Chapter 172: Endings and Departures

BOOM. BOOM—RUMBLE.

On the war-torn streets, Arlan barely flicked his wrist, and the shockwave alone triggered violent explosions. Every punch and kick detonated with enough power to kill a man outright.

Over a hundred pirates had swarmed him all at once, but he tore through them in minutes. The street was strewn with bodies in the aftermath, some unconscious, some far worse.

Ever since Arlan had eaten the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, his strength had surged like wildfire. Not even Oliver could suppress him as easily as before. In terms of pure power, Arlan now trailed Oliver by only a sliver, and when it came to wide-area destruction, he had arguably surpassed him.

"Armament Hardening: Mad Bull Charge!"

With a guttural roar, Gorbo hurled himself into the fray. Half his burly, two-meter-tall frame was clad in jet-black Armament Haki, his charge unstoppable. Like an iron-clad beast, he barreled through the enemy ranks, pirates flew left and right with broken bones and torn muscles, some trampled to death on the spot.

As the crew's Head Chef, Gorbo had always scoffed at Devil Fruits, especially since seafood was his lifeblood. But even so, his sheer physical prowess had long made him the mightiest fighter aboard the Chris Pirates, back before Backan ever joined. He had already mastered Armament Haki at the start of their voyage and was second only to Aeridar in its usage. Among the officers, his presence was a force to be reckoned with.

"Damn it! Even their chef is a monster!"

"We can't win this... we don't stand a chance!"

"Even the squad captains are down...!"

Members of the Giant Fish Pirates collapsed one after another. Even several high-ranking officers with bounties on their heads had been beaten or killed. With their forces thinning rapidly, the remaining pirates slowed their attacks in dread.

"C-Captain's dead!"

A blood-curdling scream rang out, instantly freezing the battlefield. Everyone turned instinctively toward the voice, only to see a tall, lanky pirate with a punk-style mohawk, eyes wide with horror, lips trembling. Behind him lay a corpse dressed in black, a headless, one-armed body sprawled across the cobblestones. The severed head lay nearby, twisted in an eternal expression of terror.

"C-Captain...?"

"No way... not that fast..."

"He's... already dead?"

"This has to be a trick. I must be seeing things...!"

The sight of their decapitated leader shattered what remained of the pirates' morale. Fewer than two hundred still stood, and even they couldn't believe their eyes. Some rubbed them furiously, others slapped themselves in the face, and more than a few dropped to the ground in sheer panic.

"The Captain's dead!!"

"Run! Get the hell out of here!"

"We're next!"

"No... I don't wanna die!!"

In the blink of an eye, the Giant Fish Pirates completely fell apart. The last hundred or so survivors scattered like leaves in a storm, tossing aside weapons as they fled for their lives.

Snap—

Hiss... whooo.

Watching them flee, Arlan paused, then scoffed and lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag, savoring it with obvious satisfaction.

"Pathetic. The Marines in Alabasta put up more of a fight than this trash," Gorbo muttered, flicking blood from his hands. He didn't bother chasing the cowards.

Clang—

Aeridar casually dropped his axe. "Let's go," he said, voice flat. "If we move now, we'll still catch up with Dimitri and the others."

After some fast and hard marching, Aeridar's group reunited with Dimitri's team on the city's outskirts. Together, they headed back to the harbor. With the Giant Fish Pirates annihilated, and with most bounty hunters and underworld forces having suffered heavy casualties, no one dared challenge them again along the way.

As always, the Marines were late to the party, just like in the Earth movies. Two Rear Admirals led over a thousand elite Marines in sweeping up the last remnants of pirates and gangsters in Water 7. The city, once chaotic, suddenly felt cleansed.

Back at the harbor, Aeridar quickly signaled the crew to regroup—launching a flare arrow high into the sky like a call to arms. Over a hundred crew members arrived in response.

Then came the real treasure hunt.

Aeridar led his crew in tracking down the Giant Fish Pirates' ships. Despite his unimpressive strength, Sawa had been a greedy man, and that meant his ships were almost certainly packed with loot.

They finally located all three pirate ships moored at a back island behind Water 7. As luck would have it, the same cowards who fled earlier were there, hastily loading supplies for their getaway. When they saw Aeridar approaching with a full crew, not a single one resisted, some ran, some surrendered on the spot.

Aeridar didn't even look at them. He simply looted the ships of all their gold, silver, and valuables, stockpiled their weapons and ammo, and left the pirates to their fate.

Back on the Chris, Aeridar started assigning crew members to purchase supplies and provisions. He also dispatched a team to hire one of Water 7's top shipyards to upgrade their vessel.

First, they ripped off the outer iron plating and replaced it with high-grade steel armor, strong enough to withstand cannon fire up to 18-pounders.

Speed and firepower were also slated for major upgrades, with only the best materials accepted. The total projected cost? Three hundred million Berries.

Aeridar's response? "I'm rich. I'm reckless. Spend what you want, I'm not hurting for cash!"

Several days passed. Admiral Kizaru's fleet had finally pulled out, reportedly chasing a lead on the Demon Mask Pirates.

At the dock...

"Captain! You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Arlan called out from the pier.

"No need. Oliver's coming. That's enough," Aeridar replied from atop a peculiar little vessel.

Oliver stood behind him, looking thoroughly unmotivated.

The boat itself was only five meters long and two meters wide, with a small sail. Its main propulsion came from bursts of impact force generated by Aeridar himself. Combined with the sail, it moved fast, even against the wind.

"Hey, Hook-Nose! You better keep the Captain safe!" Millie and Mina shouted from the dock, glaring at Oliver. "If he so much as loses a single hair, we'll hunt you down!"

"Seriously?" Oliver groaned, twitching. "If he sheds hair in his sleep, that's my fault too?"

"Yes," Dimitri deadpanned without missing a beat.

The others all nodded in agreement.

"You bastards! I'll cut you all down!" Oliver snapped, one hand already going for his sword.

"Easy, easy…" Aeridar quickly pulled him back. "Let's just go, before we miss the window."

With a sharp burst of impact from beneath his feet, the small boat shot forward into the sea, leaving Water 7 behind.

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