"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The roar of artillery echoed nonstop from the Navy warships. One cannonball after another shot through the air, blasting toward the pirate ship ahead.
"Damn it, what rotten luck. We finally escaped the New World, and now we've run straight into a Navy warship led by a Vice Admiral. Hurry up and run. We can't let them catch us," the pirate captain, with a bounty of 130 million Beli, shouted angrily.
"Captain, the Navy warship belongs to Vice Admiral Hinaoyama," the lookout reported.
"Bastard, they really aren't leaving us a way out. Hinaoyama is a powerful Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters. If he catches us, we're finished. Full speed, get away from them," the pirate captain roared.
"Captain, this is already our maximum speed. We barely made it out of the New World. The ship is in terrible condition, it's almost impossible to shake off a Navy warship," a crewman said helplessly.
"Then row if you have to. Row your way out of the Marines' sight," the pirate captain yelled.
"Hehahaha, full speed ahead. Don't let them escape. Keep firing. Blast that ship to pieces, those damn pirates," Vice Admiral Hinaoyama said as he puffed on his cigar.
"Yes, sir," the Marines replied, saluting sharply. Immediately, the naval artillery intensified.
Under the Navy's barrage, the pirate ship was like a small boat caught in towering waves. One wrong move, and it would be smashed to pieces.
As the Navy warship drew closer and closer, it was clear that even if they were not sunk by the cannons, they would soon be caught by the Vice Admiral himself.
With their strength, even an ordinary Vice Admiral would be hard to deal with, let alone a powerful one from Marine Headquarters.
Just as despair was about to swallow them, the lookout raised his telescope and seemed to spot something. A look of joy instantly appeared on his face.
"Captain, Captain. There's a cruise ship ahead," the lookout shouted excitedly.
Hearing this, the pirate captain's face lit up with savage delight.
"Heaven hasn't abandoned me. Charge straight at it. I'll use the people on that cruise ship to threaten the Navy. Heh heh, I'd like to see whether a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters would really stand by and watch civilians die," the pirate captain said with a cruel grin.
The pirates all showed ferocious, delighted expressions.
At the same time, the Navy also noticed the cruise ship ahead of the pirate vessel.
"Damn it, of all times. Increase speed immediately. We have to stop them before they reach that cruise ship. We can't let them harm the civilians on board," Hinaoyama ordered.
Among the Vice Admirals, Hinaoyama was considered relatively responsible and mild-mannered, unlike Sakazuki's hardline approach where nothing mattered as long as pirates were killed.
If pirates used civilians as hostages against Sakazuki, he might very well kill the civilians along with the pirates.
Receiving Hinaoyama's order, the Marines pushed their engines to the limit and chased desperately after the pirate ship.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard the Navy pressed, the pirate ship still reached the cruise ship first.
At that moment, an overwhelmingly tyrannical aura surged out from the cruise ship, blasting through the air and tearing the clouds apart.
The already battered pirate ship let out creaking groans as fresh cracks spread across its hull under the pressure of that terrifying presence.
One by one, the pirates' eyes lost focus, and they collapsed to the deck with dull thuds.
The pirate captain stared in terror at the scene before him.
"Conqueror's Haki?" the pirate captain said in shock.
He had once roamed the New World. Although he was a failure who fled back from it, he still had some knowledge. He knew what Conqueror's Haki was.
But he had never heard of anyone whose Conqueror's Haki could cause tangible damage to reality itself, shattering ship planks. Even if the ship was already in terrible condition, this was still unimaginable.
"What is this?" Hinaoyama also wore a stunned expression.
He could clearly feel the pressure of that Conqueror's Haki. Several Marines around him had already lost consciousness.
As everyone stood frozen in shock, the cruise ship slowly approached.
It was an exceptionally luxurious cruise ship.
The moment Hinaoyama recognized it, his expression changed dramatically.
"I didn't expect to run into him here. A major figure who vanished for three years, suddenly appearing right in front of me. What an unexpected encounter," Hinaoyama said, drawing on his cigar.
"Vice Admiral, this is?" a Marine officer who had not fainted asked in confusion as he looked around at his fallen comrades.
"They're fine, just unconscious. The real trouble is what comes next," Hinaoyama replied gravely.
"Trouble?" The officer looked toward the approaching cruise ship, suspicion filling his eyes.
"You should have received the Headquarters notice about a certain cruise ship and an individual. That's the ship right in front of us. And someone capable of releasing such terrifying Haki, it seems we've run into the real deal," Hinaoyama said.
"The Dragon King of the Gray Kingdom, Rosinante," the officer exclaimed after recalling the notice he had once received.
At that moment, the remaining conscious Marines all revealed expressions of shock.
Because Rosinante had not appeared in public for a long time, the Navy feared he might be plotting something again. Orders had been issued to all officers of lieutenant rank and above that if Rosinante or his cruise ship was spotted, it was to be reported immediately.
At this moment, a figure stepped onto the bow of the cruise ship and looked toward the Navy warship with a smile.
"Well, fancy meeting an old acquaintance here," the man said casually.
"Bastard, who the hell are you? Did you knock out my crew? Don't think you're so amazing just because you have Conqueror's Haki. I've seen plenty of people with Conqueror's Haki in the New World. Don't think you can scare me. I'm a pirate with a bounty of 130 million Beli," the pirate captain shouted angrily.
Hinaoyama said nothing, but upon hearing the pirate captain's roar, he let out a cold chuckle.
"What an idiot," Hinaoyama muttered.
—-------------------
Note: Vice Admiral Hinaoyama is OC from AU