Destiny Ship Appears

Chapter 318: Destiny Ship Appears

"Only one strike…" Someone swallowed hard.

"He took down Krieg in a single blow."

"This is the strength of the World’s Greatest Swordsman!"

For most people in the East Blue, especially these pirates, Krieg was already an unimaginably powerful existence.

The battle just now had proved that.

Yet such a powerful man, together with his strongest poison bomb, had not even been able to withstand a single strike from Hawk Eyes.

It was simply too shocking.

They knew there were powerful people on the Grand Line, but they had never imagined anyone could be this strong.

Some people were already preparing to flee.

Against such a monster, even if they all attacked together, it would be completely useless.

However, some had not lost their courage.

Zoro raised the long blade in his hand and pointed it at Hawk Eyes.

"As expected, you’re strong. Worthy of being the strongest in the world. But I still want to challenge you!"

Hawk Eyes gave him a calm glance. Before he could say anything, Nami could no longer take it.

"Hey, hey, are you crazy?" Nami said in a frantic whisper. "He killed Krieg with one sword strike! How are you supposed to beat someone like that?"

"Nami!" Luffy suddenly grabbed Nami’s arm. "Don’t stop him."

"Luffy! Even you…" Nami could not understand it at all.

"That’s right. He’s strong—stronger than me, stronger than anyone I’ve ever seen." Luffy gritted his teeth tightly, looking as though he were desperately holding something back. "But this is Zoro’s goal. It’s his dream. None of us can stand in his way!"

Nami opened her mouth, yet had no idea what to say.

"Thanks, Luffy."

Zoro slowly drew his other two swords.

From that strike just now, he knew he was no match for him.

The gap between them was enormous.

But he felt that if he did not do something, if he simply gave up like this, then he might never again have the courage to raise his sword before this man for the rest of his life.

Facing Zoro, who still held his challenging stance.

Hawk Eyes seemed slightly moved.

"The gap between us is far too great. But for the sake of that courage…" He also raised the great sword in his hand. "I will defeat you seriously."

"Then I’ll take you up on that!" Zoro gripped his swords and, despite being out at sea, prepared to charge forward.

But at that very instant, Hawk Eyes abruptly turned his head.

Then he turned around completely and stared fixedly in a certain direction.

"Hey, what do you mean by this?" Zoro clenched a sword between his teeth and said with apparent anger. "Turning your back on me in the middle of a fight? If you get struck from behind, that would be a swordsman’s disgrace!"

Yet Hawk Eyes said nothing.

His sharp eyes suddenly became even more piercing as he stared intensely at something ahead.

"Hawk Eyes!" Zoro’s body trembled with anger.

"Zo-Zoro…" Nami’s eyes widened as she pointed toward a distant direction. "Th-there… that is…"

"Hm?" Zoro frowned and looked where Nami was pointing. "There’s nothing there."

"Let me see, let me see." Luffy stretched his neck absurdly long. "Is there something there?"

"Can’t you see it? That thing! That thing!" Nami waved her hands excitedly, her mouth hanging open. Her face was filled with overwhelming shock, but she had no idea how to describe it.

Because what stood before them was simply too astonishing.

There were no words that could describe it.

Yet Luffy, Zoro, and even Sanji could not see anything at all.

Just then.

A pirate captain shouted excitedly:

"That’s the Destiny Ship! The Destiny Ship that grants power to anyone who finds it!"

"No mistake! Could that be a ship made of steel?"

"What’s with that glow?"

"Did you see that main cannon? Just looking at it makes my scalp tingle!"

These excited pirates were the captains of several nearby small pirate crews. They were Contract Holders who had opened Wandering Jars. The rest of the pirates, including those from the Sea Restaurant nearby, all had their eyes wide open, yet could see nothing.

They had never heard of this so-called Destiny Ship.

But everyone had heard the shouts during the battle just now.

It was said to be a ship that could grant power to whoever found it.

Even Hawk Eyes.

The first words from that powerful man after appearing had been a question about the Destiny Ship.

Everyone widened their eyes, wanting to see what this legendary vessel looked like.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo stood at the very front of the deck. Dressed in a black military uniform with a black cloak draped over his back, he looked like a true captain, a mysterious smile on his face.

The atmosphere and appearance.

The groundwork had been laid almost perfectly.

The battle over the Jars, Hawk Eyes’s appearance, and even Hawk Eyes displaying his strength—in Shen Mo’s view, all of it had merely been preparation for the arrival of the Destiny Ship.

"Bismarck, deactivate the invisibility."

"Yes," Bismarck replied.

Then, before everyone’s eyes, the warship that had previously been visible only to Contract Holders and members gradually emerged amid a mysterious radiance.

A colossal black-and-red warship hundreds of meters long, with a metal-like hull, countless flowing lights, densely packed gun turrets.

And at its center, an incomparably savage and terrifying massive cannon.

"W-What is that?!"

Someone beside Red-Foot Zeff staggered back and fell to the ground.

Even Red-Foot Zeff himself was trembling slightly.

He had spent a year on the Grand Line.

Yet he had never seen a warship like this.

It was so enormous, yet had no sails, not even masts. And that material—was it metal? What were those continuously flowing lights and that terrifying feeling?

Shen Mo looked over everyone before him.

He was fairly satisfied with their reactions.

The modified Bismarck had appeared before the people of this world for the first time. Its appearance alone was enough to leave everyone utterly stunned.

However, what mattered most was the groundwork he had laid for the "Destiny Ship."

After their shock faded.

The pirates who had come to their senses grew wildly excited.

"This is the Destiny Ship!"

"Get aboard! There are powerful secrets on it!"

"Charge!"

"Power! We’ll gain power if we board it!"

One after another, the pirates raised their sails and charged toward Shen Mo in wild excitement.

Some even leaped into the sea and swam desperately toward it, trying to get ahead of everyone else.

With the Jars, Nami’s example, and the miraculous, magnificent ship before them, everyone firmly believed that they could gain power aboard the Destiny Ship. Every one of them rushed forward, terrified of falling behind.

Shen Mo’s lips curled upward.

Not just anyone was qualified to come over.

The previous chapter had been an important setup.