The Going Merry, a light sailing ship, was like a leaf in the face of the sudden towering waves.
It was hurled violently into the air, then slammed back down. The hull tilted sharply, letting out a painful creaking sound that made one's teeth ache.
"WAAAHHH! Someone save me!!"
Usopp clung desperately to the railing as his entire body was lifted off the ground.
But Ronan, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji stood firmly in place as if nailed to the deck.
Their knees bent slightly, like ancient trees with deep roots. No matter how violently the ship rocked, their balance remained perfectly steady.
"Big ship…" Zoro narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the rising shadow before them.
Beneath the strange man's feet, a gigantic steel sphere slowly emerged from the sea.
The sphere was entirely forged from thick white iron, its surface covered in rivets and seams, radiating a rugged industrial aesthetic.
It wasn't just a ship.
It looked more like a moving steel fortress on the sea.
With a series of heavy clank-clank mechanical sounds, the enormous iron sphere began to transform.
The metal walls on both sides slowly opened, revealing the complex deck structures inside and rows of dark cannon ports.
A thick main mast rose upward, carrying a pirate flag bearing a bizarre skull symbol—Wapol's emblem of a wide-open mouth devouring everything.
The size of this ship was more than ten times that of the Going Merry.
In comparison, the Merry looked like a delicate toy model—small and fragile.
The cold steel radiated killing intent in the snowy wind as its enormous shadow fell across the sea, completely covering the Going Merry.
"This is bad!!"
Usopp finally recognized the flag and his face instantly turned pale. His legs began trembling.
"That's a pirate flag! That's a pirate ship! And one this big…"
"Pirates, huh…"
Sanji calmly brushed back his wind-blown hair as a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
"And they just had to show up at a time like this. If they're here to cause trouble, then I won't mind using them to vent some frustration."
Ronan stood at the front of the deck, watching the massive steel warship unfold.
He could see soldiers appearing on the opposite deck—men wearing thick fur coats and carrying muskets.
At that moment, a fat man stepped forward on the enemy deck.
He had a massive iron-plated chin and wore a coat made from hippopotamus fur.
Opening his grotesquely wide mouth, he burst into a disgusting laugh.
"Mahahapopopopo! To run into prey on the open sea like this? What luck!"
"Men! Take their treasure and their Log Pose! And that little wooden ship… looks like it might taste pretty good!"
With several sharp whistling sounds cutting through the air, dozens of barbed grappling ropes shot out from the steel warship and latched tightly onto the rails of the Going Merry.
"Charge! Take that little ship!"
Amid the chaotic shouting, dozens of soldiers from the Bliking Pirates slid down the ropes like white apes.
They wore thick white fur coats and carried muskets and curved sabers.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy boots slammed onto the deck of the Going Merry one after another.
In the blink of an eye, the already narrow deck was filled with vicious-looking soldiers.
The dark barrels of their guns formed an impenetrable wall, completely surrounding Ronan and the others.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and hostile killing intent.
Ronan stood calmly with his ebony staff in hand, his clothes fluttering slightly in the freezing wind.
He didn't even bother taking a fighting stance.
Instead, he simply glanced coldly at the musket barrel nearly pressed against his face.
His eyes carried the indifference of someone already looking at dead men.
"Luffy?"
Ronan tilted his head toward his captain.
Although he could wipe out these small fries with ease, in a pirate crew the order to start a fight usually came from the captain.
That was the most basic respect.
Luffy pressed down the brim of his straw hat but didn't immediately give the command to attack.
Instead, he frowned and stared at the massive steel ship ahead, as if waiting for something.
To him now, this level of encirclement was like ants surrounding an elephant.
It wasn't threatening at all.
"Mahahapopopopo!"
An extremely unpleasant laugh rang out again.
The fat man with the iron chin suddenly leapt down from the Bliking and landed heavily in the center of the Going Merry's deck.
It was none other than the former king of the Drum Kingdom and current captain of the Bliking Pirates—
Wapol.
His small eyes scanned the crew with disdain before stopping on Luffy and Ronan.
A look of deep disappointment appeared on his face.
"You… are really pirates?"
Wapol picked his nose lazily, his voice dripping with contempt.
"What a strange bunch. One half-naked guy, one curly-eyebrow guy…"
He casually snatched a sharp steel saber from a soldier beside him and held it up to his mouth like he was inspecting food.
"Honestly, a pirate crew with only a handful of members is just pathetic… just like this sword. It looks sharp, but it's probably brittle."
Then, right before Luffy and Usopp's stunned eyes—
Wapol opened his absurdly large mouth and bit down hard on the steel blade.
CRUNCH—!!
The sound was harsh and nauseating.
The hard steel shattered like a crispy biscuit inside his mouth.
Wapol chewed happily, his throat moving before he swallowed the entire sword with a loud gulp.
"Delicious! The iron tastes pretty fresh!"
He licked his lips with satisfaction.
"WHAT—?!"
Luffy's eyes nearly popped out as he pointed at Wapol.
"W-what the heck is that guy?! He just ate a sword! That's iron!"
"Just looking at it makes my stomach and teeth hurt!"
Usopp raised his hands while still being held at gunpoint, unable to stop himself from complaining.
"Are this guy's teeth made out of diamonds?!"
But Ronan watched the scene with a sharp gleam in his eyes.
Munch-Munch Fruit…
He thought quietly.
A seriously underrated god-tier Devil Fruit.
Not only can it eat anything, but it can fuse and modify whatever it consumes inside the user's body—even turning it into weapons.
And more importantly…
Ronan's gaze shifted to Wapol's iron jaw as calculations flashed through his mind.
This guy will one day accidentally create Wapol Metal—a memory alloy.
That metal has incredible self-repair capabilities and flexibility.
If we can get our hands on it…
Whether for forging weapons or upgrading a future ship for Franky, it would be a top-tier material.
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