After the ranked matches for Honor of Kings fully launched, an unprecedented gaming craze swept across the sea.
Whether in pirate hideouts, Marine garrisons, or remote island villages, everyone had been consumed by the fever of the game.
At the Marineford dormitories, the lights blazed through the night, and the place buzzed with noise.
Inside the rooms, young Marine soldiers sat with bloodshot eyes, locked onto their phone screens, fingers sliding furiously as they tapped and swiped.
Shouts and groans echoed through the hallways.
"Are you playing with your feet?! My eighty-year-old grandma moves better than you!"
A furious soldier slammed his screen, which buzzed from the impact. His teammate had clearly misplayed and cost him the match.
In another room, a soldier slapped his thigh in frustration. His teammate had picked a support hero for jungle, leaving him under insane pressure in lane.
Controlling his character while muttering angrily, he cursed, "What kind of sick meta is this?!"
"ID: Marine Lieutenant Commander? You'll be scrubbing toilets tomorrow!"
Another Marine soldier typed this in public chat, having suffered repeated defeats because of his teammate's poor performance.
>"USELESS! Even my dog plays better than you!"
Out in the corridor, other soldiers poked their heads out, hearing the endless stream of rage. Some laughed, others just shook their heads helplessly.
The entire dormitory reverberated with cheers, complaints, and curses from every corner.
...
On a certain island, a tavern roared with activity, the air thick with the scent of rum and tobacco.
Pirates lounged in groups, some guffawing at each other's stories, some playing drinking games, and others whispering in shadowy corners.
Captain Buggy sat tucked into a booth in the back, hunched over his phone, his red nose nearly touching the screen.
He frantically swiped and tapped, controlling the jungle hero as he charged toward the blue buff.
His expression was intense, filled with bloodlust, as if he meant to rip the enemies off the screen.
"Out of my way!" Buggy shouted into the air, voice grating and theatrical, as if his in-game teammates could actually hear him. "This is Lord Buggy's exclusive blue buff!"
Just as he was about to use Smite and secure the buff,
a figure suddenly dashed in. The enemy jungler swooped in, stole the blue buff with a Smite, and even knocked Buggy's Dian Wei into the air with a spear swipe.
His HP bar plummeted. Buggy's red nose turned purple from rage. Hands trembling, he slammed out a furious message in public chat:
[Do you know who I am?! I'm Lord Buggy! You dare steal MY blue buff?!]
The reply came instantly:
[Oh, you mean that clown who got punched into the sky by Luffy?]
The tavern seemed to freeze. Everything went eerily quiet.
Buggy's pupils shrank. The phone creaked under the grip of his white-knuckled fingers. Veins bulged across his forehead.
He turned slowly to see a few nearby pirates suppressing their laughter, stealing glances at his screen. The corners of their mouths twitched with barely contained amusement.
"You... you bastard!!!"
Buggy's roar shook the chandeliers. The entire tavern froze. Every head turned toward him.
He slammed his phone into a beer mug. Foam exploded. Beer spilled across the table.
The screen was still glowing. His teammates had begun flooding the chat with question marks, clearly confused.
"I'm Lord Buggy! The future Pirate King!!" Buggy howled, voice cracking with outrage.
His face was tomato red. His nose glowed like a cherry about to burst.
Around him, laughter finally erupted.
The whole tavern roared with laughter. The sound rang out like cannon fire.
Buggy snatched up his drenched phone. Water dripped from the casing, but the screen still shone steadily.
Buggy glared at the screen. His red nose practically steamed with fury.
"Captain..." Mohji cautiously offered him a towel, hands trembling. "Maybe... just let it go this time...?"
"SHUT UP!" Buggy snatched the towel and wiped the phone violently. His every movement screamed panic and rage. "Watch how I destroy that bastard!"
He hurled his hero into the enemy jungle, spamming skills, his fingers practically clawing the screen.
But as soon as he entered the brush, the screen instantly turned gray.
A five-man ambush.
He was instantly deleted.
In the gray death screen, they danced mockingly on his corpse, taunting him with exaggerated flair.
"AAAAHHH! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Buggy grabbed a throwing knife off the table and raised it at the screen.
Richie lunged forward and stopped him just in time, snatching the weapon away with a sigh. "Captain! Calm down!"
The bartender hurried over, nervously wringing his hands, putting on a forced smile. "Uhh... Lord Buggy, just a reminder—no property damage allowed in this tavern..."
He glanced at Buggy's furious face and nearly flinched. One wrong word, and the whole building could go up in flames.
...
Meanwhile, on a certain Marine warship, a young Marine soldier was shaking with laughter, hands clamped over his mouth.
He sat on his bunk, phone screen glowing in the dark, clearly watching Buggy's "spectacular" livestream meltdown.
Helmeppo leaned over curiously. "What's so funny, Koby?"
"N-nothing," Koby said, trying not to burst out laughing. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I just suddenly think... Honor of Kings is the greatest thing ever."
Scenes like this were unfolding all over the world.
Whether Pirate or Marine, commoner or noble, everyone was releasing their deepest emotions within the game's canyon.
Many shouted about smashing their phones, but strangely, no one ever actually did. The salt was real—but so was the addiction.
Inside this virtual arena, the Four Emperors' Conqueror's Haki didn't work. The Admirals' Devil Fruits were useless.
Victory or defeat came down to skill, strategy... and a little bit of luck.
Even the weakest commoner could flame a big-name pirate in chat. Somehow, balance had been found.
"In Honor of Kings: First is skill, second is luck, third... is teammates!"
This phrase had become the new mantra, and its weight was growing heavier across the sea.
(To be continued.)
***
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