With a series of earth-shattering booms, one side of the Baratie Floating Restaurant suddenly exploded!
Over a dozen warships of the Krieg Pirates were pierced through by an invisible, terrifying force.
Under the violent rocking of the hulls, the cannons originally aimed at the Baratie veered completely off course. Hundreds of cannonballs skimmed past the restaurant's edge, instead crashing into the surrounding allied pirate ships.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Continuous explosions from friendly fire rang out one after another, flames and thick smoke instantly engulfing several pirate vessels.
Decks shattered, masts collapsed, and seawater flooded wildly into the cabins. Several ships quickly lost their combat capability, billowing black smoke as they slowly sank toward the seabed.
"Bastard, who the hell did this?!" Krieg roared, his eyes nearly bursting with rage. "Who dares to interfere with my plans!"
At that moment, a voice dripping with irreverence suddenly descended from high above, clearly reaching everyone's ears:
"Before Justice, evil is not permitted to act recklessly!"
Before the words even faded, a figure descended from the sky, carried by the sea breeze.
Clad in a Justice Cloak, with short black hair fluttering slightly in the wind and a pair of round sunglasses on his face, it was unmistakably a Marine officer!
The moment he landed, the remaining cannonballs that were about to hit the Baratie suddenly froze mid-air!
After a brief pause, the cannonballs seemed to be violently propelled by an invisible force, reversing direction and hurtling back toward Krieg's warships at several times their original speed!
Another series of tremendous explosions erupted, flames shooting skyward as several warships disintegrated one after another in the blasts, their planks shattering as they plunged into the sea.
The very cannonballs that had left Zeff and Sanji helpless were, before this suddenly appearing Marine, as fragile as bubbles.
This was power on an entirely different dimension!
As the smoke cleared, the newcomer appeared before Sanji and the others.
Under normal circumstances, seeing this annoyingly handsome and powerful Marine, Sanji would probably be filled with nothing but irritation.
But in this situation, Sanji felt his heart pounding wildly, an unprecedented surge of joy washing over him.
They were saved!
The Baratie was saved!
"Lieutenant Ivan!" Sanji quickly approached Ivan, saying gratefully, "Thank you for saving us."
"No need for thanks. Protecting the weak is the responsibility of the strong!" Ivan replied. "By the way, you should call me Colonel Ivan from now on. Lieutenant was months ago. Keep up with the news more, or you'll seem uninformed."
As soon as Ivan said this, the gratitude in Sanji's heart instantly cooled by half.
The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably as he silently grumbled: This guy is as annoying as ever!
Although somewhat annoyed, Sanji wasn't truly angry, and his gratitude toward Ivan didn't diminish in the slightest.
After all, without Ivan, the Baratie might very well have been destroyed this time. One could say Ivan had saved him, the old man, and all their companions!
With a life-saving debt like that, how could Sanji possibly argue with his benefactor?
After a couple of internal grumbles, Sanji smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. After this is over, I'll read the newspapers more, especially the ones about Colonel Ivan!"
"Good. Now you all leave. I'll handle the Krieg Pirates!"
Sanji was puzzled. "Wait, don't you need our help? This is the Krieg Pirates with 5,000 men!"
At this point, Sanji still didn't know how vast the world was, nor had he seen those monsters, not even Hawk-Eyes.
So to him, even if 5,000 people stood still to be cut down, it would take a long time—it was simply impossible for one or two people to handle.
Ivan turned back and chuckled lightly. "Don't worry. Right now, in the East Blue, I am the strongest!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished from where he stood and appeared on the pirate ship ahead.
In front of him was his target for this trip: Fleet Commander Krieg, with a bounty of 17,000,000 Berries!
Staring at the two-meter-four man clad in golden armor before him, Ivan chuckled. "Hey, so you're Krieg?"
Even after witnessing Ivan sink several warships with a single strike moments earlier, Krieg showed not a hint of fear.
People ultimately cannot comprehend power beyond their understanding. Just like this overlord of the East Blue, he could never imagine the terror of those true monsters.
His pride and arrogance had long confined his vision to this very sea.
Krieg glanced at Ivan, completely ignoring his words. Instead, he arrogantly retorted:
"Hmph, interesting. That ability to send cannonballs back just now—that must be the legendary power of a Devil Fruit, right?
You're not bad. Kneel and beg for mercy now, and I might let you join me, become a subordinate of Fleet Commander Krieg. Otherwise, you die here today!"
The other pirates of the Krieg Pirates, who had been somewhat fearful earlier, immediately began to jeer upon seeing their boss's confidence.
"Hahaha, that's right! Kneel and beg for mercy!"
"What kind of marine is this? They're all ants before Boss Krieg! Boss Krieg is invincible!"
Hearing this, Ivan's expression turned slightly odd. He raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. "Are you always this confident?"
Krieg snorted coldly. "Hmph, who do you think I am? I am Fleet Commander Krieg, the overlord of the East Blue! You ants should kneel before me!"
"Overlord of the East Blue?" Ivan sneered, slowly flexing his wrist, and said disdainfully, "Just a frog in a well, that's all. Enough talk. Come on, try to last a bit longer. Don't bore me too much."
"Fool, you've chosen the path of death." Seeing Ivan ready to fight, Krieg sneered contemptuously. "Gin, take care of him."
"Yes!" Gin, the Ghost-Man, had remained silent since Ivan appeared. Only upon Krieg's command did he step forward.
Holding his jitte, he pushed off with his feet and charged at Ivan like an arrow from a bow, shouting, "Ghost-Man Combat Technique: Heavy Hammer!"
Gin had a bounty of 12,000,000 Berries. In the anime, though he was a pirate with a sense of loyalty and righteousness, in Ivan's eyes, he still deserved to die.
What did a bit of honor matter?
His hands were already stained with the blood of innocent civilians. Such evil deeds made him utterly undeserving of mercy!
As he charged, Gin saw Ivan standing perfectly still, not even drawing his sword, and couldn't help but mock, "What's wrong? Not moving? Scared?"
Ivan tilted his head and chuckled nonchalantly. "Sorry, you're too weak. Too weak to even deserve me drawing my sword!"
"Arrogant!" Gin was instantly enraged, his killing intent intensifying.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, Ivan merely raised a finger casually and said softly, "One-Sword Style: Scarlet Void-Slash!"
A flash of black and red streaked through the air, accompanied by a piercing sound of tearing wind. Before anyone could even blink, they saw Gin's head soaring into the sky, blood gushing like a fountain from his neck!
Amid the shower of blood, not a single drop stained the hem of Ivan's clothes, which remained as pristine as ever.
His tone was still lazy, even tinged with impatience: "Is this all you've got? What a waste of my time."