The owner of the Western Saber, dressed in a red uniform with a typical 'Lobster Soldier' style, wore a high hat adorned with a skull and ornate wing pattern. The brim covered half of his eyes, a scar marked his nose, and his face showed determination.
"This is my homeland..."
Suleiman hid one hand behind his back, gripped the saber tightly with the other, raised the upward blade down in a chop, flicking Lily's sword aside, and charged straight at Sage.
"No one is allowed to cause destruction here!"
Lily was about to strike but sensed something and abandoned the attack.
Sage lit up a cigar at this moment, faced the oncoming blade, directly stretched out his large hand, covered with Haki, gripped the blade, and pulled it toward him, kicking Suleiman squarely in the chest.
Bam!
With just one kick, Suleiman flew backward, fell to the ground, spat out blood, and found his body unable to move.
"Don't bother, with your level, hitting the Secret Hole means you definitely won't be able to move."
Sage tossed the Western Saber aside, letting it fall next to Suleiman, emitting a crisp sound upon contact with the ground.
"War criminal?"
He exhaled smoke, saying, "Did he lose?"
Lily shook her head, "No, he won, but was exiled by this country as an 'A-Class War Criminal' due to killing too many people."
'Executioner' Suleiman, with a bounty of 67 million, was also the leader of the Battle of Tias, a model of winning against superior forces, but was exiled due to excessive killing during that campaign.
"I heard he roams the Underworld, known for cutting off heads when killing."
Lily knew this because she had investigated who was taking business from them, coincidentally finding information on this renowned war.
"Ha..."
Sage grinned, speaking to Suleiman, struggling to lift his head and glare at him, "Killed many people? Is your blade made of cotton? What about your army? Your prowess? You haven't lost, so what makes you a war criminal?"
"Natural, natural disaster!"
Suleiman gritted his teeth, "I'm no match for you, but if you intend to loot here, you'll have to step over my corpse. Before I die, I won't watch you invade my country! Even if exiled, I must defend this place!"
"See, see, that's loyalty."
Sage pointed at him, laughed, "But I have a question. Are you loyal to this land, the people here, or... those nobles?"
Huala!
The Death Star sailed to the port, and a large number of Pirates jumped down, licking their blades with strange laughs, rushing toward the city, stepping over the fallen Suleiman.
"You damn bastards!"
Suleiman's eyes filled with blood, struggling to rise, but an odd force in his body destroyed his strength, pinning him to the ground, watching as Pirates rushed past him, targeting fallen civilians.
Finished...
Faced with overwhelming power, no matter the strategy, no matter the fear, it couldn't intimidate the enemy.
He could win in sea battles because he killed ruthlessly, slicing the heads of enemies on a boat he had overwhelmed, leveraging the fear of enemies towards him to win, protecting Tias.
But faced with a natural disaster, he could do nothing, only watch...
Watch Pirates capture people and dash towards that giant Black Ship.
"?"
A question mark appeared on Suleiman's forehead.
He's not a Pirate, but he knows their ways.
Not killing is good for Pirates, they usually target loot, but taking people is puzzling?
Sell them?
Where could so many be sold, and seeing their cautious moves, it doesn't seem likely.
Pirates want neither money nor death but are instead taking civilians away one by one...
"Hey, want this old man!" A Pirate hoisted an unconscious old man, shouting.
"The captain says just take the living ones!" Another Pirate held a child in one hand, a middle-aged man in the other, racing toward the Death Star.
Tias is an island nation; from port city to nearby villages, there aren't many people.
Augustine Castle is so big yet accommodates just a million, and places like Water Seven, a bustling island city, have only tens of thousands, which is significant.
Lily has also assessed, roughly estimating Tias' total population at just over twenty thousand.
That's how it is on the open sea.
Characterized by vast lands with sparse populations.
"What do you intend, natural disaster," Suleiman coldly asked.
"Oh, I'm short of manpower in my territory, heard everyone here knows shipbuilding, like a miniature Water Seven, so I've come to snatch people."
Sage laughed, "So, whom are you loyal to? This country's many civilians or those nobles? I can't accommodate nobles here; my rule is unyielding, and no one can share it."
Bang bang!
Gunshots rang out nearby, and Suleiman strained to look; faint smoke rose from estates outside ordinary homes and the forefront of the Royal Palace. A mob of vicious Pirates, laughing aloud, ran out carrying treasures.
"Even considered a war criminal, you defend the country, so you mustn't be guarding the nobles..."
Sage reached out his hand, "Against my Supreme King, still having the courage to draw a sword at me, I've always admired talent. This country made you a war criminal; want to move elsewhere, join those you're protecting? I guarantee you won't become a war criminal, for..."
He grinned broadly, revealing pearly teeth, "I won't lose!"
Lily sheathed her sword, also glanced at Suleiman; this guy's bounty isn't high, but some things aren't measured by bounty.
The Battle of Tias made him outstanding, indicating he has command talent, and the ship lacks such personnel; if he joins, there could be a strategic deputy.
But...
Lily looked up at the sky again, then at Sage, furrowing her brow.
This island isn't a Magnetic Field Island; Sage coming here transforms storm to blizzard at most, not this abnormal climate.
Indeed, the island's normal climate, in Lily's eyes, seems abnormal.
An immense magnetic field in Augustine Castle gets disturbed heavily when Sage arrives, totaling two months of storm frequency in half a year.
Not to say stable weather doesn't exist, but Lily doubts...
Is there something on the island?
She looked around, her pupils revealing red dots as Observation expanded.
Except for sensing Suleiman was still decent, the rest were ordinary, mostly civilians.
Nothing noteworthy.
Yet...
Lily gazed up, staring at the gloomy sky due to winter weather; her heart refused to relax.
"Buru buru buru buru."
The Radio Snail sounded, Pirate from the ship carrying a Radio Snail hurriedly approached, "Lady Lily, there's a call."
Lily caught the handset, the Radio Snail mimicked someone with two long whiskers.
It was Jabra calling.
"Where's Captain Sage!" Jabra's somewhat urgent voice sounded.
"What's going on?" Lily asked.
...
Ten thousand meters above.
Sky Island.
"Oh roro roro roro!"
A colossal figure made an exuberant sound, plummeting down below.
"Living... is so boring!"
...
"We just received intel from Lucci; Wano Country's Special Agent overheard conversations between top officials, Kaido... has arrived at Tias!"
Lily's pupils contracted, sweat trickled down her forehead, she dropped the handset, letting it hang from the Radio Snail.
It wasn't the shock of the words, but...
In the sky, a black dot grew larger, bringing wind pressure down, whipping Lily's golden wavy hair violently.
That aura...
So strong it makes one tremble!
"Sage!!" Lily shouted loudly.