The next morning.

Enel had already packed everything early.

He stood at the doorway waiting for Sakazuki.

He was a bit impatient.

Inside the room, Sakazuki gave a light chuckle and walked out:

"Let's go."

On the way, Sakazuki took out several wanted posters and picked one out.

He handed it to Enel.

On the front was the bounty; on the back were Sakazuki's handwritten notes.

Enel looked at the description and read it softly:

"The Note Pirates, originating from the South Blue."

"Formed by a group of musicians with high combat capabilities."

"Their dream is to hold a world tour concert."

"....."

"....."

"Recent actions:"

"Completely wiped out the Goya Pirates who were plundering Featherwind Island."

After reading, Enel looked up and said:

"These... count as pirates?"

"Doesn't seem like they did anything bad."

Sakazuki was about to say something when he suddenly sensed something with Observation Haki.

He took out the wanted posters again, picked another one, and handed it to Enel.

Enel took it with confusion and gave it a quick glance.

This pirate crew was far more brutal than the Note Pirates.

There were three recorded massacres of towns.

And countless murders.

Then he heard Sakazuki say:

"Tear it up."

"Let me show you another scene first."

As he spoke, he grabbed Enel's shoulder and stepped forward.

The two of them vanished instantly.

Only shredded pieces of the wanted poster fluttered in midair...

...

A burly man, four meters tall and dressed like a pirate captain—

Was running in terror.

The thick collar on his neck and the massive chains on his feet revealed—

This... was a slave.

Sakazuki and Enel stood on a branch of the giant red tree.

They looked down indifferently.

Enel saw the figure and said:

"Isn't that the pirate from the wanted poster we just tore up?"

Sakazuki nodded slightly:

"Keep watching."

Perhaps this pirate hadn't eaten in a long time—after running across half the town—

He was drenched in sweat, cold sweat constantly pouring from his head.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out from afar.

A bullet struck near the pirate-slave, and the surrounding people scattered in fear.

Knowing he couldn't escape, the pirate-slave tried to grab someone nearby as a human shield.

But then he heard—

Whoosh!

A sharp sound pierced the air. A CP agent in black clothing appeared.

With a single slash, the agent severed his arm and said:

"Stupid slave."

"Being chosen by Saint Tevias is your blessing."

"How dare you try to escape."

"Now, Saint Tevias sentences you to the ultimate punishment."

The CP agent's cold words echoed.

The pirate-slave screamed in terror:

"Please, let me go!"

"I have a lot of treasure, it's all yours!!"

"I've given up being a pirate!"

"My wife and child are waiting for me back home!!"

"Please!"

"When I left, my child had just been born..."

"He doesn't even know what his father looks like!!!"

"Please!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The CP agent ignored the pirate's pleas.

He coldly swung his blade and chopped off the other arm.

Then came two cracking sounds.

Both of his leg bones were shattered with kicks—

Bending forward at a grotesque 90° angle.

The CP agent picked up the severed arm and stuffed it into the pirate's mouth—

Preventing him from screaming.

Then vanished, heading to report to Saint Tevias.

Sakazuki said to Enel:

"That was a pirate slave captured by traffickers."

"The collar on his neck is packed with high-powered explosives."

"If he escapes beyond a certain range, he'll be blown to pieces."

Enel nodded and kept watching.

Before long—

A tall and thin figure approached, wearing a bubble on his head—

With an arrogant expression, a Celestial Dragon.

Saint Tevias walked forward.

Seeing the crippled slave on the ground—

He kicked him hard twice:

"Bastard, piece of trash!"

"Damn lowlife!"

"Wasting so much of my money to buy you."

"I wanted to brag about you to Saint Viraomia."

"But now it's all ruined!"

Getting angrier, he pulled out a pistol. Bang bang bang!

Multiple shots rang out, hitting the slave.

Looking at the pirate-slave's terrified and pained expression—

Saint Tevias suddenly thought of a fun game.

He instructed the CP agent to pull the severed arm from his mouth.

Then took out a remote and said to him:

"This remote—once pressed—"

"The collar on your neck..."

"Will blow you to pieces."

Seeing the pirate didn't believe him, he casually grabbed a collar from a servant—

Tossed it to a weak slave:

"You, take this and run over there."

He pointed to a spot hundreds of meters away.

The weak slave nodded and started running.

When the distance was sufficient—

Saint Tevias said lightly:

"Watch this."

He pressed the button in his hand.

In the eyes of the pirate-slave, the distant slave suddenly exploded.

A mushroom cloud tens of meters high rose into the sky.

A wave of scorching heat swept over.

Terror overwhelmed his heart.

Saint Tevias said:

"I'll give you a chance."

"If you can make it to that shop over there—"

"I'll let you go."

A surge of hope rose in the pirate-slave's heart as he looked at the shop a hundred meters away.

Saint Tevias whispered devilishly:

"Begin."

The pirate-slave twisted his body, crawling forward on the ground.

His broken legs flopped side to side—utterly grotesque.

His twisted expression showed the unbearable pain he endured.

While Saint Tevias's laughter echoed cruelly.

Enel frowned but kept watching.

Who knows how much time passed, but the pirate-slave's consciousness began to blur.

Maybe the will to survive was the only thing driving him forward.

Suddenly, he hit something—unable to move further.

He struggled to raise his head and saw the shop sign.

Even in immense pain, a faint smile appeared on his lips as he looked back—

But then Saint Tevias's shrill voice pierced the air:

"I didn't mean that shop."

"Jiehahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"

In the heart of the pirate-slave, an overwhelming fury and despair exploded.

The collar on his neck began beeping—

Faster and faster...

In the final moments of his life...

"I'm sorry... Dolly."

"And Pruce..."

BOOM!!!!!!

The pirate-slave, along with the shop, was reduced to ash.

Watching Saint Tevias cackling with delight—

Enel said:

"That's just vile..."

"So these are the World Nobles the Marines are supposed to protect?"

Sakazuki replied:

"Exactly."

"They enjoy everything the world has to offer and call themselves gods."

"To distinguish themselves from ordinary people—"

"They wear those helmets to isolate themselves from the outside air."

"The Heavenly Tribute squeezes resources from most nations on Earth."

"The whole world serves that tiny group."

"Do you think that's fair?"

Enel said:

"Not fair."

Sakazuki said:

"It really isn't."

"But they control the lifeblood of the world."

"They possess weapons that can cleanse the entire planet."

"Even the Marine military budget is allocated by them."

"In such a situation..."

"What would you do?"

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