Daddy... thank you!
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Fish-Man Arlong was stunned.
He could not understand it.
Why summon such a terrifying giant of flame just to destroy a small office building like this?
Chu the Conqueror had gone to all that trouble—what exactly was he trying to accomplish?!
“Understood! Xu Chu shall obey. I will not fail to carry out my lord’s command.”
The Tiger Fool rose to his feet once more.
His towering, mountain-like form blazed with fire in his eyes.
He did not care whether the order was unreasonable or outrageous. So long as it was his lord’s command, even if he were told to smash a mountain into a plain, he would do so today!
That was Xu Chu, the Tiger Fool—unmatched in loyalty and righteousness!
Rumble...
Rumble...
Xu Chu leaped high into the air, hefting the thousand-jin siege hammer. The white plume on his helmet transformed into a burning flame.
The fire was so searing that the others could not bear it. They were forced to retreat several dozen meters before they could breathe a little easier.
An aura of unparalleled slaughter spread through the area, while waves of force shook violently beneath Xu Chu’s feet.
“The killing intent surrounding this man is simply overwhelming. I can’t even imagine how many people he must have killed to cultivate such terrifying bloodlust!”
Zoro’s expression tightened.
Of everyone present, he was the most sensitive to killing intent.
As a former bounty hunter of pirates, Zoro naturally had many lives on his hands. Over time, whenever he drew his swords against an enemy, a chilling killing intent would arise of its own accord.
And yet—
Zoro suddenly realized that the killing intent he had cultivated was utterly insignificant before this giant!!!
That murderous aura seemed capable of piercing the heavens, sending a bone-deep chill through anyone who felt it.
Zoro was intensely curious.
How had Chu the Conqueror managed to subdue such a fearsome and murderous general?!
A warrior this brave and mighty could not possibly be easy to win over.
Zoro’s question was also the source of Usopp’s confusion.
As far as he knew, Chu the Conqueror had remained in Syrup Village for the past decade or more, never traveling far from home.
“Haah!”
Xu Chu swung the thousand-jin siege hammer with tremendous force and sent it crashing toward the office building.
Crack!
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Crack!
Boom!
Countless fragments of marble came raining down, and the office building split apart like a spiderweb.
After one deafening impact, Xu Chu had smashed the entire building in half with a single blow!
The villagers stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
Was this giant’s strength not a little too terrifying?
With merely one strike, he had split a fifty-meter-tall office building in two?
This was the headquarters Fish-Man Arlong had spent nearly ten years painstakingly constructing!
And this man had reduced it to ruins with a single hammer blow?!
“Unbelievable! With power this terrifying, he would be among the very best even in the giant race. Just how did Mr. Chu the Conqueror manage to subdue him?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He must have relied on brute force! This giant’s strength may be overwhelming, but I’ll say this—if Mr. Chu the Conqueror were willing to use his full power, he could absolutely crush him!”
“That makes perfect sense. To recruit such a fierce warrior, Mr. Chu the Conqueror must naturally possess strength and charisma to match.”
Fish-Man Arlong was so frightened that he was completely stupefied, his eyes blank and lifeless like those of a dead fish.
He had originally planned to challenge Chu the Conqueror—or even kill him.
But now?
Any random subordinate of Chu the Conqueror’s could crush him effortlessly. With what could he possibly contend against Chu the Conqueror?
By relying on his thick skull?!
Give me a break.
Even the hardest-headed fool could not possibly have teeth harder than a shark’s!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
In the brief span of half a minute, Cocoyasi Village trembled violently as though it had been struck by an earthquake.
In truth, however, it was merely the aftershock of Xu Chu’s siege hammer smashing through the office building!!
“My lord, are you satisfied with the result?”
“If you are not, Xu Chu can continue smashing it until this place has been leveled to the ground!”
Xu Chu was a straightforward and single-minded warrior.
Since Chu the Conqueror had ordered him to smash the office building to pieces, he would carry out that command to the letter.
Fragments of sea charts drifted down across the entirety of Arlong Park. Under the glow of the flames, they gradually burned to ash.
And burned to ash along with them was Fish-Man Arlong’s ambition!!
Those charts had taken him a full eight years to collect.
With them, he could determine where reefs and waterspouts lay hidden...
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Relying on the Fish-Men’s advantage in the water, he could easily conquer the entire East Blue!
He might even extend his rule across the entire Grand Line!!
After all, even a great pirate on the level of one of the Four Emperors could not withstand the power of nature!
But now—
Arlong’s dream empire, with each successive hammer blow, had shattered into pieces like broken glass!!
“Papa... thank you...”
As everyone stood frozen in shock, tears streamed down Nami’s face, and she could not help covering it as she sobbed.
Of everyone present, only Nami understood why Chu the Conqueror had ordered Xu Chu, the Tiger Fool, to destroy the office building in full view of them all.
Everything had been done for the sake of his goddaughter!
The office building in Arlong Park represented the deepest nightmare in Nami’s heart.
As a child, she had spent countless helpless and frigid nights there.
She had worked day and night without rest, drawing sea charts only to protect the villagers and keep those she cared about from falling victim to Arlong’s cruelty.
It could be said that the office building was the unbreakable demon in Nami’s heart—the prison, the shackles, the chains that had bound her forever...
But now, Chu the Conqueror had destroyed that prison through sheer, overwhelming force.
Nami had been set completely free in spirit!!
For her, this was the greatest spiritual salvation in history!!
To an outsider, the whole affair might have seemed absurd.
But every decision Chu the Conqueror had made had been for the sake of Nami’s little heart. How could she possibly fail to feel the depth of his intentions?!
Chu the Conqueror rubbed Nami’s head and chuckled.
“Why are you crying? As my goddaughter, of course your father knows how to help you.”
“It was because a place like this existed that you could never leave Cocoyasi Village with peace of mind.”
“If there is anywhere you do not wish to stay, then your father will destroy every last bit of it for you!”
In full view of everyone, Nami leaned forward and gave Chu the Conqueror a light peck on the cheek, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Papa... thank you...”
The others assumed that Nami was simply crying tears of joy.
They thought she had acted so recklessly in a moment of excitement and did not give it another thought.
But Nami knew the truth all too well.
There was no longer room in her heart for any other man!!
So what if this man was already married? She would still find a way to remain by his side!
To cling to Chu the Conqueror and travel the world with him, she had even resorted to the poisonous scheme of becoming his goddaughter. What, then, was there left that she could not give up?!
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