Infinite Despair, the Might of a Single Punch

On the boundless sea, Roya and Kalifa stood on the deck of an admiral-class warship.

Behind Roya stood a hundred of his phantoms, orderly operating the warship.

Holding a bounty poster in her hand, Kalifa said to Roya, "Roya, it has been confirmed. Those fifty large pirate ships ahead belong to the most notorious pirate crew in the East Blue—the Krieg Pirates!"

"He calls himself the Commodore and is also known as the Overlord of the East Blue. Their crew is estimated to number around 4,500."

"Based on the current intelligence, they should have just entered the Grand Line."

As he listened to Kalifa's report, the justice coat draped over Roya's shoulders flapped loudly in the sea breeze.

Looking at the fifty ships in the distance, he said softly, "With a bounty of seventeen million, they want to enter the Grand Line? Forget it."

A sly smile appeared on Kalifa's lips as well.

"Don Krieg is actually very lucky. He had just entered the Grand Line and already got to meet an admiral. That is a supreme honor that others could never hope to encounter!"

After saying that, Kalifa looked at the Krieg Armada in the distance with surprise.

"What are they trying to do? Are they trying to surround us?"

Seeing the Krieg Armada spread out and close in on them, Kalifa did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Did they not know what this warship represented?

It represented, at the very least, the combat strength of an admiral!

And what did admiral-level strength represent? It was one of the Navy's highest-tier combat forces!

"Don't be surprised. They are nothing more than frogs at the bottom of a well."

Just then, Don Krieg's voice came from the distance.

Using a Loudspeaker Den Den Mushi, he shouted at Roya, "Warship ahead, you are about to be surrounded by my Krieg Armada! Why aren't you kneeling yet? If you kneel, I'll leave you an intact corpse! Hahahahaha!"

The arrogant laughter made Roya frown slightly. "Noisy."

The next second, the hundred phantoms aboard the warship shattered.

Before Don Krieg and the others could react, Roya had already appeared above the sea.

"How is he flying?"

"How did he do that?"

"How is that possible? How can a person fly?"

"Could he be a monster wearing human skin?"

Hearing his subordinates shouting nonsense below, Don Krieg immediately roared, "He's just a Devil Fruit user! Look how frightened you all are!"

A sinister expression crossed Don Krieg's face as he curled his lips. "It's not like I've never killed a Devil Fruit user before! It's just..."

Before Don Krieg could finish speaking, everyone saw an enormous shadow swallow their own.

"Susanoo!"

A terrifying existence resembling a giant appeared before them.

Roya stood between the giant's brows, his arms folded across his chest.

A dark purple phantom enveloped Roya within it.

Peak Armament Haki coated the phantom as Roya's voice drifted into the pirates' ears. "If you're this weak, don't come to the Grand Line and make fools of yourselves!"

As Roya's voice fell, the several-hundred-meter fist descended mercilessly upon them under his control.

As they watched the enormous fist in the sky grow larger and larger in their pupils,

they felt infinite despair rise within their hearts.

"Is this a monster of the Grand Line?"

"Is everyone in the Grand Line this strong?!"

"This is too terrifying!"

"Save me! Someone save me!"

"Captain! Captain, save us!"

"Wait, where is the captain?"

Don Krieg, who had been standing on the deck, had vanished at some unknown point.

The countless pirates looked at the despair in one another's eyes. They wanted to say something, but it was already too late.

Susanoo's fist crashed heavily into the sea.

The sea surface instantly cracked apart like solid ground.

It formed an enormous "crater"!

Then, due to the nature of the seawater, it violently surged back together, raising enormous waves in its wake!

The splashing waves rose a full hundred meters.

In an instant, they swallowed those pirate ships.

Countless pirates fell into the water.

Yet at that moment, the "crater" transformed into a whirlpool.

Like a merciless devouring beast, it relentlessly reaped the pirates' lives!

On the warship, Kalifa's face was covered in cold sweat.

She had entered the warship's helm cabin and was desperately gripping the wheel, keeping the warship from being swallowed by the enormous whirlpool.

There was no helping it. The power of that punch was simply too great.

Just one punch.

It had wiped out a pirate armada of nearly five thousand men!

Countless people were swallowed by the whirlpool, while the pirate ships were shattered by the waves!

And the one responsible for everything before them was the young man in the sky, arms folded as he watched it all with an indifferent gaze!

The youngest Navy admiral in history—White Dove!

Watching the pirates be swallowed by the whirlpool, Roya said softly, "It's finally a little quieter."

The phantom of Susanoo dispersed, and Roya landed on the warship.

Then he said softly, "Myriad Phantom Turns!"

In an instant, Roya created a hundred phantoms.

They resumed operating the warship.

Kalifa walked out of the helm cabin, her fair forehead covered in fine beads of fragrant sweat.

Roya smiled gently at Kalifa. "Thanks for the effort."

Kalifa had wanted to complain about Roya, but upon seeing his gentle smile, she immediately changed her words. "It's nothing. This is what I should do."

As time passed, the sea gradually calmed.

As far as the eye could see, only Roya's warship sailed across the boundless waters.

"Kalifa, how many days have we been out?"

"Five days already."

Kalifa adjusted her glasses, looked at the small notebook she carried with her, and said to Roya, "We have already eliminated seven pirate crews. The combined bounties of all the pirates among them have reached a staggering ten billion."

"Let's leave it at that for now. See what islands are nearby. We'll go replenish our supplies."

Acting like a secretary, Kalifa said, "The nearby islands include Cocoyasi in the East Blue and Drum Island. However, Drum Island has been closed off recently because Wapol is about to inherit the throne. Other than local vessels, no ships are permitted to dock."

Hearing Kalifa's words, Roya's lips curled up slightly. He said softly, "Then we'll go to Cocoyasi Village and replenish our supplies."

After leaving Marineford, Roya had not immediately headed toward Cocoyasi Village.

Instead, he had hunted pirates continuously along the way. Under Roya's deliberate control, they had only now arrived near Cocoyasi.

It could be said that everything was under Roya's control.