Champion Wallace

They chased after them relentlessly, while cannonballs rained down on the Simon Pirates' ship, each wanting the 300 million Beli reward.

Simon Pirates thought their meticulously modified pirate ship would win the competition, but they never expected the crew to simply convert a warship into a pirate ship.

Warships have powerful engines and are very heavy, so they aren't very fast. However, pirate ships are made of wood and are much lighter than warships. With such powerful engines, they can fly at incredible speeds.

However, the side effects of such powerful propulsion might cause the pirate ship to collapse. If you get close, you can see that the entire Simon Pirates' ship is trembling slightly, but it will survive this race.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Captain Simon shouted as he heard the cannon fire. He drew his long sword from his waist, leaped into the air, and slashed at a cannonball that was about to hit the ship.

A sharp flash of light, and the entire shell split in two in the air, then exploded with a loud bang.

Simon had anticipated this scene and was prepared, which is why he launched his attack at night. The dim light at night formed a good barrier for their ships, greatly reducing the accuracy of the pirate ships' cannonballs. In addition, after a day of cannon fire, they had very few cannonballs left.

If this secret weapon were revealed in the morning, it would surely be attacked by a mob, and the ship would be sunk to the bottom of the sea.

No one dares to be the first to act in the morning; those are the ones who die the earliest. The deadly sea races of each year have taught them this lesson in blood.

"Hahaha! This championship is mine, and I'll take the 300 million Beli!" Simon laughed loudly as he watched the pirate crews getting further and further away. At this moment, most of the cannonballs missed their mark, and the few that were about to hit the ship were intercepted by Simon in advance.

As you can see, several ships have run out of ammunition and supplies, and are unable to fire their cannons.

He stared wide-eyed, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, at the Simon Pirates' ship gradually disappearing into the distance.

With the acceleration provided by the warship's power, the return journey was quick, without the obstruction of Sea King or the relentless barrage of cannon fire from other pirate crews.

Cheers erupted from the Simon Pirates. Victory was within their grasp. In just half a day, the familiar island, their starting point Kakara Island, could be seen in the distance on the high seas.

"It seems the Simon Pirates will be the champions this time," one of the pirates said confidently.

"That's obvious, anyone can see that," one of the pirates nearby glanced at him.

Inside Simon Pirates's pirate ship, a small hole had been opened in the hull at some point, but no one noticed. The young man hiding inside poked his head out and, listening to the cheers from the ship, he also saw the silhouette of Kakara Island.

"Haha, now it's my turn to make my appearance," the young pirate chuckled.

He stretched out his hand, "Steel Fist - Melting Steel." As he spoke, his hand turned into black silver steel, then steamed and even turned red. Extreme heat emanated from his hands, and the wooden hull melted and burned. Soon, the craters on the hull grew larger and larger.

Outside, a sharp-eyed pirate exclaimed, "Hey! Look! Something seems to have happened to the Simon Pirates' ship!"

Baccarat, who had taken a short nap, perked up slightly. With the Simon Pirates far surpassing other pirate crews, she lost interest in watching and took a short nap in her seat.

Upon hearing this news, I couldn't help but recall Teach's words.

She knew there was another contestant hiding among these ships, and now that things had changed, it must be that hidden contestant who had made their move.

All eyes were drawn to the right side of the Simon Pirates' ship, where the hull was melting and creating a large crater.

As the camera drew closer, they finally saw the person who had caused the commotion: a young pirate.

"It's Wallace, Iron Wallace." Looking at the young pirate's steel-like arms, one pirate recognized him. The others turned to look at him. "I know him, the lone pirate with a bounty of 28 million, Iron Wallace. I've been following him; he's also a contestant. I never imagined he was hiding on Simon Pirates's pirate ship. Now it seems the final winner is unknown, but it's very likely to be Wallace."

The pirate laughed confidently; judging from his appearance, he was a supporter of Wallace.

Upon hearing this, many pirates remembered him, after all, a lone pirate with a bounty of over ten million was quite well-known.

Unexpectedly, just when everyone thought the Simon Pirates had victory in their grasp, such a change occurred. It turned out that a Wallace was hiding, making the outcome unpredictable and things quite interesting.

Such a commotion naturally caught the attention of the Simon Pirates.

"Captain, our ship has been damaged, and there's another pirate hiding inside."

For the past half day, Simon's smile hadn't faded as he thought about the 300 million Beli he was about to receive.

Upon hearing this bad news, Simon was initially filled with questions: What happened?

Standing on the side of the ship, looking down, they saw pirates who weren't on their ship emerge from the hull and jump onto a small boat, only four or five meters long, next to the ship.

Wallace saw his reflection on the sea and looked up. Seeing the members of the Simon Pirates who had spotted him, he smiled and waved to Simon. "Haha, Simon, thanks for the ride. I'll take the 300 million Beli reward; I'll share some with you later."

As soon as he finished speaking, the small boat sailed away, slowly heading towards Kakara Island.

"Damn it, who is that?" Simon's expression changed instantly, his anger rising. He had actually managed to hide in his boat.

"Captain, that's a lone pirate, Steel Wallace, a Devil Fruit User," a pirate nearby who recognized Wallace said.

"Since he's Devil Fruit User, let him perish at sea. Take the boat over there and crush his little boat," Simon said cruelly.

"No good, Captain Simon! He's smashed a huge hole in the hull, and it's flooded now. The Navy's propulsion system has also been damaged by the flooding." The pirate with the ugly face told Simon this bad news.

"What?" Simon watched the small boat sail away into the distance, while their boat was no longer able to move.

"Then open fire! Shoot him! If we can blast him into the sea, we can still get the bonus even if we swim back." As he spoke, Simon drew his pistol and aimed it at Wallace, Wallace wasn't far away. He fired a shot.

Although his marksmanship was questionable, as Simon fired, the other pirates with guns all opened fire on Wallace. Bullets rained down on Wallace, and the prize he was about to seize was about to slip away. How could they accept that? That was 300 million Beli! The pirates were united in their determination to kill the pirate who wanted to plunder their spoils.

The bullet slicing through the air struck Wallace, but with a clang, it bounced off without causing Wallace any harm.

"No, Captain, bullets won't work on Wallace. He's an Iron Man who ate the Steel-Steel Fruit, and he has a body as hard as steel," a pirate beside him said helplessly.

"Then fire! I refuse to believe the cannonballs will be useless. Get the small boats ready. This boat is no longer useful; we'll chase after them in the small boats," Simon decided.

They had to catch up quickly; if the shells didn't work, they might still be able to catch up with the small boats.

"The Steel-Steel Fruit?" Teach looked at Wallace, who was demonstrating his ability. Wallace was still very young, and this ability was not bad. If developed well, it would be a very powerful ability.

Judging from Wallace's appearance, he has already developed to the point of melting steel, using the power of steel to generate high temperatures, which greatly enhances his attack power.

"What? You've taken a fancy to this little pirate?" Baccarat laughed upon hearing Teach's words.

Teach didn't deny it, and smiled, "Let's see. If he wins, the Simon Pirates will definitely not let it go, and other pirate crews will also be watching him."

"Hmm." Baccarat nodded. Of course, this Wallace was still a small-time pirate. Although he was powerful and had a body of steel, making him virtually invincible at this level, these pirates were not so simple, and it would be difficult for him to escape.

Meanwhile, on the high seas, part of Simon Pirates remained on the ship, bombarding Wallace's direction with cannonballs, while another group, led by Simon, chased after him in small boats.

With more than twenty people rowing together, the speed was much faster as they dodged cannonballs while increasing their rowing speed.

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple. I should have destroyed their small boat too," Wallace muttered to himself with some regret, but his hands continued moving.

"However, I was prepared," Wallace said with a smile.

Open the stern of the boat, and you'll find a small turbine, a hydraulic turbine, with a mechanism and a handle on the boat.

"Haha, Simon, thanks for the inspiration you gave me by modifying the ship into a warship. I'll take the championship." Wallace placed his hands on the handles, turned to Simon, and laughed.

With both hands exerting force, the handle was pulled down sharply, moving up and down continuously. The small turbine at the back of the boat began to spin, increasing the boat's speed. The distance that had been closing was now widening, and even the efforts of dozens of people could not catch up with the machine.

Meanwhile, the pirates in front of the big screen could see the anger and dejection on the faces of the Simon Pirates members as they watched Wallace speeding across the sea.

All the pirates cheered, never expecting such a huge upset at the end.

However, amidst the cheers, undercurrents were also surging. If those pirate crews had obtained the 300 million Beli, they wouldn't have made any moves, because they are all powerful pirate crews. But now that the prize money has been taken by a lone pirate with only 20 million Berries, they all have a great chance.

Three hundred million Beli —how could they possibly give that up? They're pirates, after all. If they have a chance to steal it, why wouldn't they take it?

Among the champions of the previous Death Sea Races, there have been many pirate crews that were defeated by other pirate crews after winning the prize money, and whose prize money was then divided up.

Wallace's small boat sailed towards Kakara Island. At this moment, countless pirates cheered loudly on the top of the cliff and on the shore. Under everyone's gaze, Wallace was the first to reach the destination.

"It seems the ultimate champion has been crowned! He has won this competition with his wisdom. Congratulations to Mr. Wallace, who will take home the 300 million Beli prize from Hannibal!" the host announced passionately into the microphone.

As soon as he finished speaking, even more enthusiastic cheers erupted. Although most of them had not participated in the competition and were not qualified, they were still very excited to be able to participate in this grand event.

In Hannibal, some pirates have already left, and it's unclear where they've gone; they seem to be preparing for something.

All of this was noticed by Teach, who had already guessed it, and all eyes were on the ultimate winner of this grand event, the lone pirate Wallace who held a huge sum of money.

"Let's go check it out." Teach stood up and left the small restaurant, with the other three following behind Teach.

The prize money of 300 million Beli was placed at the starting line of the competition. After Wallace won the championship, he took the 300 million Beli and secretly left.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that many people would be eyeing him, or rather, eyeing the 300 million Beli he possessed.

In the shadows, he also sensed some people secretly following him.

This island is only so big, where could he possibly run to? He's still too naive. The entire island is now under Heavenly Net, and when he returns, his every move will be under the watchful eyes of the pirates.

Knowing that Wallace was certain to win the championship, they had made preparations beforehand, specifically keeping an eye on Wallace to prevent him from running away with the money.

As the feeling of being watched didn't disappear but instead grew stronger, Wallace knew he was in danger. In a moment of quick thinking, he walked down the street and hurried toward the nearest tavern.

The safest place on the entire Kakara Island is Hannibal, where fights are allowed, but they are all held in a cube-shaped arena measuring forty meters in length and width; fighting is prohibited elsewhere.

This dueling arena was originally used to settle personal grudges among pirates, where they could determine a winner or a loser, or even life and death. Later, it gradually evolved into something like a gladiator arena. In Hannibal, it is a relatively popular place where pirates often gather to fight, watch fights, or gamble.

Once he reaches Hannibal, he'll be safe, as long as he doesn't leave. If those pirates want to attack him, they'll have to fight him one-on-one in the arena. He just needs to stall for time until he runs out of money. If all else fails, he'll have to pay to avoid trouble. Although it hurts a little, his life is more important.