"Hmph, I do not care. This definitely has nothing to do with Darling."
After a brief moment of surprise, Shalria chose to completely ignore the miserable state of her father and brother. She tightly grabbed Shirogai's arm, her eyes filled with admiration as she complained,
"Darling, I was just grabbed by that filthy commoner. Can you help me kill him?"
"That guy…"
Shirogai glanced toward the backstage with a faint smile, his tone relaxed and amused.
"Alright. Let us go play with him."
"Shirogai, I will leave first. It would be inconvenient if the Marines saw me with all this money."
Rayleigh bent down, picked up a sack of Berries from the ground, smiled lightly, then leapt through the hole in the ceiling and vanished from sight.
Kizaru did not stop him. In truth, he could not.
"Alright, alright. Do you commoners all dare insult the bloodline of the world's creators like this?!"
Seeing her younger sister Shalria completely ignore her, and seeing the two pirates pay her no attention at all, Lulianna's face twisted with rage, her expression feral like a vengeful spirit.
"Shalria, you!"
She pointed furiously at her sister and screamed,
"You have disgraced the noble Celestial Dragons by clinging to a lowly pirate!"
"Darling, wuwuwu, I was just scared by that commoner. She even dared to hit me…"
"Heh heh," Shirogai replied calmly. "Then I will help you hit her back, alright?"
"Hehehe, Darling, you are so kind."
The two of them ignored Lulianna completely and walked toward the backstage.
"Kizaru! Kill both of them for me!"
Luliannas veins bulged as she screamed in fury.
"Oh dear, I am terribly sorry, Lulianna-sama."
Kizaru spread his hands, his tone lazy and helpless.
"Shalria is also a Celestial Dragon. If there is a disagreement between Celestial Dragons, the Marines have no right to interfere."
"You useless trash! All of you Marines are fools!"
Lulianna unleashed a torrent of curses, spitting venomous insults without restraint.
Kizaru winced slightly, as if his ears were being assaulted. He bent down, lifted the unconscious Saint Charloss, and spoke with feigned urgency,
"Oh my, look at the state of Charloss-sama. His injuries are quite severe. I must take him for treatment at once."
Whoosh.
Before Lulianna could say another word, Kizaru had already shot into the sky and disappeared.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Lulianna stomped the ground in rage, viciously kicking the unconscious guards around her. Her eyes burned as she stared toward the backstage where Shalria and that filthy pirate had gone.
"I will never let this go. Shalria, you traitor. Just wait to be judged by the Holy Knights."
She glanced around, then fiercely kicked a guard's head.
"Get up! Worthless trash, get up! Call everyone you can. I am going to kill that pirate who dared ignore me!"
…
Several violent kicks later, the captain of the guards finally regained consciousness.
"Lulianna, you…"
"Gather people immediately. Notify all combat forces you can reach!"
Lulianna's face was twisted with madness.
"I am going to kill both of them!"
…
"Sir, sir, this is all a misunderstanding. I truly did not know you were also captured…"
The human trafficker Disco knelt trembling not far in front of Shirogai, crying as he begged for mercy.
At this moment, Disco was shaking uncontrollably.
He had caused catastrophe.
An absolute catastrophe.
Earlier, when he contacted Donquixote Doflamingo through a Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo had jokingly called him the most powerful auctioneer in the world.
Then, with mock kindness, he advised Disco to choose a nice place and quietly wait for death.
Because among Disco's slaves were two monsters with bounties exceeding Billions of Berries.
Shirogai Yamikuro, known across the seas as The Plunderer.
And the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
As if that were not enough, there was also a Celestial Dragon involved.
Doflamingo had laughed openly, praising Disco's suicidal bravery, saying it was something no ordinary idiot could ever achieve.
"Fufufufu…"
After finishing his ridicule, Doflamingo hung up the Den Den Mushi.
In his eyes, Disco was already dead.
The moment Disco recognized Shirogai, terror overwhelmed him. He lost control of his bladder, collapsed to his knees, and slammed his head against the floor, begging desperately.
As someone who had lived in the underworld for years, Disco knew exactly what kind of fate awaited anyone who offended a great pirate with a bounty of five billion Berries.
Now, the once-proud auctioneer had become no different from the slaves who once begged him for mercy.
"Darling, kill him!"
Shalria stared at Disco with burning hatred. She had not forgotten how this commoner had labeled her a high-grade commodity inside the slave prison.
She had always been the one auctioning others. When had it ever been her turn to be sold?
"Killing people casually is not a good habit."
"Yes, yes, yes, sir!"
Disco looked at Shirogai as if he had just heard divine salvation, gratitude flooding his face.
Then Shirogai's next words dragged him straight back into despair.
"Heh heh. Do not waste him. Since he enjoys auctioning slaves so much, let him become one instead. When you return to Mary Geoise, take him with you."
"What?!"
Disco's eyes widened in horror. His lips turned pale as he wailed,
"Sir, please do not do this. I am willing to swear loyalty to you. Just please, do not take me to Mary Geoise!"
As a slave trader, Disco knew better than anyone what happened to slaves sold to Celestial Dragons.
Few survived longer than three months.
Unable to live. Unable to die.
Shirogai looked down at Disco, who was kneeling in his own filth, and chuckled softly.
"Take him to Mary Geoise as a slave?"
Shalria's eyes sparkled with excitement. She thought Darling's idea was perfect.
"You know exactly what kind of fate awaits slaves sold to Celestial Dragons. Why is it that now, when it is your turn, you are so afraid?"
That way, she could personally torment this man until his death.
"Darling, you are so naughty. Hehehe, I love it."
Shirogai leaned closer and spoke quietly,
"When you return to Mary Geoise, help me collect information. Track the movements of the Celestial Dragons. When they go out, and where they go. I have use for it."
"En, en, alright, Darling!"
Shalria nodded eagerly, not questioning his intentions in the slightest. She was simply happy that she could be useful to him.
…
"Ahhh, it hurts!"
Luffy was engulfed in flames, rolling across the ground in agony.
Chopper fared no better. His thick fur had been scorched black by the intense heat, large patches burned and smoking.
"My hair! My hair!"
In the distance, Brook frantically patted his afro. One of his skeletal legs had already been completely burned away, leaving smoke rising from his bones.
If his afro caught fire, Laboon might not recognize him when they reunited.
"We cannot win!"
Sanji was covered in burns, his body charred from head to toe.
Worst of all was his face. More than half of it had been severely burned, leaving him grotesque and terrifying.
Yet Sanji ignored his own appearance completely. His eyes were locked on Zoro, who was desperately clashing with the lava monster before him, gripping three swords that had been heated red-hot.
"Zoro, watch out!"
A massive chunk of molten lava suddenly fell from the sky, crashing straight toward Zoro.
Sanji realized instantly that Zoro could not dodge in time.
Gritting his teeth, Sanji launched himself into the air and kicked the blazing lava meteor head-on.