They mouthed off only because they did not know. To them, the World Government still stood behind them. Who would dare provoke them and throw their life away?
One pirate already hated the Celestial Dragons to the bone. His wife had been taken by them and turned into a slave. Seeing these arrogant parasites snarl in his face made the veins stand out on his neck.
In the past he might have swallowed it down. But now Flowing Cloud had wiped out the World Government. Their backers were gone. What was there to fear?
While the ten Celestial Dragons spewed threats and strutted, the pirate strode over with his fists clenched.
"Impudent. How dare a slave stand before a Celestial Dragon. Do you want to die, dog slave? Untie me this instant. Delay one breath and I will beat you to death." The Celestial Dragon's voice dripped contempt, every word uglier than the last.
"Kneel. Who gave you the right to stand in front of me?"
"Kneel? Kneel your head." The pirate's rage boiled over. He swung and slapped.
The crack rang out, the impact launching a Celestial Dragon flat onto his back with blood spraying from his lips.
He had wanted that slap for a long, long time.
A hush fell. The pirates glanced at one another. Since when had hitting a Celestial Dragon been this easy?
In the old days, displeasing one of them could cost you your head.
Flat on the floor, the Celestial Dragon stared in shock. In his entire life, aside from that beating by a certain masked man, he had never been struck. And now a nobody pirate had laid hands on him.
"You filthy cur, I will take your life." He scrambled up, face aflame, and charged.
"Hit a Celestial Dragon and I will have the Marines kill you. You cannot escape the World Government's hunt."
Rakuya snorted. As the man lunged past, Rakuya appeared in front of him and slapped him into the ground. The body hit like a meteoroid.
"Keep mouthing off and I will end you," Rakuya said, gaze cold as he swept it over the bound nobles.
"What are you, daring to kidnap Celestial Dragons. Are you not afraid of the World Government's bounty on your head?"
"They will not ignore this. I will have you executed."
"Wretch, strike me and I will claim your life."
"When the Government catches you, I will have you chopped to pieces and fed to dogs."
Rakuya's smile was thin. "The World Government you cling to is gone. I destroyed it. Give up and get used to being abused." He spoke lightly, then traded one hundred points for ten iron collars. Once those were on, even the Five Elders would not be able to break them.
His words finally shook them.
"You lie," one stammered. "The Five Elders are the strongest in the world. You, destroy the Government? Why should I believe you?"
"Boy, I am older than you have lived. Deceive me and I will see you wanted by the Government the moment I am free."
"Once the Government arrives, they will free us. Prepare to die."
They refused to believe him, still crowing as if they sat in the Holy Land.
Rakuya did not bother to argue. He raised his hand and pressed. All ten convulsed as blood burst from their mouths, pinned to the deck by a weight they could not resist.
"Your cheap lives mean nothing to me. Your threats are a joke. If you want to live, shut up. Snuffing you out would take less than a flick."
He left them wheezing and turned to the pirate who had struck first. "You were the one who hit him?"
"Yes." The man's hands trembled uncontrollably. He could not see Rakuya's face, but the presence rolling off him made his knees weak.
"Good. Ten thousand Beli." Rakuya lifted his voice so every crew could hear. "All of you may take a swing, but control yourselves. If you kill them, they lose their value. I want years of humiliation. I want them to live worse than death. The rates are simple. One punch, ten thousand Beli. One slap, ten thousand Beli. One kick, two hundred thousand Beli. One Zoan-class Devil Fruit trades for fifty punches. One Paramecia trades for seventy. One Logia trades for one hundred. If you can pay in Beli or Devil Fruits, you can beat them as you please. I will keep them bound in the most visible place on Fish-Man Island."
He sounded for all the world like a shameless merchant hawking a wickedly profitable service.
Sometimes even Rakuya felt he was wasting his talents not going into business.
"System, can you guarantee they will not die?" He wanted the Celestial Dragons to make him rich. Killing them would be satisfying, but only for a moment. True punishment was wearing down their arrogance day after day, letting the world trample their so-called dignity.
Let them long for death and never find it.
That would be catharsis for countless victims. It would also be very lucrative.
How many in this world hated the Celestial Dragons. How many dreamed of hitting one just once.
He chuckled at the thought of how hot this business would burn.
"Ding. Yes. Ten points per person. We can lock in a final breath so they cannot die no matter the injury. They will remain fully conscious and feel every pain."
"Perfect."
"Exchange."
"Ding. Exchange complete. One hundred points spent."
Ten threads of light streaked from Rakuya into the ten Celestial Dragons. Only he could see them. No one else noticed a thing.
"Flowing Cloud," the pirate asked, swallowing, "can I hit them again?"
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