"If you have nowhere else to go, you can meet me at Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 13, later."
After giving these instructions, Rayleigh greeted the giant behind him and leisurely departed the scene. As a retired man, he rarely took action unless it directly concerned him.
Zoro nodded. After watching Rayleigh leave, he led everyone toward the exit. Before he left, he shot Hikaru a strange look.
Hikaru smiled meaningfully at Zoro, then pulled out a Tone Dial from his pocket and stepped forward.
The footsteps faded into the distance, leaving only Hikaru, the unconscious audience, and the helpless World Nobles!
"Well, it's time to record a video of the Celestial Dragons getting taken down."
Hikaru activated the Tone Dial, letting it float in the air, and found an angle to film Saint Charlos and Saint Rosward.
He casually waved his hand, and an invisible electric field instantly enveloped the auction house. Bullets, whether they had missed their targets or were embedded in bodies, floated densely above the audience seats.
"I'll take the first, a double kill from the Celestial Dragons!"
The next moment, the bullets seemed to come alive, rushing towards Saint Charlos and Saint Rosward like a frenzy.
A continuous volley of metallic sounds rang out as the two World Noble father and son were quickly riddled with holes, dark red blood pooling on the ground.
At that moment, all the metallic weapons in the auction house that could be attracted by magnetism flew into the sky. Even the bullets Hikaru was controlling were affected, fighting him for control.
Hikaru immediately understood that this was Kidd using his magnetic Devil Fruit power to fight the Navy. He chose not to stop the bullets, as their mission was already complete.
He raised his hand, retrieved the Tone Dial, closed it, and placed it inside his fortified city.
This wasn't over yet. Saint Shalria was brought out of his body. He reached into her bubble hood, activated his Door-Door Fruit ability, and put his hand into her hair to retrieve the Celestial Dragon identity chip hidden there.
Without hesitation, Hikaru threw it directly beside Saint Rosward, then opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of flame, incinerating it.
(I couldn't find out what the Celestial Dragon's identity chip looked like, so I destroyed it first. No matter what use it had, I destroyed it to prevent being backstabbed by Oda.)
Thud, thud, thud...
A flurry of footsteps echoed from the back of the auction house. Hikaru's lips curled into a slight smile. The death of two World Nobles and the unknown fate of another — how much turmoil would this cause?
Hehehe... it's truly exciting.
The trouble with Saint Shalria wasn't over, but the current situation made it difficult to resolve.
So, Hikaru brought her back into his fortified city, transformed into lightning, and left the auction house by moving along the metal structures on the roof.
Just a few breaths after he departed, Navy sailors finally burst into the venue. Witnessing the horrific scene, they were so terrified they slumped to the ground, their bodies limp and powerless.
"The Celestial Dragon... is dead!"
Someone in the crowd let out a terrified roar. Their terror stemmed from the immense implications of the World Nobles' deaths. They, the Navy, would inevitably be implicated in various crimes and face dire consequences. This was no exaggeration. Beyond anything else, the accusation of failing to save them in time was enough to send them to the execution platform!
"This... what should we do?"
The sailors turned, looking at each other in a daze, somewhat at a loss. A sailor who appeared to be the commander shouted loudly:
"No matter what happens next, let's rescue the World Nobles first! In case they're not dead, get them out quickly and let the medical staff save them!"
"It makes sense!"
"Captain Tungsten is right!"
Everyone agreed, but strangely, no one stepped forward to lift the bodies.
What a joke! If the World Nobles still showed signs of life, they would have rushed to carry them, but it was clear they were completely dead. Who would dare to go up and carry a dead World Noble? That would be like lighting a lamp in the toilet – asking for death!
But someone had to do it. Tungsten shifted his gaze and yelled at the soldiers carrying stretchers:
"You! Why aren't you hurrying to rescue the Celestial Dragons? If we delay the best time for treatment, none of you here will escape!"
The faces of those Marines turned grim. As higher-ranking officials, they could easily crush lower-ranking ones. They knew they couldn't escape this. They could only wait and hope to find an opportunity to somehow deliver the World Noble's bodies and then blend into the crowd as "invisible persons."
And so, in groups of two, a total of six people, they hesitantly walked forward, each moving slower than the last, as if competing to see who could walk the slowest.
Tungsten grew even more furious at this sight. He had connections higher up and had managed to come here to rescue the World Nobles because of them, but he hadn't expected to inherit such a massive disaster. However, with his deep connections, he didn't have to worry about being implicated, and he cared little for the lives of the other sailors.
"Alright! Stop putting on a show. Major General Story is still waiting outside. If they knew you were just pretending to work and not putting in any effort... I don't need to tell you the consequences, do I?"
The six sailors were shocked. Rear Admiral Story was a well-known hawk. If he found out about this, they'd have no chance of returning to Marine Headquarters alive.
In desperation, several of them quickened their pace and walked forward, their eyes twitching as they picked up the remains of Saint Rosward and Saint Charlos and the scattered body fragments onto stretchers.
But the two remaining people were confused. They walked around the auction house several times but couldn't find the remains of Saint Shalria. They even searched under the seats.
Seeing this, they shouted in trembling voices: "Captain Tungsten! Shalria... Saint Shalria doesn't seem to be here!"
"Hmm?" Tungsten's eyes narrowed, and he waved his hand. "Marines, check every part of the auction house and look for Saint Shalria! Don't miss any corner!"
"Yes!"
A large group of Navy men quickly searched every place that might conceal someone but found nothing.
A Marine trotted over to Tungsten and whispered in his ear, "Sir, we found the monitoring room! But the surveillance camera seems to be damaged and cannot be viewed."
"What?! These pirates are so evil! This must be a premeditated assassination against the Celestial Dragons!"
Tungsten sighed softly and reluctantly led his team out of the auction house through the back door.
The damage to the surveillance equipment was, of course, caused by Hikaru. Before he truly gained enough power to subvert the world, it was better to minimize the appearance of his photos on Im's desk.
And that day would never be too far away!