"It's going to get out of hand...", Maki murmured, nervous, cold sweats on her face.
"Interesting", Sukuna replied, a mocking smile on his lips, observing the scene with a cold detachment.
Suddenly, a deafening crash shook the room. The door burst into pieces, and two silhouettes emerged in a cloud of dust. Luffy, straw hat firmly on his head, scanned the crowd, accompanied by Zoro, the swordsman with a fierce smile.
"You could have landed better, Zoro!" Luffy shouted, adjusting his hat with a bold smile.
The present Supernovas exchanged looks, some surprised, others amused. Sukuna observed the newcomer, a glint of interest in his eyes.
"The kid who attacked Enies Lobby. Luffy with the Straw Hat. Gojo was right to be interested in him", Sukuna murmured, a smirk on his face.
"A striking entrance," Maki said, smiling as she turned her head towards the commotion.
Ignoring the chaos, Luffy spotted Camie in her glass dome and rushed towards her without hesitation. "Camie! There you are!" he shouted, running towards the mermaid.
Hacchan, despite the pain, tried to stop him. "Wait, Straw Hat! What do you think you're doing?" he said, grabbing him with two of his arms, the others still trembling.
"What am I doing? It's obvious, I'm going to save Camie!" Luffy retorted, determined, continuing his sprint.
"Stop!" Hacchan cried out, extending his other arms to immobilize him, but it was a mistake. The already hostile crowd murmured racist insults at the sight of the Fish-Man, increasing the tension.
A gunshot rang out. Hacchan, already injured, collapsed once again, his body covered in blood. Charlos, an arrogant smile on his face, almost danced with satisfaction. "Stupid fish! You keep talking after being shot? You're a bother to me!" he spat, pointing his gun again at Hacchan.
Luffy froze, his face contorted with anger. Hacchan, struggling to breathe, grabbed his arm. "Wait... Please, Straw Hat. You can't. It's my fault..." his voice broke, filled with shame. "You promised me not to touch the World Nobles, even if someone died before your eyes... I'm a former pirate. It's my punishment for all the wrong I've done, to Nami and the others... I'm sorry... I'm scum..." He collapsed, tears streaming down his face.
Nami, distraught, stared at her former tormentor, tears rolling down her cheeks. Charlos, furious, aimed again. "How dare you look at me like that, trash?" he roared, his face twisted with rage.
Luffy climbed the stairs, fist clenched, ignoring the shots from the World Noble. "You have all my respect, kid," Sukuna murmured, an amused smile on his lips, anticipating what was to come.
"He's not really going to do it, is he?" Maki said, looking incredulous.
With a swift move, Luffy struck his fist on Charlos's face, sending him crashing through the seats. A shocked silence filled the room. The remaining World Nobles, incredulous, watched the scene. Luffy, fists clenched, displayed an unusual seriousness.
"Sorry, guys. By hitting this guy, I've called in an admiral and his fleet," he said to his crew, as if it were nothing.
"Because you hit him, I couldn't cut him," Zoro grumbled, sheathing one of his katanas with a smirk.
Nami ran towards Hacchan, who, despite the pain, seemed both sorry and elated to see someone defy a World Noble for him. "Hacchan..." she murmured, offering him a comforting smile as he wept bitterly.
Rosward, furious, drew his weapon. "How dare you touch my son, filthy pirate? You have defied a descendant of the world's creators!" he shouted, firing two stray bullets that hit no one.
"The World Noble is angry..." a spectator murmured, terrified.
"Run!" another shouted, triggering a panicked fleeing of the crowd.
Sanji, indifferent to the chaos, charged at Rosward, disarming the noble with a precise strike. "You talk too much, old man!" he shouted, attempting to kick him. The slavers rushed in, and a battle erupted between the Straw Hats and the reinforcements, each crew member defying the World Nobles with a burning gaze.
"These damn pirates... They openly provoke us!" Rosward hissed, venom in his voice. "You, call an admiral, right now!" he ordered, seizing a man in a black suit by the neck.
"But, Rosward-sama..." the man stammered, trembling in the face of the noble's fury.
"These bastards will pay for their insolence! Call him now!" Rosward roared, receiving a fearful nod.
In the stands, Maki felt a cold sweat run down her forehead as she watched Sukuna, whose icy gaze seemed to pierce through the scene. "This is bad... If they don't stop, it's going to end badly for everyone," she murmured, a nervous smile on her lips. "Their patience is wearing thin."
"How boring," Sukuna said, dragging out the words with a coldness that chilled the air around him.
Shalria, the only World Noble still standing—Rosward having been knocked out by an Usopp falling from the roof—pointed her gun at Camie, whose dome had been shattered by Zoro. "Everyone loves you, mermaid. It annoys me. That's why I'm going to kill you," she said, an arrogant smile on her lips.
But before she could shoot, an invisible wave of energy struck her down. The attacks ceased, frozen by an overwhelming presence. Sukuna, forgetting his boredom, wore a broad smile as he stared at a hole in the wall from which emerged a shadow.
"It seems we'll meet again, Rayleigh," Sukuna murmured, a glint of mischief in his eyes.
"The last time was at Eian no Sezai," Maki said, a calm smile on her face, observing the shadow transform into a man with white hair, a gentle face but imbued with undeniable authority.