The Sea Was Nothing But Water

Riding the wind and breaking through the waves, all I could see was an endless expanse of ocean!

A day had passed since the merchant ship left Goat Island. Early that morning, Chaos left his cabin and stepped onto the deck. He took a deep breath of the sea breeze and couldn't help thinking of a poem.

Ah!

The sea was nothing but water.

The vast, boundless ocean surrounded them, and the merchant ship was like a tiny leaf adrift on it.

They hadn't come across any pirate ships or other vessels all day, and Chaos's original eagerness to see pirates quickly faded.

It wasn't like watching anime.

After standing on deck to enjoy the sea breeze for a while, Chaos couldn't very well train there, so he returned to his cramped little cabin.

There were a few ways to pass the time aboard the merchant ship, such as gambling!

Chaos wasn't interested in that. One thing worth mentioning was that he could sense a good deal of gold aboard. This merchant ship was fairly wealthy.

Back in his cramped cabin, Chaos started doing push-ups and other exercises. Perhaps he'd made a habit of training, because going a day without it left him feeling restless.

It was a good habit to have.

He trained until noon, then pried off a piece of gold no bigger than a grain of rice and went to the kitchen to trade it for some food.

Then he returned to his cabin and flopped down, ready for a nap!

After he woke up, he would keep training.

But that nap got him into trouble!

In a daze, Chaos felt as if he were lying in a cradle, with someone murmuring in his ear, just like when he was little and someone had rocked him to sleep.

Somehow, he suddenly flew out of the cradle and hit the ground, his heart pounding with alarm. When he opened his eyes, he found the entire merchant ship shaking violently.

He could faintly hear cannon fire and the sounds of fighting outside.

He peered through the window, which was about the size of a washbasin. Right alongside them was a huge pirate ship flying a skull flag. He could see plenty of bloodthirsty, vicious-looking pirates wielding flintlock rifles, swords, or knives.

"Fire!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"A merchant ship this big must be loaded with supplies and money!"

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

Cannonballs shot from the pirate ship, and the merchant ship returned fire.

The two sides had exchanged a warm greeting right out of the gate.

"What a surprise!"

Chaos's expression shifted. A cannonball was flying straight toward him, but he didn't panic!

He knew he'd be fine even if the cannonball hit him.

Still, he had to dodge!

He opened the door and slammed it shut again in one fluid motion.

"Rumble!"

A fiery blast of force struck from behind. Chaos braced the cabin door with one hand, watching the panicked people in the corridor with a composure that made him seem out of place.

"Run!"

"The pirates are here!"

"We'll be all right, won't we?"

"There are plenty of guards on this merchant ship!"

"Damn it, my cargo!"

"That's everything I own!"

"Help!"

All kinds of human drama were playing out around him. Chaos decided to head up to the deck and take a look.

As he passed several rooms, he saw that they'd all been smashed apart by cannonballs and were burning. Through the gaping holes, he could see the waves surging just outside. Some unlucky people had been blown to pieces, their organs and severed limbs spattered across the walls. Blood ran everywhere, and the air reeked of blood and smoke. Chaos frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable.

It was his first time seeing mangled human remains from such close range.

He had a decent constitution and didn't feel sick or throw up.

On the first floor, guards hurried back and forth along the corridor, armed with either flintlock rifles or long knives. Even some of the passengers had joined them, and they all looked fierce.

Now that everyone's lives were at stake, anyone who'd spent time in the underworld would grab a weapon. It made them feel a little safer.

Some people were so terrified that all they could do was run around screaming. One sight left Chaos a little stunned.

It was a woman who weighed at least three hundred pounds. She wore a chef's uniform, so she was probably a cook. Now she was charging outside with a foot-long boning knife in hand and a fierce look on her face. She was a human tank.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was off to slaughter a pig.

What a sight!

"Don't come out and cause trouble! Get back inside, all of you!"

"Stay out of the way! We'll protect you!"

"I swear on my honor as a guard—nobody come out!"

The entire corridor was in an uproar. Two or three guards in armor shouted at everyone.

Unfortunately, panic was spreading, and many people had already lost their cool.

Outside, the sea, once calm, had turned violently turbulent. The pirate ship and merchant ship were very close, and vicious-looking pirates and guards were already fighting aboard both vessels.

Both ships were rocking violently. Explosions sent seawater crashing over the decks, which were stained red with blood.

Many pirates and guards lay on the decks, groaning in pain or already dead.

The severed limbs and horrifying wounds were nauseating just to look at.

Stray bullets flew everywhere, riddling the cabin walls with holes.

"Haha! Kill those damn guards!"

"Brothers, find some women! It's been ages since we had any fun!"

"We finally found a merchant ship. We can't let them get away!"

"We're the Poison Fang Pirates! Give up and we might spare your lives!"

"Our captain is Poison Fang, with a bounty of eight million seven hundred thousand Berries! He's made a name for himself across the Grand Line. Even the Marines have to show him some respect!"

"Fire!"

"Help, I've been shot!"

"Die!"

Chaos stepped out of the cabin and surveyed the chaotic deck. The pirates were laughing wildly, while others screamed in pain. It was like a battlefield; one wrong move could mean death.

"Whoosh!"

A bullet grazed past him and punched a hole in the wall.

Chaos's eyelid twitched, and his heart beat a little faster.

The merchant ship couldn't sink. He still needed it to get to Water Seven or the Sabaody Archipelago.

Ahead of him, a guard with a long knife was fighting a pirate. Maybe it was because the guard was smaller, but he was clearly no match for the pirate.

A moment later, his arm was hacked off, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming.

Chaos moved a finger. A piece of his Golden Inner Armor split off and swiftly turned into a needle. It shot through the air with a sharp whistle, like a tiny bolt of lightning, and pierced the pirate through the back of the head.

It met no resistance at all. The pirate, still clutching his long knife, crashed to the ground. Blood and brain matter mixed on his forehead, and his body twitched a few times before he stopped breathing.

Chaos felt very little after killing a pirate so easily.

It was hardly any different from crushing a chicken.

The guard, who'd thought he was about to die, clutched his severed arm. His face was deathly pale as he stared in shock, then scrambled away to find cover, drenched in sweat.

Everyone feared death.

Chaos stayed by the cabin entrance. Four more Golden Needles appeared in his hand, and under his discreet control, they began reaping lives like the Grim Reaper.

It was like firing from concealment, except they were even faster than bullets. There was no time to dodge.

Especially amid all this chaos.

Wherever the five Golden Needles went, pirates fell one after another like cut wheat. Some of the stronger pirates sensed the danger and instinctively rolled aside or grabbed something to block the needles, thinking they could evade them that way.

But the Golden Needles could curve under Chaos's control. As screams rang out, many people realized something was wrong.

"Damn it, there's a powerful fighter on this ship!"

"Defend yourselves!"

"Notify the captain!"

Leaving a trail of corpses behind, the remaining pirates and guards backed away from each other and slowly formed defensive lines, keeping a close watch on their opponents. Even so, both sides continued firing at each other.

The atmosphere turned grim. Chunks of flesh and organs lay scattered across the deck, soaked in blood. It was a horrific, bloody sight!!