Journey to One Piece

291. Setting sea on fire

Wide-eyed and mouths agape, these denizens of the underworld stared in stunned silence at the colossal screen that projected the obliteration of Punk Hazard. The once-infamous island, known for its enigmatic mysteries and hidden treasures, now lay in ruins, a testament to the destructive power of the rail gun.

Whispers of awe and dread echoed through the dimly lit chambers, reverberating off damp stone walls and dilapidated crates. The news sent shivers down spines that had weathered countless storms, for these were individuals well-versed in the ways of treachery and cunning, but the sheer might of the rail gun left them feeling small and vulnerable.

"By the Devil's luck," a figure muttered, their voice carrying a weight of realization. "We've just seen the birth of a new era, my friends. A power that can reshape the very foundations of this world."

The words hung heavy in the air, punctuated only by the distant echoes of waves crashing against the unseen shores. The assembled smugglers and dealers exchanged knowing glances, their minds already racing with the possibilities and implications of this newfound threat.

Ken and others just looked at the whole scene with silence. 

"I will be back." Ken said and then vanished into his own eye. Smoker and others just looked at Ken vanishing but didn't speak outright. They had seen Ken do this multiple times now so they weren't that surprised now. Smoker and others were just ashamed that they were associating with the pirates, the same pirates that had kidnapped Sengoku before and made a huge fun of Navy. 

The World Government were still trying to do damage control of what had happened. Actually, a part of Smoker was happy with what had gone down in the war. That war was meaningless to start with. They could have just taken care of things privately. But no, they wanted a grand show out of it. 

Ken appeared again and this time it was more than 15 kms away on board a Navy ship. A single ship that was quite far but even from that distance they had seen how a small tsunami had happened when Punk Hazard was razed to the ground. The Navy men on the ship were dumbfounded and more so when Ken suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 

"Yo! You have been trying to sneak it for quite sometime." Ken said. And he was welcomed with lunges from three people who appeared the moment he did. Bu as usual, they went through the bodies of Ken like he was some invisible man. 

"Guys.. Guys.. It's been years now... At least learn something." Ken said as he looked at the Navy men that had appeared. Each of the three men had used haki but they weren't he one in charge, but the man with a small white goatee incharge. This guy had huge bulging arms and one could easily see the veins. What kind of steroids was this guy taking? Or was it just normal muscle? Of course, Ken had seen him before. 

He was Kong. The commander-in-chief- of the World Government. 

"Yo Kong-san, didn't you teach them that they can't do anything to me?" Ken said. One could easily hear Kong's knuckles moving due to anger, grinding over the bones and the veins that had popped up. 

"That island? Did you blow it up?" Kong asked. He had just received info of what had happened and he couldn't believe what he heard. The Straw hats blew up an island. The Gorosei themselves had ordered him to take down Straw Hats, if not Ken and Luffy, then the rest of the crew. But here was the thing, Kong knew where they were as he could also sense them due to Observation Haki, but they were high up in the air and they could easily escape. He wanted to curse the Gorosei for this outrageous demand. 

And even if he did kidnap the or kill them, where would he go after that? It's not like Luffy, Ken and the rest would just let him do whatever he wanted. And if he was successful in doing so, how would he escape. Ken would definitely raze the ship to the ground. He wasn't Akainu who was blinded by hatred many times. He was level headed. 

"What do you think?" Ken replied with a smile on his face. That smug look gave Kong the creeps and said. 

"Someday I will wipe the smug look on your bitch face." 

"Oh and someday I will burn Marijoa to the ground. In fact, I still can do it, and you would fail to wipe my smug smile of victory." Ken said. This made Kong more angry. Conqueror's haki was oozing from him as black lightning was spreading everywhere. Ken in response slowly took out his sword. 

"Sword? You are a swordsman." Kong who was contemplating to kick out Ken was taken aback. Until this time, they had never seen Ken carry a sword and somehow seeing that sword made Kong and others around shiver. 

"Why not.. Ryūjin Jakka!" 

And in the next moment, a huge wave of hot air assaulted everyone present. It was so hot that some of the Navy men who were pointing guns and Ken, ready to shoot, had their faces burned to various degrees and their hair singed. They ran out in order to placate the sudden heat wave that seemed to come out from the sword. 

But that was not the end of it. The sea around suddenly seemed to catch fire, as three typhoon like long columns burst out of the sea. 

"What the hell is this?" 

"Sea on fire.. What the hell is going on? Is it a volcanic eruption?" 

"But the weather around any island are always silent. Is it because the Punk hazard is destroyed?" 

"No. Look.. The fire just started from the sea itself. Its man made..."

As the Navy men ran around and shouted, they suddenly came to realization that this was just done by Ken. They looked at Ken with horrified eyes, even Kong felt apprehensive as he saw the seas on fire. And as if to prove that it was Ken who did this, a typhoon of fire burst out from underneath the Navy ship that tore through the hull like paper.