One Word "Scary," One "Great Pirate"

But Black Merchant Duke Men would have to get Mongge's approval before he could fire on the Black Pearl.

"Rocks, Lipri, I'm counting on you to protect the Black Pearl!"

Mongge's Observation Haki had already detected many capable swimmers making their way toward the Black Pearl. He had knocked plenty of them unconscious with his Conqueror's Haki, but a number of powerful pirates had still managed to withstand his pressure.

"Sure!"

"Leave it to me!"

Rocks and Lipri both looked excited. This was their first time taking part in a naval battle on this scale. The last time they had encountered the Navy, Mongge had handled the whole fight by himself, leaving them no chance to get involved.

"Newgate, can I count on you too?"

Mongge's voice startled Edward Newgate, who was standing in a corner. But when he saw the hopeful look in Mongge's eyes, Edward Newgate couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"I-I'll help too!"

After saying that, Edward Newgate felt a surge of excitement.

Did this mean he was fighting alongside the White Wolf Pirates?

Mongge leaped into the air, taking the lead.

The three enormous pirate ships of the Black Gold Pirate Alliance, along with several medium-sized ships, opened fire on the Black Pearl.

A dense barrage of cannonballs nearly filled the sky above the Black Pearl.

But Mongge needed only one slash.

"Sky Net!"

A torrent formed from countless sword flashes engulfed the cannonballs in the sky. A chain of explosions burst like a dazzling display of fireworks.

"White Wolf Moger!!!"

On the Giant Monster Pirates' ship, Monster Moz roared. He sprang off the deck and charged toward Mongge in midair, his massive cleaver in hand.

Although Mongge had crushed his Conqueror's Haki, Monster Moz wasn't the sort to think he'd lost without a proper fight.

Now he launched a fierce attack from below, charging straight at Mongge in the air.

"What an idiot!"

Seeing Monster Moz charge in alone, Undead Jason and Black Merchant Duke Men panicked. Hadn't they agreed to fight Mongge three against one? They were supposed to be wary of Mongge picking them off one by one.

So why the hell was he charging in alone?

The giant pirate surged forward like a beast. The difference in their size was like that between an adult and a baby. Everyone watching who understood what was at stake held their breath.

"How scary~"

But Mongge only chuckled and raised his sword in midair.

"Fall, Winterland!"

Haki, Devil Fruit powers, and top-tier swordsmanship!

Before Monster Moz could reach Mongge, a bone-deep chill spread through his body. Even his reflexes seemed to freeze under its power.

When he realized something was wrong, he tried to use Haki to drive the cold from his body.

A flash of swordlight appeared before him.

Caught off guard, Monster Moz could only raise his cleaver to block. But the instant the swordlight struck it—

His blade broke!

Not only that, the lingering swordlight carved a long gash across his chest, while the bone-chilling cold froze him solid.

And so everyone watched as Monster Moz, who had charged at Mongge, plummeted back toward his ship at even greater speed. The terrifying impact tore straight through the entire pirate ship.

Bone-deep cold spread across the vessel. In an instant, the entire ship and every pirate aboard it became ice sculptures. The sea froze for hundreds of meters around them, and the ice even reached several nearby pirate ships.

The freezing effect was merely a side effect of Mongge's Devil Fruit, so he couldn't freeze an entire harbor as easily as the future Marine Admiral who would eat the Ice-Ice Fruit.

But freezing a few hundred meters was still within his power.

He could only do this now that he had recovered his full strength. A year ago, he wouldn't have wasted his power like this.

This was all to intimidate them.

"N-no way!?"

At such close range, the pirates aboard Undead Jason and Black Merchant Duke Men's ships stared blankly. Monster Moz was a Great Pirate—one with a bounty even higher than their captains'!

"He took Monster Moz out... with one hit..."

The pirates' voices trembled. They couldn't even imagine something like this happening.

Why?

Weren't White Wolf Moger and their captains both Great Pirates?

How could the gap between them be this huge?

Even the pirates attacking the Black Pearl slowed their assault.

Quite a few of them belonged to the Giant Monster Pirates.

After seeing what had happened, they completely lost the will to fight.

"T-the captain's been taken out!"

So strong!

He really was so strong!

Every time Rocks saw Mongge in action, he was struck by an overwhelming sense of awe.

This time was no different.

Rocks struggled just to fight the crews of those Great Pirates, but Mongge had taken down a pirate with a bounty of over a hundred million with a single, casual slash.

Newgate and his companions wore similarly stunned expressions.

To them, Monster Moz had been the strongest pirate they'd ever seen—a legendary Great Pirate. Some of them had even seen him smash a boulder dozens of meters tall with a single punch.

And yet a pirate that powerful hadn't lasted even one move against White Wolf Moger.

"Hehe, now you know, right? The old man's really strong!"

At Lipri's words, Newgate nodded numbly.

But what he was really thinking was:

Could someone like me really join a pirate crew this powerful?

Undead Jason and Black Merchant Duke Men were dumbfounded.

They'd agreed to attack together, but you just had to charge in alone.

And if you were going to charge in alone—

You could've at least lasted a couple of rounds!

What was the point of getting taken out in one slash?

Their subordinates were starting to lose heart, and the two captains were wavering too.

Could they really win?

But events weren't going to change just because they wanted them to. After taking out Monster Moz with one strike, Mongge turned to the two remaining Great Pirates.

"We've got no choice but to fight!"

Undead Jason was a Great Pirate, after all. He still had the courage to fight.

"I can't die!"

Undead Jason roared. He was just about to team up with Black Merchant Duke Men against Mongge when he caught sight of Duke Men's blank stare in the distance.

Huh?

Mongge had already appeared right in front of him. At the peak of his strength, Mongge was so fast that a Great Pirate at the bottom of the ranks like Undead Jason couldn't even react.

"You can't die? Heh."

Mongge grabbed Undead Jason. Armament Haki surged into his body, piercing right through him, and the freezing power followed.

In the blink of an eye,

Undead Jason had turned into a lump of ice that looked like a pile of mush.

Now,

Even his ability to come back from the dead was useless.

"You're the only one left."

Mongge looked at Black Merchant Duke Men and smiled kindly.