"Move it, you bastards!! We're in Alabasta now! A superpower on the Grand Line!"
"Yeah~ Hahahaha, this is gonna be a fat payday!"
Beneath a flaming skull flag, a burly middle-aged man with red hair, red clothes, and a red cape was giving a fiery pep talk to his crew.
A group of small-time pirates raised their weapons high, eager for battle.
This scene made Cobra's heart tighten.
As a superpower, Alabasta had its own standing army.
A phalanx of 2,000 soldiers stood at the ready.
At Cobra's command, they gripped their polearms tightly, exuding a killing aura.
"Oh? Looks like the great Alabasta isn't too fond of us, the Blazing Flame Pirates, huh?"
"Alright, boys! How do we respond to this kind of welcome?"
The red-haired man laughed maniacally.
"That's right! Anyone who dares block the path of me, Scree the Flame Giant, will be devoured by fire!"
"I'm a big-time pirate who ate a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Flame-Flame Fruit!"
Scree roared, his body erupting into blazing flames as he flew straight towards Cobra's army.
His crew charged in behind him, shouting with enthusiasm.
Though the pirates only numbered a thousand, half the army's size, their fiery momentum made them seem even more imposing.
"Damn Devil Fruit user! Fetch water! Prepare for fire suppression!"
As a prince, Cobra was sharp. He knew well how terrifying Logia fruits could be. To hold out until the Marines' reinforcements arrived, he had ordered buckets of seawater prepared, hoping to use it to counter the Devil Fruit user.
But would it really be that easy?
As the enemy approached, the soldiers' fighting spirit surged.
Alabasta's warriors were split into two groups: one in front with long spears, and one in the rear with flintlock rifles.
At Cobra's command, the gunners opened fire.
"Yahahaha! Trying to shoot my boys? Did you ask my flames first?"
Scree grinned wickedly as both his arms transformed into blazing tornadoes.
The bullets fired by the royal army were all incinerated by the swirling flames.
The pirates used the opportunity to charge in.
"Damn it! Use the seawater to put out the fire!"
Cobra reacted quickly, but the fire vortex was too powerful, and its intensity only grew.
The seawater prepared by the soldiers was nowhere near enough to quell the flames.
"Damn... A 130 million bounty… Scree the Flame Giant... Is this the power of a Logia Fruit? It's outrageous!"
Though Cobra hated to admit it, the power of the Logia-type fruit was indeed overwhelming.
With bullets useless, the two sides clashed in close combat.
Still suspended in the air thanks to the vortex, Scree let out another arrogant laugh.
To him, the army was just lambs waiting to be slaughtered, hardly worth his attention.
But then he noticed Cobra, the one issuing commands, dressed in royal garments and brimming with charisma.
'Hmph… he's probably the leader.'
"Bring that guy to me! The one in the fancy clothes. Yahahaha!"
Cobra's face darkened with anger at those words.
Any fear of fire vanished.
"I am Nefertari Cobra, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Alabasta!"
"No filthy pirate shall lay a hand on Alabasta!"
Cobra's defiant cry rekindled his soldiers' morale, and they clashed fiercely with the pirates once again.
"Hah, a prince, huh? All the better. I'll capture you and then trade you for ransom, sounds good to me!"
Scree's eyes gleamed as he spiraled forward in flames toward Cobra's position.
His fiery arms transformed into a burning cage around the prince.
"Bastard! It's just fire!"
Cobra doused himself in seawater and tried to break through.
But Scree wouldn't allow that; the flames layered around Cobra, cutting off any escape.
"Yahahaha! Give it up, Prince! You'll-"
A heavy, blackened fist smashed straight into Scree's face, blasting him away in a storm of flame.
"Pfft… my forge burns hotter than you. Is that all you got?"
"Pathetic little chicken."
A cloak of justice fluttered in the wind as a towering 3-meter figure floated in midair.
"So, you're Prince Cobra, huh? That was quite the badass speech. Even got this lazy guy's blood pumping~"
Cobra looked up in shock at the airborne figure, then elation lit his face.
"The Marines... finally!"
At the same time, Scree, now a flaming mess, flew back toward them.
His ferocious face bore a clear fist imprint. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose — he looked absolutely battered.
"Which bastard sucker punched me!?"
More than anger, confusion filled Scree's heart.
Ever since eating the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit, he hadn't felt pain in ages.
Swords, axes, bullets, cannons, nothing fazed him.
But that punch had really hurt.
He was still stunned.
"Figures... The sea's full of monsters. Their durability is just absurd."
The newcomer muttered sarcastically.
"Marines HQ Rear Admiral, Hammer, here by order to crush pirates."
Armament Haki began to spread, Hammer's fists turned a deep, abyssal black.
Scree's expression turned serious. If he was right, that punch that sent him flying was laced with this same black aura.
"Hmph! Just another damn Marines grunt!"
Scree attacked first, unleashing a stream of searing fire.
"If you weren't humanoid, I'd swear you were a damn Pokémon."
"And a Fire-type at that."
Hammer quipped, but his movements were lightning fast.
With afterimages streaking through the air, he dodged the flames and shot straight at the "mini fire lizard."
Meanwhile, down below, the Marine soldiers led by Lance joined the fray.
"Royal army, fall back! Don't get caught in the crossfire!"
Lance's unit had landed at the pirates' rear.
Rifles, flintlocks, rockets, flamethrowers, all opened fire at once.
A devastating hail of firepower erupted behind the pirates.
"Get back! Get back! The Marines' firepower is insane!!"
In moments, the pirate rear lines collapsed under the overwhelming barrage.
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 15 chapters ahead.
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