Inside the palace bathhouse...
A group of men, along with a reindeer, surrounded one person with grim expressions.
Looking at them, Kai felt slightly exasperated.
"What's with the stares?" he asked.
"Why... Why are you so much better built than us?" Sanji groaned, jealousy clear in his voice.
Everyone else shared the same sentiment, glancing at Kai and then comparing their own bodies. The gap was… demoralizing.
After a long, awkward silence, Cobra spoke up quietly, "Honestly, Kai, I feel like you should be the king."
Kai: …
Breaking the tension, the men jumped into the bath, splashing around with renewed energy.
A little later, Sanji asked Igaram, "Hey, do you know where the women's bathhouse is?"
"I couldn't tell you that even if I knew, you lecherous fool!" Igaram snapped back.
To everyone's surprise, Cobra, the old pervert, blurted out, "It's just behind this wall!"
Sanji shot to his feet in excitement. "You're the best, old man!"
Luffy and the others immediately followed, their curiosity getting the better of them.
Watching the scene unfold, Kai shook his head with a sigh. "They're hopeless."
With a calm demeanor, he muttered one word: "Stop."
Instantly, everyone froze in place, their bodies completely immobilized.
"Idiots," Zoro muttered, noticing the strange stillness in the room. He glanced around at his frozen crewmates and asked, "Hey, Kai, have you noticed? Luffy and the others can't move."
"Yeah, I noticed," Kai replied casually, taking a sip of his tea. "I did that."
"What?! You did it?" Zoro asked, confused.
Kai nodded, "Yep. It's my new Devil Fruit power."
Kai had recently been experimenting with abilities during his time on Aokiji's ship. Among his discoveries was a technique that allowed him to freeze others in place. It wasn't unlike the technique Monkey King used in legends to paralyze enemies. The duration of the freeze depended on his strength relative to his target.
"I froze them as punishment for trying to peek into the women's bath," Kai explained. "They'll be stuck for three hours—can't move, can't talk."
He stood up and wrapped himself in a towel. "Alright, I'll leave now. You guys can spend some time reflecting on your actions."
Zoro chuckled, walking around the immobilized group. He stopped beside Sanji and smirked. "Look at you, perverted cook! Didn't you see Nami hugging Kai yesterday? And you still want to peek?"
"Getting stuck for three hours is getting off light," Zoro added, laughing as he walked out. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Later!"
As Zoro left, Sanji's frozen body quivered with silent fury—not at Kai, but at Zoro.
"When this is over, I'm turning that moss-head into sashimi!" he fumed internally.
Meanwhile, news of Crocodile's defeat quickly spread across the world.
On the deck of the Moby Dick in the New World, a man with pineapple-like hair handed a newspaper to the ship's massive captain, Whitebeard.
"Dad, it's the guy Ace mentioned last time—he's the one who took down Crocodile."
Whitebeard, with his iconic crescent-shaped mustache, took the paper and chuckled heartily after reading it.
"Gurararara! That desert fool Crocodile got himself beaten by a rookie!" Whitebeard laughed. "Stealing a country, huh? What a mess."
"The newcomers are getting stronger these days. Do you think the Four Emperors might be in danger?" Marco asked, half-joking.
Whitebeard's laughter boomed even louder. "Gurararara! Don't be ridiculous, Marco. Taking down a washed-up pirate doesn't mean they're ready for the big leagues!"
"But if any Emperor's going down, it sure as hell won't be me. Remember, I'm Whitebeard!"
He raised his mug. "We're celebrating tonight, boys! Party time!"
"YEAH!!" the crew cheered in unison.
In another part of the sea, a red-haired man with a single arm smiled as he read the newspaper.
"Luffy, you've really grown stronger," Shanks said with pride.
The news of the Straw Hat Pirates' victory spread far and wide, making them famous overnight.
Back at Marine Headquarters, in a large conference room, Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat surrounded by top-ranking officers, including the three Admirals and many Vice Admirals. The atmosphere was heavy with silence.
Finally, Sengoku spoke, his voice calm but commanding. "You all know why we're here. It's about the fall of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords."
"But the decision regarding him will come from the Holy Land. What we're here to discuss is…"
Sengoku laid down the wanted posters of the Straw Hat Pirates, one by one, on the table. His gaze sharpened.
"…their new bounties."
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.