Chapter 53: Hans: Feeling a pleasant warmth in his heart.
"Buru buru buru." "Buru buru buru."
On the warship, the Den Den Mushi rang incessantly. It continued to ring until it sounded as if it were getting tired.
"Click."
Hans's trembling hand finally picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Hello!"
"Hans, you fellow! Why did you just answer? What about Loy?!"
The Den Den Mushi instantly roared, almost leaping, and judging by its expression and tone, it was clearly Vice Admiral Biloss.
"I've already reported the situation. Now, immediately hand the Den Den Mushi to the 'King of the Manta Rays'—tell him, if anything happens to Loy, I'll definitely..."
"Vice Admiral Biloss, it's no longer necessary!"
But before he could finish, Hans, uncharacteristically, interrupted him.
"What's not necessary? What do you mean? Loy wouldn't..."
Vice Admiral Biloss seemed to have considered a possibility, and his voice suddenly grew grim.
Through the Den Den Mushi, Hans could almost feel the other party's anger.
"No, it's not—Vice Admiral Biloss, please don't misunderstand."
He hurriedly explained:
But his voice was still trembling: "What I meant by 'not necessary' is that the battle has indeed ended."
At this point, Hans swallowed hard and involuntarily looked into the distance.
Even at this moment, he still couldn't believe it.
"Captain, he has already won!"
"...Huh?"
It was precisely when the Den Den Mushi seemed about to disconnect.
On the battlefield, the scene was extraordinary.
One could only see that the vast sea, previously frozen by Loy, had completely transformed.
In the center of the giant ice field, a massive "canyon" had abruptly appeared.
Seawater surged violently along the edges of the canyon, and shattered ice blocks floated up from within.
And at the end of that canyon was a colossal wave sealed in ice.
A figure was embedded within that giant wave—it was Huaben.
At this moment, the Seven Warlord's limbs were clearly twisted abnormally, and his helmet was completely deformed and cracked.
He was embedded within the ice-sealed colossal wave, covered in blood, his breathing weak, yet he incredibly still kept his eyes open.
And in front of him, a figure stood there.
The sunlight from the sky shone upon the ice block, casting his shadow, silently declaring the outcome of the battle.
Loy Aros was the victor of this battle.
"Hmph, as expected of an Ancient Zoan user nearing awakening, his vitality is truly tenacious."
At this moment, Loy's breathing was heavy as he spoke.
For him, who had just barely managed to grasp the "Dark Body Flow", that punch, despite his physique, had inflicted an enormous burden.
But without a doubt, he was absolutely satisfied with the power of that punch—the surrounding scenery could attest to that fact.
However, this very point also surprised him.
Even after taking that punch head-on, Huaben was still alive.
His vitality was clearly evident.
And it was precisely while Loy was sighing with emotion...
"Captain!" "Captain!" "Wait a moment!"
The voice from behind made Loy pause.
He turned his head and saw Hans and Fahr leaping down from the warship, rushing towards him.
In addition,
"Moor? Lanster?"
Loy also clearly saw two Marines, wrapped in bandages, waving at him from the warship's deck.
These were the two Marines who had gone missing during the earlier explosion.
"Cap...Cap...Cap..."
And very quickly, Hans and Fahr arrived beside Loy.
"We found Moor and Lanster in the bottom of the ship, hidden in the water tank; they didn't suffer any particularly fatal injuries—and also this Den Den Mushi from headquarters."
They were panting heavily as they handed the Den Den Mushi to Loy.
After hearing their words, Loy's expression also eased slightly.
Then he picked up the Den Den Mushi: "Hello, Vice Admiral Biloss—"
He naturally assumed the other end of the Den Den Mushi was Vice Admiral Biloss, so his words were very casual.
"Lieutenant Commander Loy."
But the voice from the other end of the Den Den Mushi made him pause.
Because it was clearly not Vice Admiral Biloss's voice, but a more majestic and solemn voice.
Loy was not unfamiliar with this voice.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
He had seen Sengoku at the Marines' mobilization conferences and drills every year—his Great Buddha Fruit ability also stemmed from this.
"It is I."
As expected, Sengoku personally confirmed his identity.
Then,
"I've already told Biloss about the situation, but to confirm... I'll reiterate it once more."
"You defeated 'King of the Manta Rays' Huaben, correct?"
His tone was very calm—but judging from the Den Den Mushi's solemn expression, it was clearly otherwise.
"Yes."
Loy, of course, did not deny it: "He's right in front of me—and still has one breath left."
"..."
The Den Den Mushi fell silent.
But even so, Loy could still sense the Fleet Admiral's astonishment.
A moment later,
"Lieutenant Commander Loy, I'm afraid I must tell you..."
Sengoku spoke in a deep voice, getting straight to the point: "You cannot kill him."
After hearing Sengoku's words, Loy's expression remained unchanged: "Because he is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
"That's right."
Sengoku said loudly: "The Seven Warlords of the Sea are one of the 'Three Great Powers' designated by the World Government; the Marines cannot move against him."
Before he could finish, Loy directly interrupted him.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'm afraid you've got one thing wrong."
"It wasn't I who acted against him, but he who acted against me—he attacked my ship, caused 'Fire Fist' Ace to escape, seriously injured two of my subordinates, and even tried to ram my warship."
At this moment, Loy's voice was very calm.
"If someone wants to harm my comrades, and then expects me to simply let him off the hook just because he's a so-called 'Seven Warlords of the Sea'—I don't recall joining such Marines!"
By the end, his voice had also become suddenly assertive.
These words also made Hans and Fahr, who were nearby, pause, and then their expressions showed even clearer emotion.
Their Captain directly fought a Seven Warlord of the Sea for them, and now he's even arguing with the Fleet Admiral—who wouldn't be moved?
"..."
Sengoku fell silent again.
At the same time, Loy faintly heard a few hearty laughs coming from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
A moment later, Sengoku's voice came from the Den Den Mushi again, but this time his voice seemed a little helpless: "Lieutenant Commander Loy, I can understand your sentiments. The Marines are certainly not as heartless as you make them out to be."
"Asking you to spare Huaben is not simply because of his status as a Seven Warlord of the Sea, but for other reasons."
This was clearly the limit of what he could reveal.
"I can guarantee that if Huaben dares to retaliate against you, the World Government will surely strip him of his Seven Warlord of the Sea title and dispatch a large Marine fleet to hunt him down!"
His words were righteous and stern.
Then, he immediately added: "As for the two injured individuals on your ship, Private Moor and Private First Class Lanster are not in life-threatening danger—Headquarters will compensate them for this and grant them additional merits."
He said so.
After hearing this, Loy continued to shake his head: "No, Fleet Admiral Sengoku—even if there's compensation, it shouldn't be Headquarters' responsibility. What's more, you may not know, besides my two close friends, my comrades who are like brothers, my warship and I were also damaged in the recent battle."
As he said this, the Den Den Mushi's expression grew increasingly strange.
Then, Sengoku interrupted Loy's exaggerated claims of "my ribs are broken in twenty places, my arms are completely shattered and fractured, and there's a very high chance I'll be crippled," and said directly: "Lieutenant Commander Loy, just state your demands."
He had clearly heard Loy's intentions—this kid seemed to have had a plan all along.
Upon hearing this, Loy also smiled.
"'King of the Manta Rays' Huaben attacked me proactively and caused serious consequences, so I hope he can provide me with adequate compensation."
"I heard he has a hobby of collecting Devil Fruits, so I hope he can hand over two Devil Fruits, and also two billion Beli in cash as medical expenses for my brothers and me."
He tried to extort.
Upon hearing this, Sengoku seemed speechless again.
After a long pause, he finally said: "You are Zephyr's disciple, and as far as I know, his 'Dark Body Flow' ability users cannot consume Devil Fruits."
"I know."
Before he could finish, Loy interrupted him again.
He, of course, knew that whether from the perspective of hiding his identity or following Zephyr's training, he couldn't openly eat Devil Fruits.
But what did "not being able to eat Devil Fruits" have to do with "not being able to acquire Devil Fruit abilities"?
Therefore...
"I am asking for this on behalf of my subordinates."
At this moment, Loy said righteously and sternly: "They want to become stronger, and as their superior, I naturally have the duty to help them!"
As soon as his words fell, Fahr and Hans were instantly struck as if by lightning.
They looked at Loy in disbelief.
"Captain, you..."
What kind of concern was this?
Yes—they had deeply felt their own weakness in the recent battle.
In that instant, they had indeed thought about wanting to become stronger.
But they deeply knew their own talents; they were no geniuses.
But now... Loy had actually guessed their thoughts, and even proactively demanded precious Devil Fruits for them—those were treasures of the sea, each worth over a hundred million Beli.
Such importance, such concern, they could only feel a warmth spreading through their hearts.
"Captain—don't worry, even if I become stronger than you after eating a Devil Fruit, I'll definitely be loyal, I won't betray you, you'll always be my Captain!"
Hans's deeply emotional and sincere words were halfway through when he was kicked to the ground by Loy.
After dealing with Hans, who had inadvertently revealed his rebellious thoughts, Loy continued to speak to the Den Den Mushi: "In short, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, as I just said, these are my demands."
He looked at the pitiful Huaben above him: "Do you think this demand is excessive?"
Excessive?
The other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent for a moment.
Then,
"Give the Den Den Mushi to Huaben. Let me speak with him alone."
The Marine Fleet Admiral said softly.
"No problem."
Loy had no objections whatsoever. He simply leaped into the air and casually tossed the Den Den Mushi onto Huaben's shoulder.
Then he landed again, waved to Hans and Fahr: "You two, come here. Fleet Admiral Sengoku wants to talk to him alone—and you, Hans, we brothers also need to have a private chat."
And as the trembling Hans was supported by the gloating Fahr and walked to the side with Loy...
They could still clearly hear Huaben's unyielding and firm words: "Sengoku, don't be so wishful—I absolutely cannot..."
He clearly still had the pride and dignity of a strong individual.
Even though he was defeated, he was still clearly unwilling to compromise.
But...
"..."
As the words from the Den Den Mushi continued to be spoken, Huaben's expression visibly changed.
Until the very end.
There was no longer any ruthlessness or ferocity in this Seven Warlord of the Sea's expression, only gloom.
(end of chapter)