Mmm~, So Fragrant!

Geppo!

Will once again stepped into the air, ascending upward.

Then he decisively pulled his leg back, slowly gathering power, before lashing out with another high-speed kick, the arc of his leg far wider than before!

Rankyaku: Sea Split!

A massive vacuum slash shot toward the Golden Armor Man at high speed, the air on either side compressed into a fierce gale by its passage!

Krieg, witnessing such a horrifying sight, felt his eyes nearly split from their sockets.

His mind instinctively flashed back to the enormous Flying Slash of that powerful man he had encountered in the Grand Line.

But that man, at least, had used a massive black blade.

Yet the man before him could achieve the same with just his leg!

"Damn it—! I won't accept this—!!"

Filled with grief and fury, Krieg roared at the sky, pouring all his strength into swinging his long weapon at the oncoming vacuum slash!

Crack—!

The moment it made contact, Krieg's weapon shattered instantly.

Boom—!

The vacuum slash slammed into the golden armor on Krieg's chest, shattering the armor and driving him straight into the ship.

Pirates unlucky enough to be grazed by the slash were either cleaved in two or lost limbs.

Boom—!

Then the entire ship let out a thunderous roar, snapping cleanly into two halves!

Even the sea surface beneath the hull was carved into a massive gap, taking several seconds before the surrounding water rushed in to fill it.

This also hastened the seawater's devouring of the ship.

Thud.

Will landed steadily on the bow, his gaze calm as he watched the ship and pirates slowly sinking into the sea not far away.

As if he had merely brushed off some dust.

Carina, seeing how effortlessly he had dealt with those pirates, wore a look of surprise on her face.

She couldn't help but silently marvel, "That speed... way too efficient."

Just then, Nami, who had been resting in the cabin, heard the commotion and hurried out, looking at the two on the bow with curiosity.

"What happened?!"

Carina snapped back to reality at the question, pointed at the wreckage floating on the sea not far away, and smiled lightly.

"We ran into some pirates trying to rob the ship, and Will took care of them."

"Huh?" Nami turned to look in surprise, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Pirates in a godforsaken place like this?"

She knew there wasn't even an island nearby—this was a relatively empty stretch of sea.

Pirates normally never came around here.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have deliberately chosen this route, aiming to reach Arlong Park as quickly as possible.

"It's fine now. Keep sailing."

Will didn't bother with the pirates still struggling on the sea surface, speaking calmly.

"Yes, Captain."

Nami nodded slightly, having no intention of saving those pirates either, and turned to walk toward the helm.

As Will's ship gradually sailed away.

Some pirates on the sea, who had been clinging to broken planks to survive, began to lose strength, letting go and slowly sinking into the water.

Several days passed.

Will's trio finally sailed into the waters near the Konomi Islands.

"Almost there, huh..."

Nami stood on the deck, gazing at the calm sea in the distance, her expression complicated.

Unlike Will and Carina, who seemed quite relaxed, she still felt a knot of worry in her heart.

But since things were unavoidable.

All she could do was try her best to help Will defeat Arlong and protect the people in her village.

"Nami~, the steak's done! Come over and eat!"

Carina, who had been grilling with Will in the middle of the deck, saw Nami standing alone by the railing and quickly called out to her.

"Here!"

Nami turned and answered with a smile, suppressing the worry in her heart as she walked over to the chair set in the middle and sat down.

"Eat up, it's fresh off the grill."

Will didn't say much, directly picking up the large meat steak sizzling with oil and wafting an enticing aroma in front of him, then raised his hand and handed it over.

"Mmm~, it smells amazing!"

Nami took it, gave it a sniff, and her eyes lit up immediately before she began eating heartily.

Seeing this, Carina at the side revealed a faint smile.

Indeed, when people were troubled, a good meal could certainly ease a lot of the burden.

Will also held a large meat steak in his hand and polished it off in just a few bites.

With the massive intake of food, his abdomen swelled rapidly, then quickly subsided.

The speed was so fast that even Carina and Nami beside him didn't notice a thing.

Will kept wolfing down various meats, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

He had to admit, leaving aside other aspects of the pirate world, the meat here was truly excellent.

Originally a man who couldn't enjoy a meal without meat, coming to this world meant he was practically feasting on fish and fowl every day, eating with great relish.

Besides the steaks roasting on the grill, a large pile of various meats and drinks was stacked beside the three of them.

The reason Will decided to take out all the ship's stored provisions and eat them up was twofold.

On one hand, they were about to reach Arlong Park, where they could restock fresh ingredients.

On the other hand, he had tried to draw a talent skill again last night and ended up obtaining a new talent.

[Iron Bones: Born with bones and tendons far tougher than steel.]

After acquiring this talent, Will felt his physical strength had once again been greatly enhanced.

It seemed that [Innate Divine Strength], under the boost of [Iron Bones], had further unleashed even greater potential.

Fortunately, his control over his body was now very precise, so he didn't accidentally damage the ship.

Aside from the 10,000 Purity Points spent last night, he now had 7,000 Purity Points left.

In truth, Will hadn't expected that the pirate ship he casually wiped out on the road earlier would contribute 1,800 Purity Points.

He wondered just who that group of pirates was.

They actually gave about the same amount of Purity Points as Treasure's and Clown Buggy's crews.

After thinking it over without reaching any conclusion, Will couldn't be bothered to dwell on it and continued rapidly devouring the grilled meat before him.

The three of them were eating and drinking happily.

Suddenly, Will paused mid-motion, lifted his eyes to look at the distant sea, and frowned slightly: "Something's approaching."

"What?" Carina and Nami were taken aback.

"Something in the water."

Will put down the meat, stood up, and slowly walked to the ship's edge.

Just then, the water surface beside the ship suddenly bulged, and a massive figure emerged from beneath.

"A Sea Beast?!"

Carina and Nami stared at the huge bull head that had suddenly burst from the water, both showing expressions of surprise.

"No, that's Moomoo!"

At that moment, Nami recognized the appearance of this sea cow, and her expression shifted abruptly.

"Moomoo?" Carina looked puzzled, turning to Nami.

Nami seemed to recall something, her face instantly darkening as she spoke:

"Sea Cow Moomoo, one of the three officers under the fish-man Arlong, and the pet of the octopus Hachi."

"Once, under Hachi's orders, it used its massive size and strength to flatten several towns that couldn't pay the 'tribute'..."

"Huh?!"

Carina was quite shocked at this, unable to help looking up at the seemingly harmless Sea Cow Moomoo.