Mm.
To put it another way,
The Knights of the Round Table summoned by Arthur were living knights, not Heroic Spirits who had ascended to the Throne of Heroes. Though they weren't Heroic Spirits, they possessed far greater potential for growth.
In truth—
Heroic Spirits were both a blessing and a curse.
For people of the modern era, who lacked mystic power, becoming a Heroic Spirit meant gaining access to supernatural strength. The more widely their legend spread, the stronger they became.
But for beings from the Age of Gods—especially the final generation of Britannia's Round Table—
becoming Heroic Spirits was actually a limitation.
It shackled their true potential.
Take Gawain, for example.
Among the original Knights of the Round Table, his actual strength ranked only around fifth or sixth. But because his legend spread so widely, he eventually surpassed many others.
And now—
Standing calmly upon the ship, watching the battlefield unfold, was a knight who had once stood at the very peak of the Round Table.
In terms of pure strength, he had once been second only to Lancelot.
Of course—
That didn't include the true monsters among the Round Table.
Yes.
There were beings among them who could only be described as monsters—knights in name, but something far beyond human.
For example…
The madman known as Balin.
The Red-Hilted Sword was meant only for Galahad—the holy sword of destiny. Yet Balin forcibly drew it, suffered its curse… and still went on to slay the Lady of the Lake.
And that wasn't the end of it.
After being exiled from the Round Table, he obtained the Spear of Longinus. Even while suffering from the curse, he annihilated three entire kingdoms by sheer force.
Let that sink in.
If his legend had spread far enough, he would've become a Heroic Spirit powerful enough to rival even King Arthur herself.
That was how terrifying he was.
Which was why—
Among the Knights of the Round Table, there were countless such anomalies. Another example being King Pellinore—the man who shattered the Sword in the Stone. The same Pellinore whose bloodline Morgan le Fay later used to create Lancelot.
Simply put—
For monsters like them, becoming Heroic Spirits was not a blessing.
It was a restriction.
Remaining alive was far better.
...
Clap.
Clap.
At that moment—
Gareth and Galahad broke through the encirclement and retreated swiftly.
Gareth spoke softly:
"Sir Galahad… should we let her act?"
His respect for that knight was obvious. Her strength was unquestionable. And her presence—like mist in the rain—was hauntingly beautiful.
Galahad shook his head.
"Not yet. It's still too early."
"…Understood."
And as the two withdrew—
The battlefield descended further into chaos.
BOOM—!!
BOOM—!!
Explosions roared across the battlefield.
"Eightfold Fist—Iron Mountain Crash!"
Chinjao's blow slammed into Linlin's body with overwhelming force—
But his expression instantly darkened.
It felt like striking a mountain.
No.
Like smashing into solid steel.
Not even a tremor.
"MAMAMAMAMA~!"
Linlin laughed wildly.
"That's all you've got? That's it?! How boring! Is that really the strength of the Happo Navy? Or is the Flower Kingdom just this weak?!"
"…!"
Chinjao clenched his teeth.
But pirates lived by one rule—
The weak have no right to speak.
He knew it.
He felt it.
Facing Linlin, he couldn't deny the truth.
Am I really her equal?
"…Hah…"
He exhaled slowly, calming himself.
"I was arrogant… I thought this was enough. I thought my drill-head alone was sufficient."
"But I was wrong."
At that moment, Chinjao truly understood.
Compared to monsters like Linlin—
he was nothing.
The Flower Kingdom had rules: whatever treasure a warrior seized belonged to them. Chinjao had amassed countless riches with his drill head and stored them in that vault.
But after the fall of the Rocks Pirates, he had mistaken reputation for strength.
Only now—standing before true monsters—did he realize how wrong he was.
Still…
To be fair, the gap between him and Linlin wasn't that overwhelming.
At this time, Chinjao was still in his prime—not yet broken, not yet weakened by years of defeat. The difference between them was akin to an admiral and a near-admiral.
But that difference…
was fatal.
Especially against someone known as the Iron Balloon.
Her defense was simply absurd.
"Chinjao."
Linlin grinned.
"Are you done already?"
"…!"
Chinjao was silent for a moment.
Then—
"Hahahaha!!"
He burst into laughter.
"Weak! I really am weak!"
"But now I understand!"
"Linlin—thank you! Next time, I'll come back and challenge you again!"
With that, he turned around and roared:
"Happo Navy! We're leaving! Don't embarrass yourselves here!"
The others froze briefly—then immediately followed.
Chinjao didn't hesitate.
As he left, his eyes burned with resolve.
"Thank you… for showing me how weak I truly am."
"But this isn't the end."
"This is only the beginning."
The Flower Kingdom—one of the great powers of the West Blue—possessed advanced Haki techniques.
Chinjao had simply never taken them seriously before.
Now he understood.
Strength was everything.
"Ho~?"
Arthur watched him go, amused.
"Rayleigh, looks like your side is about to lose."
Rayleigh nodded calmly.
"Yes… that much is obvious."
Even if they had temporarily formed an alliance, the disparity was undeniable.
Roger. Rayleigh. Gaban. Zeff. Don Chinjao. Bundy.
Meanwhile—
The Rocks Pirates had seven without Kaido.
With Kaido?
Eight.
And now one had withdrawn.
The outcome was inevitable.
"Hoho…"
Ochoku stood beside Silver Axe.
"Zeff. You've lost. Will you die here, or retreat?"
Zeff shrugged.
"Well, I'm not exactly eager to die for this."
He was the weakest among them—barely commander-level. He could hold on briefly, but prolonged battle meant certain defeat.
And worse—
Ochoku and Silver Axe were clearly planning to gang up on him.
So why bother?
They had all known from the beginning that this treasure was never truly theirs.
Once the Rocks Pirates arrived, the result was inevitable.
With Zeff withdrawing—
the collapse accelerated.
Bundy snarled but eventually retreated as well.
Chinjao.
Zeff.
Bundy.
All gone.
Only Roger's crew remained standing.
But anyone with eyes could tell—
this battle was already decided.
"Gurarararara!"
Whitebeard laughed as he pushed Roger back.
"So? Want to wipe them all out?"
He wasn't joking.
If given the chance, he'd absolutely kill Roger.
Roger grinned.
"You're a real pain, you know that?"
Then he turned and retreated.
Rayleigh and Gaban disengaged simultaneously.
Rayleigh waved lazily.
"Arthur. That's enough for today."
Arthur shrugged.
"Fine by me."
They both knew it—
This was never a serious attempt to seize the treasure.
Only Bundy had truly gone all-in.
Everyone else was just testing the waters.
And now—
The result was clear.
Like dominoes falling one by one—
once the first piece collapsed, the rest followed.
The battlefield crumbled.
Within two hours—
The massive clash ended.
Just like that.
--------------------------------///
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