"Hey, what are you bastards looking at?! Get over here and help!!!" Anos roared at his crew.
He didn't want to admit it, but deep down, he knew Ayr's strength was far beyond his expectations.
If this deadlock continued, defeat was inevitable.
And for a pirate, losing meant only one thing—death!
"Let's take him down together! There are dozens of us—he can't handle all of us at once!"
"That's right! No matter how strong he is, he's just one man!"
"We will win!"
"Attack!!!"
Weapons were drawn, and the crew surged toward Ayr in unison. Their bloodlust filled the air as they attempted to overwhelm him with sheer numbers.
But Ayr remained calm, tilting his head slightly as he watched them charge.
"The outcome of battle isn't determined by numbers alone."
As soon as he spoke, an invisible force exploded from his body, rippling outward like a violent shockwave.
A suffocating pressure engulfed the entire ship.
The weaker pirates froze mid-stride, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed onto the deck, unconscious.
The stronger ones, those who had survived countless battles, clutched their heads in agony as their vision blurred. A cold sweat ran down their backs.
This… this is Conqueror's Haki!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Bodies hit the floor one by one.
A few pirates who managed to stay conscious trembled as they realized what had just happened.
"This… this is Conqueror's Haki!"
"No way! Only one in a million people can awaken that ability!"
"Only those destined to be kings can wield such power… This guy is a monster!"
"He's too young to be this strong… There's no way we can win against him!"
Even Anos, their captain, was shaking. He had been in countless fights across the New World, but this was the first time he had encountered someone so overwhelmingly powerful.
His legs were now buried in the shattered deck, and his arms, still crossed in defense, trembled under the weight of Ayr's attack.
Seeing his entire crew collapse, Anos's confidence shattered.
He swallowed hard, his pride crumbling.
"L-Let me go, and… you'll be the captain from now on. I'll be your vice-captain."
Despite his bounty being 300 million berries—200 million higher than Ayr's—he was now groveling for his life.
Ayr scoffed. "You? My vice-captain? Don't make me laugh."
He had no interest in forming a crew at this point. But even if he did, he would never accept someone this weak as his right-hand man.
Anos felt his body go numb as Ayr's pressure increased. His back was drenched in cold sweat.
Never before had he encountered an opponent who rendered him so utterly helpless.
"W-Wait! If you let me go, I'll give you everything on this ship!"
Ayr's expression didn't change. "I don't care about treasure."
"We… we have a Devil Fruit on board!"
Ayr's eyes narrowed.
One of the reasons he set sail was to find a Devil Fruit. If he could obtain one, he could bind it to the Nine-Tails Chakra, granting him immense power.
But in his year of traveling, despite fighting countless pirates, he had never found one.
And now, there was one on this very ship?
Seeing Ayr's sudden interest, Anos clung to his last shred of hope. "It's just a misunderstanding between us! I'll give you the Devil Fruit and all the treasure! Just let me go!"
If he could turn back time, he would never have let his crew provoke Ayr.
Now, because of that foolish mistake, everything he had built—his wealth, his ship, even his life—was slipping away.
Ayr smirked. "If I kill you, wouldn't everything on this ship be mine anyway?"
The moment he finished speaking, Ayr tightened his grip on his sword. Blue veins bulged on his arm as he swung downward with devastating force.
"BOOM!!!"
The blade struck with monstrous power, slicing deep into Anos's arm, shattering his Armament Haki defense.
"GAAAHH!!!" Anos screamed in agony, his arm convulsing as he stumbled backward.
"You bastard!!!" he roared, but his voice trembled with fear.
Ayr didn't waste another second.
"It's over."
With a swift motion, he swung his sword once more.
A sharp silver arc flashed through the air.
Anos's eyes widened in horror.
SHING!!!
His body was split in two.
A geyser of blood erupted from his torso, splattering the deck.
His lifeless upper half collapsed with a dull thud, while his legs remained rooted in the broken deck.
Silence filled the ship.
The surviving pirates felt their hearts stop.
"…The captain… is dead."
"I-I knew it… We never should have provoked this monster."
"If only that damn helmsman hadn't steered us toward him…"
"The captain was planning to sell the Devil Fruit… We could have all been rich!"
Their faces were filled with regret.
But it was too late.
The moment Anos fell, their fate was sealed.
Ayr turned his cold gaze toward them.
"Shh!!!"
A single sword stroke tore through the air.
A flash of silver light.
Then, silence.
The pirates didn't even have time to scream.
Their heads rolled onto the blood-soaked deck.
"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for gaining 20% Sage Body progress."
A familiar system notification rang in Ayr's mind.
There were only two ways to enhance his Sage Body—through rigorous training or through battle.
And he had just taken another step toward absolute power.