Sabaody Island, District 24:
The street, which had been bustling with noise just moments ago, suddenly fell into a dead silence. Only the faint, tense breathing of the kneeling civilians could be heard.
A Tenryubito wearing a bubble helmet and luxurious robes walked at the front. Behind him, a squad of guards in black suits and several Marines followed. Judging by the rank on the leading Marine's shoulder, he was a Vice Admiral.
The atmosphere was heavy, and an indescribable tension filled the air.
Not far away, Kōjin stood quietly. His eyesight was excellent. After glancing a few times, he suddenly vanished.
The Vice Admiral trailing behind the Celestial Dragon sensed something. He swept his eyes cautiously in that direction but, when he found nothing, he withdrew his gaze.
Inside a narrow alley perpendicular to the Tenryubito's path, Kōjin appeared.
His expression was calm. He had separated from Saul and the others precisely because he had spotted this Celestial Dragon walking down the street.
He remembered that face very clearly.
Because of a single moment when he failed to kneel, this man had declared his life forfeit, eventually causing him to fall into Karens' hands.
"Today really is a day for settling karma, huh..." Kōjin couldn't help but sigh as he saw this.
Karens and his subordinates, who had tested dozens of execution methods on him, as well as the Tenryubito who caused it all, were appearing before him one by one.
Lowering his head, he played with a pebble he had just picked up which was about the size of a fingertip.
There was a Marine Vice Admiral on the main street. Striking directly would be risky and could lead to failure. After assessing the situation, he chose this narrow alleyway.
The angle was perfect. The moment the Tenryubito at the front passed by would be his best opportunity and with the entire street full of people kneeling, no one would notice anything amiss.
As for fear? Hesitation?
Kōjin didn't feel either of those things.
After all, he is a prime follower of the saying, 'If you're going to silence someone, do it thoroughly'.
Plap.
The pebble hit his palm as he tossed it up again, creating a soft clicking sound.
Kōjin leaned casually against the wall behind him, waiting patiently.
On the street, the Tenryubito walked ahead while the Vice Admiral followed behind. Suddenly, the middle-aged Vice Admiral frowned as the Den Den Mushi in his coat trembled.
"Your Highness, I'll only escort you up to this point." The Vice Admiral spoke.
"Go. I doubt there's anyone in this world who would dare lay a hand on me." The Tenryubito replied indifferently with a lofty and arrogant attitude.
"Yes." The Vice Admiral nodded, showing no smile on his face as he replied and without hesitation, he turned around and walked away.
If he hadn't been unlucky enough to be assigned this escort, he would never have taken on such a disgraceful task willingly. To an old Marine like him, strutting openly down the street like this felt no different from defecating in public.
If Garp caught wind of this, the old bastard would probably ridicule him without end…
The street remained silent as the Celestial Dragon continued walking.
As he passed a certain alleyway, he thought he heard something, prompting him to turn his head out of curiosity.
Naturally, to him, this was just an idle glance. He didn't sense any danger, nor could he genuinely sense any danger. But in that instant, he saw a man leaning against the wall and tossing a pebble in his hand.
"A Marine?" The Tenryubito paused slightly upon seeing this scene.
He didn't care why this Marine was hiding instead of protecting him. In his daily life, he considered himself a gentle and benevolent noble.
He would generously forgive most acts of rudeness.
Yet, at that moment, the Marine looked up and met his gaze directly. Their eyes clashed and the Tenryubito froze again. Then, anger quickly surged within him.
He saw no reverence on the face of this Marine. Of course, he didn't recognize that the man before him was the same person who had "offended" him a few days earlier.
At that moment, the pebble Kōjin tossed fell, and he caught it neatly between his index and middle fingers.
Crackling strands of black-red lightning sparked violently, and in the next instant, the pebble shot out like a bolt of lightning, slicing through the air.
Everything brightened suddenly in the Tenryubito's vision, and it remained as such right until the pebble arrived. With overwhelming force, it pierced the center of his forehead, burst from the back of his skull, and shot toward the distant sky.
But the pebble's power was clearly far from limited to that.
Crack!
The Tenryubito's head shattered, exploding in an instant.
The street remained silent, but the black-suited guards behind the Celestial Dragon froze. Terror, shock, and disbelief flooded their faces all at once.
Just a second ago, the Tenryubito had been walking ahead of them, and the next second, his entire head simply vanished.
"AHHHHH!!!"
A shrill scream pierced the silence.
While back in the alley, Kōjin had already disappeared without a trace.
The Vice Admiral, who had just turned to leave but hadn't gotten far, suddenly stopped. He whipped his head around, and his face twisted visibly in shock and horror.
"Vice Admiral, the... the Tenryubito, His Highness..." One of the guards trembled as he spoke.
The Vice Admiral took a deep breath, his expression grave, and hurried forward at top speed.
"This is bad... really bad!"
When he reached the scene, he sucked in another breath involuntarily. His heart thumped wildly.
It was one of the most brutal scenes he had ever witnessed. A Celestial Dragon had been killed by a headshot. Silent. Instant. It was impossible to imagine.
"What the hell happened!?" He roared at the black-suited guards.
"We... we don't know either!"
The guards were completely stunned and sank into utter despair.
They understood very clearly that their own fates would be far from pleasant. A Tenryubito had been killed. This incident would shake the entire world.
Some of the bolder civilians who were peeking secretly also witnessed the scene, and their hearts trembled with fear.
'The exalted Celestial Dragons… could die!?'
'And die in such a gruesome way!?'
Meanwhile, Kojin had rejoined Saul and the others.
"Done watching?" Saul asked loudly.
"Yeah. There was nothing worth seeing. Just a noble showing off in front of civilians." Kōjin shook his head.
"Haha, World Nobles are always like that," Shinbu laughed.
"Let's go," Kōjin said.
The group began walking toward the edge of the island. Soon, however, they heard a sudden uproar behind them, the sharp blast of whistles and saw large numbers of Marines rushing toward District 24 from every direction.
The scene made them all pause.
"Something happened," Someone muttered.
"Want to go check it out?" Kōjin suggested.
Saul scratched the back of his head. No one disagreed.
A moment later, they arrived at District 24 and saw the middle-aged Vice Admiral standing there, looking overwhelmed and panicked.
"That's Vice Admiral Raku!" Saul recognized him.
Kōjin nodded and walked forward. He glanced at the blood on the ground, his expression darkening.
"Vice Admiral Raku!"
"I'm Kojin, I was recently promoted to Rear Admiral under Vice Admiral Garp."
"May I ask… What happened?"
Vice Admiral Raku responded and gave him a quick glance.
"So you're Garp's disciple, huh? You won't be of any help here. You'd better return to headquarters and attend your rank-granting ceremony."
He paused, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"I don't have time to deal with you right now."
(End of Chapter)
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