Chapter 198: Deterrence and Order, Teach's Despair!
Impel Down · LEVEL 6
In the cold, dark cell, the rattle of Seastone chains sounded like the footsteps of death circling the ears.
Doflamingo, shirtless and with disheveled hair, leaned against the icy stone wall. Looking at the newspaper just delivered, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.
"Fuffuffuffu..."
The laughter went from low to piercing, echoing madly in the dead silence of Level 6, carrying frenzy and excitement.
He slowly raised the newspaper. The shocking headline was printed boldly on the front page—
[YONKO WHITEBEARD FALLS! MARINES ROY AND SAKAZUKI JOIN FORCES TO SLAY HIM!]
"FUFFUFFUFFU...!!!"
Doflamingo's laughter grew louder, eventually turning into a roar!
"Pirates are evil? Marines are righteous?"
"Those terms... have always changed throughout the course of history!!!"
He looked up abruptly, his gaze behind his sunglasses cold as a venomous snake, seeming to pierce through the prison to gaze at the zenith of the world.
He yanked the chains until they clanged loudly, but he didn't care. Staring at Roy's photo in the newspaper, his grin grew more hideous.
"On this sea... who is the true overlord?"
"The Four Emperors? The World Government? Or those five old geezers standing atop Mary Geoise???"
"Fuffuffuffu... NO!!!"
He shredded the newspaper violently, scraps scattering like snow.
"On this sea, THE MARINES! THEY ARE THE STRONGEST OVERLORDS!!!"
"Only those who stand at the top are qualified to define 'Good' and 'Evil'!"
"This sea has never been a battlefield of 'Justice vs. Evil'!"
"It's just a neutral slaughterhouse! Only the victor... is worthy to speak of Justice!!!"
Doflamingo stood up abruptly, pulling the Seastone chains half a foot with sheer force, blood dripping from his wrists!
"FUFFUFFUFFU...!!!"
"Roy, you've shattered the balance of the old era the moment you bared your fangs..."
"Then next, let this world get a little crazier!!"
Somewhere in the East Blue · High-Altitude Island Group
Ten thousand meters in the sky, a group of floating islands circled.
An ancient castle stood at the center of the archipelago. In the main hall, a man with golden hair and a steering wheel embedded in his head was slowly unfolding a wind-wrinkled newspaper.
It was the legendary Golden Lion Shiki!
Muscles tense all over his body, he stared deathly at the bold headline:
[WHITEBEARD PIRATES ANNIHILATED! YONKO NEWGATE FALLS!]
"CRACK!"
His hand tightened, and the entire newspaper exploded into fragments in his palm.
"NEWGATE!!!"
"You bastard... how could you fall to a Vice Admiral?!!"
Shiki roared at the sky, the wave of rage shaking the entire high-altitude castle with a boom!
"You were Whitebeard!! You were... that monster who competed for supremacy with Roger!!!"
The entire castle trembled violently, walls cracking, chandeliers crashing down!
The floor tiles of the great hall cracked like spiderwebs under his twin swords, and the entire floating island shook violently!
"That brat named Roy... who exactly IS HE!!!"
Shiki's Haki surged wildly, his ferocious pupils filled with disbelief and twisted rage!
While the news of Whitebeard's fall shook the globe, the major sea areas of the New World had already fallen into unprecedented chaos and restlessness.
Countless islands and towns that once relied on Whitebeard's banner and reputation for protection felt as if the god above them had vanished in an instant.
Pirates of all stripes were stirring. Ambitionists, desperadoes, bounty hunters, defectors... they swarmed in, attempting to carve up the flesh and seize territory in the ocean after the "death of the whale."
But surprisingly—
Despite the fighting so far, no large-scale slaughter or ravaging of civilians had occurred.
Everyone expected the New World to be swept by a bloody tide of riots, but unexpectedly, it was forcibly suppressed by an urgent headline before the riots could fully erupt.
That day, the World Economy News Paper issued another urgent update. The front page contained only one sentence:
[I don't care how you pirates kill each other. If it affects civilians, I'm coming over. —— Roy]
No copy, no numbers, no bloody images.
Just one sentence.
But the air in the entire New World seemed to freeze completely in that instant!
New World · A Pirate Gathering Area
"Oi! Did your fight just now affect the fishing village near the port?"
"No... no! We just blew up that dock! Didn't touch a single old person, woman, or child! Don't talk nonsense!!"
"Are you crazy? Do you want that guy coming to our door?!"
"That is—the man who can go anywhere he wants!"
Big Mom Pirates · Totto Land
Smoothie put down the newspaper coldly, speaking in a low voice. "This kid... really dares to talk big."
"Precisely because it's 'him,' no one dares not to take it seriously." Katakuri stood aside, brows slightly lowered, seemingly in thought.
Beasts Pirates · Onigashima
"Worororo... what is this brat shouting about now?" Kaido sneered, but there was no contempt in his eyes.
King and Queen exchanged glances, knowing clearly—that threat, if spoken by anyone else, would have been laughed off. But that was Roy.
The man who could arrive anywhere instantly and cut down Whitebeard.
In this moment of chaotic warfare and contending warlords, his single sentence was like a blade falling from the sky, drawing a line that could not be crossed.
Since that news was published, although major pirate crews continued to fight, they almost tacitly avoided civilian settlements. Combat zones were strictly controlled within abandoned sea areas, deserted islands, air ports, or underwater mining tunnels.
In the ruins of this kingless era, the last bottom line of order was forcibly maintained by the prestige of one man.
The name "Roy" had become the core of deterrence in the New World.
Meanwhile, Punk Hazard · Vegapunk's Lab
"BANG—!"
With a spatial tremor, Roy's figure flashed into existence, casually tossing the battered Teach onto the experiment table.
"CLICK—"
Special Seastone chains locked instantly, binding Teach's limbs firmly, rendering him immobile.
"Gah!! Damn it...!!!"
Teach struggled, gritting his teeth, his voice hoarse but still stubborn. "Roy! What do you want?! Where is this?!!"
Roy couldn't be bothered to answer him, standing aside with a cold gaze.
The metal hatch at the other end of the lab opened with a hiss, and Vegapunk, energetic in his white lab coat, walked in.
"Yo, arrived faster than I expected."
He skillfully brought up the monitors, observing the "experimental material" Roy brought while adjusting his goggles. "Let me see this 'surprise' you mentioned."
He circled Teach twice, staring at his protruding belly and wretched appearance, frowning with disgust and disappointment.
"...Just this??"
"A black fatty who looks like he has high liver fat and worrying cholesterol?"
Roy put his hands in his pockets and said indifferently, "He is the son of Rocks D. Xebec."
"And—"
"His body structure is special; it can accommodate two Devil Fruits simultaneously."
"WHAT?!!"
Hearing this, Vegapunk's eyes widened abruptly, pupils shrinking behind his lenses!
The next second, his expression turned fanatical instantly. Like a scientist discovering a new continent, he stared at Teach with shining eyes.
"Can I dissect this man?!!"
"He's a pirate anyway. Do whatever you want."
Teach's face turned pale, twisting frantically. "NO!!! LET ME GO!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!"
Vegapunk completely ignored his yelling, rubbing his hands excitedly. "Amazing! This is an epoch-making discovery!"
Roy continued, "By the way, I've already notified Kuma. He'll be here soon."
Vegapunk paused. "Kuma? What for?"
Roy's gaze was indifferent as he spoke slowly. "I want him to... slap out all of Teach's memories."
The air went silent instantly.
And Teach completely broke down in this moment!
"...Wh-What?!!"
"Kuma?! The Paw-Paw Fruit?! You want to see my memories?!!"
Having read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Teach obviously knew what Roy was talking about.
"NO!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!! YOU CAN'T!!!"
Teach panicked completely, eyes wide, screaming:
"ROY!! ARE YOU CRAZY?! IT'S ILLEGAL FOR YOU MARINES TO DO THIS!! I AM A PRISONER, NOT A LAB ANIMAL!!"
Chains rattled wildly. Teach roared hysterically, fear and regret intertwining on his face into the ugliest struggle.
But Roy just looked down at him, like looking at a parasite pressed under a microscope.
" The law doesn't protect a pirate with heinous conduct."
"Everything inside you, including your secrets, your bloodline, your memories—"
"Will provide answers for the New Era."
In this moment, Teach understood the meaning of true despair for the first time.
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