Before the horrified eyes of all the Marines, the "invincible" Captain Morgan was defeated just like that.
Some of the Syrup Village residents who had gathered to watch even began cheering when they saw the brutal Captain Morgan defeated.
Only Helmeppo, Morgan's son, who was holding a white wolf on a leash, felt utterly terrified.
His protector seemed to have fallen!
"Once I capture Kuro, I'll personally report Morgan and Kuro's conspiracy to Marine Headquarters."
"Lieutenant, I'm ordering you to restore order at the 153rd Branch immediately."
"Also, word that the Four-Leaf Kingdom has merged with the Goa Kingdom will reach here soon."
Wang Shi pointed at Lieutenant Ripper and called out coldly, while his men had already hauled the gravely wounded Captain Morgan aboard their warship.
"Yes, sir!"
Under Wang Shi's stern gaze, Lieutenant Ripper straightened up nervously and saluted him, the king.
Truthfully, he was quite pleased to see the brutal Captain Morgan arrested.
He had been dissatisfied with Morgan for a long time.
But one rank lower was enough to crush him. He had been powerless to resist Captain Morgan's rule.
Wang Shi couldn't be bothered to deal with Morgan's son or anything else.
He didn't even leave his ship. The three warships set sail again, heading straight for Syrup Village, where Klahadore was.
The six warships he had left behind in the Four-Leaf Kingdom would probably finish passing word around to every island in the small kingdom soon, including Shells Town.
Besides, some conservative nobles from the Goa Kingdom had already set sail one after another to take over the Four-Leaf Kingdom.
Wang Shi had said that they, too, would share in the glory of the empire.
Now was their chance to prove themselves.
"Tsk, tsk. I never thought that Kuro was still alive."
Eric, a bounty hunter and Marine mercenary, knew the pirates of the East Blue like the back of his hand.
Especially the "great pirates" with bounties over ten million.
Working for Wang Shi, a king who was legally taking on a Marine captain, felt incredibly satisfying to Eric.
It was several times more satisfying than working as Admiral Nelson Roy's mercenary.
Van Augur looked at Wang Shi, the king of Goa.
He didn't seem like a king at all. He was more like a great pirate carving out territory for himself.
His swift, decisive actions were truly ambitious.
The Goa Empire?
Was this the Wang Clan's ambition?
Van Augur suspected there was more to it.
Wang Shi was already lifting a dumbbell as he trained.
His mercenaries were more than enough to deal with people like these.
Otherwise, what would be the point of all the money he'd spent?
Once he had won over these bounty hunters, perhaps he could even save all that money—
Though he'd have to turn their mercenary fees into wages and rewards.
On this voyage, Wang Shi's priority was speed.
The Marine branches and kingdoms in the East Blue were rather isolated from the flow of information, anyway.
By the time Marine Headquarters and the World Government caught on, Wang Shi might have already finished turning the Goa Kingdom into an empire.
By then, the various royal families would have vanished, and the occupation would be a fait accompli.
The World Government wouldn't say a word.
As always, all that mattered was paying the full Heavenly Tribute.
Syrup Village in the Moonlight Kingdom wasn't far from Orange Town in the neighboring Organ Kingdom.
Like the Konomi Kingdom, both kingdoms were archipelagos with numerous small islands.
The Konomi Kingdom, for example, had at least thirty or forty islands, with dozens of towns and villages. Arlong had occupied more than twenty of those island villages.
Smaller islands had villages, while larger, more prosperous ones had towns.
That was what the island kingdoms and archipelago kingdoms of this world were commonly like.
Once Wang Shi had dealt with the Moonlight Kingdom, he might make a trip to the Organ Kingdom.
He wondered if Buggy the Clown was still in those waters.
Seeing Wang Shi train so diligently despite being a king made Eric even more wary of him. The pressure was almost suffocating.
He decided that once this job was done, he would leave the Goa Kingdom at once, stay far away from that pretty-boy king, and continue his life as a bounty hunter and mercenary.
Joining Wang Shi's Guard Army of his own accord, like those other bounty hunters, was out of the question.
He still preferred the freedom of a mercenary's life.
Van Augur, meanwhile, was thinking that if Wang Shi refused to let them leave, he would have no choice but to join his ranks, become a high-ranking official in the Goa Kingdom, and rebuild his family along the way.
He would have to change his plans to keep working as a bounty hunter or switch to being a pirate.
After all, Wang Shi's actions weren't much different from those of the pirate kingdoms.
People like Van Augur, who had a family name, usually had some family history. They could see further than Eric.
There were countless commoners and pirates who didn't even have surnames.
A day later.
By the time Wang Shi's three warships reached the waters off Syrup Village, the main force of the Goa Kingdom had already entered the Four-Leaf Kingdom and incorporated it into their territory.
The expeditionary fleet that had been freed up was also continuing toward the Moonlight Kingdom to join Wang Shi.
They knew their king's appetite extended beyond just one Four-Leaf Kingdom.
"Your Majesty Wang Shi, there seems to be a pirate ship over there! It looks like the Black Cat Pirates."
Van Augur's long-range telescope had spotted a pirate ship flying the Black Cat flag.
It seemed Hundred Plans Kuro really was still alive and active in the area.
Otherwise, why would his pirate crew be sailing around these waters?
"Take them down!"
Wang Shi didn't even stop training before giving the order.
"Yes, sir!"
The Guard Army immediately maneuvered the three warships to surround the Black Cat Pirates.
Eric was already looking forward to capturing the Black Cat Pirates' wanted criminals and earning some extra bounty money.
At that moment, aboard the Black Cat Pirates' Hundred Plans Black.
The first mate, Jango, and Siamese Cat Sham and Spotted Cat Buchi saw the warships closing in around them. They nearly thought they were Marines and hurriedly tried to escape in a panic.
But they soon realized that the flag on the approaching ships didn't look like a Marine flag. It was a kingdom's flag.
Still, the three ships had so many men aboard that they didn't dare fight back and could only flee at once.
However, they underestimated the Goa Kingdom's warships. These were new models comparable to battleships.
Before long, the Black Cat Pirates were overtaken.
Eric, Van Augur, and the others immediately launched their attack.
"Fire the cannons!"
Jango shouted in terror as the pirates opened fire with guns and cannons.
"Don't damage my ship..."
At the sound of a soft murmur, the Black Cat Pirates' crew stared in horror as their cannon fire vanished in midair.
They were left gaping in shock, cold sweat pouring down their faces.
Eric, Van Augur, and the others were once again stunned by Wang Shi's Devil Fruit power.
He could even "banish" bullets and cannonballs flying at high speed.
Did that mean he could banish anything that came near him?
Eric even saw the Wind Blades he'd fired at the Black Cat Pirates vanish without a trace, banished in an instant.
Eric realized that Wang Shi, whose strength he had previously thought was on par with his own, might be far stronger than him.
Even the Wind Blades he had always been so proud of could be banished into nothingness.
That proved his strongest move was nothing in Wang Shi's eyes.
Eric's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
Wang Shi had merely shown off a little again, yet he could clearly see the change in Eric and Van Augur's expressions.
Those two would just have to work like beasts under him from now on!
There was no way they were leaving.
And if they really insisted on going, Wang Shi had Slave Collars and Seastone Collars at his disposal.
As a brutal king, there shouldn't be a problem with having a few slaves under him, right?
Once someone became Wang Shi's slave, regaining their freedom would be a living nightmare.
They could forget about it unless they spent a few years working like low-ranking beasts.
Under Eric and Van Augur's assault, Jango and the others were soon captured.
With three warships bearing down on them, the tiny Black Cat Pirates had no chance of escape.