Surrender

"They... it spoke! Look, that motorcycle spoke!"

"I told you it was a robot!"

Listening to the pirates' chatter, Windfire Wheel spread his hands helplessly. "I already told you, I'm a warrior of the Vehicle Clan. Are these guys deaf?"

"Forget these guys." Windfire Wheel pointed at Krieg, who was sitting in a chair. "Hey, you shiny golden guy, you're their captain, right?"

"Are you planning to bring all these people and join our powerful and handsome Captain Rody?" Windfire Wheel said arrogantly.

Before the gloomy-faced Krieg could speak, Pearl, wrapped in thick steel shields at his side, stepped forward and shouted at Rody, "Kid, don't think you can act so arrogantly and look down on the Krieg Pirates just because you got lucky and killed some fish-men and useless Marines, earning yourself a 50 million Beli bounty! We're the largest pirate crew in the East Blue, with nearly five thousand men! Let me, Iron Wall Pearl, captain of the Krieg Pirates' Second Division, see what you've got!"

Pearl stepped forward and displayed the various steel shields strapped all over his body. He knocked the two steel shields in his hands together. "Kid, under this impenetrable defense of mine, I've never shed a single drop of blood in battle—not one drop! My iron wall defense is invincible! Ha... hahaha!" He held up one finger and laughed smugly.

"That's right, Captain Pearl has never shed a single drop of blood in battle!"

"Kid, you're dead! Captain Pearl's defense is invincible! Hahahaha..." The pirates on deck joined Pearl in his arrogant laughter.

Listening to Pearl and his men's taunts, Krieg's face remained dark, but the corners of his mouth still rose unconsciously into a smile.

"Captain, these guys aren't here to join us. They're here to cause trouble."

"Captain, hurry up and show these guys what a real powerhouse is with your 50 million Beli bounty!" As Windfire Wheel spoke, he retreated behind Rody.

"Hahaha, look at that car-man! He's backing away! He must be scared!"

"Hahaha, he's definitely scared of Captain Pearl! Otherwise, why would he be backing away? And he talks about a powerhouse? That kid only got his 50 million Beli bounty by luck!" The pirates' jeers grew even louder at the sight.

Giving Windfire Wheel a speechless look, Mike adjusted the cane in his hand. "Lord Rody, let me handle this guy."

Rody refused Mike's offer and stepped forward. This Pearl had all sorts of steel shields strapped to him, and the one on his body was especially large and thick—perfect for testing what happened when flowing Armament Haki struck an enemy.

"Come on, kid. Let me use this invincible defense of mine to see what gives you the nerve to be so arrogant." Pearl excitedly knocked on the shields in his hands as he looked at Rody.

"Does everyone in this world grow so randomly?" Rody mused as he looked at the guy, who was about the same height as him. His body proportions were incredibly bizarre, with limbs utterly mismatched to his torso, like a turtle with elongated limbs. With all those shields strapped to him, he looked even more like one.

"Stop talking nonsense and attack already!" Pearl impatiently knocked on the shield in his hand.

"Tsk, tsk. Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish." Armament Haki wrapped around Rody's fist as he threw a punch at the shield on Pearl's chest, using roughly thirty percent of his strength.

"What? That didn't even—" Before Pearl could finish, a bang rang out, and his body, along with the shield behind him, exploded into pieces.

Fragments of the shattered shields shot through several unlucky pirates under the immense force. Pearl's scattered blood, carried by the powerful blast of air, dyed Krieg's golden armor crimson, while the deck before him was soaked red, like a carpet paved with blood.

Pearl's mangled body could no longer support the weight of the shields on him. With a bang, it crashed to the ground. His fallen upper body stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the completely intact shield beneath him. "H-how... It was clearly..."

"W-what happened?"

"Captain Pearl's iron wall... his invincible defense... it was b-broken just like that?"

"He clearly didn't even touch it! How did he break through Captain Pearl's invincible defense?"

"C-could this be the strength of someone with a 50 million Beli bounty?" The pirates on deck trembled in fear as they looked at Rody.

"Haha, do you guys finally understand how awesome our captain is now?"

"Why aren't you bowing and surrendering yet? If our captain gets angry later, not even your bones will remain!" Windfire Wheel came out from behind Rody again and spoke arrogantly.

Krieg straightened his hair, which had been blown messy by the blast, wiped the blood from his face, and slowly rose to his feet. "You must have some special explosive equipment to have blown apart Pearl's body and shields."

Gin spun his weapon and said to Krieg, "Chief, let me deal with him."

Krieg waved Gin off. He pressed the two golden round shields on his hands together, forming a spearhead at the top while a long shaft extended from below. Gripping the Great Battle Spear, he pointed it at Rody. "Kid, don't think you're the only one with explosive weapons. My weapon's explosive power is ten times yours. I'll deal with you personally!"

"It's here, Chief Krieg's Great Battle Spear!"

"That's right! The Chief's Great Battle Spear is far more powerful than that explosion just now!"

"Chief, you have to kill him and avenge Captain Pearl!" The pirates regained their confidence and shouted toward Krieg.

Krieg swung his great spear and was about to charge at Rody when Rody casually sent out two slashes, severing both of Krieg's hands that held the weapon.

"Ah... aaah! My hands!"

"Y-you... what kind of weapon are you using?" Looking at his severed hands still bleeding, Krieg collapsed onto the ground and howled in disbelief.

Gin hurriedly threw down his weapon, took off his clothes, and ran to Krieg's side to wrap his still-bleeding wounds. "Chief! Chief Krieg, how are you? Ship doctor! Where's the ship doctor? Hurry, get the ship doctor over here!"

"W-what do we do?"

"The Chief has been defeated too. We can't beat him at all."

"He's a powerhouse with a 50 million Beli bounty. There's no way we can win. We should surrender!"

"Haha, your glittering golden chief had both his hands cut off by our captain! Why aren't you surrendering already?" Windfire Wheel said smugly, hands on his hips.

"R-right, we can surrender!"

"Yes, Lord Rody, we surrender!"

At Windfire Wheel's words, the pirates immediately lost all will to resist. They dropped their weapons and were about to kneel before Rody.

Seeing the pirates about to kneel and surrender, Krieg shouted, "You are not allowed to surrender!"