He was a massive man with an extremely burly physique. His exposed arms and chest muscles bulged, exuding an oppressive sense of brute force.
Hanging from his arms and chest were round shields that covered a large portion of his skin, making him look like a moving fortress.
Just moments ago, he had kicked open the restaurant door and swaggered in arrogantly.
After glancing at the restaurant's decor, he smiled disdainfully and ordered the waiter who had rushed over upon hearing the noise:
"Hehehe, so this is the sea restaurant Baratie. It doesn't look like much.
Listen up! I am Pearl the Iron Wall of the Krieg Pirates. We are currently preparing food for our journey to the Grand Line.
So, from now on, this place is booked by me. Those who know what's good for them, get out immediately. Don't make me say it a second time!"
As soon as these words came out, the restaurant fell into a dead silence.
The smiles on the diners' faces froze, and their complexions turned pale.
"The... the Krieg Pirates!" Someone gasped, not hesitating to run straight out of the restaurant.
Some were kind enough to warn others: "Run, run! They are the overlords of the East Blue. We can't afford to provoke them!"
In just a moment, the restaurant, which had been packed, was more than half empty, making the two groups that hadn't left yet very conspicuous.
Pearl glanced at these two groups, then grinned, revealing two rows of uneven yellow teeth, and laughed ferociously:
"Hmph, I didn't expect there to be people who aren't afraid of death.
It seems the prestige of our Krieg Pirates isn't loud enough in the East Blue. Just walking into any random broken restaurant, I run into two groups of reckless fools who don't know the height of the sky!"
On the other side of the restaurant, the scar-faced pirate trembled all over, staring at Pearl with eyes full of fear, his teeth chattering.
The reason he didn't flee with the others wasn't because he was brave, but because he wanted to join the famous Krieg Pirates.
After all, they were the overlords of the East Blue, possessing fifty warships and five thousand pirates!
Their leader, Don Krieg, was a great pirate with a bounty as high as 17 million Beli!
As long as he could squeeze through this door, he, Scarface, might have a chance to become a great pirate in the future!
Thinking this, he gritted his teeth, dragged his companion whose legs were equally jelly from fear, and tremblingly moved in front of Pearl.
Facing Pearl's oppressive gaze, the two bowed, almost prostrating themselves on the ground, and shouted at the top of their lungs:
"Mr. Pearl! I am Scarface, with a bounty of 680,000 Beli. Please accept us and let us join the Krieg Pirates!"
Pearl narrowed his eyes, looking the two up and down, a mocking sneer slowly spreading across his lips.
Seeing this, Scarface quickly put on a fawning smile, bowing even lower, almost kneeling directly.
But the next second, the smile on Pearl's face vanished abruptly. He raised his short, thick leg and kicked out fiercely with a gust of wind.
Bang!
After a dull thud, Scarface and his companion were sent flying like broken sacks by a massive force, slamming heavily into the restaurant wall and sliding to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Pearl walked up slowly, stepped on their chests, spat, and said disdainfully:
"Just you trash think you're worthy of joining the Krieg Pirates?"
Pearl reached out to his side, and a lackey nearby immediately understood, hurriedly handing him a long saber.
Then, under Scarface's terrified gaze, Pearl laughed ferociously:
"I warned you long ago that we booked this place. Since you don't understand human language, you might as well go die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pearl swung the long saber violently, creating a gust of wind as he slashed at Scarface.
But at this critical moment, a figure suddenly rushed out from the kitchen.
The next moment, Pearl felt his wrist go numb, and the long saber in his hand was knocked flying, pinning itself into the distant wall.
Sanji held a cigarette between two fingers, took a deep drag, exhaled slowly, and said in a deep voice to the livid Pearl:
"This is a place for eating, not for killing. Wasting food is shameful behavior!"
At Sanji's feet lay the food that had been knocked over by Scarface.
Hearing this, Pearl's face first showed astonishment, but soon turned to rage. He pointed at Sanji and roared:
"Who do you think you are? A lousy cook dares to meddle in my business?"
His eyes were red as he roared and charged at Sanji.
Just as Sanji narrowed his eyes and prepared to kick, he suddenly realized a figure had appeared in front of him unnoticed.
The Marine Justice coat fluttered without wind, and a second later, a calm and steady voice rang out:
"Pearl, was it? Hurting civilians in front of a Marine, isn't that a bit too much?"
Pearl looked at Ivan disdainfully, revealing a ferocious grin:
"What's a mere Marine? Our Krieg Pirates have slaughtered countless Marines. Today, you'll die here too!"
Saying this, he swung his shield, smashing it toward Ivan's cheek.
But as soon as he moved, a blur flashed, and immediately after, he felt an unstoppable force hit his chest, sending him flying directly.
His figure was like a cannonball, knocking several pirates into the air before falling into the sea opposite, splashing water high into the sky.
"Hey, what are you doing? That bastard was my opponent!" Seeing his opponent sent flying, Sanji didn't appreciate it; instead, he shouted at Ivan in dissatisfaction.
Ivan turned his head at the sound and smiled at him:
"Civilians should just obediently hide behind the Marines. Dealing with pirates is the Marines' job!"
This sentence stunned Sanji.
Had he seen few Marines?
Under the banner of justice, they did things no different from pirates: plundering villages, eating without paying, bullying others. Their behavior was sometimes even more despicable than those pirates who burned, killed, and looted.
But this guy in front of him...
Seemed to really be a bit different!
Sanji wanted to say something more, but his shoulder was suddenly firmly pressed down by a rough, powerful hand.
He subconsciously tried to break free, but that hand was like an iron clamp welded to his shoulder. No matter how much force he used, it didn't budge.
"Stop it, Sanji." A deep voice sounded in his ear. "Leave these pirates to Ensign White Dove."
Sanji turned his head abruptly, only to find that the one stopping him was the crappy old geezer.
But for some reason, Zeff's expression at this moment was unprecedentedly solemn.
A layer of cold sweat faintly appeared on his forehead, and his gaze was locked unblinkingly on White Dove, not daring to look away for even half a second.
This puzzled Sanji, and he said impatiently:
"Crappy old geezer, let go of me quickly! I have to teach that food-wasting bastard a lesson!"
Zeff's grip tightened even more, with no intention of letting go.
He stared at White Dove's back, his voice lowered extremely, his tone carrying an unprecedented seriousness:
"Behave yourself, Sanji. Next, keep your eyes open and watch White Dove's battle carefully.
Unless something unexpected happens, that guy is a powerhouse who could stand firm even on the Grand Line!"
"Huh?" Sanji was stunned. He looked at White Dove's back, his face full of disbelief. "White Dove? That guy who is said to only catch pirates with bounties under two million Beli?"
"Did you forget the head of the Alvida Pirates' Vice-Captain?" Zeff's face was extremely grave. "I don't know what the White Dove of the past was like, but the current him... is terrifyingly strong!"
Having ventured into the Grand Line in the past, Zeff had heard of the existence of Observation Haki and had even trained bitterly for it for a long time.
Although he ultimately failed to awaken Haki, that experience made his senses far sharper than ordinary people.
And at this moment, in his perception, the aura emanating from Ivan was far fiercer than anyone else present!
That invisible momentum was like a Sea King waiting to devour people!
Sanji looked at Ivan's back doubtfully. No matter how he looked, he couldn't see how this guy was strong.
However, he always listened to the crappy old geezer, so he abandoned the idea of going to teach Pearl a lesson.
As for Pearl, after being kicked flying by Ivan, he struggled and finally crawled out of the seawater.
Standing on the deck of the Baratie, he reached out and touched his nose, screaming ferociously:
"Aaaah! Danger, danger, danger! My life is in danger!"
As he spoke, the shields on his body burst into flames, and white fire enveloped him, turning him into a burning man.
At this moment, his subordinates shouted in horror: "Oh no, it's appeared! Mr. Pearl catches fire whenever he gets agitated!"
Hearing his subordinates' terrified words, Pearl was very proud. He said ferociously to Ivan:
"You bastard, you actually made me bleed! So go die!
Fire Pearl, Grand Prize!"
Pearl swung his arms forcefully, and flames shot out from his arms, rushing toward Ivan.
Pearl threw his head back and laughed wildly, looking at this scene triumphantly. Under his flames, this Marine was dead for sure!
"This kind of flame isn't even as good as the Flame-Flame Fruit. How embarrassing."
But to Pearl's surprise, although Ivan was clearly surrounded by flames, his voice contained no pain whatsoever; instead, it was full of disdainful mockery.
Pearl's pupils contracted, and he said in disbelief:
"Impossible! Under my flames, how can you be unscathed?!"
Ivan had his hands in the pockets of his Marine coat. He walked out of the flames lazily and said faintly:
"Probably because I'm very strong."
Only then did Pearl finally see clearly why his flames had failed.
Beside Ivan, an azure sphere was floating quietly.
The moment those flames approached him, they were immediately swallowed by the azure sphere, unable to cause him any harm at all!
"You... you are a Devil Fruit user!"
Pearl was, after all, a great pirate with a bounty of seven million Beli. He naturally knew that Devil Fruits were not legends. Seeing this scene, he immediately realized Ivan's identity and shouted in terror.
After realizing this, he didn't hesitate to run backward, wanting to jump onto the pirate ship alongside.
Devil Fruit abilities were mostly bizarre, and any Devil Fruit user had the strength of at least a ten-million bounty.
There was a high probability he wasn't Ivan's match, so he had to run. As long as he ran back to his own ship and used the cannons to bombard the sea restaurant Baratie, he could definitely drown this landlubber!
Unfortunately, his idea was good, but his speed was too slow!
Just as he turned his head to flee, he suddenly realized a figure had appeared beside him unnoticed.
Immediately after, a large hand grabbed his neck, lifted him up, and kicked him again.
The moment that foot made contact with him, the shield on his chest shattered with a loud bang, and a massive force acted on his body.
The next moment, he turned into a blur and flew out, crashing right into one of the Krieg Pirates' ships.
His body was like a cannonball, smashing the deck of that ship to pieces. Some unlucky souls happened to be under him and were instantly crushed into meat paste by his body.
Even he himself was severely injured. That kick just now had shattered at least a few of his ribs, and his whole body was covered in wounds from the collision.
At this point, he had completely lost his combat ability.
"Lord Pearl, how are you?"
Just then, a few lackeys scrambled over, pulled Pearl out of the flames, and hurriedly asked about his injuries.
Pearl, bruised and swollen, laughed maniacally:
"Hahaha, idiot! What a huge idiot!
Instead of taking the chance to kill me, he kicked me back to my own ship!
Minions, set up the cannons for me! Blast that broken restaurant to death!
Today, I want all those scumbags on that ship to be buried at the bottom of the sea!"
"Yes!" Hearing this, the panic on the other pirates' faces instantly faded, replaced by bloodthirsty ferocity.
That's right, so what if he's a Devil Fruit user? He's still a landlubber.
As long as they sank that ship, that Devil Fruit user was dead meat!
Before the words had even settled, all the pirates immediately sprang into action.
Shouting at the top of their lungs, they nimbly loaded the cannonballs and aimed the black muzzles of the cannons in unison at the sea restaurant Baratie.
The biting sea wind brought the smell of gunpowder to their faces; battle was imminent!
This scene also fell into Sanji's eyes. His face darkened, and he angrily went up to Ivan, shouting:
"What is wrong with you? We were about to win, and you let their boss go!
Now they are going to bombard us. What should we do?
Forget it, come with me quickly! We have a lifeboat that's very fast. If we leave now, we might still be able to escape!"
Sanji wanted to pull Ivan away, but found that Ivan didn't budge an inch.
He furrowed his curly brows, looking at Ivan in confusion, only to see Ivan say relaxedly:
"Don't worry, it's just a few cannonballs. For a true powerhouse, even natural disasters are nothing.
Although I haven't reached that step yet, protecting this ship from cannonballs is still very simple."
Sanji: "???"
What kind of joke are you making?
But Ivan had no intention of explaining. At this time, Sanji's knowledge was ultimately limited. How could he imagine that his future self could even defy the laws of physics and kick away lasers?
He looked up at the sea surface, his gaze landing on the three pirate ships, which were far larger than ordinary warships, and took a deep breath.
After showing off like this, the System synchronization rate should increase significantly, right?
By then, he might be able to unlock even more powerful skills!
Thinking of this, Ivan extended his arm straight out, palm facing the nearest pirate ship, his voice suddenly turning cold:
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
A massive amount of stamina was consumed crazily. Invisible rumbles vibrated through the air as a touch of azure light condensed and compressed in his palm.
Until finally, it grew brighter and denser, transforming into a translucent, deep blue sphere!
Ivan flicked the sphere lightly.
The next second, this sphere turned into a blur, moving so fast that no one present could track it. In an instant, it crashed onto the deck of that pirate ship!
And then!
Blinding blue light shot into the sky. An azure sun rose over the sea surface!