The next day.
Two large Marine warships were moored side-by-side.
"Little brother, it's only been a year, and you're already using large warships? You're getting treatment usually reserved for a Vice Admiral from Headquarters."
"Sister Gion, please stop teasing me. I bought this with my own hard-earned money. Old man Sengoku is beyond stingy."
"Aren't you afraid that when I go back, I'll tell the Fleet Admiral exactly what you called him?"
"Not at all. I've said the same thing right to his face; I'm sure the old man is used to it by now."
Sean looked completely unbothered.
Indeed, calling him an old man and complaining about his stinginess were things Sean had done in front of Sengoku multiple times. It was nothing new.
"Alright, let's get to the point. What exactly is the situation here? Headquarters only told me that a Sea King had been discovered in these waters, specifically attacking passing ships."
"But if it's just one Sea King, you should be able to handle it yourself. Why did you need my reinforcement?"
Switching gears, Gion stopped joking and got down to business.
She had just finished a year-long mission and had been planning to return to Headquarters when this bizarre order arrived.
A Sea King? And it specifically targeted passing ships?
What kind of threat was that? Was it really necessary for her to come personally? Surely any random Commodore or Rear Admiral from Headquarters could have handled it.
However, once she heard that Sean was the one who reported it, Gion ultimately accepted the mission.
"Here's how it goes..."
Sean quickly went over all the details.
This left Gion greatly surprised.
"You're telling me there's a Sea King roughly 1,700 meters long, with strength equivalent to an elite Vice Admiral from Headquarters? And since the ocean is its home turf, you couldn't take it down despite two attempts?"
"You know my adjutant, Lucci, right? His current base Doriki is over 5,000, yet he actually suffered a slight loss against that Sea King."
"Wait, let me get this straight. You said Lucci's Doriki is over 5,000 even without using his Devil Fruit?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?"
"Pfft, is there a problem? That level of strength is already on par with a Vice Admiral from Headquarters. For him to be just an adjutant under you... what a waste!" Gion complained.
She knew of Lucci. Since Gion's missions usually involved intelligence and frequent cooperation with the World Government, she was well-informed. But as far as she knew, Lucci's Doriki should have only been around 2,000. When did it jump to over 5,000?
Well, she decided not to dwell on that for now.
The most absurd part was that such a man was serving as Sean's adjutant. It was simply too extravagant!
"It is a bit of a waste, which is why I'm planning to let him lead his own unit. The handover is currently underway; you can see my next adjutant standing right next to him."
Hearing this, Gion looked over. Standing beside Lucci was a woman wearing a mask.
Although her face was hidden, her tall stature and striking, curvaceous figure made Gion frown instantly.
Gion then glanced at the others around them.
She saw the adorable blue-haired Vivi, the playful orange-haired Nami, Kalifa in her fishnet stockings, and the inherently gentle cook, Makino.
"It seems you've been living a very... comfortable life this past year."
"Uh... can we stay on topic?" Sean felt a bit awkward.
But then he quickly thought—he hadn't actually done anything, so why be awkward? He had thought about it, but he hadn't acted on it!
"Fine, keep talking!" Gion said, giving Sean a sharp glare.
"Ahem. First, let me confirm: to what extent can you use that sword?"
"I've mastered the three basic moves. As for temperature control, I can currently reach negative fifty degrees."
'Oh... she's already reached that level?'
Sean had originally thought Gion could only reach negative eighteen degrees, which would have made things difficult. But now it seemed those complications had vanished.
"What about the range? Can you do something like Aokiji's Ice Age?"
"How is that even possible!" Gion snapped.
Aokiji's move could not only freeze things instantly but also covered an astonishingly large area. If he went all out, he could freeze an entire sector of the ocean in an instant.
For Gion to perform a large-scale freeze, she could currently only reach negative fifty degrees, and freezing the sea surface took time. Furthermore, the range couldn't possibly be that vast.
"I've tried it before. If I rely on physical stamina, it takes about three minutes to freeze the surface, with a range of about 100 meters in diameter."
"If I use Haki to drive it, I can freeze it in as little as thirty seconds, with a range of about 1,000 meters in diameter."
'1,000 meters? That's a bit small.'
After all, that Sea King was over 1,700 meters long.
'No, wait!'
Even though the creature was over 1,700 meters long, in reality, unless it leaped out of the water to attack, nearly half of its body remained submerged. In other words, even if the range wasn't enough to cover the whole thing, freezing the surface would freeze its lower half as well. That would be enough to stop its movement or prevent it from escaping.
The only problem was that even using Haki to drive the Zanpakutō, Gion needed thirty seconds to complete the operation.
He... had to find a way to stall it. He needed to make sure it didn't move an inch for a full thirty seconds.
That was going to be very difficult.
"Lucci, if you had to use Rankyaku at full power continuously, how long could you hold out? I mean high-speed, continuous strikes!"
After pondering for a moment, Sean looked toward Lucci.
"That... if I'm using maximum frequency and full power, three minutes should be no problem."
"What about Kaku and the others?"
"I haven't tested them specifically, but Jabra and Kaku should be able to maintain it for a minute and a half to two minutes. For the others, a minute is probably their limit."
"That'll work. I have a plan. Now there's only one question left: how do we lure it into the trap?"
Having identified the key issue, Sean snapped his fingers.
'''
3,000 meters below the sea surface.
A massive Sea King wore a ferocious expression.
Although the wounds on its body were minor—almost negligible—those ant-like humans had brought it great humiliation.
It, the mighty Sea King... had actually been injured by mere ants!
Looking up, it felt as if it could see through the 3,000 meters of ocean to the ships those ants were riding.
The Sea King's Resolve
Ultimately, however, it relented.
It wasn't just some mindless, ordinary Sea King.
And so...
A moment later, with a powerful sweep of its massive tail, it departed.
It would continue to grow stronger, and only then would it seek its revenge.
How did Sean put it in his previous life? 'A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years,' wasn't it?
Now that this Sea King possessed sapience, it had truly taken those words to heart.
'''
Over an hour passed before it finally spotted a new target: a massive merchant ship...