Conrad inserted the golden key into the sea and gave it a twist.
Faint ripples spread rapidly outward from the point where the key touched the water.
Boom!
The previously calm ocean suddenly trembled. Massive waves surged up from below, forcing the pirate crews who had been confronting the Buggy Pirates to stop in shock.
Before they could react—
Whirlpools began forming across the sea surface, spinning rapidly one after another. The scene resembled a natural disaster unfolding before everyone's eyes.
Rumble!
Centered around the Baratie, dense whirlpools covered the entire surrounding sea, swallowing every pirate ship that had encircled the restaurant.
"What's going on?!"
"Why are there so many whirlpools in this area?!"
"What happened?!"
"No—!"
"Run—ahhh!"
Amid the pirates' shouts and screams, ships were dragged under at terrifying speed.
The vessels caught between two whirlpools were instantly crushed by the opposing forces and shattered into pieces.
In just a few breaths—
Every pirate ship surrounding the Baratie, except for Buggy's, had disappeared. Only scattered fragments of broken planks floated on the sea.
Conrad stood up. His figure flickered, returning to Yuuki's side.
The whirlpools gradually vanished, and the raging sea calmed once more.
An eerie silence fell over the area.
Inside the Baratie, Sanji and the others stared through the windows in disbelief, their faces turning pale.
Several chefs collapsed onto the floor in fright.
"M-My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right?"
"Someone can create whirlpools… control the sea… How is that possible?"
Stammering, fearful voices filled the restaurant.
Sanji's pupils contracted.
The black-robed man named Conrad—who had defeated him so effortlessly—possessed such power?
He recalled the indifferent look Yuuki had given him earlier, and the comment about the floor being dirty.
Sanji suddenly realized—
It hadn't been humiliation.
He had simply never been taken seriously in the first place.
"What… are they?" Sanji asked hoarsely, turning toward Zeff.
Zeff did not answer him directly. Instead, he murmured under his breath, his expression grave.
"So, it really was them… The Krieg Pirates were destroyed by them."
From the beginning, he had suspected something. The timing between the Krieg Pirates' destruction and the appearance of the treasure map rumor had been too coincidental.
But this was East Blue—the weakest of the four seas.
Instinctively, Zeff had found it hard to believe that someone could defeat the East Blue overlord.
Most people preferred to believe the Krieg Pirates had been destroyed by a maritime disaster rather than by another force.
On the Buggy Pirates' ship—
The crew trembled, having just survived the catastrophe.
"We… we're still alive."
"I'm not dead!"
"We weren't swallowed by the sea…"
"What just happened?"
Scattered voices of disbelief rang out across the deck.
Buggy stood at the bow, mouth agape, cold sweat running down his face.
If anyone looked closely, they would see his legs shaking uncontrollably.
From his position at the front of the ship, he had seen clearly what had happened.
"A Devil Fruit user…?"
"To manipulate the sea…"
Buggy swallowed hard.
At that moment, how could he not understand?
The Krieg Pirates had likely been destroyed by that same black-robed man.
"Captain… what do we do?" Cabaji asked, still shaken.
"You idiot!"
"Turn the ship around immediately!"
Buggy spun stiffly and shouted. In his panic, his arms even separated from his body and flailed in midair.
He had already guessed that the treasure map rumor had been deliberately spread by the other party.
As for why only their ship had been spared by the whirlpools—
He no longer cared.
All he wanted was to escape.
On the Baratie's deck—
Yuuki looked at the now-cleared sea and smiled faintly.
"The applications of Key Magic are indeed extremely broad."
Open.
Close.
That was the essence of Key Magic.
Simple in concept—but the simpler the ability, the more powerful it could be.
Turning calm seas into raging currents.
Or closing turbulent waters into stillness.
This was already approaching conceptual power.
The top fighters of this world possessed formidable physical strength.
But he was a mage.
Before magic, raw physical power alone seemed rather one-dimensional.
"Oh? Trying to escape?"
Yuuki glanced at the Buggy Pirates' ship, which was rapidly turning away.
"It's too late to leave now."
The blue ring marking Water Magic on his wrist flashed.
Boom!
Instead of moving farther away, the Buggy ship was pushed forward by the current, drawing it closer to the Baratie.
Chaos broke out aboard Buggy's ship.
Bang!
Buggy kicked the helmsman aside and grabbed the wheel.
"Idiot! How are you steering?!"
"Captain… the ship's out of control!" the helmsman cried from the floor.
Buggy soon realized that no matter how he turned the wheel, the ship would not respond. As the Baratie drew closer, his face turned pale.
East Blue wasn't supposed to have monsters like this.
He glanced at his crew, who still seemed slow to grasp the danger.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
"Load all the cannons!"
"Use Buggy Balls!"
The crew froze in shock.
They knew exactly how powerful Buggy Balls were—one shell was enough to destroy half a town.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Buggy's mouth twitched.
These idiots still hadn't realized the whirlpools had been artificially created.
After a brief silence—
They sprang into action.
Within moments, the cannons were fully loaded, all aimed at the Baratie.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunderous blasts rang out repeatedly.
The powerful Buggy Balls streaked through the air, leaving dark trails behind them.
The sudden cannon fire jolted Sanji and the others inside the restaurant.
Aside from Zeff and Sanji, who managed to keep their footing, the other chefs collapsed in fear.
"They fired!"
"With this many shells, the restaurant will be destroyed!"
"It's too late to move the Baratie!"
"Don't panic," Zeff said firmly, placing a steadying hand on Sanji's shoulder despite his own pale expression.
Through the window, he fixed his gaze on Yuuki and Conrad standing at the front of the deck.
Those who could easily annihilate the Krieg Pirates—
Would not be defeated by mere cannon fire.
"Counterattacking already? So, it's not just luck," Yuuki said calmly as he faced the incoming shells.
Buggy was no ordinary East Blue pirate who knew nothing about Devil Fruits. After witnessing Conrad's power, he should have understood the gap between them.
For someone as cowardly as Buggy to respond so quickly was slightly unexpected—but only slightly.
Conrad raised his arm and pressed his palm toward the air ahead.
Mana surged.
A green spatial gate appeared in midair.
Every incoming Buggy Ball was swallowed into the gate the instant it appeared.
"What?!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Those were Buggy Balls!"
"They just… disappeared!"
Terror spread across the Buggy Pirates' ship.
Buggy himself stood frozen, the last trace of hope gone. His only thought now was escape.
Bang!
The current suddenly accelerated, and the ship surged forward. The crew were thrown violently across the deck.
Moments later, the ship came to an abrupt stop directly opposite the Baratie, sending them tumbling again with cries of pain.
The two sides now faced each other at close range.
And there was nowhere left to run.
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