Rockefeller Charlotte stood at the bow of the ship, gazing out at the massive Sea Kings ahead, each one easily exceeding a hundred meters in size.
"How in the world did this many Sea Kings get attracted here?" Charlotte muttered in disbelief, eyes wide.
"Boss! The Sea Kings are attacking!" came the panicked shout from the stern.
Charlotte furrowed his brows, immediately dashing to the back of the ship. A monstrous tail swept toward the vessel. Without hesitation, Charlotte leapt forward and delivered a full-powered punch straight into the beast's tail. Flesh ruptured and a massive wound split open. The Sea King howled in pain.
"Moooooo~!"
The massive creature's wail triggered a frenzied reaction from the others. Seven or eight Sea Kings simultaneously launched their assault.
Charlotte could feel their rage through his Observation Haki.
"Damn it! Why aren't these beasts staying down in the ocean where they belong?" he shouted in frustration.
Charlotte hadn't expected a few dumped corpses to lure such a horde of aquatic titans. His expression turned grave as they closed in.
"Hold onto the railings! Now!" he shouted.
Then, he dove headfirst into the sea, sprinting over the surface using Moonwalk—a technique inspired by the Marines' Rokushiki. Though he hadn't mastered it fully, it served well enough for now.
He charged one of the Sea Kings, a 70-meter beast resembling a grotesque eel, and unleashed a massive flying slash. The arc of energy sliced cleanly into its head, carving out a ten-meter wound that sprayed blood across the sea. The wounded creature thrashed violently.
Sensing danger on the ship, Charlotte turned mid-air. A crewman had fallen into the churning waters.
With a fierce backhand slash, Charlotte struck the injured Sea King again, ending its life in one brutal stroke. He leapt onto its corpse, then sprang toward the floundering boy.
"Help! Glub… Help me!" the youth cried.
Charlotte caught him and hurled him onto the deck.
"Hold tight to the rails and don't let go! I'll handle the rest!" he commanded.
While the boy scrambled to safety, more Sea Kings surged in. Charlotte growled.
"This is the ship I'm counting on! I'm not letting it get wrecked here!"
He leapt onto the head of the nearest Sea King and drove his blade down. The sword energy ravaged the creature's brain, killing it instantly. No pause, no mercy.
He jumped again, rushing toward another.
But now the Sea Kings had recognized Charlotte as a threat. Abandoning their attack on the ship, they encircled him.
Charlotte stood tall on the floating corpse of his latest kill, gripping his sword tightly. Across from him loomed the massive Sea Kings, their eyes locked on him.
Then came movement.
A giant squid, its tentacles stretching dozens of meters, lashed out. Charlotte barely dodged. The squid—easily the largest among them—must have been their leader.
Its motion signaled the others. The Sea Kings lunged, snapping and slapping. But Charlotte danced nimbly across their heads, redirecting their own attacks into each other.
With precise timing, Charlotte unleashed more flying slashes. In just minutes, he had downed two more.
Their pained roars echoed across the sea.
Some of the smaller Sea Kings fled, slipping beneath the waves and disappearing from Charlotte's Haki senses.
Only three remained.
The waves stilled unnaturally. A standoff began.
Far from the battlefield, the ships Charlotte had brought were now scattered, watching from afar. Sailors clutched binoculars, stunned.
Charlotte exhaled slowly.
Then he sprang into action.
The squid unleashed a torrent of ink, coating the sea in darkness.
Charlotte, already mid-leap, narrowly avoided the stream.
But he noticed something alarming: the ink was corrosive. The corpse of a Sea King nearby began to dissolve, shrinking grotesquely.
"What the hell kind of Sea King is this? Since when do they spit acid?! This wasn't in the anime!" Charlotte hissed.
A chill ran down his spine. "If that had hit me, I'd be fish food."
But now he was furious.
Eyes burning, he raised his blade.
A massive flying slash streaked through the air. The squid raised a tentacle to shield itself. The attack split the limb in two.
"ANGGGGG~!"
The creature let out a piercing screech. Ink sprayed in all directions. The remaining Sea Kings retreated in fear.
Charlotte didn't waste the opportunity.
He dashed forward through the air, blade poised.
With a roar, he brought the sword down.
The massive squid was cleaved cleanly in half, top to bottom.