The thunderous storm raged on, with lightning bolts continuously striking the scorched ground behind him.
Maude stood at the shoreline, his back to the cascading lightning. With a simple snap of his fingers, he shattered the chest—and the very life—of the Celestial Dragon, Charlos, from a distance.
It was a decision made without hesitation the moment he saw the dozen Marine warships appear on the horizon.
And just like that, in front of Smoker and the assembled Marines, Maude snuffed out the life of a Celestial Dragon as effortlessly as crushing a fly.
By his side stood Lafitte and the others.
They understood exactly what Maude's snap had signified.
"Hohoho…"
Lafitte's pale face curled into a meaningful smile.
Perona covered her mouth, her wide eyes trembling slightly.
Law's expression darkened, his ever-calculating mind already racing to assess the consequences.
Jim, his scarred face twisted into something between satisfaction and savagery, grinned silently. His rows of white teeth, stark against his rough features, seemed to glisten with a faint trace of bloodlust.
From the moment Maude executed the Celestial Dragon, one truth became crystal clear to them all:
There was no turning back. From this point on, under the banner of the Maude Pirates, they would walk a path of no return.
...
Aboard the Marine Warships.
Every Marine, including Smoker and Hina, stared wide-eyed—some in shock, others in utter horror—at the lifeless body of Charlos, whose chest had exploded in an instant.
"H-He actually did it…"
Smoker could hardly believe what he was seeing.
During the exchange of hostages, he had used his Smoke Screening to thoroughly inspect Charlos' body and was certain there had been no abnormalities.
Even if his heart had been swapped, it should have been nothing more than a completed surgical procedure.
So how, then, had Maude killed Charlos?
Smoker was so stunned that the cigar fell from his lips without him even noticing. Meanwhile, Hina turned back to gaze at the lone figure standing at the shore, her eyes trembling violently.
"Killing a Celestial Dragon… Do you have any idea what kind of consequences that will bring, Maude?!"
The sea remained calm, but within Hina's heart, an overwhelming storm had erupted.
Even though many Marines despised the Celestial Dragons, their elevated status and untouchable authority had been deeply ingrained in them from birth.
They had never once imagined that anyone would dare to kill a Celestial Dragon.
"Hey, hey… this is quite strange."
The voice from the Den Den Mushi belonged to Admiral Kizaru, laced with mild curiosity.
It wasn't until then that Smoker finally snapped back to reality and turned toward the Den Den Mushi.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he opened his mouth to speak. "Ki—"
Before he could finish, a bright yellow light streaked through the sky at blinding speed, stopping atop the ship's mast.
The intense glow cast long shadows across the deck and its gathered Marines, slowly taking shape—
It was Admiral Kizaru.
In his hand, he still held the connected Den Den Mushi.
"Hello? Can you hear me now?"
Kizaru stood on the mast, speaking into the receiver once again.
Smoker: "..."
"Admiral Kizaru!"
The surrounding Marines lifted their heads, staring at the Admiral who had just arrived at lightspeed.
Kizaru glanced down at them, scratching his forehead with a finger before sighing, "These Den Den Mushi are really hard to use."
Then, shifting his gaze, he looked at the lifeless corpse of Charlos.
"My, my… You really went through with it, Bacardi Maude~~"
Putting away the Den Den Mushi, Kizaru could already imagine the collective rage of the Celestial Dragons back at Mary Geoise.
He rubbed his chin as his hand slowly lifted, pointing toward Maude's distant figure. At his fingertip, a dazzling star-like light began to form.
After seeing Charlos' body, Kizaru knew exactly what he had to do next.
Annihilate Maude and his entire crew—along with the entire island.
That was the only way to appease the Celestial Dragons.
...
At the shoreline of Raijin Island.
The flickering light at Kizaru's fingertip did not go unnoticed by Maude and his crew.
"Tch, so they sent Kizaru, the fastest among the Admirals? The Marines really aren't playing around this time."
Maude raised an eyebrow as he lifted his right hand, shadow energy flowing like liquid.
With a mere thought, he retrieved the shadow hearts of the other Celestial Dragons from his Shadow Casket. Then, curling his fingers, he clenched them tightly.
...
Aboard the Marine Warships.
The unconscious Celestial Dragons on deck suddenly snapped awake.
The moment their eyes opened, an excruciating pain—so intense it was beyond comprehension—erupted from their chests.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
Their bloodcurdling screams echoed across the ships.
The Marines, still reeling from the initial shock, were once again thrown into chaos. Even Kizaru, who had been preparing to attack, momentarily lowered his hand and glanced at the writhing Celestial Dragons.
"Hmm… So he tampered with their bodies, huh~~"
He scratched his forehead in mild annoyance before shifting his gaze to Smoker.
Smoker's face was grim. "I checked… I didn't find anything wrong with them."
"Ohhh~~ is that so?"
Kizaru's eyes flickered as he looked back toward Maude, deep in thought.
At that moment, the ship's medics rushed onto the deck. But when they saw the Celestial Dragons thrashing violently in pools of their own blood, their faces twisted in distress.
There was no way they could properly examine them like this.
They turned to the surrounding Marines for help.
But the Marines hesitated—these were Celestial Dragons. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to restrain them.
"Black Lattice."
Hina's cold voice cut through the commotion.
With a swift motion, her right hand swept through the air, summoning multiple thin, black iron bars that instantly wrapped around the Celestial Dragons, restraining them.
"Check them. Now."
She frowned as she ordered the medics.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The medics quickly complied, thoroughly examining the Celestial Dragons from head to toe.
However—
Like Smoker before them, they found nothing amiss.
"They're in excruciating pain, but all their bodily functions are normal…"
The medics looked utterly perplexed.
They had meticulously examined the Celestial Dragons, but aside from their reaction to the pain, there were no abnormalities whatsoever.
The conclusion left the Marines at a complete loss.
What exactly had Bacardi Maude done to them?
Why couldn't even their top medical experts figure it out?
Above the mast.
Kizaru sighed and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a beam of light.
Within mere moments, he reappeared directly in front of Maude.
His arrival made Lafitte and the others instinctively prepare for battle.
Perona was about to summon her Negative Hollows, and Law had already raised his finger—just one breath away from deploying Room.
Jim even transformed into his Triceratops hybrid form.
But Maude simply lifted a hand, signaling his crew to hold back.
Kizaru, too, made no move to attack. Instead, he stared at Maude as if he were looking at a madman.
"Truly unbelievable, Bacardi Maude~~"
There was genuine admiration in his voice.
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