"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
In an instant, almost every pirate jumped to their feet, cheering wildly. The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause and excitement.
This wasn't just to give Buggy Delivery Company some face—
It was to give Buggy himself, the former Warlord of the Sea with a bounty of 400 million Berries, face! A man whose power far surpassed the average pirate of the East Blue!
"What a bunch of idiots!"
Don Krieg glared coldly at Buggy. He watched as Buggy strutted onto the high platform, laughing heartily while basking in the cheers and admiration of the surrounding pirates, looking like he'd completely forgotten what they were there for…
Krieg's lips twisted into a sinister grin.
His suspicions were indeed correct!
The closer he got, the more clearly Krieg could feel that familiar aura radiating from Buggy—
It was the instinctive sense of recognizing one's own kind!
No… it was a man's intuition!
All show and no substance! A hollow shell!
RUMBLE!
A sudden roll of thunder rumbled from beyond the heavens, growing louder and louder until it echoed across the entire island. Every pirate at the venue instinctively looked up.
"Now's my chance!"
A sharp glint flashed through Krieg's eyes. Taking advantage of the chaos, he quickly extended his right hand and pressed a hidden switch within his armored elbow joint.
Clang!
The golden shoulder plates of his armor began to tremble and flip open—two rocket warheads glinted coldly in the sunlight as they emerged…
But at that moment, the surrounding pirates began exclaiming in surprise.
"Huh? Why's there thunder in broad daylight…? Wait—look! What's that?"
"Wait, look! Up there — what's that?!"
"Something's flying toward us! That blue light — is there… someone inside it?!"
Someone's coming?
Krieg frowned and hesitated. He temporarily withdrew his hand and looked up into the sky along with everyone else.
Around him, the pirates were whispering in awe and confusion, all eyes fixed on that streak of blazing blue light shooting toward them—
Until—
The blue radiance finally reached the sky above the venue. The lightning dissipated, revealing a man in a white suit, strikingly handsome and almost otherworldly.
"Huh, quite the crowd down there."
Nao looked down in mild surprise at the sea of pirates below. Seeing them all staring blankly up at him, he shrugged.
"Don't mind me. I just heard some noise on my way by and decided to take a look. You guys go ahead, keep doing your thing."
Don't mind you, my ass!
At first, people didn't recognize him from a distance. But the moment Nao appeared clearly and spoke, more and more pirates suddenly realized who he was—matching that elegant face to a terrifying figure from legend…
Their pupils shrank violently. Faces turned pale. Cold sweat dripped down foreheads.
"No way… how could he be here…?"
"Damn it, damn it…"
"That man… that man…"
And then someone finally screamed — trembling, voice cracking in sheer terror:
"It's him! The Pirate Butcher — White Dragon!!!"
BOOM!
The scream hit like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, sending shockwaves rippling through the crowd!
Every pirate present went deathly pale. No one knew who moved first, but suddenly chairs went flying as pirates bolted madly for the exits.
In a split second, entire crews erupted into chaos.
"Damn it! Run!"
"Huh? Captain, what's going on? Who is that guy—"
"Shut up and move! I'll explain later! Don't you see everyone else running?! Get out—RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"
The scene instantly devolved into total chaos. The few exits jammed with bodies. Pirates shoved and trampled each other; blood was spilled without hesitation.
Some abandoned their crewmates entirely, others threw away the grand prizes of the festival—only one thought filled their minds:
Run. Run for your life!
If they didn't escape now, they were doomed!
...
High above, Nao hovered, three black lines of exasperation forming on his forehead.
Pirate Butcher? Seriously?
When did I get that nickname?
"That's really unpleasant to hear…"
Nao muttered in irritation, his eyes narrowing at the pirate who had first screamed his name. That man had already bolted from the venue, sprinting like his life depended on it.
"Think you can run after offending the monk?"
He raised his palm — and from the center of it, lightning bloomed like a flower of pure light.
Nao looked down over the entire venue and spoke coldly:
"Thunder Cage."
BZZZZZTT!
As his words fell, the most dazzling beam among them, like a stamen, abruptly shot straight up into the sky.
In an instant, it climbed hundreds of meters high, and in the next moment, split apart, transforming into countless dense electric arcs that shot violently downward!
RUMBLE—BOOM!
Amidst the rolling thunder, countless fine blue electric arcs interwove into a dense net of lightning, enveloping the entire venue beneath it, like a massive cage lowered from the heavens.
"Damn it! Move, get out of my way!"
A few pirates who had made it to the gates were already crazed with fear. Seeing their escape blocked, they roared and swung their blades at the shimmering barrier.
The result was obvious.
The instant their swords touched the lightning, the others saw nothing but flashes — the brief silhouette of their comrades' skeletons glowing through their skin —
Then thud.
Their blackened, unrecognizable bodies fell backward, smoking and rigid.
Thump!
Those still behind froze.
They swallowed hard, their faces pale as they met each other's eyes — and in every gaze, they saw the same thing: despair.
There was no escape.
"How did it come to this…"
One man dropped to his knees, clutching his head, eyes hollow with disbelief.
"We just came here for a festival… and now this…"
"Festival?"
Another pirate — a bald, thickset man — suddenly jolted as realization struck. He gritted his teeth and pointed furiously toward the stage.
"I get it now!" he shouted.
"It's Buggy! Damn it, I almost forgot — that bastard's a Warlord! He's working with the Marines!"
"But wasn't White Dragon kicked out of the Marine ages ago?"
"What's the difference?! Otherwise how do you explain someone like him 'just happening' to show up in Cocoyasi Village? He must've teamed up with that White Dragon in secret! This whole so-called festival — it's a setup! A damn trap to lure us in!"
A trap!
The bald man's roar snapped everyone out of their daze.
Dozens of pirates turned at once, eyes filled with murderous suspicion, glaring up toward the platform.
But when they looked around —
"Where is he?"
"He's gone?"
"Damn it! I knew it!"
"Wait— look! Over there!"
A shout rang out, drawing every eye to the northern side of the venue.
There stood Buggy, blade in hand, face twisted with fury as he swung down at the crackling thunder cage before him!
And at that exact moment, high above, Nao turned his head — noticing the commotion.
As if worried the Thunder Cage might be broken, he flicked his fingers lightly.
From the storming clouds above, a massive thunder dragon roared to life, plunging down from the sky — and in a single flash of light, it swallowed Buggy whole.
The next second.
The lightning faded.
The Warlord of the Sea — the man once worth 400 million Berries, Buggy — hit the ground.
Leaving only a solemn, slowly collapsing silhouette for the pirates present.
"..."
Silence fell over the venue for a moment. The bald man spoke hoarsely, "I misunderstood Boss Buggy…"
"Yeah…"
"Even knowing he couldn't win, he still fought until the very end…"
"Truly worthy of the title 'Warlord of the Sea.'"
The pirates sighed deeply, guilt washing over them for ever having doubted Buggy — for thinking he'd secretly joined forces with White Dragon.
None of them noticed…
Far away, down in a smoking crater, Buggy's "corpse" lay face-down — his face twisted in pain, tears streaming from his eyes.
Goddamn it, that bastard White Dragon… He clearly said it was just a casual act, but he actually hit so hard, sob sob…
...
There's no hope.
After watching Buggy fall, the pirates sank completely into despair.
No one dared to challenge the thunder cage any longer.
Some threw down their weapons, collapsing to the ground to await whatever fate had in store.
If even a Warlord of the Sea had been defeated in a single strike…
what chance did they have?
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Suddenly, loud and arrogant laughter echoed across the silent venue.
At a time like this? Someone still had the nerve to laugh?
Is he out of his mind…? the pirates thought as they turned toward the sound.
From the corner of the venue, a muscular man in golden armor shoved aside the pirates blocking his path and strode forward with bold, heavy steps.
"That guy…" one pirate gasped, eyes wide. "Isn't that Krieg — the so-called Pirate Admiral?"
Krieg's cold eyes swept the crowd, his expression twisted with pride and scorn.
When his gaze fell upon the other captains — those with higher bounties than his — his mouth curled into a mocking grin.
"Only this much? And you dare call yourselves great pirates of the East Blue?" he sneered. "So many of you, and only one of him — and you're all too scared to even fight back? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves, huh?!"
He snorted loudly, thumping his chest as his golden armor clanged.
"Looks like when things get serious…" he bellowed,
"You still have to count on me — Admiral Krieg!"
Looking up at Nao in the sky, Krieg narrowed his eyes and spoke. "Hey! You brat, are you White Dragon?"
More than just powerful! There's no one stronger than this man in the entire Marines, alright?! The crewmates behind him was terrified, completely baffled by what his captain was trying to do.
An offcer with a large shield strapped to his bare chest couldn't help but pull on Krieg's arm from behind. "Captain, now is not the time to stick your neck out…"
"Get lost!"
Without even looking, Krieg backhanded him with such force that the man screamed as he was sent flying.
Idiot!
No vision at all — can't even see the opportunity standing right in front of you!
Because just moments ago, as he surveyed the chaos around him, inspiration had struck.
Today was Admiral Krieg's lucky day.
And this "White Dragon" was a gift from the heavens.
Sneaking around and killing Buggy? Sure, that would earn him some fame in the East Blue — but that wasn't enough for his ambition.
But now?
If he could seize this hopeless moment — rise above the panic, show his might, and slay the White Dragon himself…
Then he, Don Krieg, would become the savior of every pirate here!
He would stand invincible over the East Blue, his name echoing across the seas — a legend that would shake the entire world!
"You're not answering?" Krieg sneered, slamming his gauntlets together.
"Fine — I'll take your silence as a 'yes'!"
Before Nao could even respond, Krieg didn't care in the slightest.
He gripped his massive war spear, weighing over a ton, and roared with wild laughter as he stomped down hard on the ground:
"Go to hell, kid!!!"
The moment the words left his mouth—
BOOM!
Flames erupted violently beneath his feet, propelling him upward with explosive force.
Using the recoil, Krieg shot into the sky like a missile, his massive spear swinging upward toward Nao.
That was pretty cool…
The crowd of pirates couldn't help but murmur in awe at the sight — then collectively shook their heads, eyes full of pity.
What a waste. His brain clearly isn't working right.
Even Buggy, still lying face-down in the dirt pretending to be dead, forgot about keeping quiet for a second.
He peeked up, mouth agape, staring at Krieg's ascending figure.
This guy… is he really that fearless?!
...
Up in the sky.
Nao looked at the charging Krieg with an odd expression.
He honestly hadn't expected this.
Even if the East Blue was relatively isolated from news, for a pirate who'd been around for some years… to still dare challenge him to a one-on-one fight?
Truly… worthy of the man who once mocked Mihawk.
"Whatever."
He sighed lightly, shaking his head.
Down below, over ten thousand pirates had already given up resisting, so he was just standing around bored anyway.
Might as well play with this fool for a bit.
"Go to hell, White Dragon!"
Krieg's face was wild with bloodlust as he drew closer, his enormous spear swinging down — but just as Nao reached for his sword, he saw the corners of Krieg's mouth twist into a cunning grin.
A split second later, the golden armor around Krieg's waist snapped open, revealing four hidden cannons.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Four emerald-green missiles shot out, each aimed at a different vital spot — his face, heart, and the back of his head.
A violent explosion followed, and a thick, dark green cloud of poison gas instantly engulfed Nao.
"Got you, idiot!!"
Krieg burst into raucous laughter, twirling his war spear through the air before lowering it again — his earlier attack had only been a feint.
"That was my exclusive weapon — the M·H·5 Toxic Missile! Even an elephant would drop dead on the spot after breathing that in!"
"Hahaha! So what if you're White Dragon? So what if you were a Marine Vice Admiral?!"
He laughed louder and louder, already daydreaming about his glorious future.
"In front of Admiral Krieg— you still have to— huh?"
The laughter cut off abruptly.
As the poisonous mist slowly dispersed, Nao's silhouette became clear again — standing there completely unharmed.
His eyes were calm and bright, completely unaffected.
He even sniffed the air, inhaling a bit of the toxic gas — then nodded approvingly.
"Potent stuff," he said evenly.
"Not bad."