"So that's how it is. Prepare for battle. There's no escaping it."
Nash rose from the Throne, a pair of demon horns on his head as his broad demon wings spread behind him.
Eerie black demon flames burned around him.
As Nash transformed into a demon, his hideous Demon's Eye became impossible to meet. A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
His abyssal presence engulfed the entire island.
Clenching his fists, Nash strode forward through the Pirate Army gathered on Demon Island.
Fifteen thousand strong. That was the full strength of his Pirate Army now.
In the eight years since the end of Rocks's era, it had grown from just over two thousand. By any measure, that was rapid progress.
After all, of the thirteen Squadron Captains of the Rocks Pirates, he and Zack had ranked at the bottom.
Plenty of Great Pirates could match them back then. They had simply held greater potential.
"Kill them! Send the Five Peaks Pirates crawling back where they came from!"
Nash threw his arms wide and roared. His fighting spirit surged, and the demon blood in his veins boiled.
A pirate flag bearing a pair of demon wings fluttered in the wind.
Though the Demon King Pirates had more men, Nash still felt considerable pressure.
After more than a year of bloody fighting, the Five Peaks Pirates were bound to be stronger on average than the Demon King Pirates.
The Demon King Pirates had developed well, but without strength, all of that meant nothing.
Still, he had never feared war. Since rising to prominence in Rocks's era, what hadn't he seen?
The four officers he had trained had yet to reach their full potential. This battle would drive their growth.
Samael, a Lunarian and a user of the Paramecia-type Wither Fruit.
Belial, a