The forest was silent.
Only the roar of the wind and the rustling leaves could be heard as Yuuto stood directly before an ancient temple covered in moss.
Beside him, Lady Avalon floated slightly above the ground, her staff reflecting the glow of dusk.
"Sensei, set up a barrier around the area. Make sure the serpent's poison doesn't spread."
"Very well, my student."
Lady Avalon smiled faintly.
Then—poof—she vanished in a scatter of flower petals.
"Good luck."
Yuuto took a deep breath, stretching his shoulders and fingers.
"All right… let's begin."
He lifted his foot slightly—
Thud.
The ground trembled.
BOOOOM!
Black-silver roots burst from the earth, smashing into the temple's foundation, destroying the structure and blasting stones in every direction.
A gigantic figure was hurled out, its body entangled by the roots.
"So you're… the false god of this island."
A colossal serpent with gleaming purple scales—dozens of meters long—thrashed violently, hissing savagely.
"Sssss—!"
Yuuto glanced at it.
"Wow. Almost as tall as the giant buildings in Tokyo."
He drew the sword at his waist and adjusted its weight to an extreme level.
The serpent was confused by the sudden eruption of roots in its lair, but when it saw Yuuto, it lunged at him like a pure monster driven only by instinct.
Click. Click.
Yuuto vanished.
The serpent hissed in confusion, searching for its prey.
Yuuto hovered high in the sky.
"Well… that's about what you'd expect from a brainless monster."
He raised his sword and dove straight down like a meteor.
BOOOOOM!!
The blade slammed into the serpent's head.
It didn't kill it—only cracked its scales.
"Whoo… tough skin. With a one-ton strike, it only cracked?"
Yuuto leapt backward into the air, stabilizing effortlessly.
The serpent looked up, staring at Yuuto standing in midair, then puffed up its cheeks as if about to blow something—
WHOOSH!
A torrent of purple poison blasted through the sky toward Yuuto.
Yuuto merely raised his eyes.
Click.
A dome-shaped wind barrier formed around him.
The poison splashed off like water droplets.
The venom that fell to the ground rapidly corroded rocks and trees.
Yuuto watched it calmly.
"Looks like your poison really is nasty," Yuuto said.
Then he took a sword stance as a burst of mana flared from his body.
"You've pretended to be a god on this island long enough. Now realize your true place."
For the first time, the serpent reacted—panic.
It felt fear.
It turned and tried to flee.
But tree roots sealed every escape route like living walls.
Yuuto moved and dove again—faster, empowered by mana burst and boosted by wind magic.
His body created a sonic boom.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted.
The serpent's head was completely obliterated.
Its body convulsed before finally going limp.
Amid the rising dust, Yuuto stood atop the corpse, sheathing his sword.
"Tch—thought you were strong. Turns out you're just hard on the outside, soft on the inside."
The poison lingering in the air dissipated, swept away by the wind Lady Avalon controlled from afar.
Yuuto jumped down from the serpent's corpse and pulled his hood up, hiding his hair and face.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the forest.
Smoker emerged from between the trees, cigarette smoke drifting in the wind.
"I didn't expect you to kill it that easily."
Yuuto glanced back, tapping the serpent's corpse.
"It was just a burnt chip. Pure strength was more than enough to kill it."
Smoker stared at the blast marks left behind and muttered,
"Pure strength, huh… maybe if you're at vice-admiral level," he murmured.
Then Smoker looked at the roots that had blocked the serpent's escape, frowning.
"Those roots… are they your Devil Fruit ability?"
Yuuto only smiled slightly.
"Secret."
Smoker sighed, exhaling smoke.
"Whatever. Everyone's got secrets."
He looked again at the giant serpent's corpse, faint poisonous vapor still rising.
"But are you sure you want to eat this thing? It looks extremely poisonous."
Yuuto patted his shoulder, casual, like he had just finished cutting fish at a market.
"Relax. I have a secret technique to deal with the poison.
Just prepare a big stove for cooking."
Smoker stared at him for a moment, then let out a short laugh.
They walked back toward the village, leaving behind the serpent's corpse—now nothing more than a fallen legend.
And from afar, Lady Avalon watched, smiling in satisfaction.
---
A massive bonfire danced in the center of the village, casting orange light and long shadows.
On the left, Yuuto—still wearing his hood—and Belfast were busy grilling the giant serpent meat, already cleansed of poison.
A delicious aroma filled the air, making many villagers swallow hard.
"Wow… I didn't expect you to cook something this good, Yuuto-san."
Tashigi approached, carrying an empty plate.
Yuuto laughed lightly.
"Hahaha… I've got a big appetite, so I had to learn how to cook for myself. Otherwise it'd be a real pain."
He took three huge skewers and placed them on Tashigi's plate.
"Here."
"Thank you."
She returned to Smoker.
Smoker sat by the bonfire, holding a mug of beer, staring into the flames.
"Here, Captain," Tashigi said, handing him the skewers.
"Thanks," Smoker replied, taking them.
Tashigi then sat down, watching Yuuto's group…
Kuroneko and Miku were playing with the village children, laughing and running around.
Lady Avalon was surrounded by village women—apparently gossiping about things not suitable for children. The women's faces were flushed.
Irene sat alone, enjoying a bowl of super-spicy, blood-red mapo tofu; the heat aura around her kept others at a distance.
Yamato was arm-wrestling the young men and several marines—and all of them lost within three seconds.
Smoker rubbed his temples.
"Those people…"
"Haha… let them enjoy themselves, Captain," Tashigi said gently.
Then Tashigi's gaze shifted to Yuuto and Belfast, working in perfect sync at the bonfire kitchen.
"They're strange, aren't they… not marines, yet they help this village."
Smoker looked up at the sky.
"There are many kinds of people in this world… and their kind is rare."
"Rare how, Captain?" Tashigi asked.
Smoker exhaled thick smoke.
"They dress like nobles… but don't behave like the nobles I know."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nobles are usually cruel, weak, arrogant, haughty, spoiled, or stupid.
They almost always bring slaves or look down on common folk. But they…"
Smoker glanced at Yuuto, smiling as he handed meat to village children.
"Not cruel. Not noisy. Not whiny. Not weak. They're like… fairy-tale nobles that shouldn't exist in this world."
Tashigi smiled softly.
"Yeah… that's true."
But just as everyone enjoyed the festive mood, suddenly—
DOOONG!!
A loud sound echoed from the forest.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
An old, furious voice rang out. Everyone turned.
A group of village elders approached, faces red with rage.
"How dare you kill and eat the ruler of this island!"
Yuuto stopped turning the meat.
Belfast tensed behind him.
An elder pointed at the massive serpent bones.
"Don't you realize?! This land will be cursed! You've brought disaster upon our village!"
Smoker stood up, lowering his cigarette.
"Tch… this is going to be troublesome."
Kuroneko, who had been playing with the children, grabbed her head.
"Waaa… the boomers are here…
This is going to be an annoying night."
Miku nodded quickly.
"Boomer energy… way too strong…"
The elders advanced toward Yuuto and Belfast.
Belfast stepped half a step forward to protect Yuuto—
But Yuuto raised his hand, stopping her.
"I'll handle this."
Belfast stepped back gracefully.
Yuuto handed the remaining food to Belfast and stepped forward to face the elders.
He stood before them.
"Can I help you?" Yuuto asked.
One elder shouted,
"Do you realize what you've done?! This will bring disaster upon our village!"
A young man stepped forward and yelled,
"Grandfather, that's enough! This thing was not a god or our ruler—it was nothing more than a monster!"
"Y-you… don't you remember how many times the ruler protected us?!" an elder retorted.
"Protected us? That monster didn't even appear when a Sea King attacked!" a young man shouted.
"That's because our offerings weren't enough!" the elder snapped.
"Not enough? The gold and harvest we gave—do you know how prosperous this village could be with all that?" the youth shouted back.
"You foolish brat! How dare you talk back to your elders!" the elder roared.
"Waaa, there it is—the classic boomer line," Kuroneko muttered from behind.
"That monster didn't just demand offerings, it ate our families! And you still call it a god?!" another youth shouted.
"I-it's because they dared to oppose the ruler!" an elder insisted.
The argument grew hotter.
Yuuto stepped forward.
He drew his sword and slammed it into the ground between them.
Wuuush.
Wind swept through, harming no one.
Silence followed.
"Are you calm now?" Yuuto said.
The elders glared at him.
"This is all your fault. You're just an outsider—you should have kept quiet!" one elder snapped.
A youth tried to speak again, but Yuuto raised his hand, signaling him to step back.
Yuuto walked to the massive bones and tapped them.
"This is what you call the ruler of this island?" Yuuto asked.
"Don't you dare touch the ruler!" the elder shouted.
Yuuto ignored him.
Boom.
The bones shattered with a single tap.
"This serpent isn't even worthy of being called a monster. It was just a big snake."
"Y-you!" the elder pointed at Yuuto.
Yuuto planted his sword into the ground.
"Let alone a god."
His voice echoed.
"A god would never burden their followers beyond their limits.
A god that eats its own followers is nothing more than a demon."
Yuuto looked at all of them.
"Your era of false gods ends by my hand.
If you want revenge, come at me."
Yamato appeared at Yuuto's side.
"Not just Yuuto—come at me too."
She slammed her club into the ground. The earth trembled.
Irene appeared on the other side, silent, staring at the elders.
Dragon wings emerged from her back as her body lifted from the ground.
The elders recoiled in fear.
They wanted to retaliate, but the difference in power was overwhelming.
In the end, they retreated.
The atmosphere settled.
Yuuto turned to the youths and villagers.
"No god will bother saving you. You must save yourselves.
So from now on, protect yourselves. And become strong."
The villagers fell silent—then burst into applause.
"Now, let's continue the feast," Yuuto said.