Higuma had already been pushed into a corner, and his heart sank.
Thump. Thump…
The Teiō Enjin (Emperor Engine) roared through the forest, and in the blink of an eye a heavy, oppressive pressure descended, blanketing the entire scene.
Instantly, everyone's expressions changed.
At this moment, nobody cared anymore whether those cloaked figures were really Revolutionaries or not.
All attention was dragged—helplessly—toward that overwhelming, pressure-soaked presence.
Higuma's face was completely blank. You couldn't see joy, you couldn't see anger.
He spoke slowly.
"If what happened today gets out, everyone dies."
His low voice hung in the air. The blunt threat made every bandit's spine go cold.
Only they didn't know that Higuma silently added in his mind:
"They really will die."
"Me included. The World Government would hunt me until I'm dead…"
Higuma didn't look ferocious—just expressionless, unreadable.
His voice wasn't loud, and his tone didn't even sound like a threat, as if he were simply stating a fact.
But that faint, lurking pressure made every bandit's mind go white, like they'd lost the ability to think.
Like an extremely dangerous beast had locked onto all of them.
The moment any of them showed even a flicker of hesitation—any strange expression at all—they'd be met by the beast's thunderous strike.
Gulp.
Several people swallowed without thinking, cold sweat soaking their backs.
"We'll die. We'll definitely die!"
"Leak anything—are you tired of living?"
"With this kind of pressure… it feels like even having the thought of leaking it would get seen through instantly."
"So this is the Bandit King Higuma's authority… I heard he once used nothing but presence to make Gillman—a guy with a seven-million bounty—lose the courage to even make a move…"
"I thought that was just the Higuma Bandit Crew bragging and polishing their own image… but it's real."
Facing Higuma like this, no one even had the notion of disobeying.
The whole place fell silent.
Only after a long while did the Emperor Engine rumble gradually fade, the terrifying pressure slowly receding.
Higuma really hadn't meant it as a threat—he'd only been stating a fact.
Still, it looked like his new subordinates were obedient enough.
"Good."
Higuma gave a small, indifferent nod, said nothing more, and walked into the cabin.
All the bandits finally exhaled, staring at Higuma's retreating back with an expression mixed of shock and fear.
That was their boss—Bandit King Higuma!
A lot of the newcomers had never truly believed in that "Bandit King" title, or in a goal as insane as looting the royal city.
But after personally experiencing Higuma's Emperor Engine—and after seeing the Revolutionary Army's leader come in person—every last petty thought evaporated.
Nearby, Dragon and the others' expressions shifted again and again.
"Dragon… is this what you meant by 'Conqueror's Haki trained to the point it comes with its own sound effects'?"
"This guy is too dangerous… He actually used Conqueror's Haki to intimidate his own men? Isn't that going way too far?"
Ivankov said in a lowered voice.
Dragon nodded slightly.
"Higuma's control of Conqueror's Haki has reached an unbelievable level. Not only has he trained it to the point it carries its own sound… he's refined it down to a frightening degree."
"Look. These bandits are ordinary, but Higuma's Conqueror's Haki didn't make them lose consciousness. They stayed awake, forced to endure that pressure while fully aware."
Dragon sighed softly.
"Perhaps he was displeased by our little test earlier. We shouldn't have been hiding in the bushes watching…"
As he spoke, Dragon swept his gaze over the surrounding bandits.
Higuma had already disappeared into the cabin, but fear still clung to the bandits' faces.
"On the surface, Higuma was disciplining his men… but isn't he also warning us?"
"This is a show of force."
Dragon said quietly.
After a brief exchange, Dragon and the others' faces grew heavier, and they followed behind Higuma into the wooden cabin.
Outside, the bandits still didn't disperse. They stared toward the cabin with complicated expressions.
"Our boss, Higuma, is inside having an equal conversation with the world's most dangerous criminal."
"Maybe… inside that tiny cabin, a conspiracy that overturns the world will be born…"
The bandits whispered their guesses.
…
Inside the cabin, Higuma and Dragon sat facing each other. "Tyrant" Kuma and Ivankov took the side seats.
Both Dragon and Higuma were tall, intimidating men, and both wore expressions that gave almost nothing away.
The atmosphere in the cabin was tense.
"So Higuma isn't exactly welcoming my sudden visit… fair enough. My move was a bit too abrupt."
Dragon sensed the weight in the air and thought to himself.
That earlier show of force had left all of them feeling heavy.
"This Higuma is dangerous. Deep. The kind of man who'll use Conqueror's Haki just to reprimand his own subordinates."
Dragon considered how to speak—how to soften the mood, how to make Higuma feel the Revolutionary Army's goodwill.
What he didn't know was that Higuma was simply nervous.
Staring at Dragon's expressionless, terrifyingly fierce face, Higuma's breathing hitched.
"Why is the Revolutionary Army coming for me? And why is it Dragon personally, with the okama king and Tyrant Kuma?"
This was the world's most dangerous criminal. Higuma didn't want anything to do with a man like that.
Whether Garp would come or not was one thing—why the hell was even Dragon here?
"What do I do? What do I do?"
"I thought if I could bluff a Four Emperor like Shanks, Dragon shouldn't be that hard to handle either!"
"I got way too full of myself!"
Higuma was suffering.
Red-Haired Shanks had a great temperament—he barely even acted like a pirate.
He wouldn't get angry even when a normal person splashed him with booze—or smashed a bottle over his head.
He was a Four Emperor, already standing at the peak of the pirate world, yet he could still hang out in some backwater place like Foosha Village and joke around with a kid like Luffy.
But Dragon was different.
Dragon hardly ever appeared. He was the kind of man who felt like a final boss lurking behind the curtain. Higuma knew too little about him, couldn't read him at all, couldn't guess what he was thinking.
So… what the hell was he supposed to do now?
Got it!
After agonizing for a long time, a bolt of inspiration flashed through Higuma's head—an absolutely brilliant idea.
"I'll say I suddenly have a stomachache! Dragon will definitely understand. Whatever it is, we can talk another day!"
(End of Chapter)
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