A dark, mocking grin spread across Krieg's face as he looked at Alex.

"You fool. You think smashing your fist into something as hard as diamond hurts? I've felt pain a hundred times worse than that! Compared to that, your so-called 'indestructible' Diamond Fist feels like… a tickle."

Alex wasn't lying. Back in Orange Town, he had once wedged sharp gravel between his knuckles and clashed full force with Luffy. The stones had buried deep into the flesh and bone between his fingers, injuring him far worse than this punch against Krieg ever could.

"Still talking tough, huh? You're fast—sure—but at this range, can you really dodge me?"

Krieg's irritation flared. He raised the circular pauldron on his left arm, revealing hidden mechanisms inside, and aimed it directly at Alex's face.

But before he could attack, a sharp crackling sound rang out.

"What!?"

Krieg's eyes bulged in shock—his diamond-plated gauntlet on his right hand had fractured apart!

Through the broken plating, Alex's left hand was already pressing against Krieg's bare fist. Without hesitation, Alex thrust his arm forward, slamming Krieg backward.

"I just whacked that 'destroy-anything' Diamond Fist of yours a dozen times with my fishing rod… and it broke. Looks like your punch really isn't all that tough after all."

Krieg went flying into the Baratie's interior, his gauntlet bursting apart and spilling the four large diamonds embedded within. Before they could hit the floor, Alex scooped them up, grinning.

"Look at that… your diamonds. I'll be keeping these. And trust me—I can move even faster… but for you? I didn't even need my special move."

As he pocketed the gems, Alex glanced over and spotted Nami standing aboard the Going Merry, watching him. Delighted, he waved.

Nami pressed her lips together, head lowered for a moment, then looked up with a radiant smile and waved back enthusiastically.

…Was it just his imagination? Why did it feel like she was silently saying goodbye? And why did that smile somehow look sadder than crying?

Before he could dwell on it, Krieg's furious roar cut through the air.

"I'll never lose to you! Let's fight again!"

"I already got what I wanted from you," Alex replied lazily. "As for the rest of your scrap metal, you can keep wearing it."

Usopp quickly tried to bargain for one of the diamonds, but Alex flatly refused—these gems were four get-out-of-Nami-punches-free cards, and he'd fought hard to earn them. No way was he handing one over for free.

When Usopp tried to trick him into giving one away, Alex saw through it instantly, and the two ended up rolling on the deck, wrestling and throwing punches.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Humiliated in front of everyone—his gauntlet destroyed, his diamonds stolen, and now completely ignored—Krieg was seething, on the verge of losing control.

"Captain, calm down! Now's not the time to fight them!" Gin clung to him desperately. He had never imagined the man he thought was invincible could be forced into such a loss. And the scary part? Alex hadn't even been going all out.

"If you two fought for real," Gin thought grimly, "I can't say for certain Captain Krieg would win…"

"You still want to fight?" a gravelly voice cut in. "Fallen pirate of the Grand Line."

Zeff tossed a heavy sack of food onto the floor in front of Krieg.

The words "Grand Line" sent a ripple through the onlookers. Even the cooks and guests, who had been shocked by Alex stealing Krieg's diamonds, fell silent.

Then someone gasped.

"No way… the great Krieg of the East Blue—commander of fifty ships—is a fallen pirate?"

The moment Zeff mentioned the Grand Line, both Luffy and Alex shifted their focus, Alex momentarily forgetting his unease about Nami.

"You're… Red-Leg Zeff?" Krieg stared at the tall, braided-bearded man in a chef's hat, his left leg replaced by a peg. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Red-Leg Zeff—once a feared pirate who sailed the Grand Line for a year. A master of devastating kicks, able to shatter rock and dent steel without using his hands. The blood of his foes would dye his boots crimson, earning him his fearsome title. But now, with one leg gone, he was no longer the fighter he once was.

Alex glanced at Sanji. So that's why his kicks are so strong. No wonder my hand went numb blocking one.

Seeing Zeff's missing leg, Krieg's confidence returned. He demanded Zeff's logbook from his Grand Line voyage, believing it held the intelligence he needed to rebuild his fleet and chase the One Piece.

But Zeff refused without hesitation—those pages held the pride of the comrades who had sailed with him.

"Then I'll take it by force!" Krieg declared. "Even if I lost in the Grand Line, I'm still the strongest man alive! Once I have your logbook, I'll rebuild my armada, return to the Grand Line, find the legendary treasure, become the Pirate King, and rule this era!"

"Didn't you just lose to me?" Alex quipped. "And you still dare say that?"

"Maybe his face is on backwards," he added, smirking, making Krieg's veins bulge.

Krieg said nothing—just hefted the sack of food onto his shoulder and turned to leave.

But Luffy stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Hold it. I'm the one who's going to be Pirate King. I'll never back down from that!"

"Then take back what you said, or I'll pretend I didn't hear it," Krieg growled.

"No. I meant every word," Luffy shot back.

The crowd murmured nervously—two captains, tension thick enough to snap.

"You heard him," Usopp muttered to Alex and Zoro. "Fifty ships and five thousand men couldn't survive the Grand Line. Maybe we shouldn't go…"

"Shut it!" Alex and Zoro barked, punching him in unison.

Krieg sneered. "You underestimate the Grand Line. In just seven days—because I lacked information—my entire fleet was destroyed. If you still think you can be Pirate King… then don't run, because I'll deal with you later."

The revelation stunned everyone. Alex had assumed Krieg's fall had taken months, maybe years—not a single week.

"Seven days…" Alex thought, shocked. "Fifty ships gone in seven days? That's insane."

Usopp's face turned pale. "Hey, you two heard him—we only have one ship! How long do you think we'd last?"

"This sounds fun," Zoro grinned.

Alex clapped Usopp's shoulder. "Relax. Unlike that East Blue tyrant, we've only got six people—room enough on the Merry. One ship's all we need."

Usopp's knees buckled, and he collapsed on the spot.

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