Chapter 322: I Declare
"King Wapol, it's that brat!"
Kuromarimo pointed toward Axel with one gloved hand.
Wapol looked up.
Because Drum Island was still tilted, Axel stood on higher ground, looking down at them from above.
Wapol remembered him clearly.
More than anything else, he remembered the ridiculous amount of money the boy had spent.
One hundred million Berries.
Just to have the Isshi-20 examine and treat him.
Then, before the treatment was even finished, he had simply walked away.
Even Wapol thought that was extravagant.
For a brief period, he had actually felt pleased to know there was someone in the world more wasteful than himself. It gave him something to use whenever those annoying commoners complained about his spending.
But that pleasant thought vanished almost immediately.
Because the brat had just said something unforgivable.
From now on, this place belongs to me.
Wapol's expression darkened.
"So it's this brat."
He pointed toward Axel.
"He just disrespected this King."
Then he turned to Kuromarimo.
"What punishment does someone receive for disrespecting a king?"
Kuromarimo answered immediately.
"Death, Your Majesty!"
Wapol nodded with satisfaction.
In theory, insulting a king could indeed lead to execution.
Of course, that only mattered if the king actually had the ability to carry out the sentence.
Chess stepped closer.
"King Wapol."
Wapol looked at him.
"Our current withdrawal was meant to avoid whatever danger is happening on the island."
Chess kept his voice low.
"If we fight him now, wouldn't that defeat the entire purpose?"
Wapol paused.
That was true.
They were preparing to leave precisely because something abnormal was happening to Drum Island.
The island had tilted nearly thirty degrees.
That was obviously not a natural occurrence.
And among the outsiders currently on the island, the only ones likely capable of causing something so absurd were the Marines and Axel.
Wapol was a tyrant, but that did not make him fearless.
If anything, someone who valued his own life as much as he did was extremely sensitive to danger.
A criminal worth four hundred million Berries was not someone he and his men could casually handle.
Chess's reminder quickly dragged him out of his kingly arrogance.
Still, abandoning all his treasure was painful.
Before Wapol could think of a solution, Axel came closer.
Kuromarimo suddenly noticed something.
"Wait."
He narrowed his eyes.
"There's blood on his clothes."
Wapol nearly shouted.
"Injured?!"
He caught himself and lowered his voice.
Chess was an archer.
His eyesight was considerably better than most people's, and after a careful look, he also noticed the red stains along Axel's clothes.
There was more.
The boy looked tired.
His posture remained steady, but there was a heaviness around him that had not been there during their first meeting.
"He does seem injured."
Chess thought for a moment.
"We should observe first."
Then he leaned toward Wapol.
"If he really came here looking for trouble, wait for an opening."
Wapol listened closely.
"Then swallow him."
Wapol's confidence immediately returned.
No one who entered his mouth had ever escaped.
He nodded.
"Good idea."
By then, Axel had already approached.
He looked slightly surprised to find them still there.
Then he scratched his head.
"Aren't you going to run?"
Wapol's face darkened.
That opening line alone carried an absurd amount of confidence.
Kuromarimo and Chess had the same thought.
If they had witnessed Axel's battle with Garp, however, none of them would have found it arrogant.
They would have turned and fled the moment they saw him.
Wapol frowned.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Chess stepped in before the king said something foolish.
"What His Majesty means is, what exactly are you trying to achieve?"
He glanced toward the surrounding mountain.
"You want us to leave?"
Axel said nothing.
Chess continued.
"You should remember that there are Marines all over this island."
"If a conflict breaks out between us, neither side benefits."
His gaze moved toward the blood on Axel's clothes.
"Especially in your current condition."
Axel smiled.
So that was their approach.
Interesting.
Against many wanted criminals, Chess's words might actually work.
First, he invoked the Marines.
As Drum Kingdom was affiliated with the World Government, the implication was obvious. If Axel attacked the king, the kingdom could call upon Marine support.
Second, Chess deliberately pointed out Axel's condition.
He was injured.
A prolonged fight would only worsen his state and make it easier for the Marines to catch him.
Reasonable.
Unfortunately, neither point mattered.
Axel had already broken through the Marine blockade to reach Drum Peak.
He was hardly concerned about being located again.
And the injuries on his body were not something Wapol's men had caused.
Most of them were simply old damage aggravated by his earlier battle.
Axel gave them a pleasant smile.
"I already told you what I want."
He looked toward the castle.
"From now on, this place belongs to me."
Then his gaze shifted toward the treasure piled nearby.
"That includes the castle."
"The treasure."
"And everything else here."
Wapol's face twisted.
Chess and Kuromarimo exchanged a glance.
Negotiation was over.
Chess moved first.
He pulled his bow free in one smooth motion.
Three arrows were already between his fingers.
He drew.
Released.
Whoosh!
All three arrows flew toward Axel's vital points.
At the same time, Kuromarimo rushed around from the side.
He closed the distance quickly and threw a heavy punch.
The two attacks struck almost together.
Axel did not dodge.
Kuromarimo's fist touched him.
Bang!
The force came straight back.
Kuromarimo was launched backward and crashed across the snow.
The arrows met Axel a fraction of a second later.
They stopped.
Then reversed.
Chess barely had time to react before the three arrows shot back toward him like springs released from compression.
"Damn!"
He threw himself aside.
Neither attack had accomplished anything.
But Chess and Kuromarimo were not discouraged.
Because they had only been buying time.
Behind Axel, Wapol's mouth opened.
Wide.
Then wider.
His jaws stretched into the enormous maw granted by the Munch-Munch Fruit.
Before Axel turned around, Wapol lunged.
Chomp!
Axel disappeared into his mouth.
The guards immediately erupted.
"King Wapol did it!"
"As expected of His Majesty!"
"He swallowed him!"
Wapol began chewing furiously.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Or at least, he tried to.
His expression quickly changed.
Normally, almost anything became food once it entered his mouth.
Metal?
Crunchy.
Stone?
Edible.
Weapons?
No problem.
But this time...
His teeth would not close.
It felt less like chewing food and more like biting down on solid diamond.
Wapol's cheeks shook from the force.
His jaw trembled.
He tried harder.
Nothing.
The vibration traveled through his teeth and into his skull.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Finally, Wapol could not take it anymore.
He spat.
Ptoo!
Axel flew out.
Then landed lightly on his feet.
Not a single drop of saliva touched him.
He brushed imaginary dust from his clothes.
"The Munch-Munch Fruit really is interesting."
Wapol stared at him.
"But its power only matters if you can actually swallow the target."
Axel looked up.
"And you can't swallow me."
Wapol's face turned pale.
For the first time, his ability had completely failed against someone.
Chess and Kuromarimo understood what that meant immediately.
Their expressions changed.
So did the surrounding guards.
Wapol had ruled Drum Kingdom through fear for years.
Everyone knew what his Devil Fruit could do.
They had seen him eat weapons.
Buildings.
Even people.
The thought that his ability might simply fail against someone had never occurred to them.
Axel looked at him.
"Wapol, right?"
His voice was quiet.
Then the air moved.
Wapol's body suddenly stiffened.
"What...?"
He tried to step back.
His legs did not obey.
Pressure seized him from every direction.
His knees bent.
Then slammed into the snow.
Wapol's head lowered.
He struggled.
Nothing happened.
He opened his mouth to scream.
No sound came out.
For the first time in years, Wapol experienced the same helplessness he had inflicted on countless others.
Unable to move.
Unable to speak.
Unable to decide what happened next.
His fate rested entirely in someone else's hands.
Chess and Kuromarimo moved instinctively to help him.
They never got the chance.
The same invisible pressure forced them down.
Both men hit their knees.
No matter how they struggled, their bodies refused to respond.
Axel stood above them.
His crimson eyes opened fully.
There was little emotion in them.
Perhaps boredom.
Perhaps amusement.
Perhaps nothing at all.
From where Wapol knelt, Axel seemed almost impossibly distant.
The five-thousand-meter Drum Peak beneath them might as well have been transparent.
Those red eyes felt like they pierced straight through everything and fixed directly on him.
Wapol's breathing quickened.
He felt like prey beneath the gaze of some enormous beast.
And the worst part was not knowing what the beast intended to do.
Kill him?
Spare him?
Play with him?
He could not ask.
Could not move.
Could not even beg.
All he could do was pray silently for mercy.
Or curse the monster standing above him.
Axel lowered his gaze.
Like a king delivering a decree.
Or perhaps a bored child deciding the rules of a game.
Then he spoke.
"I hereby declare…"
....
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