He wasn't sure if he had truly mastered "Shave" He just knew his speed had increased signifitly.

  His earlier movements against the pirates? That was his attempt at the teique. They hadn't even seen him ing.

  The pirate he had punched was now just a stain ier.

  The dying scream, though, had drawention of everyone on the boat.

  "The kid's got some moves, huh?" Uncle Sam was genuinely surprised. He had known Arthur for five years. He never knew Arthur had sucredible strength hidden up his sleeve.

  That punch? Uncle Sam figured he could do the same. Maybe...

  "Arthur! You were hiding this? What did you want, sneaking into our vilge?" Kurta, Uncle Sam's son, still couldn't get over what Arthur had said earlier. He gred at Arthur, full of suspi.

  ...

  "Kill!"

  "Kill him!"

  They roared their battle cries, rushing at Arthur, surrounding him in a heartbeat.

  Arthur's back was against the railing. But his heart didn't even flutter. He was willing to bet his life on the current. Why would he be afraid of a few thugs?

  He was outnumbered. If it came down to it, he would simply jump into the sea. That was his escape. It was the worst-case sario, and he repared for it.

  "These guys are small-time. They rob and drink all day. They don't even know what they're doing. They have no real goals. They're just... pathetic. How could I die to such low-level pirates? Keep dreaming." Arthur's lip curled in disdain.

  Just then, Arthur saw a rge pirate carrying a spiked club, charging at him, r like a beast. Arthur sneered, casually kig the pirate i.

  "Bang!"

  The pirate flew back like a onball, crashing into three or four others. The other pirates paused, stuhen, their bloodlust fully ighey surged towards Arthur like a tidal wave.

  ...

  Suddenly, a chaotic se made everyone else stop fighting. They all turo watch.

  The sea was ing violently. The once-calm surface began to roil. Waves crashed against the fishing boat, rog it precariously.

  This firmed it for Arthur. The rising sea current was ing. His spirits soared!

  He rarely cared about anything. Patience was not one of his virtues. Yet, he had waited five long years for this one opportunity. Now, it was right before him. How could he not be excited?

  However, the pirates seemed uhey didn't seem to notice. Only the fishermen from Jaya were starting to panic.

  Fmes appeared from somewhere, spreading rapidly. The fishermen and pirates fought on the burning deck, a dance of death.

  Arthur used his foot to flick up a sword from the deck. He dodged the attacks ing from all dires, his reflexes far beyond ordinary. He didn't stop moving, a whirlwind of steel. He cut the pirates' throats, oer another.

  He was killing faster than Uncle Sam and Kurta. Every strike was lethal. Every move, someone fell. Soon, he was surrounded by a growing pile of bodies.

  ....

  Suddenly, the boat lurched downwards violently. It felt like a massive weight had nded on it.

  Arthur looked back. It was the captain of the Bck Bear Pirates, "Bck Bear" LaBeouf, a mountain of a man, a giant standing at least fifteeall. He had successfully boarded.

  As Arthur looked over, LaBeouf's huge, bloodshot eyes, like those of a wild beast, locked onto him. His fierce aura alone was enough to make a grown man tremble.

  "You there—kid. You've got guts. How about joining my crew? We're gonna follow the Great Kaido!" His voice was a deafening boom, like a cp of thunder, eg across the embattled deck.

  Arthur's heart skipped a beat. "Kaido? So, that brute is already making waves? No wonder a Zoan user like LaBeouf would follow him."

  "If I refuse, he'll kill me here and now! But join Kaido's crew? Are you kidding me—I'd rather die than serve under anyone!"

  His mind raced, but he couldn't find a way out. Out here on the open sea, brains were no match for brute strength.

  "Well—kid? Speak up!" LaBeouf's nostrils fred, spewing hot air. He was getting impatient. He took a step towards Arthur, each footfall shaking the boat like ahquake.

  The pressure was immense. Arthur could barely breathe. Nearby—Kurta, who was a t niall himself and wielding a massive anchor, was swatted aside like a fly. LaBeouf crushed him into a bloody pulp in front of everyone.

  Blood spttered—Brain matter exploded in a gruesome dispy!!

  Uncle Sam couldn't process his son's suddeh—He froze, a statue of shod grief. In that instant of vulnerability, a pirate behind him decapitated him with a single swing of his sword.

  In the blink of an eye, all the fishermen from Jaya were dead, except for Arthur.

  "That kind of poresence... he could make it big even in the New World. What's the Marines doing? How is his bounty only 80 million Beli?" Arthur's eyes narrowed. His handsome face was etched with ay. His sharp eyebrows furrowed in tration.

  "No choice—My only ce is to take a dive—"

  He was desperate. He wouldn't serve under Kaido as on fodder. He wouldn't eveend to agree. That was even more uable thah itself.

  "Captain LaBeouf! We've got trouble! The Sea King's gone wild!"

  A panicked shout cut through the din. LaBeouf stopped in his tracks, turning sharply to look at the screaming underling. Arthur followed his gaze.

  Beh the Bck Bear Pirates' ship, a monstrous shadow loomed, evehan the ship itself.

  "Spsh—!"

  The sea parted. The head of a Sea King surfaced. It looked like a sea lion that had been fyed alive.

  The Sea King shrieked in terror, as if it were urging everyoo flee for their lives.

  This was LaBeouf's panion from his early days at sea. He called it "Sea Lion." It could sense uer currents and intimidate other Sea Kings. It had saved LaBeouf from many deadly crises.

  "What in the hell...? All hands, back to the ship! We're getting out of here!" LaBeouf roared. His massive hand reached for Arthur, all thoughts of taking him on fotten.

  Arthur was ready to jump. Without hesitation, he faced the overwhelming force, smashing through the railing of the fishing boat. He plunged into the sea with a loud "spsh," vanishih the waves.

  LaBeouf reined in his anger. He quickly returo his ship. Uhe Sea King pull, they fled the area at full speed. In the blink of ahey disappeared over the horizon, leaving the burning fishing boat behind.

  He trusted his Sea King's instincts implicitly. It had saved his hide tless times before.

  ....

  Meanwhile..

  The long-awaited uer current finally erupted!

  "BOOM!!!"

  Like a colossal curtain rising from the depths, it shot up towards the sky, a spectacle of unimaginable power!