Chapter 282: The Quality of a King! Conqueror's Haki Clears the Field
At Gyoncorde Plaza.
Facing Tatsuya, who stood at the ship's prow looking down and delivering a merciless taunt, Hody Jones was so enraged that the veins on his forehead throbbed visibly.
Gritting his teeth, he absolutely refused to believe that these humans who had fallen from the sky could breach the ironclad defense of the 100,000-strong army below and rescue anyone right under his nose.
Hody hesitated no longer. He brandished the large sword in his hand and pointed it at the thousand sunny, roaring:
"You humans and your cheap tricks! Don't think a single broken ship can change anything!
"Executioners! Cut off the heads of Straw Hat and these three princes immediately!"
Upon receiving their leader's cruel command, the four hideous-looking Fishman executioners on the execution platform raised their heavy, sharp blades without hesitation, aimed at the backs of Luffy and the three princes' necks, and swung down!
At this critical moment.
Tatsuya, standing at the ship's prow, focused the faint purple ripple with concentric circles in his right eye socket. A strange glint flashed in his deep pupils.
A soft, strange whoosh sound.
The space on the execution platform seemed to be violently twisted by a pair of invisible giant hands, instantly contorting in a bizarre manner.
The executioners' blades whistled through the air as they came down heavily, landing with a deafening metallic clang.
However, when they looked closely, they were horrified to find that Luffy and the three princes, who had been chained to the crosses with Sea Stone, had vanished into thin air in an instant.
What they had struck were several massive undersea rocks covered in seaweed!
And at the same time, on the spacious deck of the thousand sunny.
Luffy and the three severely wounded, unconscious princes, along with the chains binding them, now lay perfectly intact before the ship's doctor, Chopper.
Witnessing this unbelievable scene, like a spatial magic trick, the 100,000-strong army in the plaza below and the island's civilians watching the live broadcast via screens couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
Everyone, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight, collectively gasped in shock.
Chopper immediately opened his medical kit and deftly stepped forward to administer emergency bandaging and stop the bleeding for the gravely injured princes.
But Luffy, lying beside them, presented a completely different picture.
Having been soaked in seawater for far too long, he was now lying on the deck, fast asleep and snoring loudly.
A glistening snot bubble even hung from his nose, rhythmically inflating and deflating with each breath.
Looking down at the dense, menacing army of 100,000 staring at them, then at their utterly carefree Captain.
Nami was furious. She rushed forward, shaking Luffy's neck wildly and shouting at him to wake up.
Usopp also crouched nearby, his hands moving like blurs as he slap-slap-slapped Luffy's elastic rubber cheeks, trying to force him awake.
Watching their futile efforts, Sanji, who had just lit a cigarette, sighed helplessly.
He turned and walked back to the kitchen, returning shortly with a huge serving tray.
On the tray was a massive, specially prepared piece of roast meat, freshly cooked, sizzling with oil, and emitting a lethally tempting aroma.
Sanji placed the tray directly under Luffy's nose.
A miracle occurred.
Luffy's nose twitched violently twice in the air. His tightly shut eyes instantly flew open, shooting out two beams of sharp light.
Without even getting up, he opened his mouth with lightning speed and, in one gulp, swallowed the entire piece of roast meat—bones and all—which was larger than his entire body.
"Shishishishi! Delicious meat! I'm alive again!"
Luffy sprang up like a coiled spring, instantly revitalized.
He energetically patted his now-bulging belly and let out a contented sigh:
"Ah! I slept so well!!"
"Huh? Why is everyone looking at me?"
Faced with their Captain, who was commenting on his sleep quality while a formidable enemy loomed, the Straw Hat Pirates collectively developed sweat drops on their foreheads, utterly speechless.
Seeing Luffy fully awake, Hody Jones below, though still shaken by the spatial magic Tatsuya had just performed,
quickly reconsidered. After all, he had a fully armed Fishman army of 100,000.
No matter how strong they were, they would eventually run out of stamina.
Relying on this absolute numerical advantage, he regained his arrogant, ugly demeanor.
Pointing his trident at Luffy on the thousand sunny, he roared loudly:
"Straw Hat! So what if your companions saved you!"
"Faced with this army of 100,000, you few humans are doomed today!"
"I, Hody Jones, am the man destined to become the Pirate King and rule this world!"
Hearing the words "Pirate King," Luffy, who had been patting his belly and grinning on the deck, suddenly froze.
He lowered his head slightly. The clarity in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an incredibly sharp and serious intensity.
"Pirate King?"
Luffy pressed one hand onto the Straw Hat on his head and took a step forward from the ship's prow.
The moment his foot landed, a terrifying aura capable of shaking heaven and earth, like a slumbering dragon awakening, erupted from his seemingly slender body!
"I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
BOOM—!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki, so dense it was nearly tangible, exploded from Luffy like an invisible black storm, instantly roaring across the entirety of Gyoncorde Plaza!
The air seemed to solidify at that moment. An oppressive weight made everyone present feel breathless.
Even the surrounding seawater, flooding the area, trembled and groaned under this kingly pressure.
"Urgh..."
Thud! Thud!
The soldiers of the New Fish-Man Pirates, who just a second ago had been brandishing their weapons and screaming to tear the humans to pieces,
couldn't withstand this supreme, kingly aura for even a single second.
Their eyes rolled back instantly, foam spewed from their mouths, and without any chance to struggle, they fell backward in waves, like wheat being reaped by a Shinigami's scythe.
The sounds of weapons clattering to the ground and bodies hitting the floor with dull thuds merged into one.
Within mere seconds, a full 50,000 enemy troops had completely lost consciousness, lying limp in heaps across every corner of the plaza.
The civilians of Fish-Man Island watching this scene through the imaging Den Den Mushis were first struck dumb with shock, plunging the entire island into a ten-second, pin-drop silence.
Then, from Mermaid Cove to Coral Hill, earth-shattering exclamations erupted, soaring into the sky:
"My god... what just happened?!"
"With just a look, he instantly took down 50,000 soldiers!"
"This is a Captain of the Worst Generation?! This is a true monster!"
On the thousand sunny, Usopp's jaw dropped so hard it hit the deck with a clack, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets:
"Hey, hey... you've got to be kidding me?"
"Half of a 100,000-strong army, taken out with just a glare?!"
"What kind of hellish training did Luffy go through these past two years?!"
Chopper's eyes sparkled with admiration. Clutching his head with his hooves, he bounced excitedly on the deck, exclaiming:
"Luffy is so cool!"
Brook placed a hand on his chest, remarking with exaggerated flair:
"Yo ho ho ho, that aura just now nearly stopped my heart from beating."
"Oh, I almost forgot, I'm a skeleton. I don't have a heart to begin with."
Nami tightly covered her mouth with both hands, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.
She was excitedly hugging Tatsuya's arm, shaking it back and forth.
Zoro rested one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist. Looking at the straw-hatted figure ahead, the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a bloodthirsty, proud smile:
"Hmph. If he didn't have at least that much skill, he'd have to hand over the Captain's position."
Meanwhile, Tatsuya, while soothing Nami, watched Luffy's gradually broadening, reliable back with a smile.
In the center of the plaza, Hody Jones watched his proud army of 100,000 inexplicably halved in an instant.
His legs trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall.
But he quickly clenched his teeth hard, trying to mask the overwhelming fear churning inside him.
He pulled out another handful of red Energy Steroids from his pocket, crammed them into his mouth, and chewed frantically, attempting to drown his fear with madness:
"Don't be afraid!"
"Don't be fooled by their bluffs! We still have 50,000 men!"
"They're no match for us in the water!"
"All troops, charge! Tear that ship apart!"
Facing the remaining 50,000 enemy soldiers, who, though fearful, were still prepared to charge under the drug's influence,
Luffy clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking with crisp sounds.
His eyes blazed like torches. That familiar, confident, and wild grin spread across his face as he issued his usual battle cry:
"Everyone! Let's go cause a ruckus!"
"Yeah!!"
The entire Straw Hat crew responded with a thunderous roar, each face lighting up with excited, battle-hungry smiles.
They drew their respective weapons and leapt down from the high deck of the thousand sunny, diving straight into the remaining 50,000-strong Fishman army below!
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