A large warship flying the flag of the World Government sailed all the way from West Blue, passed through the upward currents of Reverse Mountain, and smoothly returned to the Grand Line, then immediately proceeded toward Enies Lobby, preparing to pass through the Tarai Current there, detour via Marineford, the Navy Headquarters, and land at Mary Geoise through the Red Port beneath Sabaody Archipelago.
This was a transport ship manned by over a thousand armed personnel, yet what required such a force to escort was no rare treasure, nor any high-ranking government official, but merely a single person...
"Clang!"
At the bottom of the hold, over a dozen thick, heavy iron doors were pushed open in succession. An agent of Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, dressed in a white suit, directly subordinate to the Celestial Dragons, and hailed as "the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons" and "the world's strongest intelligence agency," slowly walked into the innermost room.
"How is that monster doing? Any movement today?"
He was covered in bandages from head to toe, with traces of blood still visible on them, as he spoke to inquire.
Inside this room were four other Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents, whose appearances were much like his own, clearly suffering from heavy injuries. Hearing his inquiry, the other four Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents raised their heads simultaneously, then looked toward a cell behind them. The cell was enclosed by double-layered transparent glass, and between the two layers of glass stood several rows of iron bars forged from refined steel.
Through the glass, a tall figure could be seen lying inside. That figure was bound by layers of iron chains, wrapped up like a rice dumpling as he lay on the floor, and one end of those iron chains was entirely connected to the hull of the ship, ensuring that the person inside was restricted to an activity radius of just a few meters.
This was the assignment escorted by this ship this time: a monster from West Blue, only fifteen years old yet possessing terrifying strength capable of wiping out a country single-handedly—Tux Oak, known as the Terminator of the Battlefield.
At this moment, Oak kept his eyes tightly closed, turning a deaf ear to the commotion outside, yet carrying a profound resentment deep within his heart.
Damn it, I really steered the boat into the gutter!
Originally, Oak did not go by this name, nor did he belong to this world. Instead, he was a transmigrator who had come to this world by sheer luck, his soul crossing over into the body of an infant in West Blue who should have died in his mother's womb, thus becoming the present Oak.
Moreover, due to the transmigration, Oak displayed extraordinary traits from a young age. His originally frail body underwent a metamorphosis, and driven by a steadily expanding appetite, at just five years old he was able to slaughter an entire pack of wolves all by himself.
That was ten years ago. Once, when he went hunting in the forest, a massive wolf pack numbering over a hundred with body lengths reaching four to five meters attacked the village where he lived. When he returned to the village, what he saw was these beasts having devoured everyone in the entire village, including his parents in this world, leaving behind only pools of blood and undigested internal organs. Thus, when those wolf packs that had not yet eaten their fill stared at him with famished eyes, he surged into the wolf pack filled with rage, tearing an entire pack of wolves apart with his bare hands.
From then on, he also became famous in a single battle, known to people across the entire island. In the ensuing few years, he grew increasingly powerful. At age ten, he was already able to leap into the ocean alone, effortlessly hunting colossal Sea Kings without sustaining the slightest injury.
At that time, the island where he resided was in a state of war. Five kingdoms on the island engaged in constant mutual conquest in order to unify the entire land. One of those kingdoms extended an olive branch to him, making ten-year-old Oak a general of the kingdom and commanding an army to participate in combat. On the battlefield, his talent was further magnified.
In every battle he charged at the front, using his physical body to withstand artillery fire and tear through the enemy's defensive lines. Those cannonballs and various enemy weapons striking him caused not the slightest harm; his entire body possessed the resilience of steel and iron tendons, coupled with immense strength. He could effortlessly overturn the opposing forces' tens of thousands of troops, beating enemy armies to the point of collapse with a pair of iron fists. Consequently, he also earned the title of the Terminator of the Battlefield, signifying that whenever he appeared, it meant a war was about to come to an end. Furthermore, his reputation began to resound throughout West Blue, praised by people as an unadulterated monster. Campaigning for five years and enduring hundreds and thousands of battles, he had never suffered a single injury.
This situation persisted until half a year ago. Under his formidable martial might, the kingdom where he resided finally unified the entire island and further expanded its influence into the surrounding regions. Consequently, the kingdom's king and nobles harbored ambitions, wishing to seize this opportunity to join the World Government, become one of the World Government-affiliated Countries, completely solidify their own regime, and obtain long-term protection.
All of this originally had nothing to do with Oak; he had no interest in such matters, nor did he care whether his country joined the World Government or not. He was planning to leave this country and go out to sea after a little while longer to seek more thrilling adventures and greater strength.
Yet what he never expected was that when his kingdom submitted its application to the higher-ups of the World Government, the government agreed to let them join and become a World Government-affiliated Country, but simultaneously put forward a demand: requiring his country not only to pay the Heavenly Tribute annually, but also to hand him over to the World Government.
In recent years, his reputation had not only resounded throughout West Blue, but had also reached the ears of the World Government. High-ranking government officials grew very interested in his blade-defying physique and monstrous strength, stating that they intended to conduct human experimentation on him, and moreover wished to turn this immense combat force into a tool in the hands of the government.
The king of Oak's kingdom knew very well that Oak would never agree to this demand, because Oak had already expressed to him his intention to leave at the time. How could Oak, who refused to be bound by his own country, possibly be willing to become a test subject and tool in the hands of the World Government?
Therefore, the king simply refrained from telling Oak about this condition. However, this did not mean he gave up on joining as a World Government-affiliated Country; instead, he contacted the higher-ups of the government in private, secretly agreed to the demand, and devised a plan with the government. At a banquet shortly before, he quietly added an anesthetic strong enough to knock down a large Sea King into Oak's food, attempting to drug Oak unconscious and then let the World Government agents who had already landed take him away.
Yet the king considered everything thoroughly, missing only a single detail: that the physique of Oak, a human being, was actually even tougher than a large Sea King. The anesthetic sufficient to tranquilize a large Sea King failed to knock him out on the spot, and instead allowed him to perceive the truth of his betrayal through the abnormality in his body. Thus, Oak launched an attack on the spot without hesitation, shattering the entire royal palace with a single punch and burying the nobles, including the king, before slaughtering his way out of the island.
After crushing the hundred thousand troops the king had deployed outside the kingdom in advance, Oak successfully fought his way to the port, intending to casually hijack a ship and go out to sea to wait for the effects of the anesthetic inside his body to wear off, only to cross paths unexpectedly with the World Government agents lying in wait at the port ahead of time, becoming entangled by five Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents.
These Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents each possessed strength inferior to none among the elite vice admirals of the Navy Headquarters. Although Oak in his prime did not fear them, the anesthetic in his body drastically reduced his combat effectiveness. Having fought all the way to the port, his strength was already less than one in ten, and he ultimately fell beneath the feet of these Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents—truly steering the boat into the gutter in the most thorough fashion possible.