One Piece: Starting with Creating the Strongest Character Design

On the other side, on the pirate ship in the port.

A pirate stumbled and rushed toward the captain's cabin, covered in sweat, his clothes disheveled, and even one of his shoes was missing.

"Something's wrong, Captain! The warehouse, over there at the warehouse..."

He leaned against the hatch, panting heavily. "Those prisoners...they've all been released! Not a single one is left!"

"What?!"

The captain slammed his hand on the wooden table in front of him, causing the wine bottles on the table to tip over and spill wine all over the table.

His face, contorted with rage, was full of fleshy features. His already fierce eyes now seemed to spit fire as he gritted his teeth and roared, "Quick! Come with me to see this!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something and added sharply:

"Right! Bring all the mortars!! Bomb those bastards who dare to ruin my plans!"

The pirates didn't dare to delay and hurriedly pushed the four dark mortars, rushing haphazardly towards the warehouse.

A few dilapidated oil lamps around the warehouse emitted a faint light, making the surrounding scenery appear and disappear intermittently.

The warehouse door, which was originally tightly closed and secured with heavy iron chains, was now smashed open, covered with cracks of varying depths.

The warehouse was empty; the 500 prisoners of the kingdom's soldiers who had been held there were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it! It must have been that brat who did this!!"

The captain stared at the empty warehouse, trembling with rage, his chest burning with fury as if it would burst.

"How dare they let my important hostage escape! When I catch that brat, I'll skin him alive and teach him a lesson he won't forget!!"

He suddenly raised his right hand and slammed it with all his might onto the mortar shell beside him.

A loud crash.

The shockwave made the surrounding pirates shrink back, and the ground beneath their feet cracked slightly.

Just then, a loud and firm voice suddenly came from all directions, breaking the silence of the night.

"Surrender, pirates!!"

The pirates froze instantly, turning their heads sharply to see a dense swarm of kingdom soldiers pouring out from the alleyways and behind the rooftops surrounding the warehouse.

These soldiers, each wielding a long spear, had serious expressions and pointed their guns at them, surrounding the group of pirates.

"You are surrounded! Lay down your weapons and surrender, or you will be killed!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The captain paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, his anger instantly replaced by disdain.

He glanced contemptuously at the royal army surrounding them and sneered:

"Have you forgotten how we beat you to a pulp last time? You still dare to come and gang up on me?"

As he spoke, he slapped the mortar barrel with his big hand, and the pirates behind him immediately understood and quickly adjusted the muzzle, swinging the dark muzzle in unison towards the soldiers.

"I'm afraid that opportunity will not come..."

A clear, cold voice suddenly rang out from the direction of the warehouse. The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

The sudden sound startled all the pirates, who all turned their heads sharply, their eyes filled with vigilance and confusion.

From the shadows at the warehouse entrance, a young man dressed in a pure white suit slowly walked out.

He stood tall and walked with ease; his pure white attire stood out conspicuously in the darkness.

"And who are you?!"

The captain was both surprised and angry, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with astonishment.

What's with another little devil?!

Where's that brat who let the prisoners go?!

He didn't have time to think much; he hardened his heart, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

I don't care who you are, kid. If you dare to mess with my plans, I'll just bomb you!

He yelled at the pirates beside him, "Aim half of the cannons at that brat! Blast him to death!"

"Fire!!"

……

Meanwhile, under the tight protection of layers of soldiers, the king and several ministers watched this scene nervously in the open space behind them, their faces full of worry.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing unease in each other's eyes, and then simultaneously looked at the young man beside them, dressed in a black suit with a cold expression.

"Mr. Lucci, are you sure this is alright?"

The king's voice trembled slightly as he stared intently at the white-clad boy being targeted by the cannon.

"Those pirates' mortars are extremely powerful. Last time, our soldiers suffered heavy losses because of these cannons. This kid..."

Not long ago, Kitahara Tsune suddenly appeared before them and calmly told them that he had rescued all 500 captured soldiers and ordered the king to immediately summon the guards and the remaining soldiers to come and annihilate these pirates.

At the time, the king was still very hesitant. The pirates had a large number of mortars with fierce firepower, so he could only proceed slowly and could not attack rashly in order to avoid injuring the surrounding civilians.

But Kitahara Tsune simply smiled faintly and said in a relaxed tone, "It's alright, leave it to me."

That's how things turned out.

Lu Qi slightly raised his eyes, his gaze calmly fixed on the battlefield ahead, his face expressionless.

"Just you wait and see, the World Government's decisions are never wrong."

Although he and Kitahara Tsune had a falling out, given the latter's strength as a pirate, he posed absolutely no threat to Kitahara Tsune.

……

"Fire! Fire now! Blast this brat to smithereens!"

The captain's roar.

At his command, a barrage of dark shells, accompanied by a piercing whistle, rained down on Kitahara Tsune.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"

Violent explosions rang out one after another, flames shot into the sky, and scorching blasts of air swept over, cratering the surrounding ground and billowing thick smoke.

The power was so great that the earth trembled slightly, no wonder the king and soldiers were so wary of these pirates.

"Hahaha! Serves you right! You brat!"

The captain looked at the blazing fire and laughed triumphantly, his face full of cruel smiles.

"Now you know how powerful I am, right? Daring to go against me, this is what happens!"

The other pirates joined in the laughter, as if they could already see Kitahara Tsune being blown to pieces by the cannonball.

But the next second, everyone's laughter stopped abruptly, and their smugness was instantly replaced by unbelievable shock.

From the raging flames, a tall and handsome young man slowly emerged, his steps still composed, his expression calm, and even his white suit was completely undamaged.

Upon seeing this, the captain's smile froze instantly. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped open enough to fit a fist, and his voice was filled with horror and disbelief: "This...how is this possible?!"

He pointed at Kitahara Tsune, trembling all over: "You, what kind of monster are you?! Even cannonballs can't kill you?!"

Kitahara Tsune stopped and looked up at him, his eyes cold and his tone calm and even, as he replied, word by word, "CP9, Kitahara Tsune."

"I will judge you in the name of justice!"