"Aaaahhh! Here comes another!"
"Head to the port!"
"No, please!"
The pirates aboard the other ships screamed in panic, desperate to dodge the oncoming dragons but the hulls could not turn in time. They could only meet their doom in dread.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Eight of the twenty-three ships forming the Krieg Pirates sank within two short minutes. Hundreds of pirates shrieked as they leapt from burning wrecks into the sea and far more perished silently in the flames.
Krieg still could not grasp what was attacking him.
A sea-monster?
But he saw no beast.
Some terrifying new weapon?
Then why did it rise from the water?
It couldn't possibly be human, could it?
The absurd notion flickered and then Krieg's eyes bulged. For an instant, he saw a figure running across the waves.
The next moment, no matter how he stared, the shape was gone.
An illusio?
Yet an instant later, he saw it again, closer now.
That terrible silhouette slashing out crimson fire-dragons!
Another dragon lifted from the sea, and another warship slid beneath the waves, the searing heat raising the temperature of the very air.
But Krieg felt only icy dread inside.
It was a man.
A single man.
One man had sunk nearly half his fleet!
Preposterous!
How could a human possess such power?!
No... Devil Fruit Ability!
It had to be a Devil Fruit Ability!
Clutching at that straw, Krieg recalled the rumor that a Devil Fruit User's body itself was weak. They relied entirely on their Devil Fruit Ability to rise to power and become legends of the sea.
Those fire-dragons had to be the enemy's Devil Fruit Ability!
In that case...
"Surrender! We surrender!" Krieg suddenly bellowed, while glaring fiercely at his men.
The pirates, drawn by panic, froze, then cried out in wild joy.
"We surrender! We give up!"
"Stop, please! No more!"
"Take whatever you want!"
They wailed and wept, begging for the nightmare to end.
Krieg did the same, casting his golden battle-spear to the deck. He stepped back and knelt, hoping to lure the man aboard.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind, and a figure holding a sword stood upon the prow, cold eyes looking down at the pirates on the main deck and at Krieg, who lifted his head in delighted triumph.
'Found you!'
Krieg stared at an enemy younger than he had ever imagined. He had not expected his foe to be so young.
A closer look, and Krieg knew exactly who it was.
Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto —bounty 40 million berries.
More than double his own 17 million.
He had assumed the man must have assassinated some noble. Now it was clear the youth relied on that Devil Fruit Ability.
So young.
Far too young.
Such rash gullibility convinced Krieg that the boy had sunk half the fleet only through his Devil Fruit Ability.
Murderous intent flashed in his eyes, yet he stayed his hand for caution's sake.
Instead, he crawled forward on his knees, face humble.
Behind him, the pirates gaped in shock as their admiral begged like a whipped cur. In their memory, the brutal Krieg who killed on a whim had never grovelled so shamelessly.
It was infuriating.
He knelt faster and more expertly than any of them.
Indignant, the pirates dropped instantly into their knees, forcing smiles.
They feared that the slightest offence would bring the unknown powerhouse down to slaughter them all.
Resist?
A pirate's freedom?
Just picturing those fire dragons, one after another, slicing warships in half and blasting them beneath the waves, they couldn't summon even a shred of defiance. To them, Hiroto was a god to be worshipped.
Against a being like this, if he merely spared their lives, even being his dog would be an honor.
Opposite them, however, was Krieg, surging with murderous intent. Head bowed, he crept forward on his knees, all the while measuring the distance.
Closer… closer…
As long as he killed this bastard who'd sunk half his fleet with his Devil Fruit Ability, final victory would still belong to him.
'So he's planning a sneak attack, huh?' Hiroto lowered his gaze at the fawning Krieg, mockery flashing in his eyes.
"What would you—"
Krieg's manner was humble and fawning, but the instant he began speaking, he flicked his wrist and a poison-gas bullet shot out.
Boom!
The shell burst, enveloping Hiroto in toxic purple.
"Idiot! Think I'd surrender to some snot-nosed punk who struts around on his Devil Fruit Ability?"
Krieg rolled back barely in time to avoid the violet cloud and snatched up his one-ton golden spear.
A wild swing of the heavy spear sent a gale that drove even more poison toward the enemy.
"MH5! Remember the weapon that will kill you and the name Fleet Admiral Krieg! Now die in despair!" Krieg laughed uncontrollably.
Once again, his wits had toppled a troublesome foe.
Moments ago, the man had been unstoppable, the source of his despair but soon, he'd be kneeling in agony.
Let the blood of this 40-million-berries bounty pirate dye his golden spear and proclaim his triumph.
With that thought, Krieg thrust and the spearhead detonated.
Boom!
The mechanism triggered, black powder unleashing a fearsome blast that shredded the bow.
Yet Krieg froze.
His thrust had met nothing, though he'd clearly seen a silhouette inside the poison.
"Sometimes your eyes lie to you." An indifferent voice sounded from the side.
Hiroto stood nearby, silent and unmoving.
Krieg's pupils shrank and he flung his cloak, Kenzan Mantle. Its porcupine defense and his supposedly unbreakable armor would block any strike, then he would sweep with all his might, maximizing the explosion's force.
The first two steps came easily, his opponent didn't even attack.
The sweep passed through empty air, as if through a mirage.