The thunder of cannons echoed across the sea, mixing with the roar of the storm and the cracks of lightning tearing through the sky.

"Take action," Vane said coolly.

He leapt onto the ship's railing, rain lashing against his coat, and then soared forward.

With a single punch, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit surged through his arm. The atmosphere fractured in an instant, and the incoming cannonballs froze mid-air as if suspended in time. The ocean below churned, and a wall of water rose up behind him—massive waves crashing toward Drought Jack's ship like a living fist of nature. The cannonballs caught in their path were swatted into the sea like pebbles.

"This time, I'll knock you into the ocean and see if you still have the guts to challenge me."

Vane narrowed his eyes, clearly annoyed that Jack had dared to attack him so brazenly. He didn't even know who he was messing with.

With another blow, Vane drove the wave forward. It surged like a fortress wall, rising with unstoppable force. He couldn't see Jack's expression through the storm and distance, but it was safe to assume it wasn't a calm one.

"Should we intervene?" Gion asked Esdeath, her gaze sharp.

As long as it wasn't an attack on the Navy, Gion had no qualms about acting. And the pirate facing them was Drought Jack—someone who deserved death a thousand times over. She would feel no remorse striking him down.

"There's no need," Esdeath replied casually, not even looking up. "Vane will handle it."

"But defeating Jack would mean declaring war on the Beast Pirates," Gion muttered, rubbing her forehead.

And she was right. Drought Jack was strong, but compared to the others in Kaido's crew—Queen the Plague, King the Wildfire, and Kaido himself—he wasn't the most terrifying. Kaido, the so-called strongest creature in the world, had been captured by the Navy countless times. He couldn't be drowned, couldn't be restrained by Sea Prism Stone, and couldn't be executed. That monster simply refused to die.

"War? That's fine," Esdeath said, a wide smile creeping onto her face. She looked genuinely thrilled by the idea.

"You look way too happy about this," Gion remarked with a frown.

"Of course I am. If your man is aiming to reach the top of the world, shouldn't his woman support him with everything she's got?" Esdeath shot back, her words brimming with confidence.

Gion had no response to that.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted aboard Jack's ship. The dark clouds had already dimmed the sky, but as Vane's towering wave approached, the light seemed to vanish entirely. Panic spread like wildfire.

"Boss Jack! The wave—!"

"It's too big!"

"It's like he's controlling the sea!"

The underlings were on the verge of losing their minds. Many trembled where they stood. Burning, killing, and looting—they were good at those. But when faced with a true force of nature, they had no courage left. They were out of their depth.

Jack's pupils narrowed. His usually calm demeanor cracked under the weight of what he saw. The wave Vane had conjured was at least thirty meters high and had risen in mere seconds. The tilt of the ocean pushed their ship backward by nearly twenty meters before the wave even made contact.

Jack didn't move. He couldn't.

"What now...?" he muttered under his breath, a sinking feeling settling in his chest.

And then the wave struck.

The enormous force slammed into his ship like a mountain crashing down. The vessel didn't capsize—Vane hadn't intended to sink it—but many of Jack's men were thrown into the sea. Their screams vanished beneath the crashing water. No one came to their aid. Jack certainly wouldn't.

Still, Jack was no ordinary pirate. As the wave struck, he activated his Devil Fruit power, transforming into a hulking mammoth. With his four massive legs, he anchored himself, bracing against the current.

As the water finally began to recede, rain continued to pour, and the ship creaked ominously. Jack's vessel was no ordinary craft—it could survive a tsunami without falling apart—but its main mast had snapped clean off. With the sails down, navigation was going to be near impossible.

"That was too close," Jack growled.

He had been ready to retreat for a split second, but that thought quickly passed. Among Kaido's men, he already had less prestige than Queen or King. If he could land a serious blow against Vane—one of the rising Emperors of the Sea—Kaido might finally grant him more respect.

That was his motivation.

"Vane! You dare attack me?!"

Jack bellowed, still in his mammoth form. But before he could react further, Vane descended from the sky.

His fist slammed down with devastating force onto Jack's massive head.

"To me, that oversized body of yours is just a bigger target," Vane said coldly. "Especially at sea—you've got no advantage here."

The impact was thunderous.

The first sound was Vane's punch landing, and the second was the deafening crack of Jack's armor collapsing under the force. The wooden deck beneath him splintered into a crater nearly seven meters wide, and Jack's limbs were forced down deep into it.

"All that, from a single punch?" Jack's eyes widened in disbelief.

It was no bluff.

That punch really was just Vane's standard blow.

Training his body alongside the destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had pushed Vane's strength to a terrifying level.

Jack was the first one to get a front-row seat to that reality.

And frankly, he wasn't worth any more of Vane's effort. It was raining heavily, and while Vane didn't mind water, he preferred not to stay drenched. He planned to end this quickly and get back to The King.

Jack tried to counter. He hurled his massive trunk upward, but Vane dodged easily and responded with a savage kick, sending the trunk off course.

Another punch followed, slamming into Jack's skull once more. The blow was so powerful it dented his skull, leaving him dazed and staggering.

"If you want to live, stay far away from me."

Vane landed atop the mammoth's back. Jack was nearly unconscious.

With one final punch—this time directly into Jack's spine—Vane sent both Jack and the ship hurtling into the sea.

The explosion of force was deafening. The sea itself seemed to cave inward, forming a gaping hole where Jack's ship had been. It took over twenty seconds for the water to fill it again.

Even if Jack survived, he'd lose more than just pride. Bones would break, flesh would tear.

Ancient Zoans were resilient, sure—but not invincible.

"Monster..." Gion whispered from The King's deck, watching the entire scene unfold.

He had taken down Jack's ship with raw strength alone.

Forget how heavy the ship was—just factoring in the ocean's resistance made it clear how terrifying Vane's strength truly was.

"You'll get used to it," Esdeath said with a small smile.

"You keep calling him a monster..." Esdeath said.

Esdeath turned toward her, clearly irritated.

"Could you not use that word? He's more beautiful than you, and you're calling him a monster?"

"Are you being serious right now?" Gion muttered, not sure whether to be annoyed or embarrassed.

Esdeath said nothing more. She turned on her heel and disappeared below deck, heading to wait for dinner.

Moments later, Vane returned, soaked from head to toe.

"Go dry off," Gion said, holding out an umbrella for him. "You'll catch a cold."

She hesitated after speaking, unsure why she cared so much.

Maybe because, to her, he still felt like a boy in some ways. Someone reckless and stubborn... but also strangely innocent.

It was instinctual. Maternal, even.

Though, she knew—he wasn't catching a cold anytime soon.

---

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