On the shoreline, Da Hong, whom Kairo had just pushed forward, didn't immediately attack the Lord of the Coast.
After letting out a thunderous roar, the Sea King wasted no time and dove straight toward Da Hong.
As it surged forward at full speed, massive waves erupted across the sea. Spray shot into the air and reached the shore ahead of the beast itself.
Crash—!
The waves slammed into the beach and exploded outward, instantly soaking Da Hong like a drowned rat.
And in that exact instant—
The rabbit who had been curiously blinking at the enormous creature he'd just hooked exploded with rage.
The next second, he entered full berserk mode.
He leapt high into the air and threw a punch directly at the charging Sea King.
At the same moment, the Lord of the Coast's massive head lunged forward with its jaws wide open.
BOOM!
With a deafening impact, Da Hong's fist slammed straight into the creature's skull.
The result was immediate.
The Sea King's head visibly caved inward, its massive body losing all momentum as it was hurled backward.
A moment later—
CRASH!
The enormous creature smashed into the ocean, sending waves flying everywhere.
But Da Hong clearly had no intention of letting it escape.
The instant the Sea King's body hit the water, he shot downward like a cannonball and plunged straight into the sea after it.
Immediately, the ocean began churning violently.
Heavy thuds echoed from beneath the water, one after another, as powerful shockwaves sent waves crashing outward in all directions.
At that moment—
The villagers arrived in a large group, led by Makino.
"Mr. Kairo! Are you hurt?!"
Makino rushed forward first, her face full of concern.
Kairo hadn't expected the villagers to be alerted as well. Seeing them rushing over with all kinds of makeshift weapons—some carrying sickles, others holding hoes, and one man even barefoot from running out too quickly—he felt an unexpected warmth rise in his chest.
The world of One Piece was chaotic.
Pirates, Marines, and powerful figures constantly clashed.
But the people of Foosha Village remained untouched by that turmoil.
They lived peacefully, treating one another with kindness—and even showed the same care toward an outsider like him.
If true human warmth still existed anywhere in this world—
This was it.
"I'm fine."
Kairo smiled reassuringly at Makino, then turned toward the surrounding villagers.
"Don't worry, everyone. A single Sea King like this isn't enough to hurt me."
Then he added casually,
"But your timing is perfect. Once Da Hong finishes it off, tonight we'll hold a grilled fish banquet!"
BOOM!
Before Kairo even finished speaking, the ocean suddenly exploded upward.
A massive shadow burst from beneath the surface and flew through the air, tracing a long arc over the villagers' heads before crashing onto the rocky shore.
????
Everyone stared at the giant body lying on the rocks in utter confusion.
Then someone in the crowd suddenly shouted:
"Wait—this is…!"
"It's the Lord of the Coast! The one that bit off Shanks's arm!"
"It really is the Lord of the Coast! Mr. Kairo, what happened here?!"
"So this is the Sea King everyone talks about… it's huge!"
As the villagers murmured in shock, they quickly gathered around the fallen creature.
The Sea King was enormous—over twenty meters long. Its body resembled a gigantic sea eel, with glowing red eyes and blue fins.
Just looking at it was enough to send chills down someone's spine.
But unlike its usual terrifying presence, the Sea King lying on the rocks was barely recognizable.
Its head had been completely caved in by punches, strange fluids leaking from its mouth.
Though it wasn't fully dead yet, it was clearly on its last breath.
With everyone's attention focused on the Sea King, Kairo finally had a moment of peace.
He turned back toward the ocean and waited for Da Hong to return.
Makino soon noticed that someone was missing beside him.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Mr. Kairo… where is Da Hong?"
"Don't worry," Kairo replied calmly. "Da Hong will be fine."
After scanning the ocean once more and still not seeing him, Kairo turned his attention back to the Sea King on the rocks.
THUD!
THUD THUD!!
THUD THUD THUD!!!
A series of heavy impacts suddenly came from inside the Sea King's body.
Then—
The creature's stomach began bulging outward.
The villagers who had gathered around instantly jumped back in alarm.
RIP!
The Sea King's belly was violently torn open.
A familiar figure stepped out from the gash—
Da Hong, completely covered in slime.
The villagers stared in stunned silence as he walked calmly past them.
Without stopping, he headed straight to the sea and dove in.
When he resurfaced moments later, the slime had already been washed away.
But his anger clearly hadn't completely faded.
Dripping wet, he marched back to the Sea King's body and began punching its head again.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Rhythmic blows echoed across the shore.
Only after the Sea King's skull was completely pulverized did Da Hong finally stop.
The villagers watching couldn't help swallowing nervously. Several of them instinctively moved closer to Kairo.
"Mr. Da Hong is terrifying…"
"But the Lord of the Coast is dead! Hahaha!"
"The monster that's troubled our village for years is finally gone!"
"Mr. Da Hong, thank you! You solved a huge problem for us!"
As the villagers began thanking him, their fear quickly faded.
Soon, several of them rushed forward and lifted Da Hong into the air, tossing him upward in celebration.
Da Hong showed no emotion at all.
Floating briefly above the crowd, he calmly said:
"Grilled fish."
"Did you hear that?! Mr. Da Hong wants grilled fish!"
"The whole village is taking the day off! Today we only do one thing—grill this Sea King!"
"Grilled fish banquet! Grilled fish banquet!"
Watching the cheering villagers—and Da Hong, who looked indifferent but clearly enjoyed the attention—Makino couldn't help smiling.
Kairo also lost interest in fishing.
Glancing at the Sea King that Da Hong had just beaten to death, his mind immediately filled with thoughts of cumin, chili powder, salt, and oil.
After all—
High-quality ingredients deserved the most refined grilling technique… and the purest mood to enjoy them.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto