Hearing the voice, Junhe immediately turned around.
The moment he saw Nero, he respectfully said,
“Your Highness, why are you here?”
“With something this big happening, how could I not come?”
Nero replied helplessly.
Junhe took a deep breath and laughed.
“The enemy has eight ships in total.
Judging by their size, there should be around a thousand pirates.
For people like us, this is quite a challenge.”
“This time, we’ll keep them all here.”
Nero spoke indifferently.
“The kingdom happens to be short on labor.
I think they’ll be quite useful.”
Junhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Just what was his prince thinking?
As the fleet drew closer, most of the five hundred soldiers became increasingly nervous.
After all, few of them had ever experienced a real battle.
The skull insignia hanging from the pirate ships became clearer and clearer as the distance closed.
Before the soldiers could react, however, the enemy’s cannons had already opened fire.
“How’s your training progressing?
The things I taught you before?”
Nero asked Junhe.
“I’ve mastered most of them.
But didn’t you say I wasn’t allowed to use them in front of others?”
Junhe asked in confusion.
“It doesn’t matter here.”
Nero smiled.
“Take them all down.
The kingdom needs workers anyway.”
The two remained completely calm.
Neither showed the slightest sign of panic.
The soldiers behind them were another story entirely.
Among the five hundred men stood dozens who were markedly different from the rest.
These were the people Nero had personally trained over the years.
The pirate ships continued firing.
Cannons roared endlessly.
Unfortunately for the pirates, their accuracy was terrible.
After a long bombardment, not a single soldier on Nero’s side had been injured.
The soldiers who had been frightened moments ago gradually found their courage.
“I’ll stay here and watch.”
Nero said to Junhe.
“You take them down.
If they resist, killing a few doesn’t matter.
But preserve the pirate ships if possible.
Our kingdom is poor, and those ships are worth quite a bit.
Try not to kill unnecessarily.
Train these people properly afterward.
They’ll become part of the kingdom’s workforce.”
Junhe laughed.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The moment he finished speaking, he turned toward the soldiers behind him and shouted loudly,
“We’ve trained for so long.
It’s time to show what we’re capable of.
Everyone, follow me!”
With that, Junhe charged forward.
The dozens of specially trained soldiers followed immediately without hesitation.
Under everyone’s gaze, they reached the coastline and suddenly leaped into the air.
Then they ran directly toward the pirate ships.
The sight left everyone stunned.
Not only the pirates but even the remaining soldiers were frozen in disbelief.
These young men had all been personally selected by Nero for their physical talent and strength.
To ordinary soldiers, what they were witnessing seemed impossible.
The pirates were equally shocked.
Seeing people running through the air was enough to frighten most of them.
“Fire!
Don’t let them reach the ships!”
One pirate shouted frantically.
The pirates immediately intensified their attacks.
Shells filled the sky.
Yet the outcome had already been decided.
No matter how many pirates there were, numbers alone couldn’t bridge the gap.
The bombardment continued relentlessly, but almost none of the attacks found their mark.
Junhe and his companions landed directly aboard the pirate ships.
They swept through the enemy like wolves among sheep.
No one could stop them.
Even the pirate captains fared no better.
Just when everyone thought the battle was over, a figure suddenly shot upward from one of the ships.
The man leaped nearly a hundred meters into the air.
His speed was even greater than that of those using the Six Powers.
“A Devil Fruit user?”
Nero narrowed his eyes.
This was clearly no ordinary ability.
It was obviously the power of a Devil Fruit.
Still, he was only one person.
Against so many opponents, he wasn’t much of a threat.
The key issue was that he happened to be charging straight toward Nero.
“Do you know who I am?”
The pirate shouted while bouncing through the air.
“I am Defamo, the Jump-Jump Man!
The user of the Jump-Jump Fruit!”
Wearing a long robe and acting like a complete fool, the man seemed completely unaware of his current situation.
Even after landing on the beach, he continued laughing and mocking everyone.
Then, just as his feet touched the sand, a foot suddenly appeared from nowhere and slammed into his face.
Before he could even steady himself, he was sent flying hundreds of meters away.
Everyone watching was stunned.
Even the spectacle of Junhe and the others running through the air wasn’t as shocking as this.
Nero had crossed hundreds of meters in an instant.
A single kick had knocked out the pirate captain.
“I thought he’d be stronger.”
Nero sighed.
“I didn’t expect him to be this weak.”
He was genuinely disappointed.
Without a proper opponent, there was no way to gauge his own strength.
Even with a Devil Fruit, the pirate had been pitifully weak.
Still, Nero found it somewhat amusing.
Rare Devil Fruits were difficult to find, yet the Tru Kingdom had encountered two users in South Blue alone.
What should have been valuable treasures had somehow ended up in the hands of pirates.
Less than thirty minutes later, the entire pirate crew had been defeated.
If Nero hadn’t ordered them to preserve the ships, the battle would have ended in ten minutes.
Junhe used Moonwalk to return from the battlefield.
Landing before Nero, he smiled.
“Your Highness, it’s done.”
“Very good.”
Nero nodded.
“Inventory everything aboard the ships.
As for the prisoners, bring them back and keep them under control.
We’ll have use for them later.”
There was no surprise in his expression.
In his eyes, this result was only natural.
After investing so much effort into training these people, losing to a mere pirate crew would have been unreasonable.
“Your Highness, there are many valuable goods aboard the ships.
Would you like to take a look?”
Junhe asked.
“No need.”
Nero shook his head.
“Send anything valuable to the palace.
As for the ships, remove the pirate flags and convert them for civilian use.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“Oh, one more thing.”
Nero smiled.
“Keep that Devil Fruit user alive.
We’ll need him later.”
Nero already understood the nature of the man’s Devil Fruit.
As far as he was concerned, it was practically worthless.
Even so, the man himself still had value.
Less than an hour after arriving, everything was over.
Even Nero couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
There hadn’t been any challenge at all.
After he left, the area became lively again.
The soldiers who had spent the entire battle watching couldn’t stop discussing what they had witnessed.
Even Junhe was surprised.
He had always known Nero was strong.
But no one had actually seen how he moved earlier.
The pirate captain had simply flown away.
A Devil Fruit user unable to withstand a single kick was truly pathetic.
“Take good care of that man.”
Junhe ordered.
“Don’t let him die.
According to His Highness’s instructions, these people will be useful in the future.”
“Yes!”
The soldiers responded in unison.
Their voices were loud and spirited.
After witnessing the strength of Junhe and the others, their pride had risen dramatically.
“Let me go!
Do you know who I am?
I’m a Devil Fruit user!
I can jump—”
Bang!
Before the captured pirate captain could finish speaking, Junhe kicked him directly in the face.
Remembering Nero’s effortless strike from earlier, Junhe couldn’t help shaking his head.
“You idiot.”
Junhe sighed.
“You’re already in this condition, and you’re still bragging about being a Devil Fruit user?”
At that moment, a soldier ran over.
“Lord Junhe, the inventory is complete.
We’ve captured 951 pirates, eight pirate ships, one ship full of food supplies, and a large quantity of gold, silver, and jewels.”
“Send all valuables to the palace.”
Junhe nodded.
“As for the ships, remove their pirate flags and convert them into cargo vessels for the kingdom.”
“Understood!”
The sight that followed was almost comical.
Five hundred soldiers escorted nearly a thousand pirates.
Yet none of the prisoners dared resist.
Their captain had been defeated in front of them.
What was left to struggle for?
More importantly, the strength displayed by Junhe and the others had thoroughly frightened them.
They had only recently set sail and had already encountered monsters like these.
Their luck couldn’t have been worse.
Meanwhile, citizens gathered along the roads to watch.
Such scenes were rare in the Tru Kingdom.
For years, people had feared pirates.
Now that fear seemed to have vanished.
Junhe intentionally marched the prisoners through populated areas.
He wanted the people to see that pirates weren’t invincible.
The kingdom was fully capable of protecting them.
At the same time, Nero had already begun considering the future.
He intended to train a new generation of young people.
After all, if he was going to lead this kingdom, many outdated ways of thinking would need to change.
At present, the Tru Kingdom possessed only basic self-defense capabilities.
Compared to neighboring nations, that was already an improvement.
Anything beyond that would have to wait.
One month later, a major event shook the kingdom.
The old king passed away.
Yet surprisingly, there was little sorrow.
Even Nero himself had long been mentally prepared.
The old king was eighty-five years old.
His death was a natural passing due to old age.
Moreover, he had left peacefully.
As his only son, Nero naturally inherited the throne.
“Lord Nero, you’ll officially ascend the throne tomorrow.
You should rest early tonight.”
Late that night, Nero stood alone outside the palace hall, gazing up at the stars.
A maid standing behind him softly reminded him.
Nero glanced at her but said nothing.
Instead, he continued looking skyward.
To others, it appeared he was mourning his father.
Only he knew what he was truly thinking.
News of the old king’s death wasn’t announced to the kingdom until five days later.
At the same time, the people learned that a new king would soon take the throne.
Everyone eagerly anticipated Nero’s future performance.
Could he truly lead the kingdom toward prosperity?
Bearing that pressure, Nero remained awake late into the night.
Standing beneath the stars, he silently contemplated his future.
After a long while, a faint smile appeared on his face.
He finally seemed to understand his mission.
He wasn’t going to run from it.
Turning around, he walked toward his residence.
From this day onward, there would be no one left to shield him.
Everything would depend on him alone.
Early the next morning, the palace became busier than it had ever been.
Old ministers and newly promoted officials alike gathered together, waiting for a single person.
Nero appeared at the final moment.
He wore royal robes entirely different from his usual attire.
A golden crown rested upon his head.
Though only fourteen years old, he carried himself with remarkable dignity.
The moment he entered the hall, everyone bowed respectfully.
This was both a greeting and a celebration for their new king.
Nero stopped beneath the throne and quietly looked up at it.
This wasn’t the first time he had stood there.
When he had acted on behalf of the kingdom before, he had often sat upon it casually.
Today was different.
The hall remained completely silent.
No one spoke.
Everyone simply waited for what would come next.