The Going Merry sailed steadily across the sea, the sea breeze gently caressing its sails, a refreshing coolness invigorating everyone.
This time, there was a new face on board Apis.
She sat at the edge of the deck, hugging her knees, her eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
The matter of the Millennium Dragon weighed heavily on her mind, and Kai and the others had readily agreed to help her fulfill the old dragon's wish, now heading towards Warship Island.
For several days, apart from practicing the body-tempering method, the few people on the ship had been frantically training their Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
On the deck, Kai had just retracted his fist, which had been enveloped in Armament Haki, and stood aside, watching the others with a cool gaze.
Zoro stood opposite him, panting as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In that last round of training, he had finally managed to narrowly dodge Kai's attacks twice.
Although he was still knocked to the ground several other times, compared to his previous aimless dodging, it was already a rapid improvement.
"It's good that you can use Observation Haki, but you're using it too strenuously," Kai commented indifferently, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
Then, his gaze swept towards Sanji and Luffy on the other side.
The two were leaning against the mast, gasping for breath, their faces marked with several bruises, clearly having taken quite a beating earlier.
"Can you still hold on?" Kai raised an eyebrow, his voice not loud but carrying a sense of oppression.
"Don't look down on us!" Sanji gritted his teeth, jumping up from the ground, "Again!"
Although Luffy was muttering, "I can't do it," his body still involuntarily stood up.
"Very good," Kai smiled slightly, "Then let's continue."
However, just then, Apis suddenly stood up, pointing at the distant sea and exclaiming,
"It's... it's those Marines! The ones who caught me, they're chasing us!"
Everyone was startled by her words and turned to look at the sea.
In the distance, seven warships were lined up, approaching the Going Merry.
The muzzles of the cannons on the warships gleamed with a metallic luster, and the next second, the booming sound of cannon fire instantly erupted.
Cannonballs cut through the sky, landing on the sea around the Going Merry, stirring up massive water columns.
The ship swayed violently, and even the training on deck was forced to stop.
"It's Marine cannon fire!" Nami's face changed, and she immediately rushed to the helm to steady the ship's direction.
The sound of a loudspeaker came from the warships, the Marines sternly shouting:
"Pirate ship ahead, stop immediately and surrender! Otherwise, we will continue shelling!"
"Hey, hey, this is endless!" Zoro gripped his sword hilt, a hint of impatience in his tone.
Kai's expression turned cold.
He stepped onto the bow of the Going Merry, his movements as light as if he were taking a stroll.
Standing atop the Merry's goat head figurehead, his figure appeared exceptionally tall and straight in the sunlight.
Kai raised his Fangtian Huaji, coldly sweeping his gaze across the group of warships ahead, his tone filled with disdain: "Surrender? You, of all people?"
He suddenly swung the Fangtian Huaji, the halberd tracing a semi-circular arc, and the next instant, a massive slash swept out!
The slash was like a giant blade splitting heaven and earth, directly cleaving towards the group of warships.
The sea instantly parted, a deep gully winding out, the seawater churning endlessly, waves roaring.
"Boom—!"
As the slash descended, six of the seven warships were instantly swallowed by the waves.
The colossal hulls were flipped over like toys, then gradually sank into the sea.
Only one warship barely survived due to Kai's deliberate restraint.
Everyone on deck was dumbfounded.
"This... this is too exaggerated!" Usopp's mouth hung open, speechless for a long time.
Sanji's cigarette-holding mouth also twitched slightly: "This is Kai's strength..."
Zoro gripped his three swords, muttering in a low voice: "What a monster..."
The current Zoro could only unleash a small slash with all his might, far from comparable to Kai's slash.
However, Kai was completely unconcerned by this.
He casually slung the Fangtian Huaji over his shoulder, saying indifferently:
"There's no need to kill them all. These Marines are just following orders. Leaving them alive is enough."
At this moment, on the sole surviving warship, the Marines were all in extreme panic.
The soldiers who had fallen into the water swam towards the surviving warship, drenched and their eyes filled with the fear of having narrowly escaped death.
A Marine officer standing on the warship looked at the distant Going Merry with a pale face, his lips trembling, unable to speak.
"This... this is the Straw Hat Pirates... and that Kai with a bounty of 100 million..."
As he spoke, he unconsciously reached up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
On the warship, a middle-aged man with thin glasses stood with his arms crossed, his expression grave.
His gaze fell on Kai's figure, and he said in a deep voice:
"A pirate crew with a bounty of 200 million Berries... Even they are interested in the Millennium Dragon. It will be troublesome to get the dragon bones for the Elixir of Immortality now."
On the distant Going Merry, Kai ignored those gazes.
He lightly leaped off the bow, returning to the deck, and said to everyone: "Alright, continue training. Don't get distracted by such a small matter."
"Still training?" Usopp almost jumped up, "Did you think we didn't see what just happened? You don't need us at all!"
Kai glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips:
"What I need are reliable companions, not a bunch of burdens who only hide behind me."
Everyone was startled by his words, and their fighting spirit was ignited.
The Going Merry slowly approached a unique small island, its shape resembling a giant warship.
The distribution of mountains and vegetation made it look like the deck and mast of a ship, and the island was surrounded by huge reefs.
Waves crashed against them, splashing white foam.
By the distant harbor, a few ancient wooden houses were scattered, emitting faint wisps of cooking smoke, appearing quiet and rustic.
"Is this Warship Island?" Luffy stood at the bow of the Going Merry, shading his eyes with his hands, his face full of curiosity,
"It really looks like a ship! How amazing!"
"Wow, this kind of terrain is really rare." Nami looked at the island ahead, a hint of awe in her eyes,
"It looks like the people living here must have experienced many storms."
The Going Merry slowly docked, and some villagers by the harbor were cautiously observing them.
Their clothes were simple, their skin tanned, and they held harpoons and wooden sticks in their hands, their eyes full of vigilance.
"Hey, people over there! We're good guys!" Luffy waved excitedly, shouting loudly.
"Good guys?" An elderly villager snorted coldly, "Who would believe pirates are good guys?"
"Wait!" Apis jumped off the ship and hurried to the villagers, explaining: "They're not bad guys! I asked them to come!"
The villagers' gazes softened slightly when they heard Apis's voice.
An elderly woman stepped forward, took Apis's hand, and said with a hint of anxiety in her voice:
"Child, why are you back? The Marines have been looking for you, you need to be careful!"
Apis nodded, her eyes filled with determination: "I know, I won't be caught by them again."
Apis bid farewell to the villagers, and led by Apis, everyone passed through the dense forest and narrow caves, heading towards the back mountain of the island.
The Millennium Dragon, which was about to die of old age, resided there.