User of the Sound-Sound Fruit

In a remote stretch of sea between the Moonlight Province and the Sasba Kingdom.

In this sea area, the legend of the Great Golden Pirate Woonan circulates.

Decades ago, the Great Golden Pirate Woonan rose to prominence in the East Blue, specializing in plundering the wealth of evildoers and vowing to find all the gold and treasure in the world.

After Woonan suddenly vanished, various rumors spread, becoming more exaggerated with each retelling.

Tales claiming that the Great Golden Pirate Woonan possessed one-third of the world's gold and that he took this fortune into hiding when he retired were simply preposterous.

This led to countless pirates and bounty hunters scouring the East Blue every year in search of Woonan's golden treasure.

One has to say, the average intelligence of people in this world is truly somewhat low.

Even the current Gild Tesoro does not have the capability to acquire that much gold.

A pirate who only left behind legends in the East Blue was actually being talked up to such an absurd degree.

However, just because Wang Shi did not believe it did not mean others felt the same.

Golden Dragon El Drago was one such pirate, obsessed to the extreme with gold.

He had been investigating Woonan's golden treasure for several years, searching and lingering in this sea area for a long time.

He was determined to find the golden treasure left behind by the Great Golden Pirate Woonan.

He had absolutely no intention of venturing into the Grand Line.

"Captain!! It's bad! A fleet has appeared behind us!"

"What! Is it the Navy?"

"No, the flag looks familiar; it seems to be the flag of the Goa Empire."

"What? The Goa Empire, the Goa Empire that has been making such a stir lately?"

"Yes, Captain. The sea area we are currently in seems to belong to the Goa Empire..."

"Damn it, daring to hinder me from finding the golden treasure? Watch me sink them!"

After a crude and simple exchange with his subordinates, El Drago rushed to the stern of the ship and immediately began to activate his Sound-Sound Fruit ability.

A golden light condensed in El Drago's mouth, aimed at the distant fleet.

"Be destroyed for me!"

Laser Sonic Cannon!

El Drago frantically fired a pillar of laser light.

But the next moment, two sprays of blood erupted from his shoulders.

"Ah!!"

The intense pain caused his head to jerk violently.

In an instant, the laser cannon he was firing at the fleet behind him went haywire, even shearing off a corner of his own pirate ship.

"So painful, so painful!!"

El Drago, having stopped his Laser Sonic Cannon, collapsed to the deck screaming, two bloody holes having appeared in his shoulders.

"What a formidable sniper!"

The Fallen Swordsman Goras, hired by El Drago, broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly ducked behind the ship's railing, not daring to expose his body to the eyes of a top-tier sniper.

He had not expected the enemy sniper to be able to accurately hit Captain El Drago from such a great distance.

Is this the power of the Goa Empire, which annexed four kingdoms in the East Blue?

Their strength is unexpectedly this formidable.

"Hurry and treat me!"

"Run!! You idiots!"

El Drago screamed frantically; this was the first time he had been injured since obtaining the power of the Sound-Sound Fruit.

Every Navy officer and pirate he had encountered in the past had been sunk by his long-range cannon fire.

Today, an accident had actually occurred.

"Row the ship and run!"

Goras was also terrified and hurriedly cursed at the underlings, even moving to help himself.

On the fleet behind.

The portion of the Laser Sonic Cannon that had been fired toward them was directly banished and confiscated by Wang Shi.

"Not bad, Van Augur. This is the kind of effect a sniper should have."

Wang Shi laughed. Those pirate crews and Navy units equipped with snipers never truly utilized the effectiveness of a sniper.

If they were just going to charge in for boarding combat, then why bother recruiting snipers and gunners at all?

Few pirates in the East Blue possess Haki, so the destructive power of firearms and cannons remains quite formidable.

"Such a powerful energy wave; it's stronger than my wind blades and has a longer range."

Eric's expression turned grave; he had not expected the Laser Sonic Cannon of this Sound-Sound Fruit user to be so potent.

He reckoned he would not be able to withstand a single shot from El Drago.

However, he was confident that El Drago would not be able to withstand his own sharp wind blades either.

It all came down to who struck first.

Either way, whoever was hit first would be the first to die!

"Another Devil Fruit user?"

Zoro and Saka were both deeply wary.

Over the past few days, they had already witnessed the might of Eric's wind blades.

As things stood, they were indeed struggling to overcome Eric.

Yet, Zoro firmly believed that he would soon be able to slash through Eric's wind blades and find a way to defeat him.

"Give chase! Don't let them escape!"

At Wang Shi's command, the entire fleet began to accelerate.

Van Augur, perched atop the mainmast, even fired his rifle in a mocking display, shooting down the flag of the El Drago Pirates.

He continued to pick off the ropes of the El Drago pirate ship's sails one by one, until the entire sail came crashing down.

"What incredible marksmanship!"

Even sword fanatics like Zoro were left stunned by Van Augur's exquisite gunnery.

With their sails shot down, the speed of the El Drago Pirates' ship plummeted.

In less than half an hour, they had been overtaken.

Fallen Swordsman Goras had fallen into complete despair; the Goa Empire's military was simply too strong to fight.

"Help me up! I can still fire!"

Seeing the fleet surrounding them, El Drago, his arms injured, shouted frantically.

He intended to wipe out these warships at close range.

"Still trying to struggle?"

Wind Blade: Dance!

Whirlwind Eric swung his arms violently, unleashing a dense barrage of wind blades toward the El Drago Pirates.

Slicing the ship before the crew was his standard procedure as a bounty hunter.

"Such dense wind blade slashes!"

Saka's eyes were filled with envy; he had yet to master the ability to unleash a Flying Slash.

The power of a Devil Fruit was truly formidable.

"Hmph, we don't need Devil Fruit powers; eventually, we will be able to unleash Flying Slashes at will."

As a swordsman, Zoro possessed the pride of his craft; he would never consume a Devil Fruit.

Perhaps it was this very persistence and self-confidence that would one day grant him the opportunity to awaken Conqueror's Haki.

"Ah!!"

A chorus of screams erupted from the El Drago Pirates.

To these East Blue pirate lackeys, Eric's wind blades were nothing short of invincible.

"Damn it!"

Laser Sonic Cannon!!

El Drago roared, firing a golden energy wave.

But the next second, he was left dumbfounded.

His pride and joy, the peerless Laser Sonic Cannon, simply vanished before his eyes.

No matter how much sonic energy he roared out, it seemed to evaporate, disappearing without a trace.

"How is this possible!"

"How could this be!"

El Drago was completely stunned; it was one thing for the enemy sniper to be strong, but to possess such a bizarre and shameless ability was another.

"The King of Exile! It must be the legendary King of Exile!"

Fallen Swordsman Goras screamed in terror, kneeling on the deck in despair, no longer daring to resist.

"The King of Exile? Are you the Emperor of the Goa Empire?"

El Drago ceased his Sonic Cannon, looking at the young man in the magnificent attire, a trace of fear creeping onto his face.

This was the Emperor of the Goa Empire, the man who had exiled four kings and annexed four kingdoms.

The King of Exile, Wang Shi!!!