"Since Vivi-chan is sick and needs quiet…"
Sanji finally made his move.
With both hands in his pockets, he weaved through the crowd. Every kick he delivered was accompanied by the sound of bones cracking and soldiers screaming.
"Then you noisy pieces of trash… shut up and disappear!!"
"Collar meat! Belly meat! Shoulder meat!"
"WAAAHHH—!!"
The deck of the Going Merry instantly turned into a completely one-sided slaughterhouse.
The Bliking soldiers, who normally bullied others with arrogance, finally understood what true despair felt like.
Their bullets couldn't pierce the enemy's skin.
Their blades couldn't even touch the enemy's clothes.
Meanwhile, every single strike from their opponents hit like a charging bull.
In less than thirty seconds—
The snowstorm continued, but the chaos had already ended.
The deck of the Going Merry was now covered with groaning soldiers, while many others had been kicked straight into the freezing sea.
Only one person remained standing.
Wapol.
He was still chewing the ship's railing, frozen in place.
The piece of wood in his mouth suddenly didn't taste so good anymore.
"T-these guys…"
Wapol stared at the four men standing before him like demon gods—and at the long-nosed man shouting excitedly about his newfound strength.
A drop of cold sweat finally slid down his forehead.
"Did I… kick a steel plate this time?"
The gluttonous tyrant who had just been arrogantly threatening to devour the Going Merry now stood stiffly on the deck.
Half-chewed wood still hung from his mouth.
The greed in his tiny eyes had been replaced by pure fear.
Looking at his elite soldiers scattered across the deck—
Looking at the four men radiating monstrous vitality—
Wapol finally realized something.
He hadn't kicked a steel plate.
He had kicked a red-hot iron.
"M-monsters…"
Wapol swallowed the last of the wood chips.
His instinct for survival instantly crushed his greed.
Despite his obese body, he suddenly moved with astonishing agility.
He spun around, preparing to jump back toward the Bliking submarine that hadn't fully detached yet.
But before his toes could push off—
"Trying to leave?"
A cold voice suddenly echoed beside his ear.
"Did you ask me first?"
Wapol turned his head in absolute horror.
The man holding the ebony staff had somehow crossed several meters in an instant, appearing before him like a ghost.
Without another word, Ronan raised his staff high.
"Xingyi Style — White Cloud Covers the Summit!"
The strike looked simple.
But the force behind it was overwhelming.
In Ronan's hands, the ebony staff became like a giant broom sweeping the heavens.
With a thunderous whistle as it crushed the air—
It came crashing down on Wapol's iron-plated chin.
The shadow of the staff spread like clouds, sealing every possible escape.
"N—NO—!"
BOOM—!!
A deep, heavy impact rang out like a warhammer smashing into rotten leather.
Wapol didn't even have time to scream.
His eyes rolled back instantly.
His massive body flattened under the terrifying force like a squashed meatball, collapsing onto the deck with a loud thud that scattered snow into the air.
One strike.
No inner qi.
No explosive technique.
Just a simple blow of pure physical strength.
And the king fell.
"L-Lord Wapol has been taken down!!"
On the deck of the Bliking, the two chief officers—Chess and Kuromarimo—were horrified when they saw what happened.
"T-those guys are monsters! Hurry! Dive! Dive now!!"
"But… Lord Wapol is still on their ship!"
"Idiot! Forget about him! If those monsters come over here, we're all dead! Close the hatch! Submerge immediately!!"
Amid the harsh grinding of gears and machinery, the massive steel submarine Bliking immediately began retracting the cables attached to the Going Merry.
The giant hatch slammed shut.
The sea churned violently as the enormous steel sphere sank rapidly into the icy ocean.
Within seconds, only foaming waves remained.
It was as if the submarine had never appeared at all.
"Huh?!"
Usopp leaned over the railing, staring at the empty sea with wide eyes.
"T-that's way too heartless! They just ran away? They even abandoned their own captain?!"
"That's what you call a mob," Zoro said coldly as he sheathed his sword.
"A pirate crew without bonds won't last long on the sea."
"Disgusting loyalty."
Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced at the unconscious Wapol with visible disgust.
"Luffy, what do we do with this lump of fat? Throw him into the sea to feed the fish? Just looking at him ruins my appetite."
Luffy crouched down beside Wapol and poked the iron chin with his finger.
"Hmm… yeah, he seems pretty useless. Let's toss him."
He grabbed Wapol by the leg and prepared to throw him overboard.
"Wait."
Ronan suddenly spoke.
He stepped forward and pressed his ebony staff lightly against Wapol's chest.
A calculating glint appeared in his eyes.
"Don't throw him away. Tie him up."
"This guy is far more useful alive than dead."
"Hm?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Ronan, what could trash like him possibly be good for? Planning to collect a bounty?"
Ronan shook his head.
His gaze swept across the crew before settling on the chunk of railing Wapol had bitten off the Going Merry.
His tone became meaningful.
"You saw it just now. This guy eats steel and wood like snacks. His power is the Munch-Munch Fruit."
"The Munch-Munch Fruit?"
Nami walked over wrapped in a thick coat, curiosity on her face.
"That's right," Ronan explained. "It's a severely underestimated god-tier support ability."
"The user can consume any substance and restructure or fuse those materials inside their body. They can even alter their own form."
"But most importantly…"
Ronan paused before dropping a bombshell.
"He can produce a special metal—a memory alloy."
"An alloy?" Luffy tilted his head, completely confused.
"In simple terms, it's a super metal with a 'memory' function."
Ronan patiently explained.
"No matter how it's deformed, it can return to its original shape under certain conditions."
"And its hardness and flexibility far exceed normal steel."
"It's a top-tier material for forging weapons, armor… or even reinforcing a ship."
"A memory alloy?! Self-repair?!"
The moment Usopp heard those words, his eyes lit up like two giant lanterns.
As the Going Merry's part-time repairman, he instantly understood what this meant.
"You mean…"
Usopp grabbed Ronan's sleeve excitedly.
"We can use this guy to create that alloy and strengthen the Going Merry?!"
"Exactly."
Ronan nodded and looked at the ship.
"As we go deeper into the Grand Line, our enemies will only grow stronger. The seas will become harsher as well."
"The Going Merry is a good ship—but it's still just a small wooden sailing vessel."
"If we don't reinforce it, it won't be able to carry us all the way to the end."
"That makes perfect sense!"
The moment Nami realized this could save repair costs and upgrade the ship, she immediately made the decision.
"Then it's settled!"
"Tie him up! We're squeezing every last bit of value out of him!"
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