Aeridar's fists met with a crack, a sinister grin stretching across his face.
"I'm the one who'll guide them straight to hell."
"Heh... and explosions will be their funeral dirge."
Arlan cracked his knuckles with a chilling smirk.
"That brawl in Alabasta wasn't nearly enough. But today? Oh, today should hit the spot!"
Gorbo rolled his neck—crack, crack—as if revving up a war machine.
"We'll be famous if we take 'em out!"
"For a billion berries!"
"For a spot among the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
The deafening war cries thundered across the streets as hundreds of pirates surged forward, all branded with massive deep-sea fish tattoos on their arms or chests. Blades gleamed, gun barrels smoked, and bloodlust twisted every face into a savage snarl.
"It's time to take out the trash."
Aeridar's eyes flared open, and in that instant, his entire presence shifted. With a stomp of both feet, he launched skyward, then came barreling down with a single thunderous punch.
The sheer force disrupted the very air, turning wind into something visible—a howling shockwave tore across the battlefield. A transparent white pressure ring exploded outward, blasting across the stone-paved streets. In an instant, it shattered the blue cobblestones and sent dozens of pirates hurtling through the air.
"AAAAAGH—What the hell?!"
"He's a Devil Fruit user!"
In the midst of that white shockwave, at least a hundred pirates were struck down simultaneously. Their bodies crumpled under the impact as if hit by a giant's hammer, flung back like rag dolls.
When the winds finally stilled and the air returned to normal, the central avenue of Water 7 was left in ruins. Pirates lay everywhere, unconscious, broken, most barely clinging to life, if at all.
Aeridar landed calmly, surveying the wreckage with satisfaction. And that... was him holding back. If he'd unleashed his full power, the destruction would've been cataclysmic.
After battling titans like Doflamingo, Fat Bear Elver, Crocodile, Ghost Hammer Syrons, and Gecko Moria, Aeridar's strength had grown at an astonishing pace. His combat instincts and mastery over his Devil Fruit had sharpened to a terrifying degree, he now wielded overwhelming, disaster-class power. Compared to him, even Gild Tesoro, the so-called "Golden Emperor", was laughably outmatched.
And don't underestimate the current Gild Tesoro. Just five years ago, eight years before the Paramount War, Fisher Tiger had stormed Mariejois and freed the slaves. It was during that chaos that a 26-year-old Tesoro escaped captivity.
Three years later, the Donquixote Family hosted an underworld auction for the Gol-Gol Fruit. Doflamingo never actually planned to sell it, it was bait for elite buyers. But Tesoro managed to steal it, despite top officers guarding the venue. Whether by brute force or cunning, it proved one thing: even back then, he wasn't weak. And now at 31, Tesoro was rising fast, and it seems Doflamingo would soon discover that he was the one who ate the fruit.
"Devil Fruit user... he really is a monster..."
"Damn it! One punch wiped out that many of us?!"
Over another hundred pirates dropped. The rest began hesitating. Fear crept into their eyes, and their once-charging steps slowed.
"You bastard... acting tough just 'cause you've got powers!"
A massive, bare-chested brute suddenly lunged forward. Muscles bulging, greatsword raised, he roared and leapt toward Aeridar, aiming a brutal slash right for his skull. The wind howled with the force of it.
"You're looking at the third division captain of the Giant Fish Pirates! A thirty million beri bounty—!"
Before he could finish, a hulking black figure darted in, a single punch sent the man soaring across the canal and through a stone house. The wall exploded into rubble. Dust and debris choked the air.
"Third-rate trash like that thinks he can take on my captain?"
Gorbo, stone-faced, dressed in a crisp black suit, a long scar crossing his cheek, pulled his fist back and stared down the shocked pirates.
"Then what the hell are we, his crew, here for? And another thing, he talked way too much."
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
"Even the crew are monsters?!"
"He had a 30 million bounty... and got taken out with one punch?!"
Jaws dropped. Pirates who were swaggering just moments ago now looked like they'd seen ghosts. The world flipped on its head in a blink.
"We outnumber them! They're only three guys! Kill 'em!"
Captain Sawa of the Giant Fish Pirates shouted, waving his flintlock pistol to rouse his men.
Driven by their captain's command, the hundreds of pirates steeled themselves again and charged.
Arlan let out a puff of smoke.
"If numbers alone made you powerful, then every pirate and gang in the world could just topple the World Government."
Without warning, the very air seemed to detonate. One blast after another erupted in a chain reaction, blanketing the street in explosions. Cobblestones blew apart. Buildings collapsed. Heat and smoke surged skyward, flames licked through the sky, and screams—raw, blood-curdling screams—filled the hellish night.
When the last explosion faded, the scene was like a warzone. The avenue was cratered, blackened. Over a hundred pirates lay scattered, limbs blown off, clothes charred, many unrecognizable. One explosion could break a stone tile. A thousand could break a sea king.
"D-Damn it! Another Devil Fruit user?!"
Captain Sawa stared, slack-jawed, as the horror unfolded before him. His subordinates lay writhing in agony, or worse. A sick feeling began rising in his gut.
"Hey, you two recognize that guy?"
Aeridar scratched his head and pointed toward a burly man in a black coat with a scarred face, clearly the leader type.
"Hmm... let me think."
Arlan squinted. "Yeah. That's him. Captain of the Giant Fish Pirates—Giant Fish Sawa. Bounty: 90 million berries. Heard he commands a massive Sea King."
WANTED: Giant Fish Sawa.
Captain of the Giant Fish Pirates.
Bounty: 90,000,000 Berries.
A notoriously brutal pirate known for his greed and cruelty. Sawa embarked on his pirate career six years ago and entered the Grand Line four years prior. He has repeatedly raided towns and villages, leaving behind a trail of plunder and slaughter. Responsible for countless civilian deaths. Two years ago, in pursuit of a hoard of gold, he led his crew in a direct assault on a Marine base.
He commands a monstrous Sea King under his control, an unnatural feat that only adds to his infamy.
Bounty: 90,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Threat Level: EXTREME — Approach with caution.
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