BOOM!
The ship came apart completely.
The entire pirate vessel broke and sank into the sea.
At the same time, Kai—still in the middle of his battle with Weevil—kicked off the air with Geppo and rose into the sky, quickly opening a safe distance between them.
As for Weevil—
once he lost the support of the ship beneath him, his massive six- to seven-meter body dropped heavily toward the sea below.
BOOM!
His giant body crashed into the water, sending waves rolling outward.
Splash! Splash!
The sea churned.
Not long after, the once-massive pirate ship—now reduced to two broken sections—continued sinking deeper and deeper into the endless ocean.
The pirates who had been unconscious on board were all dragged into the water as well. Some floated. Some sank outright and drowned.
Among them, Miss Bakkin struggled wildly at the surface, clutching a broken plank with both hands to keep herself from going under.
She was soaked through, her hair hanging in a wild mess.
That only made her already ugly face look even more hideous.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
She clung to the floating wood, glaring murderously at Kai high in the sky.
Now that the pirate ship was gone, she had no idea how they could continue sailing this sea.
Unless…
"We take that warship."
"That's the only way we can keep moving through these waters. Otherwise, the Sea Kings below will be enough to finish us off."
That thought flashed through Miss Bakkin's mind.
Her eyes shifted toward the large warship parked about a kilometer away. She could clearly see the Marines standing on deck, watching the battle.
"As long as Weevil kills that monster, that warship becomes ours."
"But the real problem now is…"
"Can he actually do it?"
If Weevil had never clashed with Kai like this, Miss Bakkin would have had absolute confidence in him.
But Kai and Weevil had now been fighting for nearly an hour.
And after a full hour—
there was still no winner.
That made Miss Bakkin's heart sink.
A very bad feeling was growing inside her.
Since the day she and Weevil first set sail, this was the first time she had ever encountered an enemy who could hold Weevil off for a full hour without falling.
And the most terrifying part—
that enemy was only five years old.
A complete monster.
"If Weevil can't kill that brat, then our position is going to become very dangerous."
Miss Bakkin ground her teeth, filled with regret.
If she had known this would happen, she never would have ordered an attack on this warship.
But how could she have guessed—
that a monster of this level was aboard?
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look back toward the sea where the next stage of the battle would unfold.
Now that the pirate ship had completely collapsed, this stretch of ocean would naturally become the new battlefield.
Broken debris floated everywhere.
The remains of the shattered ship covered the water in chaotic patches.
There were also unconscious pirates drifting in the waves, adding to the miserable scene.
It looked like the aftermath of a full-blown shipwreck.
"If this turns into a sea battle, Weevil may actually fall into a disadvantage."
"That five-year-old brat knows the Six Powers. He can fight in the air."
"In that case, the difficulty for Weevil is going to rise sharply."
The more Miss Bakkin thought about it, the worse her mood became.
She lifted her head and looked at the child walking on air.
Even though he was covered in blood and full of wounds, she still didn't believe he was anywhere near the end of his rope.
Then she looked at Weevil.
His face was bloody as well, and his injuries were clearly serious.
This was one of the rare times in her life she had ever seen her son hurt this badly.
After all—
Weevil's reputation as a man with Whitebeard's youthful strength was no hollow rumor.
He truly was that strong.
And anyone who could injure him like this…
was obviously a terrifying monster too.
"A five-year-old brat this strong…"
"It's absurd."
Miss Bakkin's heart still couldn't calm down.
As Weevil floated in the sea, Kai stood high above him on Geppo, looking down from several dozen meters in the air.
Then he swung his leg.
"Rankyaku!"
A dazzling slash flew from his kick and crashed down toward Weevil's position below.
SHHHK!
The blade of force struck Weevil directly.
BOOM!
The slash exploded across a wide stretch of ocean, engulfing Weevil and the surrounding waters in a violent blast.
The sea was split open by the force, carving a deep scar several meters down and stretching more than ten meters across the surface.
Splash! Splash!
Columns of seawater were blasted high into the sky.
Weevil's body sank slightly under the impact, and fresh superficial wounds opened across him. Blood drifted from those cuts and spread into the seawater around him.
The smell of blood filled his nose.
It only made him angrier.
More violent.
More unstable.
With nearly mindless fury, he glared at Kai in the sky.
"Die!"
Standing in the water, Weevil swung his naginata upward.
The blade, still coated in black Armament Haki, carved a fierce arc through the air.
In an instant—
SHHHK—!
A sharp sky-blue slash shot toward Kai with explosive speed, fast enough to cut through the sky itself.
But before it could reach him—
Kai vanished again.
"Soru!"
Using Soru in combination with Geppo, Kai left his original position in an instant.
That meant Weevil's slash only struck the afterimage he left behind.
Nothing more.
Kai reappeared elsewhere in the air and smiled as he looked down at Weevil.
"In that case…"
"the advantage in this battle is mine."
With Geppo and Soru at his disposal, Kai had no need to fight Weevil in the water.
He could strike from any direction and any angle he wanted.
And with that mobility advantage—
Weevil was almost helpless.
"Soru!"
Kai vanished again.
When he reappeared, he was already less than half a meter above Weevil's head.
"Armament Haki—on!"
Armament Haki spread over Kai's right leg, coating it in pitch-black armor that radiated a terrifying, razor-sharp pressure.
Then—
he drove that leg down on Weevil with all his strength.
Power gathered into the kick and exploded at once.
"AAAAAH!"
Weevil raised his naginata over his head, using the Haki-coated weapon to block.
BOOOOM—!
Kai's kick exploded with terrifying force, driving both Weevil and the giant naginata straight down more than ten meters beneath the surface.
The violent power sent Weevil sinking rapidly.
The blast also whipped up a huge surge in the surrounding sea, water spraying high into the sky before raining back down again.
For a brief moment, a faint rainbow appeared in the mist.
A short while later, Weevil rose back to the surface.
The seawater had washed the blood off his body, but it hadn't erased the wounds.
His hair was soaked and in complete disarray.
His large body was covered in injuries.
He looked utterly miserable.
"I'm going to kill you!"
At this point, Weevil could do little more than roar in helpless rage.
With Geppo, Kai already stood in an unbeatable position.
"Kill me?"
"You no longer have that luxury."
Kai laughed.
Then—
suddenly—
BANG!
A sharp crack rang out.
The sound was loud and piercing.
In the next instant, a bullet with terrifying explosive force tore through the air toward the back of Kai's head.
Its speed was astonishing.
Dozens of times faster than an ordinary handgun round.
Its destructive power was also far beyond that of a normal firearm.
"Hm?"
Kai's brows rose slightly.
His Observation Haki had already captured the bullet's trajectory with perfect clarity.
To him, it posed almost no threat at all.
What surprised him was something else entirely—
At a time like this…
someone still dared to shoot at him?
Were they tired of living?
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