Ding.
Before anyone could react, two fingers calmly closed around the bullet midair.
Shirogai stood there with an easy smile, the deformed bullet pinched between his fingers. His eyes shifted toward the Celestial Dragon buried among the ruins, Saint Charloss, who still glared at him with stubborn hatred.
"How foolish," Shirogai said lightly. "Even now, you refuse to lie still and pretend to be dead."
He was smiling, but every member of the Straw Hat crew who knew him well understood the truth.
Shirogai was angry.
Saint Charloss spat curses without pause, exactly as his nature dictated.
"You disgusting commoners, how dare you lay hands on us Celestial Dragons. I have already informed the Admirals. They are coming, and they will kill every last one of you."
"An Admiral?" Shirogai clapped his hands once, amused. "That sounds impressive. When exactly will they arrive?"
"Scared already?" Charloss sneered, his face twisted with arrogance. "It is too late now. You are dead."
He laughed loudly, his gaze crawling over Nami and Kemi in a sickening manner as he licked his lips.
"Unless you kneel right now and beg for my forgiveness. And those two women must become my servants, to serve me in bed."
"What kind of filthy dream are you having?" Sanji snapped, already stepping forward in rage.
"You idiot…"
Shirogai reached out and stopped him, still smiling.
"Alright."
Tap.
Saint Charloss's face lit up with a wild, triumphant grin.
"Commoners," he roared, falling to his knees as if in reverence, his voice dripping with mockery. "You are born low, unworthy even of the food in this world. You exist only to serve us Celestial Dragons for your entire lives. Insects like you are not fit to even meet our gaze."
He began kicking the Straw Hats one after another, cursing and humiliating them with manic delight.
…
In reality, Saint Charloss was standing still, eyes vacant, violently beating the two people before him.
He stomped down on Saint Rosward, his father, without mercy. He struck again and again at his sister, Lilianna, trampling her into the ground with vicious enthusiasm.
"Hiss… what kind of hatred does he have toward his own family?" Sanji muttered, unable to keep watching as Saint Rosward and Shalria were crushed beneath Charloss's feet.
"Seriously," Nami said coldly, "people like this are World Nobles. No wonder the world is such a mess."
"Huh?" Chopper looked around nervously. "Where are Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Franky, and Brook? Kemi was captured, so everyone should be here, right?"
"That moss-head idiot is missing," Sanji said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "He ran off somewhere."
"Yo, Hachi!"
Only after Shirogai had secured everything did Rayleigh, the Dark King, quietly return from the auction house treasury, carrying a large sack bulging with loot.
"Rayleigh, I finally found you!" Hachi exclaimed, rushing over happily.
"Hm?"
Rayleigh's eyes landed on Saint Charloss, who was still brutally beating his own family. His brows knit together slightly.
"Shirogai," Rayleigh said calmly, "if you push things this far, it will provoke the Celestial Dragons."
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Letting Celestial Dragons beat Celestial Dragons counted as going too far?
"Heh," Shirogai chuckled softly. "It is fine. Survival of the fittest. These people are about to face the judgment of the world."
Only Rayleigh truly understood what Shirogai meant.
"The World Government will not dare make me their enemy right now," Shirogai continued. "It is only a Celestial Dragon. They still have plenty of those."
"Perhaps," Rayleigh replied, "but your companions may be targeted by the World Government."
Shirogai nodded calmly.
"They are used to facing powerful enemies."
…
Both of them looked up at the same time.
Whoosh.
A streak of yellow light pierced through the shattered ceiling and descended into the auction house.
Sizzle.
The light condensed into a tall man in a yellow suit, a Marine justice cloak draped over his shoulders.
Admiral Kizaru had arrived.
"An Admiral…" The Straw Hats instinctively moved behind Shirogai.
"Oh my," Kizaru said lightly, eyes sharp despite his relaxed tone. "How terrifying. To find two legendary pirates here together makes even this old man nervous."
One was a young powerhouse who had shaken the world repeatedly in recent times. The other was the former right hand of the Pirate King, a man who carried truths even the Marines did not know.
If someone told Kizaru these two had simply met to drink and chat, he would never believe it.
"Kizaru," Shirogai greeted calmly, "we meet again."
Kizaru smiled faintly. "Shirogai, when did you become acquainted with Rayleigh the Dark King? Are you two planning something big?"
"We are just fellow prisoners."
"Fellow prisoners…" Kizaru froze for a moment, noticing the slave collar still around Rayleigh's neck.
The owner of this auction house truly had nerve, attempting to sell two pirates worth billions of Berries.
"Oh my," Kizaru said, turning his gaze back. "Shirogai, would you mind releasing that Celestial Dragon?"
He nodded toward Saint Charloss, who was still assaulting his own family.
"Alright."
Shirogai snapped his fingers.
Tap.
Saint Charloss suddenly snapped out of the illusion.
"Huh?" He looked down at Saint Rosward, whose face was swollen beyond recognition, then at Lilianna, whose eyes rolled back as shoe prints covered her face.
"Ah! What kind of sorcery is this?" Charloss screamed, stumbling backward in terror.
Then he noticed Kizaru.
"Kizaru!" Charloss rushed forward like he had found salvation. "Kill them, kill them for me…"
"Do not move," Kizaru said sharply, his expression changing as he sensed something wrong.
Charloss ignored the warning and continued running.
Silently, a leg flew into the air.
Then an arm, then another.
Finally, the last leg separated without a sound.
Pfft.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
…
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
As Saint Charloss ran, invisible blades sliced through his body, dismembering him piece by piece.
Thud.
"Ah… ah…"
What remained of him collapsed to the ground, reduced to a twitching torso. Only then did the pain reach him.
"Aaahhh! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
He writhed and screamed, blood pouring freely as he rolled across the floor.
"So even Celestial Dragons bleed," Shirogai said softly, looking down at the writhing figure. "And your blood is not even black."