The street outside was ruined—cracks spread across the broken pavement like spiderwebs, as if the entire road could collapse at any moment.
In front of the shattered doorway—
Silence.
Oppression.
Nearly two hundred black gun barrels were trained on the white-clad boy who had just walked out.
Killing intent hung in the air.
The marines stood in neat uniforms, rifles loaded, eyes tense and fearful, locked onto Ryukawa.
If he made even the slightest move, they would pull the trigger—
And the bullets would rain down like a storm.
"Th-that's not Captain Smoker!"
"The one who came out… isn't Smoker!"
"Where's Captain Smoker?! Why is it this boy?!"
"And the marines who went inside with him—what happened to them?!"
Questions exploded in their minds.
They stared at Ryukawa, confusion and dread twisting together.
They couldn't accept it.
They never imagined the first person to walk out wouldn't be the terrifying, seemingly invincible Logia user Smoker.
It made no sense.
With Smoker's strength, shouldn't this have been easy?
Yet—
Smoker wasn't here.
And that alone hit them like a hammer.
Their thoughts spiraled into one terrifying conclusion.
"If it isn't Captain Smoker…"
"Then does that mean…"
Gulp.
Many of them swallowed hard, faces paling, eyes widening with fear.
They stared at Ryukawa again—this "ordinary-looking" boy—
And the dread in their chests grew heavier.
"Did… he defeat Captain Smoker?"
"That can't be real!"
"Smoker is a Logia user!"
"In East Blue, there shouldn't be anything that can beat him!"
They gripped their rifles tighter. Their bodies trembled, but they forced their fingers to stay ready on the triggers.
Because no matter how unreal it felt—
One fact was undeniable:
This boy wasn't an ally.
And worse—
He might be the monster responsible for the disaster-zone streets and shattered buildings all around them.
"This kid looks harmless… but he's probably the one who beat Smoker!"
"And the battle inside—those shockwaves—were they his?!"
"If he really did all that… how strong is he?!"
They tried to steel themselves, but the question that followed crushed their remaining courage:
If he can defeat Smoker… what chance do we have?
None.
Not even close.
Their confidence collapsed.
Hands shook.
Knees softened.
Some looked like they were about to fall before anything even happened.
The boy in white stood calmly in the doorway, surrounded by guns.
In their eyes—
He wasn't a boy anymore.
He was a monster.
A nightmare standing in sunlight.
The air stayed dead and heavy.
Two hundred gun barrels.
One white-clad boy.
Ryukawa narrowed his eyes and casually swept his gaze over them.
Just that—
Just his eyes—
Was enough to make several marines flinch and lower their rifles slightly, terrified to meet his stare.
"Being pointed at by guns…" Ryukawa said softly, amused, "doesn't feel very good."
A thought surfaced in his mind:
Maybe I should just deal with all of you—so there's no trouble later.
The instant that thought formed—
A faint vibration pulsed outward from his body.
A hum.
Then—
It exploded.
Like a tidal wave.
A crushing pressure surged across the area—two hundred meters of space swallowed whole by an invisible, overwhelming force.
The ruined street.
The broken walls.
The air itself—
Everything was pressed down by the sheer weight of his presence.
Conqueror's Haki.
The marines—being closest—felt it first.
Their eyes rolled back.
Foam spilled from their mouths.
Rifles slipped from trembling hands and clattered onto the fractured pavement.
A few managed to form a final thought—
W-what… kind of power…
Then—
They dropped.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bodies fell like dominoes.
In an instant, the street was filled with unconscious marines—exactly like the two thousand CP agents before them.
Not one exception.
Not one.
Nearly two hundred marines—
Wiped out.
And Ryukawa didn't even swing his sword.
He didn't even take a step forward.
He simply… existed.
Ryukawa exhaled quietly.
"This is the second time I've used Conqueror's today…"
"It's already starting to strain my body."
"So at my current mastery…"
"I can't spam it repeatedly in a short time."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"My Conqueror's needs more refinement."
"And my body needs more tempering."
With that thought, Ryukawa stepped forward.
He walked past the fallen marines and the unconscious CP agents, crossing the ruined street without hurry.
His figure moved farther and farther away—
Until it vanished completely from sight.
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