Burning Heaven and Boiling Sea, Sea King Slain

A dark shadow surged from the sea beneath the moonlight, as if it wanted to swallow the warship whole in a single bite.

Countless streams of seawater slid off its body, crashing onto the surface and sending up even greater waves.

Fortunately, Roya used the power of the talismans to pull the warship into the sky.

At the same time, he caught Hancock and shielded her directly in his arms.

At that moment, the two girls aboard the warship ran out as well.

"Big Sister, what happened?"

The two of them were terribly flustered, but the moment they saw Hancock in Roya's arms, they immediately felt relieved.

Moonlight shone upon the dark shadow, allowing Roya and the girls to clearly see what it was.

It was a Sea King, so enormous that even with only its head exposed, it appeared to be over a thousand meters long.

Its full length could easily exceed five thousand meters.

It was the kind of creature that could give even an admiral a terrible headache.

In Roya's arms, Hancock's pupils suddenly contracted.

She hurriedly grabbed Roya and said, "Roya, this is the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent from Amazon Lily's legends! It is said that once this kind of serpent reaches adulthood, it can grow to at least five thousand meters long!"

Hearing Hancock's words, Roya became even more interested in this legendary Deep-Sea Sea Serpent.

"I never expected such a creature to exist in the sea."

This sea serpent had utterly captured Roya's attention.

After reaching a certain height, Roya released Hancock and said, "Since it's a legendary creature, let me see just how strong it is!"

With that, Roya leaped from the warship, leaving behind only Hancock and her two younger sisters.

The night was clear, and the moonlight shone brightly.

As Roya jumped from the warship, violent winds swept around him, making his cloak flap loudly.

There was no need to exchange greetings with a Sea King like this.

Roya drew Ryujin Jakka in midair. Flames erupted from the blade, leaving behind a dazzling trail of fire in the sky.

The blaze was exceptionally eye-catching in the night, immediately drawing the attention of the five-thousand-meter-long serpentine Sea King!

The seawater churned, and towering waves rose into the sky.

As the sea continued to surge upward, the Sea King's tail broke through the surface and lashed toward Roya from the depths.

It looked incredibly slow, but both its speed and power were utterly terrifying!

Worried for Roya, Hancock leaned over the ship's railing and saw the scene before her.

Her heart immediately leaped into her throat. "Roya, watch out!"

As though he had heard Hancock's voice, Roya had clearly noticed the Sea King's movement as well.

"If it were anyone else, this might be troublesome. But who told you to run into me?"

"Everything in the universe, turn to ashes, Ryujin Jakka!"

As Roya's words fell, Ryujin Jakka bloomed with dazzling firelight.

Scorching, sky-filling flames shot upward.

Holding Ryujin Jakka, Roya's eyes were filled with surging flames!

After Bankai, Ryujin Jakka could reach a temperature of ten million degrees Celsius—the temperature of the sun's core.

Although Roya could not achieve that yet, even Shikai was more than enough!

A temperature of six thousand degrees Celsius, equivalent to the surface of the sun, was completely unleashed at that moment.

This was the first time since coming to the world of pirates that Roya had released the full power of his Shikai.

Before Roya even reached the Sea King, the ocean within a certain range had already begun to boil!

"Roar!!!"

As though it sensed the scorching heat in the sea, the five-thousand-meter Sea King seemed to become even more ferocious.

Its tail lash seemed to become a few degrees faster.

In the blink of an eye, it came whistling toward him.

Roya paid no attention to the Sea King's attack. The power of the talismans activated, and his descent speed increased severalfold!

At that moment, Ryujin Jakka erupted with incomparable flames, transforming into a glasslike blade of fire.

At the same time, six enormous pillars of flame rose from the sea out of nowhere, whipping up fierce hurricanes as they shot into the heavens. A crimson lotus of karmic fire spanning thousands of zhang unfurled eerily across the ocean!

Millions of qing of seawater surged upward, condensing into gigantic waves thousands of zhang high. A roar like tens of thousands of dragons howling exploded at once.

"Burning Heaven and Boiling Sea!"

As Roya's words fell, Ryujin Jakka pierced directly into the eye of the nearly five-thousand-meter Sea King.

A flaming slash burst forth at that instant.

A slash nearly a thousand meters long cleaved out from its head.

Because he was gripping the sword with both hands, the gale blew Roya's cloak wide open!

The Sea King opened its mouth, wanting to roar, only to discover that its body had already been cleaved into two halves!

Blood mixed with firelight, staining a vast stretch of the sea red!

Aboard the warship, Hancock stared at the ocean below, where the entire sea had turned into a sea of flames.

Even the sky had been illuminated crimson. Through the flames, she could clearly see that the sea for nearly ten thousand meters had boiled!

"S-So amazing!"

Hancock's eyes sparkled with stars.

In her heart, Roya was the strongest. No one could possibly be mentioned in the same breath as him!

But when she looked toward Roya, she froze instantly, because she saw what Roya looked like after taking off his cloak...

The flames filling the sky and the scenes upon the sea could be seen even from an immense distance away.

On Amazon Lily, the current empress of Amazon Lily and captain of the Kuja Pirates noticed the sight as well.

From within the palace, she gazed at the towering sea of fire in the Calm Belt, and her heart immediately sank.

Just how powerful was someone capable of doing something like this?

More importantly, that person had appeared in the Calm Belt.

That meant this person's target might very well be Amazon Lily!

Thinking of this, she immediately gave the order, "Prepare for battle!"

Most of the people on Amazon Lily had mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki. They were warriors through and through.

After receiving the current empress's command, they immediately armed themselves and began setting up an ambush in the forest facing the flames.

Elsewhere, not far from the sea of fire.

A small boat drifted slowly across the sea.

On the tiny boat sat an old woman shorter than an ordinary person. A flower was tucked into her white wavy hair, and she held a cane formed from her pet snake curled into shape. Her expression stiffened as she stared at the sight before her.

"These flames... could they really be that person's?"

The old woman muttered, reaching out to touch the seawater.

"Hiss—"

The old woman sucked in a sharp breath, then said in shock, "The seawater is this hot from so far away! This is far too terrifying!"

As she spoke, the old woman sat down on the wooden boards of the small boat. Within seconds, she sprang back up, shouting, "Hot, hot, hot~"

If any outsider saw this scene, they would surely find it rather comical!