Chapter 49: I Am Very Calm, So I'm Going to Blow Him Up!
At this moment, aboard the Marine warship, which resembled a Coke bottle.
The soldiers of the Detainment Unit felt that everything that had happened so far was like a dream.
First, they, who were originally celebrating the successful completion of their mission, unexpectedly encountered the "Black Peach Pirate Crew".
Then there was the power Loy displayed.
In fact, the Marines of the Detainment Unit had, of course, seen Loy's Wave Fist more than once.
But what just happened, no matter how they looked at it, seemed a bit too exaggerated, right?
That punch, which almost split the sea and defeated the renowned "Fire Fist" Ace along with his pirate ship, made them almost wonder—were they really in the Detainment Unit, a team known for its weak combat power?
But this wasn't even the whole story.
The most incomprehensible thing for them was that, after "Fire Fist" Ace and the Black Peach Pirate Crew began to flee, another major figure unexpectedly appeared.
"'Monitor Lizard King' Huaben... unexpectedly appeared here."
Fahr's face was covered in heavy cold sweat, and even the usually carefree Hans was now nervously gripping the flintlock pistol in his hand.
They couldn't help but be nervous.
Even though his prestige had slightly fallen due to the recent incident of a certain sand shark fish-man being killed.
But the Seven Warlords of the Sea were still the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
They were one of the three great powers of the high seas, formidable individuals who dominated the Grand Line.
And "Monitor Lizard King" Huaben was among them, an extremely senior figure, famous for his brutality.
This great Pirate, who once ran rampant in the New World, was even rumored to have been at odds with the Four Emperor Kaido, and through mutual recognition, they became trusted friends.
And at this very moment—
"Captain Loy! Chief Hans, Sergeant Fahr—the recent explosion was caused by a stray shell hitting the stern, both the rudder and the power furnace were destroyed, the ship's bottom also has a hole, and also..."
A Marine emerged from the ship's hold, reporting the situation with an anxious expression.
"Moor and Lanster, who were responsible for adjusting the rudder and repairing the power furnace, were injured in the explosion and their status cannot currently be confirmed."
"What?!" *2
After hearing the Marine's words, Fahr and Hans's expressions instantly changed.
They gritted their teeth, their eyes instantly filled with rage.
"Those damn pirates..."
Anyone with eyes could see that Huaben's target was definitely the Spearhead that had already fled far away, but he had missed and hit them instead.
This kind of indiscriminate artillery bombardment was precisely the habitual behavior of the brutal "Monitor Lizard King" Huaben.
But at this very moment—
"Fahr, Hans."
Fahr and Hans heard the voice.
When they turned their heads, they saw Loy standing with his back to them.
"I taught you long ago—there's an old saying in my hometown: 'Only those who face a collapsing mountain without changing expression can become great generals!'"
"What you should do now is to send the other brothers to search the ship's hold for Moor and Lanster, and while you're at it, repair the hole in the ship's bottom, then temporarily take cover to ensure safety."
"Calmness is the first priority in battle!"
Because he had his back to them, Hans and Fahr couldn't see Loy's face.
But they could see it.
At this moment, Loy's tightly clenched fist, and the bulging veins on it.
"Captain, calm down a bit. I know about Moor and Lanster..."
Hans's words were cut off because Loy had already interrupted him.
"I am very calm, Hans."
Loy raised his hand, tugged at his sleeve, and stretched his neck.
"To be precise, I've never been this calm."
He looked at the scarred warship deck and the Marines behind him.
Just as he had said before, Loy had no sense of belonging to the Marines' justice.
In his daily life, even if a pirate ship passed by, as long as it wasn't his mission target or if they didn't do something that Loy truly couldn't stand, Loy would generally be too lazy to act—pirates were not as valuable as a fat Sea Beast to him.
And this time, he chose to act against the Black Peach Pirate Crew, certainly not for the sake of "justice."
His idea was very simple.
To fight Ace, analyze the Flame-Flame Devil Fruit, and use the battle to damage the warship, providing a suitable reason to go to Water Seven.
Incidentally, he could also test the power of the Great Buddha Devil Fruit and evaluate his own progress.
And even if Ace fled, and he couldn't analyze the Flame-Flame Devil Fruit, it didn't matter.
He wasn't like Sengoku; he had no hostility towards Ace, the Pirate King's son. Not to mention, he already had the Mag-Mag Fruit, a higher-tier Logia Type Devil Fruit than the Flame-Flame Devil Fruit.
For him, the Flame-Flame Devil Fruit, besides adding an entry to his Devil Fruit encyclopedia, actually had no short-term need.
This was his objective, nothing more—he was confident he had everything under control, believing no problems would arise.
But now, the situation was different.
He, of course, remembered Moor and Lanster—one was a cheerful shipwright, and the other was an engineer with two daughters.
And still, that same principle applied.
Loy didn't care about the justice of the Marines, but the soldiers of the Detainment Unit, with whom he had spent eight years, were another matter entirely.
Therefore...
"I am very calm, so... I will blow that fellow up."
He said coldly.
No! Those words didn't sound calm at all!
Hans and Fahr thought to themselves.
But at this moment, seeing Loy's reaction, their hearts couldn't help but be moved.
But even though they were touched by Loy's attitude, they still opened their mouths to persuade him: "Captain, I know you're very angry, and we're also very angry—but the opponent is a Seven Warlords of the Sea after all, we'd best not attack them..."
As they spoke, they saw Loy smile again.
"Fools, I taught you... when you encounter something, observe first."
As he spoke, Loy's gaze had already turned to the distance.
"Look, now it's not us who are going to attack the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"But—it's precisely the opposite situation."
As he spoke, Fahr and Hans also noticed.
At this moment, the "Gigantic Dragon Fleet" belonging to Huaben, which had originally been far out on the sea, had already arrived extremely close to their position.
And those enormous pirate ships showed no intention of slowing down.
No—as Marines, Fahr and Hans could confirm: at this distance, even if the other party lowered their sails and decelerated, they would no longer be able to stop.
They were going to crash into them!
And at the same time—
"Admiral Huaben, are we really going at full speed?"
On the bow of the "Tyrant Dragon", the main ship of the Gigantic Dragon Fleet.
A pirate wearing a Gigantic Dragon helmet looked at the tall Seven Warlords of the Sea beside him, his words hesitant.
"..."
And beside him, "Monitor Lizard King" Huaben stood with his hands behind his back.
His breathing was heavy, like a humanoid Gigantic Dragon.
At this moment, his gaze completely ignored Loy's warship, instead looking far into the distance at the Spearhead.
At this moment, the Spearhead had already run a very long distance—the only thing visible was the obvious fire coiling around its stern and hull.
"Using a Logia Type Devil Fruit's power to propel a ship, wasting so much stamina just to escape Portgas D. Ace, that weak rookie."
He sneered, criticizing sharply.
That's right.
He actually didn't know about the battle that had just happened here—when he and his fleet discovered the Spearhead's tracks, what they saw from a distance was the Spearhead fleeing.
But he knew at least one thing.
"He's consuming his Devil Fruit power like this, he won't get far... I will catch up to him, then tear him to shreds."
He gritted his teeth, saying with a sinister smile.
"He destroyed one of my transport ships, making me unable to meet the weapon quota I promised Kaido. This humiliation must be washed away with his blood."
"Gigantic Dragons are very vengeful."
No, I don't think Gigantic Dragons are necessarily as vengeful as you are.
His subordinate mumbled in his heart.
Moreover, who asked you about this?
"Admiral, I mean... are we really not changing course? The ship in front looks like a Marine Detainment Unit warship..."
The subordinate asked again, then—
"Bang!"
He suddenly let out a cry of pain, and his body was abruptly kicked away by Huaben.
"Fool!"
Huaben glared furiously at the subordinate.
"You said it yourself, it's the Detainment Unit—not Garp's warship, not an Admiral, nor an elite... they are weaklings!"
"I am a Seven Warlords of the Sea, and my relationship with the World Government is merely one of cooperation. Since there are weak little bugs blocking the way, of course I have to crush them!"
He laughed coldly.
"Power is authority, and the weak being annihilated is what they deserve!"
This was the creed he had always believed in.
"Yes, sir!"
So, the other pirates on the deck quickly moved to carry away the pirate who had been kicked unconscious.
However, they hadn't even had time to act.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
The entire pirate ship suddenly shuddered violently, then its speed of travel noticeably slowed, and continuous collision sounds came from below.
The pirates instantly fell due to the tremor, then immediately stood up in a panic: "What happened?!"
"What's the situation?"
They spoke in surprise, crowding to the side of the ship's rail.
Then—
"So cold!"
They suddenly felt a piercing chill.
Then they saw what their ship had crashed into—it was floating ice gradually condensing on the sea surface below.
"How can there be ice?"
Their hearts were naturally puzzled.
But they clearly knew what they should do: "Admiral, don't worry, we'll immediately go..."
And as they said this, when they turned to look, they saw that their Admiral had completely ignored them.
At this moment, "Monitor Lizard King" Huaben was standing on the deck, his body straight, his eyes transformed into vertical pupils like a monitor lizard, like a vigilant wild beast.
His gaze was directed not far away, at the Marine warship, which resembled a Coke bottle.
Only to see that at this moment—
"Bang!" "Bang!"
A figure was leaping from the warship.
"Moonwalk..."
And Huaben could see at a glance that it was "Moonwalk."
At this moment, the Marine greatcoat on that figure was fluttering in the wind.
And on his left fist—
"Buzz!"
Golden radiance and shockwaves erupted.
And unlike before.
This time, within that faint golden light, there was clearly a subtle blue hue.
Chilling air continuously erupted along with the shockwaves.
And the floating ice on the surrounding vast sea was precisely formed by the overflow of those shockwaves.
And just a slight overflow of power had such an effect—Huaben could almost imagine how great the true power of that punch was.
"Immediately turn the ship!"
So he immediately let out a low roar.
But it was very obvious.
It was already too late.
The next moment, Loy, who was Moonwalking over the sea, had already punched out.
"Ice Wave Fist: Eternal Frost!"
(end of chapter)