A loud shout echoed across the sea, startling everyone aboard the merchant ship.
The captain and over a hundred crew members were left in utter confusion. The lookout scrambled to his binoculars, scanning the horizon in every direction. The result was obvious: there was nothing. The surrounding waters were dead calm, without so much as a small rowboat in sight.
In the next instant, a series of sharp 'swish' sounds rang out, and several figures clad in Marine "Justice" coats suddenly appeared on the deck.
'So fast!'
Gion looked surprised, her Observation Haki picking up the movement. The thing beneath the water was moving at an incredible speed, far exceeding that of an ordinary Sea King.
"Everyone, hold on tight! It's coming!" Gion shouted.
Though the crew had no idea what the Marines were doing, they scrambled to find anything they could grip upon hearing Gion's warning.
One second later—BOOM!!!
Less than thirty meters from the merchant ship, a behemoth erupted from the ocean's surface. A colossal wave slammed into the side of the vessel. Even though most of the crew had held on, the sheer force of the impact sent several people flying off the ship.
"Kalifa, Kumadori, rescue the survivors immediately!"
"Everyone else, execute the plan!"
"Gion-nee, I'll leave the rest to you!" Sean shouted, waving his right hand.
There were thirteen people in total, every one of them proficient in Rokushiki and possessing formidable strength. Upon receiving the order, they sprang into action instantly. In a blink, the figures on the deck vanished.
Ten of them leaped from the ship and immediately activated Moonwalk, forming a comprehensive encirclement that trapped the Sea King in the center.
Then...
"Rankyaku!"
A series of low shouts rang out. Flying Slashs, generated by their Rankyaku, tore through the air from all directions, raining down upon the Sea King. It wasn't just a single wave; before the first set of attacks could even land, a second wave was already closing in.
A sky full of Flying Slashs hammered the giant Sea King relentlessly. While the effects were minimal—mostly leaving thin bloody scratches on its hide, with only Lucci managed to cut slightly deeper—the sheer volume of the assault was overwhelming.
Forced to react, the Sea King stopped its advance and hunched its body, using its back to weather the storm and protect its more vulnerable underbelly.
Meanwhile, Gion landed on a small rowboat that had been pushed overboard by the panicked crew. She drew one of the two swords at her waist, gripping it in a reverse hold and plunging the blade deep into the seawater.
At that moment, she was channeling Armament Haki at full power, a metallic black sheen covering her entire right arm. However, Gion was not having an easy time. Using Armament Haki to fuel a Zanpakutō required constant maintenance.
It wasn't as simple as just coating the blade; the energy of the Armament Haki was being continuously absorbed by the Zanpakutō. If she relaxed for even a moment, the supply would be interrupted. The drain on her stamina was significant.
Fortunately, Kalifa and Kumadori had already rescued all the crew members who had fallen into the water. Had they not acted quickly, the plummeting temperature of the sea would have been unbearable for ordinary people.
Seconds later, frost began to appear on the surface of the water. The ice grew visibly, thickening into a solid sheet. Within half a minute, the ice layer reached a thickness of at least ten meters.
While it didn't possess the terrifying scale of Aokiji's power, it was still incredibly potent. However, looking at the size of the beast, Gion wasn't entirely confident that 10 meters of ice would be enough to hold it. Thus, she continued to channel Armament Haki into her Zanpakutō, attempting to make the ice even thicker.
'''
The Sea King had been bombarded for over half a minute by the initial ten attackers, joined later by Kalifa and Kumadori. After twelve people spent that time relentlessly blasting it, the creature was beyond furious, its eyes bloodshot with rage.
It had intended to tank the hits and counterattack, but it suddenly realized its lower body could no longer move. It looked around to find that the sea had frozen solid, and the nearby ship was likewise locked in ice.
By the time it realized what had happened, it was too late.
Positioned directly above the Sea King, Sean slid Hekireki back into its scabbard.
In the next instant, his Reiatsu erupted. The sheer pressure of this terrifying energy was immense; even though it wasn't directed at Lucci and the others, it forced them to struggle, making it impossible for them to maintain their full-power output. As they resisted the crushing pressure, they all looked up at Sean.
However, instead of an attack, they heard a rhythmic chant.
"Beast bones scattered far and wide! Spire, red crystal, iron wheel."
"The moving is wind, the still is heaven."
"The clash of spears echoes through the False City!"
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
A trembling mass of energy gathered in Sean's right palm, glowing with a brilliance so piercing it was almost impossible to look at. In the next heartbeat, a bolt of lightning energy carrying an aura of pure destruction slammed down from the sky.
It struck the Sea King's head with a violent impact, triggering a massive explosion. The ten-meter-thick ice layer created by Gion was instantly shattered into fragments.
Gales, giant waves, and shockwaves rippled outward, striking everyone nearby. The large merchant ship took the brunt of the blast, leaving it looking like a wreck with its side almost entirely obliterated.
It was certainly unable to sail. Had it not been frozen in place by the ice, it likely would have sunk on the spot.
It took a full minute for the chaos to finally subside. When everyone looked back at the Sea King, they all gasped.
A huge portion of the creature's massive head had been completely blown away; it was devoid of any sign of life. Shards of ice floated in the water all around.
"My god, how did you do that? Where did that kind of power come from?" Gion asked, using Moonwalk to drift over to Sean's side, her face full of shock.
Sean gave a bitter smile.
'How could the power not be great?' he thought. 'It's a Sixties-level Hadō, and I used over ninety percent of my Reiryoku to cast it.'
Right now, he felt like he had been completely drained.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me. But that 30 million you promised them before? I'm afraid that's not going to be enough now," Gion said, noticing his silence. She smiled and pointed toward the large merchant ship a few dozen meters away.
Sean finally noticed. The ship looked more like a pile of wreckage than a vessel. The entire side was destroyed, and the captain was standing on the deck with an expression of utter despair.
"Any casualties?"
"I just checked with Observation Haki. About twenty people are injured, but none of them are serious," Gion replied.
"That's good then!"
"That's 'good'? You're probably going to have to pay for a whole new ship, not to mention compensate them for the entire cargo!"
"It's fine. I've got money!" Sean replied, casually flexing his wealth once again.
Gion opened her mouth to speak, but ultimately closed it.
Right, she seemed to have forgotten again—this guy was rich.
Not just rich...
He was super rich!
'''
Afterward, Sean returned to the merchant ship and stepped forward to pat the captain on the shoulder.
"Calculate the total losses. The Marines will compensate you."
"Really?"
"Of course. We are Marines, not pirates!"
"Well... the ship itself is worth about 80 million Belly, and the cargo is valued at 200 million Belly."
"Fine. Have your people go to the 16th Branch in the East Blue for reimbursement. I'll make sure they have the Belly ready!"
Hearing this, the captain was overjoyed.
He was actually going to pay?
The captain had assumed that once he mentioned the amount, it would scare the Marine officer.
"To show the Marines' sincerity, I'll have them prepare 300 million Belly as compensation. Do you have any other requests?"
What? He was proactively paying an extra 20 million Belly?
How could such a good thing happen?
Not only were his losses covered, but the profit he would have made from this transport shipment was essentially earned in advance.
What was there to be dissatisfied about?
"By the way, let me ask you something."
"Yes, officer! Please, go ahead!"
"You're a transport company, correct?"
"Yes, that's right!" the captain nodded.
"Then, can you mobilize a fleet of ships on short notice to help me transport this thing back to the East Blue and deliver it to the 16th Branch?"
"Rest assured, I will pay you according to industry rates."
Sean pointed toward the surface of the sea, where the dead Sea King lay.
This terrified the captain.
Since the Marines were willing to pay, it was simply a business transaction, which was certainly possible. But this Sea King was nearly 2,000 meters long; just how many ships would it take to move it?
The captain looked conflicted.
"Tell you what, I'll pay you 20% above the industry rate. Furthermore, if your company can't handle it alone, you can bring in other transport companies to participate, right?"
"Additionally, I don't need it transported whole. I'll have people dismember it first and remove the unnecessary parts."
The captain pondered for a moment.
If that were the case, it was indeed feasible.
While he didn't like the idea of letting other companies in to share the spoils, the temptation of a 20% price increase was simply too great.
"Officer, please wait a moment. I'll contact my boss immediately and get back to you!"
"Alright, go ahead!"
'''
After the captain left, Sean leaped from the merchant ship and landed on the body of the Sea King.
'System, begin today's Multiplication. Target: the Sabertooth Sea King I just killed. Multiplier category: Quality!'
[Settlement project confirmed. Determining Random Multiplier...]
[Ding! Multiplier is 95. Multiplier Applied.]
'Hiss...'
A massive critical hit!
Sean's eyes instantly lit up.
This Sea King was already exceptionally special, and combined with a 95x quality multiplier... it seemed the future "No. 3 Jerky" of the 16th Branch was going to be something truly terrifying!
At the same time, Sean began to wonder.
Was this creature the result of the enhanced Sea King carcasses he had left behind in the Calm Belt, which were then consumed by other Sea Kings?
While there was no way to verify this currently, he realized he could find an opportunity to conduct an experiment once he returned to the 16th Branch.
'Hmm, a Sea King farming industry?'
'And during the farming process, I could feed them enhanced Sea King meat?'
If that actually worked, wouldn't he be able to mass-produce super jerky?
And from there... he could mass-produce a large number of powerful fighters in a short period?
'Hiss...'
This idea was definitely worth trying!