Thousand-Man Pirate Crew

Hearing the voice, Junhe immediately turned his head.

The moment he saw Nova's face, he respectfully said, "Your Highness, why are you here?"

"Such a big thing happened. What else was I supposed to do but come?" Nova said helplessly.

Junhe took a deep breath and smiled, then turned serious again. "They have eight ships in total, with around a thousand people. This is quite a challenge for us."

"If we keep them all this time, they can help with the country's construction. We're short on manpower anyway. I think it's pretty good."

Nova spoke as if it did not matter.

Junhe did not even know what to say anymore. What exactly was His Highness thinking?

As the fleet drew closer, most of the five hundred soldiers began to panic. After all, they were almost entirely people who had never experienced battle.

The lead ship bore a skull emblem, which became increasingly clear as it approached.

But before the soldiers could react, the enemy's cannonballs had already come roaring over.

"How are the skills I taught you before? Have you learned them?" Nova asked Junhe.

"I've learned most of them, but didn't you say we shouldn't use them in front of others?" Junhe asked in confusion.

"It doesn't matter at our own doorstep. Capture them all. The country's construction will really need them afterward!" Nova said with a smile.

The two of them remained extremely calm, without the slightest hint of panic, but the people behind them were entirely different.

Among them, several dozen looked just as calm as the two of them. These were the people Nova had trained over the past few years.

The cannons aboard the pirate ships continued to roar, but their aim was truly terrible.

After firing for so long, they had not injured a single person on this side. The soldiers who had initially been frightened gradually found their courage.

"I'll stay here and watch. You all go capture them. If anyone resists, it's fine to kill them, but try to keep those pirate ships intact. Our country is poor, and those things are worth quite a bit of money.

Try not to kill anyone if you can. Train these people properly, and they'll become the backbone of our country in the future." Nova said to Junhe beside him with a sinister smile.

Junhe smiled as well, then answered forcefully, "Yes..."

After speaking, he looked at the soldiers behind him and shouted, "After training for so long, it's time to show what we can do. Everyone, charge with me..."

Junhe rushed forward first. The dozens following behind him showed no fear whatsoever.

Before everyone's eyes, the moment they reached the shore, every one of them leaped into the air and ran across the sky toward the pirate ships.

Not only were the pirates across from them dumbfounded by this sight, even the remaining several hundred soldiers behind them stared in shock.

These were the younger, stronger soldiers Nova had specifically selected from the army.

To the other soldiers, this scene was simply unbelievable. They had never seen anything like it before. The pirates were the same. When they saw a group of people flying through the air, most of them nearly wet themselves in fright.

"Fire the cannons! Don't let them get close to the ships..."

The pirates were already losing control, though one of them still shouted commands.

But the outcome had already been decided. This was not something numbers could resolve.

There were many pirates, and cannonballs filled the sky, but in the end, they barely hit anyone.

Junhe led his group directly onto the pirate ships. They moved as if no one stood in their way, unstoppable and impossible to block.

Even the so-called pirate captains ended up no differently.

Just when everyone thought it was over, someone suddenly leaped a hundred meters into the air. He was even much faster than the Soru used in the Marine Six Styles.

"Devil Fruit?" Nova watched from the outskirts. This was clearly abnormal, and it was obvious at a glance that a Devil Fruit was responsible.

But he was only one person. Against so many people, he would not require much effort to deal with.

The key was that this man happened to rush directly toward Nova.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Lord Defamo, the Bounce-Bounce Man who possesses the Bounce-Bounce Fruit..."

The man shouted as he bounced along. He wore a long robe and looked exactly like an idiot. It was as if he had not realized his situation at all.

When he landed on the sand, the pirate captain was still laughing and mocking them.

But the instant he touched down, a foot came from nowhere and kicked him directly in the face. Before he could steady himself, he had already been sent flying more than a hundred meters away.

The soldiers watching from behind were now utterly stunned, even more shocked than when they saw Junhe and the others fly through the air.

Nova had crossed more than a hundred meters in an instant and knocked the enemy captain unconscious with a single kick. It was truly unexpected.

"I thought he would be someone impressive. Turns out he's really weak!"

Nova was somewhat speechless. There was truly no one he could use to test himself against. Even after eating a Devil Fruit, the man was still too weak to withstand a single blow.

Yet such rare Devil Fruits had appeared twice in his own country in the South Blue. These things were almost impossible to come across, but this group of pirates had somehow obtained them.

Less than thirty minutes had passed, yet the thousand pirates had already been thoroughly beaten. If Nova had not ordered them to preserve the pirate ships, the fight probably would have ended in around ten minutes.

Junhe returned from the sky using Geppo. Standing before Nova, he smiled and said, "Your Highness, the matter has been resolved."

"Good. Have them inventory the supplies on the pirate ships. As for these people, take them back and keep a close watch on them. We'll need them later," Nova said calmly.

He was not surprised by this outcome at all. In fact, he felt it was only natural. He had spent so much effort training these people. If they could not even deal with a group of pirates, that would have been unreasonable.

"Your Highness, there are quite a few good things on the ships. Would you like to take a look?" Junhe asked.

"There's nothing to see. Sort out the valuable items and send them all to the palace. As for the rest, especially the ships, take down the pirate flags and use them for civilian purposes from now on," Nova said.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Oh, and keep that man under tight control. He's a Devil Fruit user, and we'll have use for him later," Nova said with a smile.

Mainly because he had already understood the nature of the Devil Fruit on that man. It was practically worthless and had no real use at all.

They had been here for less than an hour, yet everything was already over. It truly exceeded everyone's expectations.

Nova could not help sighing. There had not been any real feeling of battle at all.

After Nova left, the crowd became lively. Especially the soldiers who had done nothing, all of them were discussing what had just happened.

Junhe was also somewhat amazed. He had guessed that Nova was strong, but no one had even seen how he attacked, and the situation had already ended like this.

A Devil Fruit user could not even take a single kick. He was simply too weak.

"Take good care of that man. Don't let him die. As His Highness ordered, these people will be of great use in the future," Junhe shouted to the soldiers.

"Yes..."

Everyone answered in a unified, resounding voice.

After witnessing the strength of these people, their sense of honor rose collectively.

"Let go of me! Do you know who I am? I'm a Devil Fruit user, the Bounce-Bounce—"

Bang...

Before the bound pirate captain could finish speaking, Junhe kicked him directly in the face. As he carefully recalled the state of Nova's kick just now, he could only shake his head helplessly.

"You bastard, you're already in this state, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a Devil Fruit user?"

Junhe muttered in exasperation.

"Lord Junhe, all personnel and items have been cleared. We captured a total of 951 pirates and eight pirate ships. There is also an entire shipload of food, along with a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels."

While Junhe stood there thinking, a soldier ran over to report.

"Send all the gold, silver, and jewels to the palace. As for the pirate ships, modify them all, take down the pirate flags, and use them as cargo merchant ships for our country from now on."

Junhe spoke calmly, beginning to imitate Nova's somewhat arrogant manner.

Five hundred people escorting nearly a thousand looked rather ridiculous and amusing.

Yet at this time, not a single pirate had any abnormal thoughts.

After all, even their captain had been captured at the front. What was the point of struggling?

More importantly, they were intimidated by the enemy's strength. The sight of those several dozen people truly filled them with fear.

They had barely been at sea for long before running into such a group. Their luck was truly terrible.

The surrounding citizens all gathered around, watching the scene before them with great interest. Such a thing was rarely seen in the Tru Kingdom.

The fear all citizens had always held toward pirates seemed to vanish completely at this moment.

Junhe deliberately led the pirates at a slow pace, wanting the people of his country to see that pirates were no more than this. Their country had the ability to protect its citizens.

Nova intentionally began cultivating a group of young people. After all, now that the country's future was in his hands, some things and ways of thinking needed to change as soon as possible.

For now, the Tru Kingdom had some basic ability to protect itself against neighboring countries, but if they wanted more, it was still too early!

Only one month later, a major event occurred in the Tru Kingdom: the old king died. No one was particularly saddened by it, and Nova felt the same way.

The old king was already eighty-five years old and had died naturally of old age. Moreover, he had been extremely peaceful before his passing.

As his only son, Nova naturally succeeded to the throne.

"Lord Genji, you will take over as king tomorrow. You should rest early tonight!"

Late at night, Nova stood alone outside the main hall, looking up at the stars overhead. No one knew what he was thinking.

But at that moment, a maid behind him reminded him.

Nova glanced at her without saying anything. Instead, he continued looking up at the sky. To outsiders, he might have seemed to be mourning his father, but only he himself likely understood the truth.

Even five days after the old king's death, the news had not reached all the citizens. But they did know that a new king would soon appear in the Tru Kingdom.

Every citizen awaited Nova's performance, wondering whether he could lead the kingdom toward prosperity and strength.

Bearing all that pressure was why Nova stood here gazing at the stars instead of sleeping in the middle of the night.

After remaining there for a long time, he seemed to understand his mission. He did not choose to run away. He merely smiled faintly before walking toward his residence.

From now on, no one above him would shield him anymore. Everything would depend on him alone.

Early the next morning.

The palace was at its liveliest. Whether they were elderly ministers or newly risen talents, everyone was waiting for one person.

Nova appeared last. He wore royal robes entirely different from his usual clothes, with a glittering golden crown atop his head. Though only fourteen or fifteen years old and still somewhat youthful, he carried an imposing presence.

When he entered the main hall, everyone respectfully bowed, congratulating the new king on ascending the throne.

Nova stood beneath the throne, quietly looking at the chair above. It was not as if he had never sat on it before. When he had acted as the country's regent, he had often sat there without much ceremony. But sitting on it this time would be entirely different.

Everyone below remained silent. Not a single person spoke, quietly waiting for what would come next.