"Pff—pff—"
A crimson mist burst from Ethan's body.
"You…"
He tried to speak.
He couldn't.
Every bone in his body was shattered.
He no longer had the strength to hold himself upright.
Thud.
He collapsed in a limp heap.
Arms and legs folded unnaturally, like a creature with no skeleton.
Only shallow breaths escaped him.
His eyes remained wide—
filled with disbelief and bitterness.
Who… is this monster?
A bizarre Devil Fruit.
Terrifying Haki and close combat.
And the audacity to execute a Marine Vice Admiral without hesitation.
"Thorn Kill."
Romu's voice was calm.
Emotionless.
But to Ethan, teetering at death's edge, it sounded like a demon whispering.
Regret flooded him.
Why had he been greedy?
Why provoke someone like this?
He wanted to close his eyes—
but even that simple act was beyond him.
All he could do was watch as a black thorn-vine pierced his ruined body.
Vice Admiral Ethan—
dead.
Romu turned casually toward the newly arrived Marines.
"You planning to jump in too?"
Dozens of soldiers stood frozen.
Even the newly arrived colonel trembled.
"You… you… I…"
He looked from Romu to Ethan's collapsed corpse.
This wasn't just strength.
This was indifference to killing.
A monster.
The thorn-vine swayed in the air impatiently, mirroring Romu's thinning patience.
The colonel snapped:
"No!"
"We're not here to fight!"
"Please—go right ahead!"
Rifles clattered to the ground.
Hands shot into the air.
Fighting a human was courage.
Fighting this?
Suicide.
The dried corpses.
The Vice Admiral turned into a boneless wreck.
All still fresh.
Romu nodded.
With a flick of his wrist, the vines gathered the Moss Pirates' bodies and scattered wanted posters, bundling them neatly before the colonel.
"Forty-two million Beli."
Flat tone.
The colonel bowed instantly.
"Right away!!"
He spun and roared:
"Vault! Move! Forty-two million—now!!"
Five minutes later, two sweating Marines sprinted back with a heavy sack.
"Bounty delivered!"
The colonel personally placed it onto the vine with trembling care.
"…Would you like to count it?"
The vine whisked the bag back to Romu.
"No need."
"Pleasure doing business."
He smiled.
Snapped his fingers.
A plant erupted from the rubble, blooming instantly into a giant red flower.
Romu stepped onto its soft center and closed his eyes.
The vine wrapped around the stem.
The flower lifted into the sky.
Everyone stared as it drifted away.
Only when it vanished into the horizon did the colonel's shoulders collapse in relief.
He wiped sweat from his brow and shouted:
"Den-Den Mushi! Now!"
"Contact Headquarters!"
…
Marine Headquarters — Marineford
Marineford stood as one of the world's three great strongholds, alongside Enies Lobby and Impel Down.
A fortress of absolute authority.
Inside Fleet Admiral Kong's office, a high-level meeting was underway.
The room was bright and orderly.
At the head sat a broad-chested man with bronze skin and a square-cut beard—
Fleet Admiral Kong.
Authority radiated from him.
Around him sat four figures:
Sengoku, the Buddha, with his wild afro
Zephyr, black-armed instructor
Garp, the iron-fisted Marine
Tsuru, the sharp-minded strategist
All wore grim expressions.
Intelligence suggested that the "King of the Seas," Rocks, was preparing a major strike—
possibly targeting the Celestial Dragons.
Kong opened his mouth to speak—
Buru buru buru…
The Den-Den Mushi rang.
He answered immediately.
"This is Kong."
A tense voice came through:
"Reporting from Skull Island sector!"
Everyone stiffened.
Skull Island—the waters near Hachinosu.
Rocks territory.
"A Marine base has been destroyed. Vice Admiral Ethan is confirmed killed in action!"
Kong's eyes sharpened.
"Which Rocks officer? Whitebeard? Golden Lion? Charlotte Linlin?"
"…Negative."
"A young man named Romu."
"…Romu?"
The name hung in the air.