One Piece: Rising to Power as a Warlord of the Sea

"Boom~ Boom~ Boom~"

The massive star rocks, falling rapidly from the sky, engulfed the entire Navy warship with an aura of destruction. As they plummeted, they created terrifying flames from the intense friction, and the Navy Commodores, led by Chaton and Momousagi, stood at the front of the ship, bracing for impact. 

"Whum~ Bang!"

Everyone used their full strength in an attempt to destroy the falling star rocks, but they had overestimated their abilities and underestimated the number of rocks. One small mistake, and a single rock crashed heavily into one of the warships.

"Boom~"

The huge Navy warship was struck directly by a star rock, and with the combination of incredible speed and weight, the ship was completely shattered, pieces scattering into the sea. The star rocks, still relentless, continued to fall, creating huge waves that surged violently, crashing into the surrounding warships.

One by one, it seemed as though the seemingly endless star rocks would eventually wear down the Navy Commodores' stamina. Apart from Chaton and Momousagi, the others were gasping for breath, their faces showing clear signs of despair. Such an attack was no ordinary pirate's doing. In fact, it was on par with the power of one of the Four Emperors.

"Could it be... Monkey D. Natsuis also a Devil Fruit user?"

A bold thought suddenly crossed the minds of the Navy. After all, this kind of devastating, earth-shattering attack was beyond the capability of an ordinary person—it could only be done by a Devil Fruit user who had developed their powers to an extraordinary level.

"What kind of Devil Fruit is it? Could it be a Logia-type fruit?"

The remaining Navy soldiers who had not been hit by the star rocks looked up at Natsu, who stood calmly before them, their hearts trembling in fear. In the past, the Navy's elite ships would have been unstoppable, but now, much of their fleet had been obliterated. Even the highest-ranking Navy Admiral, Kizaru, might be able to suppress members of the Smile Pirates, but he couldn't crush them outright.

"Impressive, these Navy elites still haven't been wiped out?"

Natsu looked at his results with dissatisfaction, pouting. He had hoped to destroy the entire fleet, but as expected, when you have powerful opponents, the outcome is never so simple.

The Navy: "…" Is that even human? Does he have to destroy us all?

"Commodore Chaton, what should we do next?"

A Navy Colonel asked quietly from behind. After Natsu's recent attack, the Navy no longer had many operational warships, and their cannonry was even more limited.

"Get closer, we need to hold them off. I've reported the situation to Marshal Sengoku, Admiral Aokiji will be here shortly," Chaton replied, looking grimly at the shattered battlefield. "We'll have to wait for Aokiji's arrival and use his Devil Fruit ability to freeze the sea, bringing the battle to close quarters. Otherwise, we have no chance."

"Gin! Go!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Gin's eyes glinted with a trace of madness as she spread hers enormous, demonic wings and soared into the sky. The red flames painted the sky, and he came crashing down toward the Navy fleet with the force of a thunderbolt.

"Watch out!"

Momousagi shouted and immediately leapt into the air, using the Soru technique to repeatedly jump off the air, slowly closing in on Gin.

"One Sword Style: Thorn Rose! Thrust Slash!"

A beautiful, thorned rose bloomed in the sky, and the next moment, the rose exploded, releasing several sharp slashes that flew in all directions.

"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Gin soared even higher into the sky.

"Netherfire: Soul Devour!"

With a piercing cry, Gin transformed into a something majestic that takes flight and expelled a huge red fireball from his mouth, which fell rapidly toward the sea. The intense heat caused the seawater beneath to evaporate into a thick fog.

"Dodge! Jump into the sea!"

Feeling the heat of the fireball above, Chaton immediately gave the order without hesitation. He grabbed a Navy soldier who could swim well and jumped into the sea.

After all, as a Devil Fruit user, if he entered the water, he would likely lose his life.

"Boom!"

The fiery, red flames fell onto the remaining warships, the immense heat setting even the air itself ablaze, crackling and popping as everything was consumed by the flames. In just over ten seconds, the entire Navy fleet was reduced to ashes and sank into the sea.

"Plop~ Cough, cough..."

On the sea, countless Navy soldiers bobbed up, eyes wide as they spitted out seawater. Their gazes were filled with despair. Flying truly was invincible on the open sea.

"Yehahaha! Kizaru, the Navy has been defeated!"

Though he was bruised and battered, Enel still looked smug as he pointed down at the devastated battlefield. He said proudly, "Even if you're stronger than me, I have powerful allies! Meanwhile, the Navy is already defeated."

"Defeated?!"

Kizaru stared in disbelief, finding it hard to comprehend. So quickly?

Even though the Smile Pirates were strong, the Navy's forces for this operation were no slouches—why had they still lost?

The area around the Smile Ship grew quiet again, and Enel, in a flash, reappeared on the deck.

The entire Navy fleet had been wiped out, while the Smile Pirates remained unscathed. This was a historic event that had never happened before in the World Government's history. A small pirate crew of seven or eight had stood up to the Navy's execution order and survived. Who would believe such a thing?

But it was true. In this vast sea, anything could happen. Moreover, the attacks shown by Natsu and Gin had far surpassed ordinary techniques, and the unique nature of their powers combined with the sea's characteristics had led to this result.

Had this battle been on land, the outcome might not have been so easy, after all, the Navy wasn't weak.

Unfortunately, the Navy had chosen to capture Natsu at sea and had underestimated the unique abilities of the Smile Pirates and Natsu himself.

Before the Demon Slayer Order had a chance to work, they had been completely wiped out.

"What! All wiped out?!"

In the office of Marineford, Sengoku's face turned pale with rage as the phone call from Kizaru came through, bringing the bad news.

"The Demon Slayer Order! Even a powerhouse like Douglas Bullet failed! And now, to capture a newcomer pirate crew, the Smile Pirates, and still lose? Are you kidding me?"

Sengoku slammed his fist on the desk, cracking it in frustration.

"Polusalino, give the phone to Monkey D. Natsu, tell him the Navy agrees to his terms—one hundred billion Berries in exchange for the release of the Celestial Dragons. The Navy cannot afford another failure!"

Through the phone, Sengoku's voice was filled with a biting tone as he seemingly gritted his teeth. It seemed that only the Five Elders could decide whether to save the Celestial Dragons.

Saving or not, that was their problem. After all, with so many Celestial Dragons, it wouldn't matter if one or two were lost. The worst-case scenario was that he'd lose his position as Marshal.

"Bru Bru Bru, Bru Bru Bru, Gada!"

On the other end of the phone, the Five Elders' cold and sarcastic voice came through, clearly displeased.

"What? The Demon Slayer Order failed? The pirates are demanding one hundred billion Berries to release the Celestial Dragons?" Sengoku fell back in his chair, passing the responsibility on to the Five Elders.

"What?! What are you Marines doing?!" The Five Elders' roar reverberated through the office, shaking it to its core.

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