Squard's thunderous, rage-fueled slash missed completely—
and the cheering from his crewmates died instantly.
"Wait… what just happened? Why'd Captain Spider let him off the hook?!"
A nearby elite crewmember scoffed.
"If your captain can land a single hit on the Vice-Captain, I'll personally scrub your ship's toilets every day for the rest of my life."
Another pirate added mockingly:
"You're wasting breath on these yokels. They wouldn't understand if you explained it to their faces."
"Look! Squard's going in for another strike!"
---
Squard took a step back, doubt creeping in.
Gripping his blade with both hands, he shook his shoulders—
—his massive scabbard flew off, revealing the cold gleam of his giant sword.
"No way this guy's that strong. If he were, why would no one have heard of him before?"
"I must've messed up last time. This time, I'll go all out! He won't get away again!"
He shouted fiercely, and a thin layer of Armament Haki began to wrap around his enormous blade.
Watching from nearby, Marco chuckled:
"So that's why his temper's been shorter lately—he's awakened his Haki. No wonder he's feeling cocky."
Squard's horizontal slash sent out a howling gust of wind, the sheer force whistling through the air.
"You can dodge a vertical cut.
But this wide sweep? Let's see you dodge this!"
The blade slashed clean through the air—
—yet again, perfectly missing Roya, who remained seated and motionless.
A single drop of sweat rolled down Squard's forehead.
With a plop, it hit the deck—breaking the awkward silence like a pin dropping in a cathedral.
---
At that moment, two more allied pirate captains stepped onto the deck.
It was the Cavalier Doma and the Ice Witch Whitey Bay.
Seeing Squard frozen in a strange pose before Roya, the two exchanged a puzzled glance.
Whitey Bay raised a brow.
"What's he doing? Is Squard performing tricks for the new Vice-Captain?"
Her sarcasm sliced through Squard's fraying nerves like a knife.
"You bastards… TO HELL WITH THIS!!"
With a furious roar, Squard abandoned his giant blade, drawing a regular longsword from his waist.
The giant blade was powerful but slow.
This one was built for speed.
In the blink of an eye, he slashed more than twenty times.
Each cut came from a different angle—slashes, thrusts, chops—
all aimed at Roya's vital points.
The speed was so intense, the naked eye couldn't tell which one was the real killing blow.
"Try dodging this, coward!"
"I'm sealing off all your angles—let's see you make me 'slip up' again!"
The sheer pressure of his assault made even the spectators instinctively lean back.
Even Vista muttered in awe:
"As expected from someone said to rival Ace in close combat…
That kind of sword speed… even I'd have trouble matching it."
---
Roya raised an eyebrow.
"He's still not giving up?
Even after those first two strikes missed completely?
How stubborn can you be?"
Still unmoving in his seat, he thought:
"If I just sit here as he slashes at me, do I even look like a proper Vice-Captain?"
"Alright then…
Time to unveil the active ability of the Observation Haki Domain."
---
Squard's crew, of course, had no idea what was going on in Roya's head.
To them, it looked like Squard was pressuring Roya hard—and they began to cheer again:
"You arrogant little punk! Once this is over, you'll be on toilet duty for life!"
"Hah! My toilet hasn't been cleaned in years—if it's not sparkling, you're drinking from it!"
---
Meanwhile, the original elite crewmembers who supported Roya scoffed:
"Open your eyes, idiots.
The Vice-Captain hasn't been touched once!"
Just as he finished speaking, Roya's voice echoed across the deck:
"Squard. I'm going to count to three.
If you don't back down by then—whatever happens next is on you."
His voice was crisp and calm—cutting through the surrounding noise like a blade.
Everyone paused.
Even the seasoned commanders, including Marco, looked confused.
"What is he planning?"
"One."
Squard, blinded by rage and shame, didn't retreat.
If anything, his sword blurred even faster—forming a curtain of silver light.
But no matter how he attacked, none of his strikes could touch Roya.
Every blade glanced away—sliding off like water off a rock.
"Two."
A strange tension gripped the deck.
Even Doma and Whitey Bay tensed—instinctively aware that something monumental was about to happen.
"Three."
The moment the final number rang out—silence fell.
---
Before everyone's eyes—
Roya slowly rose from his seat.
He extended his hand forward—reaching through the flurry of blades.
His arm passed straight through the whirlwind of slashes—unscathed—
—and gently closed around Squard's sword hand.
With a soft clack, the sword was plucked from Squard's hand like a toy.
The whirlwind of attacks vanished instantly.
The sword, once aimed at Roya's throat—
—was now pointed at Squard's chest.
---
Everyone had watched it happen.
But no one could understand it.
Marco murmured in awe:
"So that's the Observation Field…
Not a single attack can land on him."
Vista's eyes bulged, hand twitching as he tried to replicate the move in the air—
—but even in simulation, it was impossible to pass through that many strikes unscathed.
Jozu's body gleamed with diamond light, his frame shifting uncomfortably.
But even he couldn't imagine pulling off a move like that.
Doma whispered, trembling:
"I thought Squard's swordsmanship had already reached the peak…
But at this range… he couldn't even scratch Roya's arm?"
Beside him, Whitey Bay could only shake her head in disbelief.
---
Even without understanding the exact mechanics of what had just happened,
one thing was clear:
Roya was overwhelmingly, undeniably strong.
---
Squard's crew had collapsed to their knees.
Their boss had picked a fight with the Vice-Captain—and been annihilated.
There was no need to ask what fate awaited the Great Whirlpool Spider Pirates.
The elite crew members from earlier?
They didn't even bother looking at the defeated fools.
Their eyes were glued—burning with pure, unshakable worship—
on one man only:
Vice-Captain Roya.