The unexpected turn of events that Sig had hoped for had indeed occurred, but it just had to be a tentacled octopus-like Sea King!
On the night Stussy escaped, Sig had tested it—crabs, lobsters, and even octopuses could trigger the "Empty Hand Catches Blade" technique.
What would happen if he swung his sword at this Sea King?
If those mountain-sized tentacles came crashing down, Sig's ship would likely capsize instantly.
To this, Sig could only say: I dare not move.
In the face of this sudden behemoth, even the Navy's large warships seemed like tiny specks, completely incomparable.
The giant octopus-like Sea King let out a piercing screech, its voice echoing across the sea, drowning out the roar of the cannons.
Then, two massive tentacles, as large as mountains, emerged from beneath the sea, rising high into the air.
The shadow cast by the tentacles enveloped nearly half the battlefield, as if the sky itself had darkened.
"Who is this Sea King going to attack?"
This question lingered in the minds of everyone on all three sides of the battlefield.
Everyone couldn't help but look up at the tentacles, which were like pillars of heaven, holding their breath instinctively.
Ordinary Sea Kings were a nightmare for fishermen, but for the strong, they were merely a source of food.
However, these super-giant Sea Kings were the apex of the food chain, the true kings of the sea!
A single strike from a monster of this size would be impossible for even the Navy's largest warships to withstand.
"Return to the ships!"
"All cannons, aim at the Sea King!"
Onigumo's expression changed drastically. He shouted orders and began using Geppo at an even faster pace, rushing back toward his warship.
On Sig's side, Arlong, who stood in front of him, also looked grim.
"Boss Sig, we really can't handle this. What if it decides to attack us..."
Arlong, who had been calm in the face of the cannon barrage, now looked as pale as a ghost.
He was from Fish-Man Island, located 10,000 meters beneath the sea, and had seen countless Sea Kings.
But a creature of this size was a deep-sea overlord that no one dared to provoke, even in the depths.
Sig didn't speak. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and the sound of the "Emperor's Engine" grew louder.
This was a moment that could change the course of the battle!
Sig's mountain bandits, the Buggy Pirates, and the entire Navy fleet all looked up nervously.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone on the battlefield, the massive tentacles, like pillars of heaven, came crashing down!
However, to everyone's surprise, the tentacles slammed into the empty sea, causing towering waves as if a mountain had collapsed!
Not only that, the colossal octopus-like Sea King, which had just emerged from the water, also crashed back into the sea.
Amid two earth-shaking roars, the sea turned crimson with blood as the island-sized body was split in two, falling to either side and gradually drifting apart with the waves.
The entire battlefield erupted in shock.
"Boss Sig!" The bald man rushed to Sig's side, his face filled with excitement:
"Was it you who just took action? Did you slay that Sea King in an instant before any of us could react?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the mountain bandits' spirits lifted, and they looked at Sig in disbelief.
They all remembered the scene from earlier, when Sig had claimed in front of Buggy that he had slain a giant Sea King as large as an island and invited Buggy to cross the Calm Belt.
Now, it seemed Sig's words were true?
However, Sig's reaction was unexpected.
He raised his hand, signaling for his men to calm down, but deep in his eyes, there was a hint of almost unconcealed seriousness.
Stussy, who had been calm in the face of the cannon barrage, and Onigumo and the others on the Navy warship, all changed their expressions, their faces filled with gravity.
The island-sized body of the Sea King gradually sank into the sea.
In the crimson-stained waters, a small boat had appeared at some point.
The boat was shaped like a coffin, with candles burning at both ends.
A man with a black hat and a black coat sat alone on the boat, slowly sheathing a massive black sword behind his back.
Under the hat, the man's eyes, with their double golden rings, gazed with interest at the battlefield.
This man and his boat were so small compared to the sinking Sea King's corpse that they could almost be ignored.
But in the eyes of Stussy and the others, this man and his boat were the only things that mattered in this world, impossible to look away from.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence.
The warships, which had just locked onto the giant Sea King, fell silent.
"Hawk-Eye Mihawk! The world's greatest swordsman!"
"It's said he has eyes as sharp as a hawk's, capable of making even the strongest warriors shiver in fear! To think we'd see him here."
"Is he here to help the Navy? A Warlord of the Sea has appeared."
Amid the murmurs, someone raised a question:
"Wait, where did he come from?"
"That direction... it seems to be... the Calm Belt!"
The murmurs abruptly ceased.
The two pirate crews had just been discussing their plans to cross the Calm Belt.
But they never expected that there would be someone who, alone with a single boat, could traverse the Calm Belt!
"This is the world's greatest swordsman!"
"No wonder a super-giant Sea King from the Calm Belt appeared in these waters. It was drawn here by Hawk-Eye!"
"That Sea King earlier, wasn't it planning to attack Hawk-Eye, was it?"
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Sig's heart skipped a beat, and he was almost overwhelmed by the questions in his mind.
Did Buggy summon Hawk-Eye? Could Buggy possibly have connections with Hawk-Eye, and is he here to save the day?
Sig didn't think Hawk-Eye would do such a thing.
However, Sig didn't have much time to ponder.
In the next moment, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him, and his entire skin felt as if it were being cut by blades.
Looking up, he met a pair of eyes as sharp as a hawk's, gazing at him from across the sea.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!
The "Emperor's Engine" roared uncontrollably, resonating through his body, almost forming a continuous sound!
The person Hawk-Eye is looking for doesn't seem to be Buggy—it's me!
But this... it shouldn't be! My reputation as the Mountain Bandit King couldn't possibly have reached Hawk-Eye, could it?
The mountain bandits around Sig all turned pale and instinctively stepped back.
The moment Hawk-Eye's gaze fell on them, they could feel their boss exuding a terrifying pressure, like a tidal wave, as if he were confronting Hawk-Eye from afar.
One man was cold and aloof, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
The other was calm and composed, his gaze as deep as an abyss.