A True Powerhouse Could Conquer Even Natural Disasters!

He was an enormously muscular giant, the muscles of his bare arms and chest bulging with an oppressive sense of brute strength.

Round shields hung from his arms and chest, covering much of his skin and making him look like a moving fortress.

Just moments ago, he had kicked open the restaurant door and swaggered inside.

After glancing at the restaurant's furnishings, he gave a disdainful smile and ordered the waiter who had come at the commotion:

"Heh heh heh, so this is the Baratie Sea Restaurant. Doesn't look like much.

"Listen up. I'm Iron Wall Pearl of the Krieg Pirates, and we're gathering food for our trip to the Grand Line.

"So from now on, I've booked this whole place. If you know what's good for you, get lost. Don't make me say it twice!"

The restaurant fell deathly silent the instant he finished.

The diners' smiles froze, and their faces turned deathly pale.

"Th-the Krieg Pirates!" someone gasped, then ran straight out of the restaurant without hesitation.

Some even kindly called out a warning: "Hurry, get out of here! They're the overlords of the East Blue! We can't afford to mess with them!"

In mere moments, the once-packed restaurant was more than half empty, leaving the two groups who remained conspicuously visible.

Pal glanced at the two groups, then grinned, baring two rows of crooked yellow teeth.

"Hmph, didn't expect there to actually be people who aren't afraid to die.

"Looks like the Krieg Pirates aren't feared enough in the East Blue yet. I walk into some lousy restaurant and run into two groups of fools who don't know their own limits!"

On the other side of the restaurant, Scarface trembled all over, staring at Pearl in terror, his teeth chattering.

He hadn't stayed behind because he was brave. He wanted to join the famous Krieg Pirates.

They were the overlords of the East Blue, with fifty warships and five thousand pirates!

Their leader, Admiral Don Krieg, was a great pirate with a bounty of seventeen million Beli!

If he could just get a foot in the door, he, Scarface, might one day have a chance to become a great pirate in his own right!

With that thought, he gritted his teeth, grabbed his companion, whose legs had also gone weak with fear, and shakily shuffled over to Pearl.

Under Pearl's oppressive gaze, the two bowed so low they were practically lying on the floor and shouted at the top of their lungs:

"Mr. Pal, I'm Scarface, with a bounty of 680,000 Beli! Please take us in and let us join the Krieg Pirates!"

Pearl narrowed his eyes and looked the two men up and down, a mocking smile slowly spreading across his face.

Seeing this, Scarface hurriedly returned a fawning smile and bent even lower, stopping just short of dropping to his knees.

But the next second, Pearl's smile vanished. He raised his short, thick leg and kicked out hard, whipping up a gust of wind.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Scarface and his companion were sent flying like a few ragged sacks. They slammed into the restaurant wall and slid to the floor, foaming at the mouth.

Pal slowly walked over, planted his feet on their chests, and spat. "Trash like you think you're worthy of joining the Krieg Pirates?"

Pal held out a hand, and the lackey beside him immediately understood and hurriedly passed him a long blade.

Then, under Scarface's terrified gaze, Pal grinned viciously.

"I warned you already. We've booked this place. If you can't understand plain words, you might as well die!"

The moment he finished, Pal swung the long blade with a rush of wind, chopping down at Scarface.

But at that critical moment, a figure suddenly rushed out of the kitchen.

The next instant, Pal felt a jolt of numbness in his wrist. The blade flew from his hand and lodged in the distant wall.

Holding a cigarette between two fingers, Sanji took a deep drag and slowly exhaled. He said in a low voice to the livid Pal:

"This is a place for eating, not killing. Wasting food is shameful!"

At Sanji's feet lay the food Scarface had knocked all over the floor.

Pal looked startled at first, but his surprise quickly turned to fury. He pointed at Sanji and roared:

"Who the hell do you think you are? A lousy cook dares meddle in my business?"

His eyes bloodshot, he charged at Sanji with a furious roar.

Sanji's eyes narrowed slightly, and he was just about to kick when he suddenly noticed a figure standing in front of him. He had no idea when the man had appeared.

The Marine coat bearing the word "Justice" fluttered without a breeze. A moment later, a calm, steady voice rang out:

"Pal, was it? Don't you think hurting civilians right in front of a Marine is going a little too far?"

Pal looked at Ivan with disdain and gave a vicious grin.

"What's a mere Marine worth? Our Krieg Pirates have slaughtered countless Marines. You can die here today too!"

With that, he swung his shield at Ivan's face.

But as soon as he moved, an afterimage flashed past. An irresistible force struck his chest and sent him flying.

He shot through the air like a cannonball, knocking several pirates aside before landing in the sea opposite the restaurant, sending spray high into the air.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing? That bastard was my opponent!" Seeing his opponent sent flying, Sanji showed no gratitude and shouted at Ivan in annoyance instead.

Ivan turned at the sound and smiled at him.

"Civilians should stay behind the Marines where it's safe. Dealing with pirates is a Marine's job!"

Sanji froze at those words.

Hadn't he seen plenty of Marines before?

They acted in the name of justice, but their deeds were no different from those of pirates. They looted villages, ate without paying, and bullied others by abusing their power. Their conduct was even more despicable than that of the pirates who burned, killed, and plundered.

But this guy...

He really did seem a little different!

Sanji wanted to say something else, but a large, rough, powerful hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder.

He instinctively tried to pull away, but the hand was like an iron vise welded to his shoulder. No matter how hard he struggled, it didn't budge.

"Stop, Sanji," a deep voice said beside his ear. "Leave these pirates to Ensign White Dove."

Sanji whipped around and found that it was the stinking old man holding him back.

But for some reason, Zeff's expression was graver than Sanji had ever seen it.

A faint sheen of cold sweat covered his temples, and his gaze remained fixed on White Dove. He didn't dare look away for even half a second.

Sanji was puzzled and said impatiently:

"Stinking old man, let go of me! I have to teach that food-wasting bastard a lesson!"

But Zeff's grip tightened, and he showed no intention of letting go.

He stared at White Dove's back, his voice extremely low and his tone more serious than ever:

"Behave yourself, Sanji. From here on, keep your eyes wide open and watch White Dove fight.

"If nothing unexpected happens, that guy is strong enough to hold his own even on the Grand Line!"

"Huh?" Sanji froze. He looked at White Dove's back, his face full of disbelief. "White Dove? The guy who supposedly only catches pirates with bounties under two million Beli?"

"Have you forgotten the head of the Alvida Pirates' vice captain?" Zeff's expression was solemn. "I don't know what White Dove was like before, but now... he's frighteningly strong!"

Back when Zeff had roamed the Grand Line, he had heard of Observation Haki and had even trained hard for a long time because of it.

Although he had ultimately failed to awaken Haki, the experience had sharpened his senses far beyond those of an ordinary person.

And now, he could sense that the aura emanating from Ivan was far fiercer than that of anyone else present!

That invisible presence was like a Sea King lying in wait to devour someone!

Sanji looked at Ivan's back in puzzlement. No matter how he looked, he couldn't see what made the guy strong.

Still, he always listened to the stinking old man, so he gave up on going over to teach Pal a lesson.

As for Pal, after Ivan kicked him away, he struggled and finally climbed out of the sea.

Standing on Baratie's deck, he touched his nose and shouted fiercely:

"Ahhh! Danger, danger, danger! My life's in danger!"

As he spoke, the shields covering his body burst into flames. White fire wrapped around him, turning him into a man of fire.

At that moment, his men shouted in alarm, "Oh no, there it is! Mr. Pal catches fire whenever he gets worked up!"

Hearing his men's frightened words, Pal was very pleased. He said viciously to Ivan:

"You bastard, you actually hurt me, so die!

"Fire Pal, special treat!"

Pal swung his arms hard, sending flames spraying from them toward Ivan.

Pal threw his head back and laughed wildly as he watched with satisfaction. Under his flames, this Marine was as good as dead!

"Flames like these can't even compare to the Flame-Flame Fruit. How embarrassing."

To Pal's surprise, even though Ivan was surrounded by flames, his voice held no pain at all. Instead, he spoke in a mocking, contemptuous tone.

Pal's pupils contracted sharply, and he said in disbelief:

"How is that possible? How can you be completely unharmed by my flames?!"

With his hands in his Marine coat pockets, Ivan strolled lazily out of the flames and said casually:

"Probably because I'm strong."

Only then did Pal finally see why his flames had failed.

A blue sphere was floating quietly beside Ivan.

The instant the flames came near him, the blue sphere swallowed them up, leaving them unable to harm him at all!

"Y-you bastard, you're a Devil Fruit User!"

Pearl was, after all, a great pirate with a bounty of seven million Beli. He naturally knew Devil Fruits were more than legend, and at the sight, he immediately realized what Ivan was and shouted in terror.

Realizing this, he ran back without hesitation, intending to jump onto the pirate ship nearby.

Devil Fruit powers were mostly bizarre, and every Devil Fruit User had the strength of someone with a bounty of at least ten million.

He probably wasn't Ivan's match, so he had to run. As long as he got back to his ship and bombarded the Baratie Sea Restaurant with its cannons, he could surely drown this man who couldn't swim!

Unfortunately, his plan was sound, but he was too slow!

Just as he turned to flee, he suddenly found a figure beside him, though he hadn't seen when the man arrived.

A large hand then seized him by the neck and lifted him up, and a foot slammed into him.

The moment the foot connected, the shield on his chest shattered with a thunderous crash, and an immense force struck his body.

The next instant, he became an afterimage and flew away, crashing into a ship belonging to the Krieg Pirates.

His body struck like a cannonball, smashing the ship's deck to pieces. A few unlucky men happened to be beneath him and were instantly crushed into a pulp.

He was also badly injured himself. That kick had broken at least a few of his ribs, and the impact had left wounds all over his body.

He had now completely lost the ability to fight.

"Lord Pal, how are you?"

Just then, several lackeys came scrambling over, pulled Pal out of the flames, and hurriedly asked about his injuries.

Pal's face was battered and bruised, but he burst into wild laughter.

"Hahaha! Idiot! What a colossal idiot!

"Instead of taking the chance to kill me, he kicked me back onto my own ship!

"Boys, train the cannons on that lousy restaurant and blast it to pieces!

"Today, I'm sending every last one of those bastards aboard it to the bottom of the sea!"

"Yes, sir!" The panic vanished from the other pirates' faces, replaced by bloodthirsty, vicious grins.

That was right. So what if he was a Devil Fruit User? He still couldn't swim.

As long as they sank the ship, that Devil Fruit User was as good as dead!

Before the words had faded, all the pirates sprang into action.

Shouting at the tops of their lungs, they swiftly loaded the cannons and aimed their dark muzzles at the Baratie Sea Restaurant in unison.

A biting sea wind swept the smell of gunpowder toward them. Battle was about to erupt!

Sanji saw it too. His face darkened, and he angrily strode up to Ivan and roared:

"What's wrong with you? You were about to win, and you let their boss get away.

"Now they're going to bombard us! What are we supposed to do?

"Forget it. All of you, come with me, quick! We have lifeboats, and they're fast. If we leave now, we might still get away!"

Sanji tried to pull Ivan away, but found that Ivan wouldn't budge.

He frowned, his curly brows drawn together, and looked at Ivan in confusion. Ivan said easily:

"Don't worry. They're just cannonballs. To a true powerhouse, even natural disasters are nothing.

"Although I haven't reached that level yet, protecting this ship from cannonballs is still easy."

Sanji: "???"

What kind of joke are you making?

But Ivan had no intention of explaining. Sanji's experience at this point was limited, after all. How could he imagine that his future self would even be able to defy the laws of physics and kick a laser away?

He raised his eyes to the sea, looking at the three pirate ships, each far larger than an ordinary warship, and took a deep breath.

After I show off this time, the system's recognition should rise considerably, right?

By then, he might be able to unlock even more powerful skills!

With that thought, Ivan extended his arm, palm aimed at the nearest pirate ship, and his voice suddenly turned cold:

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"

Hum!

Hum!

Hum!

His stamina drained rapidly as a soundless roar reverberated through the air. A blue light gathered and compressed in his palm.

It grew brighter and denser, until it finally became a translucent, deep-blue sphere!

Ivan gave the sphere a light flick.

The next second, the sphere became an afterimage, moving too fast for anyone present to track, and struck the pirate ship's deck in an instant!

And then!

A blinding blue light shot into the sky, and a blue sun rose over the sea!