Zzzzt—
BOOM—
A sudden flash split the air like a blade of lightning, followed by a violent gust sweeping across the dock.
Then, to everyone's shock, the pirate ship's mainmast, more than thirty meters tall, suddenly snapped in half and crashed downward, snapping dozens of thick ropes as it slammed heavily onto the ship's stern deck.
With a deafening boom, the heavy, broken mast smashed through the reinforced wooden planks of the deck, leaving a gaping hole and scattering splinters across the dock and into the sea.
Inside the pirate ship, the first cannon deck suffered the worst. A dozen gunners were killed on the spot when the massive mast crashed down from above, shattering several cannons along with their operators.
"What the hell just happened?!"
"Why did the mainmast snap?!"
"My leg—AAAARGH!"
The pirates, previously full of swagger, were now in utter disarray, their morale shattered in an instant. Cries of pain and confusion echoed across the ship.
"What's going on?!" roared Mad Dog Yonok, enraged, as he shouted at the confused crew on board. "Hurry up and check the mainmast! What the hell happened?!"
Moments later, a hesitant voice called down from the deck. "Captain, the break on the mast... it's... it's too clean—like it was..."
"Like it was what?!"
"Like it was cut clean through by a blade!"
"A blade?! Are you kidding me?!"
Mad Dog Yonok nearly exploded with fury, yelling up at his crew. "Do you think you cut it down, you idiot?!"
Then, a youthful voice, clear but laced with disdain, cut through the chaos:
"You pirates are more annoying than a swarm of bugs."
All eyes turned toward the voice's source.
The crowd on the street parted.
A tall silver-haired boy walked forward, sword in hand, an aura of silent menace surrounding him. Behind him followed General Humil of the kingdom and several dozen royal guards in formation.
"Cross-sama!"
"Count-sama!"
"Thank goodness! Count Amphitrite is here!"
The dock erupted in cheers. The townsfolk gazed at the boy with awe and adoration.
"S-Sensei, is that the legendary figure you told us about?" A young outsider's expression twisted with doubt as he asked, "He's tall, sure... but that face? He looks like a teenager, still a kid!"
"You have no idea," said Kakus, eyes gleaming with excitement. "To witness Cross-sama in action again is a rare honor!"
Seeing the disbelief in his students' faces, Kakus turned serious. "Don't underestimate Cross-sama. That's Count Amphitrite Cross of the Tobias Kingdom, the strongest man in the kingdom."
"Let me put it in perspective for you. When he was born, he broke his nanny's fingers. By age three, he was shattering boulders with his bare hands. At five, he could hunt down a fully grown tiger. At eight, he began learning swordsmanship, and mastered the entire style within six months. By ten, he defeated his own Sensei."
"At twelve, he was kidnapped by slavers... and in a blind rage, he crushed all thirty-seven members of the slave-trading gang, shattering every limb and tossing them into the sea to feed the fish."
"And at thirteen? He took down an entire pirate crew that dared to raid our harbor. In the following two years, he crushed eleven more pirate crews, one after the other, making the Tobias Kingdom one of the safest places in the North Blue!"
The sheer absurdity of the story left the young men slack-jawed.
"Wait... doesn't that make him only fifteen?!"
"You've got to be kidding. No one like that exists!"
"Sensei, this is insane, even for bragging, you're going way too far!"
"Yeah! If what you're saying is true, he's not a person, he's a monster!"
Their skepticism was understandable. Anyone who could achieve all that at such a young age was beyond human in their eyes.
But the middle-aged merchant only chuckled good-naturedly. "Believe it or not, it won't matter in a minute. Once you see Count Cross in action, you'll understand."
As Cross stepped onto the dock, he fixed his gaze on the massive pirate ship before him. Displeased, he turned to General Humil and asked coldly, "Did our warships sink into the sea? How did pirates get into the harbor without resistance? Absolutely disgraceful."
"My deepest apologies," Humil said, bowing his head in shame.
The Tobias Kingdom maintained a small navy of its own, three fourth-rate sailing cruisers and a garrison of 400 naval troops, primarily tasked with patrolling nearby waters to ward off pirates. That the enemy had slipped into port without any warning was a clear and damning failure on their part.
Yet with Cross now on the scene, the port was no longer a place of fear. The people rallied behind him, surging toward the docks armed with whatever they could find—wrenches, crowbars, pipes, whaling spears. They stood shoulder to shoulder along the shoreline, glaring fiercely at the Yonok Pirates.
Hundreds upon hundreds of civilians formed a black tide of resistance, their numbers growing by the minute.
Yonok and his men stared in disbelief.
What the hell is this mess?!
"That brat... Is this all because of him?! Do you people even know who he is?!"
Yonok finally snapped out of his daze and looked hard at Cross, who continued walking toward the ship. Turning to one of his men, he asked under his breath.
"Captain... I've heard there's a monster in the Tobias Kingdom. Some kid who defeated eleven pirate crews in just two years. Could that be him?" a crewmate whispered behind him.
Yonok narrowed his eyes. His gaze shifted to the katana in Cross's hand.
Suddenly, he bared his teeth in a wide grin. "Hahaha... So it was you who cut my mainmast in half!"
"You've got sharp eyes," Cross replied with a calm smile. "Now tell me, how many pieces would you like to be sliced into?"
He raised his sword, pointing it directly at Yonok. The pirate's grin stiffened. He swallowed hard.
"H-Haha... Let's not get carried away now. It was all a misunderstanding!" he said, forcing a laugh.
"Oh?" Cross tilted his head, then chuckled darkly. "Since you won't choose, I'll decide for you. How about I cut you... into eight pieces?"
Yonok's expression shifted. He tensed up and blurted, "Ten million Berries!"
"Great swordsman! I'll pay you ten million Berries to spare my life!"
"Huh?"
Cross looked genuinely puzzled. "But if I kill you, won't I get your loot anyway?"
He paused, his voice dropping into a chilling growl.
"Plus, I can claim your bounty. Now tell me..."
"How much is your head worth?"