutally clear.
The kingdom's unbeatable ground troops from Saint-Ting Island…
could barely even stand steady on rocking ships.
They were crushed from the very first volley.
"Hahahahaha! Some 'Royal Guard!' You're no better than mountain bandits!"
Jacks laughed, recalling a time he'd taught a lesson to some small-time fools who called themselves "Mountain Bandit Kings."
"Captain, captain—something's wrong!
There's a Sea King behind us… staring at us… for a long time…"
A terrified pirate whispered.
Fortunately, Jacks was still in high spirits and suppressed his temper.
He glanced back casually.
"A Sea King?
Cannon-fire."
"W-wait, Captain! That's a Sea—"
Bang.
The pirate fell with a spray of blood, a bullet straight through his forehead.
Jacks blew the smoke off his pistol and smiled coldly at another trembling subordinate.
"Do you need me to show you again?"
"N-no sir! I'll tell them to prepare the cannons right now!"
The pirate nearly tripped over himself running away.
"Hmph.
A Sea King that surfaces is just a big, dumb target.
I heard the black market pays thousands for every slab of Sea King meat…
Looks like Lady Luck finally decided to help me out, huh?"