As the coffin-like little boat vanished beyond the horizon, the waters that had just endured a tempestuous ordeal finally returned to calm.
Yet beneath that calm lingered a suffocating stillness.
On the sea, the massive warship that had once symbolized East Blue supremacy was now reduced to bare wreckage floating on the water.
Hundreds of pirate grunts clung to broken planks or barely squeezed onto the still-unsunken stern.
Their faces were yellow and emaciated, their eye sockets sunken, like starving ghosts that had crawled out of hell.
Yet although hunger had driven them to the point where they wanted to chew the planks beneath their feet, not a single one dared swim even one step closer to the nearby Baratie restaurant.
Because that man was still there.
Krieg's headless corpse that Gin had brought back, along with Gin's idle remarks, all made one thing clear...
That black-haired, red-eyed man was the "devil" who had cut off their admiral's head with a single slash.
The fear rooted deep in their souls had even overwhelmed their desire for food.
"Tap. Tap. Tap."
Footsteps rang out.
Gin, who had just climbed out of the sea, was soaked from head to toe.
Dragging his battered body along, he walked step by step to the center of the restaurant's deck.
He did not look at anyone and walked straight up to Victor and Zeff.
"Thud!"
The tough man known as the "Demon Man" did not hesitate for even a moment. He dropped heavily to his knees.
His forehead slammed fiercely against the hard wooden deck with a dull thud. Blood ran down from his temple, mixing with seawater as it dripped below.
"Please..."
Gin's voice was hoarse and trembling, carrying his last traces of despair and pleading.
"I know... we're going to die. Captain Krieg