"Boom~~"
A massive curtain of water blotting out the sky came crashing down on the three warships.
The Marines aboard stared in horror at the unimaginable attack, their orderly formations immediately falling into chaos.
"Open fire! Open fire, now! Stop him!" the Commodore in command shouted hoarsely, trying to blast through the curtain of water with cannon fire.
Yet the ordinary cannonballs made only a few splashes as they struck the wall of water. They did nothing to stop it.
"Rumble~~!!!"
"Damn it, turn the helm!" the Commodore ordered in terror.
"There's no time! Hah, hah~~"
The surging curtain of water capsized all three warships in an instant, and they slowly sank into the sea.
"M-monster..." The surviving Marines floated on the surface, staring at the blond-haired youth standing at the bow of the pirate ship.
"Damn you, what have you done to my dear subordinates?!"
With the warships sunk, the ordinary Marines could only float on the surface. Only the Commodore in command used Geppo to close in on Roy at high speed.
"Oh!"
"So you've mastered Geppo, one of the Six Powers?"
Roy watched the Marine Commodore, who could remain in the air for short periods using nothing but physical techniques.
"Marine, that's some good physical technique!" Roy praised him.
"Roy the pirate, I'll arrest you and your crew right here!"
Roy curled his lip in disdain. Out at sea, he refused to believe anyone could capture them, even if Admiral Sengoku came himself. (Except Garp and Zephyr.)
"Sink into the sea, Marine!"
The Marine Commodore in midair was immediately enveloped by an invisible force and fell headfirst toward the sea.
"Stella, keep going."
"Understood, Captain."
The pirate ship sailed straight ahead.
Roy paid little attention to the rank-and-file Marines.
In the world of pirates, pirates and Marines were enemies to begin with. Since they had intended to arrest Roy and his crew, what reason did he have to pity them? He had spared them rather than killing them all only because the Commodore cared for his subordinates.
With the Marines dealt with, the ship sailed past the survivors floating in the sea.
They entered a relatively calm stretch of water. Sunlight fell across the deck, reflecting shimmering ripples, and the battle just now seemed like a gift celebrating their successful departure.
Tesoro bounced excitedly on the deck. "Boss! You're amazing! Those huge warships sank in no time! Those Marines were no match for you!"
Roy, who was opening the cabin door, stopped at his words. He looked at Tesoro and shook his head. "Tesoro! Don't underestimate the Marines. Only ordinary Marine officers came this time. The real powerhouses haven't shown up yet. If it had been a Vice Admiral from headquarters, or... a monster like Kizaru, we wouldn't have gotten away so easily."
At the mention of Kizaru, Roy's gaze turned slightly grave. Luck and Kizaru's carelessness had played a large part in Roy knocking him into the sea last time. If Rayleigh hadn't held Sengoku back, escaping would have been a pipe dream.
I need to get stronger as quickly as possible. At the very least, I need to train and develop Armament Haki first. Then fighting Logia users won't be so difficult, he mused.
Before closing the cabin door, he turned to Tesoro. "You need to work hard, Tesoro! Our opponents will only get stronger from now on!"
"Yes, Boss!" Tesoro put away his smile and nodded solemnly, his gaze growing even more determined.
Maple Leaf Island.
Half an hour after Roy and his crew left, a golden streak of light cut across the sky, speeding toward Maple Leaf Island.
Borsalino flew through the air as photons, his usual carefree expression nowhere to be seen. He would not allow himself to fail again.
However, when he reached Maple Leaf Island and used Observation Haki, he could not sense Roy's presence in the town.
"Damn it, has he already left?"
A great deal of wreckage from the warships and Marine soldiers floated on the sea. All three warships had been destroyed, and the surviving Marines were swimming toward shore.
"Rear Admiral Borsalino, Roy the pirate has escaped."
After the soldiers came ashore, the Marine Branch Commodore in command slowly stepped forward, his face full of shame, and saluted as he spoke.
"What happened?"
"That kid is a monster! He defeated us with a single blow and even sank our warships!"
"Is that so!" Borsalino lowered his head in thought. "Looks like that kid has gotten stronger again. What a bother!"
"Contact the Marine Base and have them come pick you up. I need to speak with Admiral Sengoku."
Once the Marines had withdrawn into the town, he took out a Den Den Mushi.
"Moshi moshi~ Admiral Sengoku?"
"Borsalino? What's the situation? Did you catch Roy?"
"Ah~ I was just a little bit late. Three warships have been sunk just off Maple Leaf Island. Roy and his crew... just left."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, followed by Sengoku's voice, his anger suppressed. "One blow?"
"Looks that way~ According to the surviving Marines' reports, it wasn't like an ordinary Devil Fruit ability. It was more like... he controlled the seawater directly. What a monstrous kid~"
Borsalino looked at the devastation around him.
"Borsalino, come back for now. I'll have the other Marines continue the investigation!"
After hanging up, Sengoku the Buddha looked at Roy's wanted poster and murmured, "We can't let him continue to grow! He's already far more dangerous than I estimated! If necessary, we must take extreme measures!"
By this time, Roy had entered the cabin and was looking around the captain's quarters.
He found nothing special as he surveyed the room, so he decided not to rush into searching it. He plopped down in the captain's chair and began looking through the items on the desk.
There was a wanted poster for Giant Axe Baku. He looked at the bounty amount on it.
"Oh, so that small fry had a bounty of thirty-eight million Beli?" Roy shook his head in amusement.
He glanced at the clutter on the desk: a candlestick, a wine bottle, and various other odds and ends.
He stood up and was just about to use his ability to clear away the junk when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a treasure chest in the corner beneath the bed.
A treasure chest! Looks like the Giant Axe Buck Pirates did have some treasure after all!
With a thought, Roy tossed the items on the desk out the window, and the chest under the bed slowly floated onto it.
Hehe, now it's time to open the treasure chest. Hope it gives me a little surprise. Roy rubbed his hands together and slowly opened it.
A great mass of glittering gold coins and stacks of Beli met his eyes. At a rough estimate, they were probably worth around twenty million. But who would care about that little bit of money? He could probably get more than that just by robbing some random noble.
Just as Roy was feeling disappointed, a small corner of a smaller chest beneath the gold coins was revealed as they shifted.
"Hahaha~~"
My luck really isn't that bad after all. He happily pushed aside the layer of gold coins, revealing a small box of the kind used to store Devil Fruits in the pirate world.
He excitedly opened the little chest, and there before his eyes was a Devil Fruit.