"There's a huge hole in the bottom of the ship!"
"Help!"
"Quick! Abandon ship!"
"Run! The seawater will swallow us all!"
The surging seawater poured in from the breach, instantly drowning the crew and guards on the lowest deck. The entire battleship began to sink. The surviving crew and guards, terrified, launched the lifeboats and fled.
Rumble!
Suddenly, another Komodo Merchant Guild armed merchant ship got a big hole in its side as Chinjao shot out from underwater.
Golaru watched as Chinjao boarded another one of their ships and started to wreak havoc. His eyes were wide with rage. He couldn't hold back any longer. Faced with a great pirate with a bounty of over 500 million, the ordinary crew and guards were no match and were simply being slaughtered.
"Damn you, Chinjao! Stop this!"
Golaru roared as his body expanded. His head and arms elongated, black hair sprouted all over his body, and his bulging muscles ripped his clothes to shreds.
In a flash, Golaru became a three-meter-tall creature with deep-set eyes, a high brow ridge, and a brownish-gray face—a giant version of a chimpanzee, a miniature King Kong.
He had the Zoan-type Monkey-Monkey Fruit: Chimpanzee Model!
"Roooooar!"
Golaru roared and beat his chest, then stomped his foot and leaped into the air, soaring nearly a hundred meters to land on the ship where Chinjao was.
Thud!
With a heavy sound, Golaru, now in his chimpanzee form, landed hard on the ship's deck. The entire ship shook, and he stood before Chinjao.
"That's... Golaru-san!"
"All right! Captain Golaru is here!"
Seeing the powerful chimpanzee, the crew and guards on the ship immediately sighed in relief and cheered.
"So you're a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user... Looks like you've got some skill," Chinjao said, looking at the giant chimpanzee before him. "You Komodo Merchant Guild bastards! Give back the citizens of Kano!"
"Chinjao, how dare you attack our Komodo Merchant Guild and sink a Marine battleship?! Does your Happo Navy have a death wish?!" Golaru ignored Chinjao and threatened him coldly.
The hundred slaves from Kano were entrusted to them by another slave-trading group. If the Komodo Merchant Guild returned them just because of a threat, no other merchant would dare entrust them with their goods.
The Komodo Merchant Guild made its name this way. No matter what a client gave them, they would sell it. They didn't care about the origin of the goods. "The goods are safe as long as my men are alive" was their creed.
Unless their entire fleet was destroyed, they wouldn't lose the goods. Even if they were outmatched, their men would die defending the goods.
Of course, if the goods attracted an especially powerful enemy, leading to the fleet's destruction and the goods being stolen, the Komodo Merchant Guild wouldn't be held responsible. They would have paid a sufficient price by losing their fleet, so the fault wasn't entirely theirs.
But if their fleet suffered heavy losses and even one ship remained, they would fully compensate the client for the lost goods. That's why the Komodo Merchant Guild had an excellent reputation, both in the open and in the underworld. Many illicit goods, such as illegal drugs, weapons, Seastone, and slaves, were entrusted to the Komodo Merchant Guild for sale. However, the guild's cut was also very steep, ranging from 18 to 25 percent of the total value of the goods.
Faced with Golaru's threats, Chinjao was furious and roared, "Arrgh! This is too much! You wretched brat! I'll make you pay!"
Chinjao put his fists together. The area from his elbows down instantly turned a glossy black, as if coated in black metal.
"Armament Haki: Hasshoken!"
Chinjao strode forward, his fists—the size of a marching kettle—whistling as they struck toward Golaru's head.
Faced with the fierce Chinjao, even Golaru was shaken by his power. But he was a recognized Chief of Guard for the Komodo Merchant Guild, far stronger than the average guard, and could even take on a typical bounty of over 100 million Supernova.
"Don't give me that, Chinjao! You're just a washed-up old man from a bygone era!"
Not wanting to lose face, Golaru cast aside all fear. His transformed body radiated a ferocious aura. He shot out his thick arms like lightning and clashed fiercely with Chinjao's fists.
Boom!
With a muffled thunderous boom, a ring of white air waves erupted between the two black fists, accompanied by concentric air ripples that swept outward like a gale.
Everyone on the deck was blown away by the visible shockwave. At least twenty people were launched from the deck and fell into the sea.
"Damn it! What a heavy punch!" Golaru gritted his teeth, struggling to hold back Chinjao's punch.
"You're still no match for me, kid!" Chinjao pushed with all his might, forcing Golaru back, and then threw another punch.
Rumble!
The ship shook violently. The deck shattered instantly, a massive hole punched through it by Chinjao's fist.
"Is this the power of a legendary great pirate?" Golaru grabbed the mast, looking down at Chinjao. "Damn it... I can't hold out much longer like this!"
"Die! Hasshoken: Head-Arms!"
Chinjao looked up at the giant chimpanzee hanging from the mast. He then stomped his foot, launching himself into the air, and used his head as a weapon to smash into his opponent.
"Damn you, Chinjao!"
Knowing the power of his opponent's headbutt, Golaru didn't dare to take the hit. He let go of the mast and dropped down.
Rumble!
The wooden mast, thick enough for two people to hug, couldn't withstand Chinjao's headbutt and was instantly snapped in half.
"Gorilla Arm: Chimpanzee Frenzy!" The moment he landed, Golaru immediately spun around. He stretched out his gorilla-like arms and unleashed a barrage of countless fists, like a torrential downpour, on the descending Chinjao.
Pow, pow, pow, pow...
Chinjao, mid-air, didn't even attempt to defend himself. He was pummeled by Golaru's chaotic flurry of punches.
Rumble!
Struck dozens of times by punches that could cleave mountains, Chinjao was sent flying, crashing into the ship's structures and raising a cloud of dust.
Rumble!
Whoosh!
Before Golaru could even catch his breath, the cloud of dust was blown away by a strong gust of wind. A large black shadow shot out at high speed, heading straight for Golaru.
"What?!"
It was too fast. Caught off guard, Golaru could only watch as Chinjao's head slammed into his body.
Thump!
In that instant, Golaru felt as if he had been hit by a high-speed Sea Train. An unimaginable force was accompanied by intense pain.
"Ugh!"
Golaru was sent flying backward, a trail of blood left behind in the air.