Chapter 318: The Dragon Hunter Pirates Appear!
"Lord Uvogin!"
Seeing Uvogin step into battle, Donald immediately ordered everyone to fall back behind him. There was no need to fight anymore. Not when this man took the field.
All that was left for them was to cheer—and maybe shout a few well-placed compliments during the bloodshed.
That was their new role now.
"Alright, leave this mess to me," Uvogin said casually, cracking his knuckles. "Seriously, what's the captain thinking? Waiting until every single one of these bugs crawled out before I get to squash them? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just clean house in one go?"
As he grumbled, a terrifying aura erupted from his body—pure raw power, thick with killing intent.
The pressure alone made the nearby pirates freeze in place. The wind picked up, the ground cracked, and for a moment, it felt like the mountain itself had awakened.
"W-Wait… didn't the World Government say all the Dragon Hunter Pirates were dead?"
"Weren't they wiped out?!"
"Why… why is he here?!"
"That's Uvogin… Madman Uvogin..!"
"We're all dead…"
The pirates trembled where they stood. Uvogin was infamous. A core combatant of the Dragon Hunter Pirates' Second Division. A walking tank known for his bloodthirsty brawling and love for destruction.
Many pirates feared Ryuunosuke. But Uvogin?
He was fear incarnate.
The fact that he stood here, alive and grinning, crushed every bit of fight left in them.
"I see you've come prepared… with the awareness that you're about to die," Uvogin said, casually shaking the blood from his hands.
"But... lucky for you, our captain gave the order."
"No killing today. Just hard labor."
He grinned.
"You'll work your sins off. Ten years of sweat, and I might let you live."
"Agree—or die. Simple enough, right?"
Without hesitation, the pirates dropped to their knees.
"We agree!"
"We'll work! We'll do anything!"
"It's an honor to serve the Dragon Hunter Pirates! Please, don't kill us!"
There was no pride left in them. Only the desperate will to live.
Uvogin nodded in satisfaction. "Now that's what I like to hear."
He turned to Donald.
"They're yours now. Do whatever you want with them. I'm off to train—this body still feels stiff."
In a flash, Uvogin disappeared, leaving a crater where he had stood.
Donald exhaled, then began organizing the would-be invaders. They were now manual laborers—coolies in service to the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Who would've thought? These men had come to conquer Whiskey Peak… and ended up rebuilding it instead.
Still, Donald wasn't complaining. Manpower shortages had been a headache for months, and these clowns just solved it for free.
—
Uvogin's reappearance sent shockwaves across the seas.
"Gurararara…" Whitebeard chuckled, folding the newspaper in his hand.
"So, Uvogin has surfaced."
"I knew it. The Dragon Hunter Pirates aren't gone. They've just been hiding."
He handed the paper to Ace, who read the headline with wide eyes.
"It says Uvogin acted on the captain's orders…" Ace muttered, his voice trembling with excitement. "That means…"
He clenched the paper tightly.
"Ryuunosuke is alive!"
Whitebeard nodded.
"If you want to go, Ace, go."
Ace looked up, surprised.
"You've been chasing this lead for half a year," Whitebeard said. "If this is what you've been waiting for… then don't waste another second."
Ace didn't need to hear more.
He turned and rushed to prepare his ship.
The Whitebeard Pirates no longer hunted Blackbeard—there was no point. By all accounts, Teach had been reduced to ash by a mysterious woman summoned by Ryuunosuke himself.
Dead and gone.
Now, their focus shifted back to what mattered—the tides of the new era.
—
Onboard the Red Force — Somewhere in the New World
"Shanks," Ben Beckman said, handing over a newspaper, "Uvogin of the Second Division has appeared. Location: Whiskey Peak. And according to the report… the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates is alive."
Shanks stared at the headline for a moment, then chuckled.
"Of course he's alive."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "You're saying no one from their crew died?"
Shanks leaned back against the railing.
"Beckman… think about it. Yahiko. Escanor. Even Conrad. They all pushed their bodies beyond the limit."
"We've seen the footage. Their bodies shattered."
"They're dead."
"Are they?" Shanks asked, smiling.
Ben was silent.
Shanks held up a white stone, letting the sunlight hit its surface.
"The sea has changed," he said. "The rules we've known for decades no longer apply."
"The Dragon Hunter Pirates will rise again. And when they do…"
"This sea won't be ready."
Ben Beckman didn't argue.
He couldn't.
Not after all he'd seen.
—
As news spread, pirate crews across the world froze in place.
Many who had begun moving against Dragon Hunter territory now halted their plans entirely.
No matter how tempting the treasure…
No matter how undefended the islands appeared…
No one wanted to face Uvogin.
Or worse—face Ryuunosuke.
—
East Blue – Loguetown
"Hahahaha!"
"You know, your tale might even be wilder than Gol D. Roger's," Erwin laughed, setting down his mug.
Across from him sat Ryuunosuke.
He looked unchanged—calm, composed, the weight of the world hidden behind a sharp gaze.
Even his presence felt heavier now.
"What about the World Government?" Erwin asked, tone shifting. "Any signs of their final trump card?"
Ryuunosuke shook his head.
"Not yet," he said. "But I'm sure it exists."
"Imu isn't the strongest. Not even close."
"Even with the power of the Heavenly King… she's not the final wall."
Erwin nodded thoughtfully. "Then there's someone else."
"There has to be," Ryuunosuke replied. "Rocks mentioned it in his journal."
"A young man stood in front of Imu—someone even she didn't command. Someone who didn't make a move during the war."
"Which means… he couldn't."
"Or he was forbidden."
"Either way, the World Government hasn't revealed all its cards."
Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed.
"We shook the world."
"But the real war…"
"…hasn't even begun."
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