One Piece: Gawain The Knight Of The Sun

"Morgan is dead! Surrender, and you live!"

Gawain lifted Morgan's severed head with his sword.

His voice wasn't loud, but it froze both sides mid-battle.

The Marines, once fueled by fervor, felt as if plunged into icy waters upon seeing Morgan's headless corpse.

The desire Morgan's words had sparked vanished instantly. The scene was far beyond their expectations.

"Major Morgan… dead?"

A Marine, face pale, might've thought it a nightmare if not for the gash on his arm.

"No way!"

"We can't bow to pirates!"

Shing!

Before he could finish, Gawain's sword took his head, blood spraying the surrounding Marines.

"Warm, salty, with a hint of iron…"

"This isn't a dream, I…"

The Marines, once eager to claim Gawain's head for glory, now trembled in fear.

If even Morgan couldn't match Gawain, what chance did they have?

Clang!

With the sound of metal hitting the ground, the Marines dropped their weapons and crouched in surrender.

The battle on the island ceased.

As Gawain ordered his crew to bind the Marines, they snapped out of their daze, glancing from Morgan's corpse to Gawain, untouched by blood or dirt.

A fire burned in their eyes.

"The captain… actually defeated that Morgan?"

"Defeated?"

"That was a one-shot kill!"

A hatted pirate touched his neck, awe filling his gaze.

"This time, the captain's name will echo through the East Blue!"

"Even the monsters on the Grand Line might not match him!"

"Yeah."

"I feel it—the East Blue can't contain him. No, it's too small for him!"

"Lancer's betrayal forced him to transform!"

"His mindset, strength, will—everything's different now. It's like he's a new person!"

The pirates looked at Gawain's back with awe and newfound confidence.

With Morgan's defeat, the island was quickly brought under control.

The Marines who'd landed were bound and gathered together.

The warship at sea was easily seized by Gawain, its crew captured.

As the chaos settled, a red sun rose on the horizon.

Gawain stood on the warship's deck, facing the captured Marines.

"Captain, what do we do with them?" asked the hooded helmsman, now his temporary second-in-command after Lancer's death, his skills notable within the crew.

Gawain glanced at the captives, pausing before saying, "Leave them on the island."

"Captain, these men killed our brothers. We're just letting them go?"

The helmsman protested instinctively.

"You telling me what to do?"

"No, sir!" The helmsman dropped to his knees, eyes filled with panic.

He realized this wasn't the soft-hearted knight of old, but the true pirate Gawain.

The man who'd crushed them couldn't last one move against him.

Gawain had spent the month training them, which meant he'd been hiding his true strength all along!

It wasn't weakness, but a lack of desire to fight. The Marines and they had stripped away his mercy, forging this monster!

Countless thoughts raced through the helmsman's mind, his fear of Gawain growing uncontrollable.

"Good." Gawain's tone was flat as he glanced at him, then turned to the captives.

Killing Marines in battle was one thing; slaughtering prisoners was another. The former left room for negotiation, the latter meant war to the end.

He wasn't ready to burn bridges with the Navy—not yet.

In the One Piece world, barring outliers like Hawkeye, great pirates inevitably carved out their own territories.

Crocodile claimed Alabasta, Doflamingo ruled Dressrosa, and in the New World, Emperors like Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom were de facto kings, governing vast lands.

Even Shanks commanded a fleet of his own.

The reason all these pirates chose this path was simple: stability.

Living solely by plunder—feasting one day, starving the next—worked in the early days.

But long-term? Only fools, or adventurer-like crews like the Straw Hats, kept that up.

Even then, the Straw Hats gathered followers. From Fish-Man Island to Wano, lands bearing their flag became their de facto territory, whether they intended it or not.

For Gawain, with the Captain System, a stable crew meant faster growth for his "recruits," and thus for himself.

To build a stable force and avoid constant Navy harassment, you either became an Emperor—too strong for even Navy Headquarters to challenge lightly—or a Warlord of the Sea, with the World Government's plundering license.

Seeing this clearly, Gawain set his first goal: rebel, then get recruited.

Ace and Blackbeard provided examples of becoming a Warlord.

Either overpower a current Warlord with backing from above, or seize an open spot.

Both paths had merits and flaws, but both required raw strength.

Gawain, still stuck in the East Blue, lacked that power, but he could pencil "Warlord" onto his agenda.

For now, his priority was boosting his strength.

Leaving the captives on the island, Gawain inspected the warship, confirmed it was functional, and led his crew toward a nearby town for supplies, following the sea chart.

He kept the Navy flag flying.

To enter towns for supplies or other business, a Navy flag was far more useful than a pirate one.

…

Days later, at the Navy's East Blue Branch.

The meeting room was thick with smoke, the atmosphere heavy and solemn.

Officers from various East Blue bases gathered, staring grimly at two wanted posters on the table.

One showed a man in an orange hat, freckled face beaming with a sunny smile.

The other depicted a man in black leather armor, strikingly handsome, tall, and elegant, like a knight from a storybook.

Major Brannew from Headquarters stood before them, his tone grave. "Gentlemen, the East Blue's situation is graver than we thought."

"The Natural-type Fire Fist Ace wreaked havoc on Branch 151, causing countless casualties."

"And Knight Gawain killed Branch Base Commander Morgan. According to the Marines present, he did it with a single sword strike!"

"We need to reassess the bounties for these two!"

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