Conqueror's Haki

The guards went about their business. The Tru Kingdom now looked just like real pirates.

As for Nova, after leaving the execution platform in Central Square, he began touring all of Loguetown.

The place was indeed prosperous. Compared to his own country, not even the royal capital had such a bustling scene.

Its advantages were obvious, and so were its drawbacks. After all, the place was too small and had almost nothing worth seeing.

But precisely because of that, Nova suddenly thought of the original protagonist, who was in the East Blue. It should be fine if he went over to take a look now, right?

He was already this close anyway, and getting there would not take much effort.

But how could things be so perfect?

These people had only left the country seven days ago.

Just as Nova was considering going to see the protagonist, a "Pururururu..." sound came from his arms.

When Nova took the item out, it was something that looked like a snail, with a crown on its head.

This was Nova's personal Den Den Mushi. As a small creature raised alongside him, this snail-shaped Den Den Mushi could communicate no matter how far apart they were, functioning much like a mobile phone.

Nova pressed a small bump on the Den Den Mushi's shell. With a "Brrp..." sound, a voice came through from the other side.

"Your Majesty, is that King Nova? I'm Junhe, Head Guard Junhe..."

Junhe's voice came from the other end, full of urgency, and the Den Den Mushi mimicked his anxious expression as it spoke.

Nova seemed not to have realized anything yet. In a calm tone, he said, "It's me, Junhe. What's going on over there?"

"So it really is Your Majesty. I have an important matter to report..."

"Take it slow. You're already the Royal Guard Captain. Can't you stop panicking whenever something happens?" Nova asked with a frown.

There was no need to say more. Nova could already sense that something must have happened to the kingdom; he just did not yet know what it was.

Junhe tried hard to calm himself, and the Den Den Mushi took deep breaths along with him.

"Your Majesty, the Roa Kingdom has launched an attack on the Tru Kingdom. They have also invited pirates to join them. For now, the country is having trouble holding out," Junhe said, trying his best to remain composed.

"Have you found out why the Roa Kingdom attacked?"

"Your Majesty, we have investigated it. Mainly because our kingdom has developed quite smoothly over the past two years, which led to this situation. Also, many of the pirates invited by the Roa Kingdom are Devil Fruit users. They have even begun launching indiscriminate attacks throughout the kingdom."

Junhe spoke with barely restrained urgency.

"How far has it progressed?"

"Your Majesty, the Roa Kingdom's army is still advancing normally, and our forces have blocked them at the border. But the pirates are different. They have begun attacking everywhere. From yesterday until now, our losses have been enormous," Junhe said.

After listening, Nova forced himself to remain calm and said, "Hold them off for a few more days..."

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Nova's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. There was no emotion left in them.

He stood where he was, his anger growing increasingly intense.

Then he picked up another Den Den Mushi. Once it connected, Nova said in an icy voice, "Get everyone aboard. We're leaving immediately!"

The moment he finished speaking, he hung up and turned toward the harbor.

But at this moment, the guards had already begun escorting the pirates with bounties toward the Marine base. When the order came down, they seemed to realize that something was wrong. They did not even bother with the bounties anymore, simply tying the pirates up where they stood.

By the time Nova arrived at the harbor, quite a crowd had gathered there. Not to mention the pirates, even countless Loguetown residents had come to watch the commotion.

Reaching the edge of the harbor, Nova did not pause for a moment before quickly boarding the ship. Gogoya and the procurement personnel also rushed back aboard at once.

Although none of them knew what had happened, judging from the urgency of the situation, something extraordinary must have occurred.

"Your Majesty, what happened?"

Gogoya asked nervously.

"The Tru Kingdom has been attacked, and it has only been two days since I left!" Nova said furiously.

His hand resting on the railing crushed the wooden rail into pieces.

The moment Gogoya heard that, she understood the severity of the situation. Without caring about anything else, she ran to Barlow and urgently shouted, "Barlow, set sail immediately..."

Everyone else was still utterly confused. They had no idea what had happened—whether stronger pirates had arrived or whether it was something else—but all they could do was follow orders and depart at once.

They had come all the way to Loguetown without even having the chance to properly explore it, and now they were already rushing off.

Had they known this would happen, they would never have taken another step in this direction.

As the sails dropped, the National slowly set off, gradually disappearing beyond the horizon under everyone's puzzled gazes.

None of the pirates who had been captured earlier managed to escape. They were all taken away by the base's vice commander and his men.

Thus, what should have been a pleasant trip to Loguetown ended in farce.

Nova had no mind to deal with anything else. He directly ordered the ship to accelerate and cross Reverse Mountain.

They had taken two days to travel from Reverse Mountain to Loguetown before, but this time they did not even need a day. After all, Loguetown was practically the closest stop to Reverse Mountain.

Yet after returning, they were surprised to find that Kamolong's pirate crew was still there. They had not left, and several ships seemed to be towing something.

It was certain that whatever they were towing was enormous. Several pirate ships were also keeping watch over the surroundings, guarding against any accidents.

Nova had no desire to fight these people now, but it was no longer a question of whether he wanted to—it was whether they were willing to let him pass.

Before the National could even approach the pirate fleet, the Demon Pirates' cannon fire began raining down densely upon it.

The guards aboard had no choice but to go out and prepare for battle once more.

Each of them met the cannonballs in midair, knocking them away with a kick.

But as they drew closer, the instant Nova saw Kamolong, an aura like that of a demon burst from his body. In a cold, grim voice, he shouted, "Kamolong, I'm not in the mood to cause trouble with you today. I don't care what you're doing, but I need to cross Reverse Mountain now. If your pirate crew dares to keep blocking me, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Gururururu... I never expected you to dare come back. Now that we've gotten what we wanted, do you think we would—"

Before Kamolong could finish speaking, the foul-tempered Nova drew Demon Blade Muramasa. Its powerful evil aura seemed ready to devour everyone around it.

Kamolong had seen plenty in his life, but he was still startled by such sword intent. For a boy of only fifteen or sixteen to display such strength was enough to make anyone look at him differently.

"I didn't expect you to have such a fine blade. Looks like you're a swordsman too. It would be quite nice if you let me keep it for you!"

Kamolong wore a sinister smile, as if he had already made up his mind.

Buoyed by the confidence of his previous victory, Kamolong naturally had nothing pleasant to say to Nova. More importantly, he had already obtained what he wanted, so he had no reason to worry about wasting time here.

The many members of the Demon Pirates all stared at the National with mocking eyes, their jeers and insults endless.

Nova had no interest in wasting words. From the start, he intended to use his full strength and never give the other side another chance.

Armament Haki spread from his hand across his entire body, turning him into something like black steel. Only then did Kamolong begin to feel fear.

The others on the ship might not understand what Haki was, but Kamolong knew all too well.

Yet that was not the only thing that shocked them. Nova leaped directly onto Kamolong's pirate ship. Just as the other pirates were about to rush him, Nova gave them a single look, and most of the Demon Pirates immediately collapsed unconscious.

"Conqueror's Haki!!!!"

Kamolong was stunned beyond words. If he could return to two minutes ago, he would never dare block Nova again.

If someone could wield Haki to such an extent, how could that not be shocking?

Kamolong was beginning to regret his actions, but now he could only force himself to fight.

No one knew how many people were in the Demon Pirates, but now only around a dozen could still stand or move.

And when those dozen faced the guards aboard the National, they had almost no ability to resist.

"Kamolong, you injured me before only because I let my guard down. Now I want to know what else you can do," Nova said coldly.

There was no wind over the blue sea at this moment, yet Kamolong felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Don't think you're so great just because you can use Haki. What matters is your actual ability!" Kamolong said.

"Then watch carefully. Since our previous battle never truly ended, I don't mind wasting a little more time to let you experience it properly!"

Nova's eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, he looked like a true demon.

Meanwhile, aboard the National, Gogoya hurriedly ordered, "What are you all standing around watching for? His Majesty is fighting personally! Bring up one of every kind of fruit prepared in the hold!"

There were no guards on the ship at the moment, and they had no idea what was happening. Why bring out fruit? Were they going to hold a ritual or something?

Gogoya did not explain much, but since she had given the order, someone would carry it out.

Nova showed no mercy this time. His Observation Haki remained active the entire time, sensing every movement Kamolong made from beginning to end.

Kamolong wanted to do what he had done before: use the long sword in his hand to conceal his Devil Fruit ability, then strike with a killing blow.

But how could Nova let him have his way this time?

Nova immediately held Muramasa horizontally before his chest. After building up his momentum, he softly called out, "Draw Sword Slash..."

The moment his voice fell, a horizontal blade of light shot out. No matter how cautious Kamolong was, a large portion of his hat brim was still sliced off.

"Thorn-Thorn Fruit—Thousand Pine Needles..."

Kamolong instantly unleashed his Devil Fruit ability. In an instant, what seemed like thousands of silver needles shot from his palms, each one piercing straight through the ship's hull.

But he did not perform that move only once. Yet with Observation Haki, Nova could evade every attack in an instant.

"We don't need to keep watching. His Majesty's strength is beyond anything we can imagine. And that Kamolong is truly terrifying as well. He uses his Devil Fruit ability so skillfully. Hurry up and do what we need to do.

"The Demon Pirates have stayed here for several days. There must be some great treasure here. His Majesty is in a hurry to finish things and get it aboard the National. Take whatever we can carry, and we'll deal with the rest after we return..."

National Guard Captain Chiya shouted to the other guards.

There was no one conscious aboard the pirate ships anyway. Since the pirates were unconscious, and they could not interfere in their king's battle, there was no point in watching. They might as well use the opportunity to take everything they could.

There were over a dozen pirate ships here, and searching them would likely take quite some time. But when they began searching the first pirate ship, one of them cried out.

"Guard Captain Chiya, there's a lot of good stuff here!"

A guard shouted excitedly.

Chiya hurried down with two or three others, and the scene before them truly shocked them.

The various gold, silver, and jewels piled throughout the cabin made their eyes light up at once.

There was treasure worth at least over a billion Beli aboard this ship. The dozen or so men were thrilled, and they immediately began packing it up themselves.