A dark shadow surged from the sea under the moonlight, as though it wanted to swallow the warship in a single bite.
Countless streams of seawater slid off the shadow's body, crashing onto the surface and splashing up even greater waves.
Luckily, Roya used the power of the Talisman to pull the warship into the sky.
At the same time, he grabbed Hancock and directly sheltered her in his arms.
At that moment, the two women aboard the warship also ran out.
"Big Sister, what happened?"
The two of them were extremely flustered, but the moment they saw Hancock in Roya's arms, they immediately felt relieved.
Moonlight shone upon the shadow, allowing Roya and the women 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.
This was the kind of existence that even admirals found troublesome.
Hancock's pupils suddenly constricted in Roya's embrace.
She hurriedly grabbed Roya and said, "Roya, this is the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent from Amazon Lily's legends. It is said that once these serpents reach adulthood, they are 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 completely captured Roya's attention.
After rising to a certain height, Roya released Hancock and said to her, "Since it's a legendary creature, let me see how strong it is!"
With that, Roya jumped down from the warship, leaving behind Hancock and her two younger sisters.
The night was clear tonight, and the moonlight shone brightly.
As Roya leaped from the warship, fierce winds swept around him, making his cloak flap loudly.
There was no need to exchange pleasantries with a Sea King like this.
Roya drew Ryujin Jakka in midair. Flames spewed from the blade, leaving a dazzling trail of fire in the sky.
The blazing light was extremely eye-catching in the night, instantly drawing the attention of the five-thousand-meter-long serpentine Sea King!
The seawater surged, and towering waves rose into the sky.
The sea kept swelling upward as the Sea King's tail burst through the surface and lashed toward Roya from the depths.
It looked incredibly slow, but both its speed and power were actually terrifying!
Worried for Roya, Hancock leaned over the ship's railing and watched the scene unfold.
Her heart instantly leaped into her throat. "Roya, be careful!"
As though he had heard Hancock's voice, Roya had clearly noticed the Sea King's attack as well.
"If it were anyone else, this might be troublesome. But who told you to run into me?"
"Reduce all creation to ash, Ryujin Jakka!"
As Roya's voice fell, Ryujin Jakka burst forth with brilliant firelight.
The scorching Heaven-Raging Flame shot into the heavens.
Roya gripped Ryujin Jakka, his eyes filled with surging flames!
After Bankai, Ryujin Jakka's temperature could reach ten million degrees Celsius—the temperature of the sun's core.
Although Roya could not yet achieve that, 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 arriving in 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 radius had already begun to boil!
"Roar!!!"
Perhaps sensing the scorching heat in the sea, the five-thousand-meter Sea King seemed to become even more ferocious.
The speed of its tail lash appeared to increase by several degrees.
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 Talisman activated, and his descent speed increased severalfold!
At that moment, Ryujin Jakka erupted with unparalleled flames, transforming into a glass-like blade of fiery light.
At the same time, six enormous pillars of fire rose from the sea out of nowhere, whipping up violent hurricanes as they shot into the sky. A crimson lotus of karmic fire spanning thousands of zhang unfurled eerily over the ocean!
Millions of qing of seawater surged upward, forming towering waves over a thousand zhang high, while a roar like tens of thousands of giant dragons howling exploded at once.
"Burning Heaven and Boiling Sea!"
As Roya's voice fell, Ryujin Jakka pierced directly into the eye of the nearly five-thousand-meter Sea King.
The flaming slash bloomed at that instant.
A slash nearly a thousand meters long cleaved out from its head.
Because he held the sword with both hands, the fierce wind blew Roya's cloak open!
The Sea King opened its mouth, wanting to roar, only to discover that its body had already been cut into two sections!
Blood mixed with firelight, dyeing a vast stretch of ocean red!
Aboard the warship, Hancock looked down at the ocean below. The entire sea had transformed into a sea of flames.
Even the sky had been illuminated crimson. Through those flames, she could clearly see that nearly ten thousand meters of ocean had boiled!
"S-So amazing!"
Hancock's eyes were filled with stars.
In her heart, Roya was the strongest. No one could possibly stand alongside him!
But when she looked at Roya, she froze instantly, because she saw what he looked like after taking off his cloak...
--
The flames filling the sky and the scenes on the sea could be seen even from an incredibly great distance.
On Amazon Lily, the current empress of Amazon Lily and captain of the Kuja Pirates also noticed this sight.
From within the palace, she gazed at the towering sea of fire in the Calm Belt, and her heart immediately sank.
Just how powerful must someone be to accomplish something like this?
Most importantly, this 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 people on Amazon Lily had mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki. It could be said that every one of them was a warrior.
After receiving the current empress's order, they immediately equipped their weapons and began lying in ambush in the forest facing the flames.
--
Elsewhere, not far from the sea of fire.
A small boat sailed 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 a pet snake curled up in her hand as she stared blankly at the sight before her.
"This flame... could it really be that person?!"
The old woman muttered as she reached into the seawater and touched it.
"Hiss~"
The old woman sharply inhaled, then said in shock, "From so far away, the seawater is still this hot! This is too terrifying!"
As she spoke, the old woman sat down on the wooden planks of the small boat. A few seconds later, she immediately sprang back up, shouting, "Hot, hot, hot~"
If an outsider saw this scene, they would definitely find it rather comical!