Boom!
A gigantic curtain of seawater rose into the sky, blotting out the horizon like a falling wall of the ocean itself, before slamming mercilessly down onto the three Marine warships.
The Marine soldiers on deck stared upward in sheer terror, their disciplined formation collapsing in an instant as instinct replaced order.
“Fire the cannons!
Hurry up and fire!
Stop it!” the leading Commodore roared, desperately trying to counter the descending wall with artillery fire.
Cannons thundered, but the cannonballs vanished into the water mass without resistance, producing nothing more than scattered splashes and ripples before being swallowed entirely.
“Rumble!!!”
The water curtain pressed down further, overwhelming everything beneath it.
“Damn it!
Turn the rudder!
Turn it now!” the Commodore shouted in panic, realizing too late that escape was already impossible.
“Hehe~~ too late.”
Roy stood at the bow of the pirate ship, his golden hair swaying slightly in the wind, his expression calm as the sea itself responded to his will.
The massive water curtain crashed fully onto the ships.
In an instant, all three warships capsized violently and began sinking into the sea.
Wood splintered, iron groaned, and the formation that once represented Marine authority was reduced to wreckage beneath the waves.
“Mon… monster…”
The surviving Marines floated in the water, gasping for air, staring in disbelief at the young man standing calmly on the pirate ship as though nothing remarkable had happened.
“Damn it!
What have you done to my men!”
Amid the chaos, the Marine Commodore refused to sink with his ship.
Using Rokushiki technique, he stepped onto the air with Moonwalk, propelling himself forward at high speed toward Roy.
“Oh?”
Roy tilted his head slightly.
“He actually knows Moonwalk.
One of the Rokushiki techniques?”
The Commodore rose into the air, attempting to stabilize his position above the waves, his face twisted with rage and determination.
“Pirate Roy!
I will capture you here myself!”
Roy gave a faint, almost bored smile.
“A Marine who can use proper martial arts.
Not bad.”
But there was no seriousness in his eyes.
“Capture me?
At sea?”
His tone carried quiet disdain, as if the idea itself was amusing.
Even if Sengoku came in person, Roy did not believe anyone could truly capture them in open waters.
(At least not Garp or Zephyr.)
“Sink.”
A single word.
Invisible force compressed downward.
The Commodore’s body suddenly froze mid-air as if the space around him had turned solid.
“Wha?!”
Before he could react, his entire body was forced downward at terrifying speed, plunging headfirst into the sea.
A massive splash erupted as he disappeared beneath the surface.
“Stella, keep moving forward.”
“Understood, Captain.”
The pirate ship did not slow down.
It continued cutting through the sea as if nothing had happened.
Roy paid no further attention to the Marines struggling in the water.
In this world, Marines and pirates were natural enemies.
There was no reason for hesitation when they had already chosen to attack.
Leaving them alive already counted as restraint, especially considering even the Commodore had ordered executions without mercy earlier.
The ship sailed past the wreckage and drifting Marines, entering a calmer stretch of sea.
Sunlight spilled across the deck, reflecting softly on the waves, and the aftermath of battle began to feel almost like a quiet reward for their departure.
Tesoro suddenly jumped up in excitement.
“Boss!
That was insane!
You sank those warships in one move!
Those Marines didn’t stand a chance at all!”
Roy, who had just opened the cabin door, paused slightly and glanced at him.
“Tesoro.
Don’t underestimate the Marines too much.”
He stepped inside briefly, then continued.
“What we fought today were just ordinary soldiers and officers.
The real power of the Marines hasn’t appeared yet.”
Tesoro blinked.
Roy’s tone became more serious.
“If a headquarters Vice Admiral came, or worse… someone like Borsalino, it wouldn’t be so easy for us to leave unharmed.”
At the mention of Borsalino, Roy’s eyes sharpened slightly.
That last encounter had not been clean victory or defeat.
It had been timing, advantage, and a moment of carelessness.
If Rayleigh had not restrained Sengoku back then, escape would have been impossible.
Roy exhaled slowly in thought.
“I need to get stronger faster.”
“At minimum, I must master Armament Haki.
Only then will Logia users stop being such a problem.”
He glanced at Tesoro before closing the cabin door.
“Train harder, Tesoro.
From now on, every opponent we face will only get stronger.”
“Yes, Boss!”
Tesoro straightened immediately, his earlier excitement replaced by seriousness.
Maple Leaf Island.
Half an hour after Roy’s departure, a golden streak tore across the sky.
Borsalino descended in the form of light, arriving above the island at extreme speed.
Unlike his usual lazy demeanor, his expression was unusually focused this time.
He had no intention of repeating past mistakes.
But when he extended Observation Haki across the town, he found nothing.
Only silence.
“Hmm… too late already?”
He frowned slightly.
His gaze shifted toward the sea.
There, wreckage floated across the surface.
Three Marine warships, completely destroyed, scattered like broken toys.
Survivors were desperately swimming toward shore.
“Rear Admiral Borsalino!
Pirate Roy has already escaped!”
A Marine officer approached, saluting with a stiff, ashamed expression.
Borsalino sighed faintly.
“And what happened here?”
“That boy… he’s a monster.
He defeated us in one attack and sank all three warships.”
“Is that so…”
Borsalino lowered his head slightly, thinking.
“So he’s grown again.
How troublesome…”
He exhaled lazily.
“First, have the nearby base recover you all.
I need to report back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.”
Marine Headquarters.
Den Den Mushi rang.
“Moshi moshi Sengoku speaking.”
“Ah~ Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
It’s me, Borsalino.”
“Report.
Did you capture Roy?”
“…I was a little late.”
A brief silence.
“Three Marine warships were sunk near Maple Leaf Island.
Roy’s crew has already left.”
Sengoku’s voice hardened immediately.
“One attack?”
“Seems so~ according to survivors, it wasn’t a normal Devil Fruit ability.
More like direct manipulation of seawater.
Quite the troublesome brat~”
Sengoku fell silent for a moment.
“Return for now.
I will send other units to continue pursuit.”
*Kacha.*
The call ended.
Sengoku looked at Roy’s wanted poster on his desk, his expression growing heavier.
“This cannot continue.”
“If he keeps growing at this rate…”
His hand tightened slightly.
“…we may have to take extreme measures.”
Meanwhile, aboard the pirate ship.
Roy entered the captain’s cabin.
The room was simple, filled with scattered junk and signs of a rough pirate lifestyle.
He scanned it briefly, confirming nothing immediately dangerous.
Then he sat in the captain’s chair and began checking the desk.
A wanted poster of Giant Axe Buck caught his eye.
“Thirty-eight million Berries… so that’s all he was worth.”
He shook his head slightly, unimpressed.
Candlesticks, bottles, and random clutter filled the desk.
Roy stood up, about to clear everything away with his ability, when his eyes caught something under the bed.
A small treasure chest.
“Oh?”
His interest sharpened slightly.
He lifted it with telekinesis, tossing aside surrounding junk, and placed it on the desk.
“Now this looks more interesting.”
He opened it slowly.
Gold coins spilled out first, along with stacks of Berries.
Around twenty million total.
“Not bad… but nothing special.”
Roy leaned back slightly, unimpressed.
Just as he was about to lose interest, a smaller box hidden beneath the coins slid into view.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Hah…”
“Looks like my luck isn’t that bad after all.”
He brushed aside the remaining coins and pulled out a smaller sealed case used for Devil Fruits.
A faint smile appeared.
He opened it.
Inside, a Devil Fruit lay quietly in the chest.