By the time Yoriichi and the other Marines heard the commotion and stepped out of the tavern, the street was already in chaos.

"Mo-Monster!!"

"Lord Brigh has been killed!"

"The army's coming, run for your lives!"

The townspeople nearby, seeing this terrifying scene, didn't dare linger a second longer. None of them had the slightest interest in watching the commotion. Shouting in panic, they scattered and fled in all directions.

Yoriichi's eyes were instantly drawn to the corpse pinned beneath a massive meteorite. He focused his gaze.

It was a middle-aged man. The lower half of his body was crushed by the meteorite, and now his entire form was engulfed in flames. His clothing had already caught fire, but the man still wore gold and silver on his fingers—clearly a wealthy individual.

Listening to the fleeing townspeople shouting his name, it was easy to deduce that this man, crushed and burned beneath the meteor, was likely a noble of some status in the Principality of Verdure.

There was no need to think too hard. Among everyone present, only one person could have caused such destruction and turned the street into a battlefield like this.

As he thought, Yoriichi turned his gaze toward Issho. At that moment, Issho was surrounded by a group of intimidating, strong-looking men. His white cane was already gripped in his hand.

The way he held it in both hands was exactly like a swordsman preparing to draw his blade.

"To be blind is, in a way, a blessing. This world is filled with filth too vile to bear looking at."

Issho's deep voice rang out as he stood calmly in the middle of the circle. With his right hand, he grasped one end of his cane—and suddenly drew from within it a long blade. He swung the sword toward the surrounding men.

"BOOM!!!!"

In an instant, a thunderous roar erupted from the ground. A bottomless pit appeared beneath the feet of the attackers.

They hadn't expected such an event. Completely unprepared, they screamed in terror as they fell into the abyss, vanishing from sight entirely.

Even their cries for help faded into silence as they plummeted.

"What… was that?!"

"Is that the power of a Devil Fruit?!"

At that moment, the Marines also burst out from the tavern, just in time to witness Issho's attack. One of the younger Marines froze in shock and muttered under his breath.

Kyros frowned deeply at the display of violence and immediately drew the longsword from his back, holding it tightly as he shouted:

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Killing people in the street? How dare you act with such impunity?!"

Even as he shouted, Kyros vanished from beside Yoriichi and rushed straight at Issho, sword in hand.

But it was clear he didn't intend to kill. As he reached Issho, he didn't slash—instead, he lifted the hilt and swung it like a club toward Issho's abdomen.

Kyros and Issho were similar in height. Physically, Kyros was clearly more robust. Even if Issho was a Devil Fruit user, Kyros held no fear in the face of such street violence.

After all, his opponent was blind. Kyros was confident he could take him down with a single strike.

Crack! But just as the hilt was about to connect with Issho's gut, Issho's left hand shot out and caught Kyros's wrist, halting the blow.

"A Marine, are you?"

"I was merely cleaning up the filth of this world. No need to trouble the Navy."

Issho's calm voice contrasted with the firm grip he had on Kyros's wrist. Though he held back, not striking Kyros further, his tone remained unwavering.

"Cleaning up the filth of this world?"

"You think just saying it makes it true?"

"If I witness something like this, I can't just ignore it!"

"The truth of what happened, come explain it with me at the Marine base!"

Kyros clearly wasn't one to be fooled by smooth talk. He was a righteous man and could not stand by while such actions went unpunished.

Killing a man in the street, then brushing it off with talk of "cleansing filth"? That was treating the Navy with utter disrespect.

Kyros yanked free from Issho's grip and launched a powerful kick toward Issho's head. Just as Issho raised a hand to block, Kyros's eyes narrowed and he followed up with a sudden strike from the sword hilt, again aiming for the abdomen.

A sharp, well-executed combo. Against a normal opponent, Kyros would have easily succeeded.

But this was Issho.

THUMP!!

Just before Kyros's attack landed, a strange force suddenly pressed down on him like a mountain. Overwhelmed, he crashed into the ground with a heavy thud. The terrifying gravity affected the entire area around him.

A massive crater formed beneath Kyros as he struggled under the invisible pressure.

"He's a Devil Fruit user!!"

"This power…"

Kyros lifted his head with great effort, staring up at Issho standing above him. Both hands pressed hard into the ground as he tried to rise. The sheer weight crushed his bones and muscles. Every creak of his body sounded like it was on the verge of collapse.

Issho, sensing his struggle, slowly returned his sword to its sheath and calmly offered a warning.

"I don't want to go with you to the Marines."

"Don't try to resist this power. Your bones, your muscles, your organs… they won't hold out."

"I don't want to hurt you."

The moment the blade clicked back into its scabbard, the overwhelming pressure suddenly vanished.

Kyros, unable to control his strength as the gravity lifted, accidentally launched himself upward.

In midair, Kyros clearly hadn't given up. He steadied his stance with [Geppo] and launched a counterattack. His longsword aimed straight at Issho as he dove.

CLANG!!

With a flick of his cane, Issho drew just a short segment of blade, barely a dozen centimeters and blocked the strike cleanly. The sound of metal striking metal rang out sharply.

Kyros's blow failed, and as he landed, he quickly leapt back to put half a meter between them. With knees bent and sword aimed forward, he prepared to strike again—until Yoriichi's voice cut through the tension:

"That's enough, Kyros."

"You're not his match."

As his words echoed through the battlefield, a figure appeared in front of Kyros, hand outstretched to stop his charge.

"Yoriichi, but he-"

Kyros kept his stance, eyes filled with urgency as he looked up. He opened his mouth to speak, but Yoriichi shook his head and interrupted.

"Mr. Issho."

"This may be our first meeting, but my instincts tell me, you're not someone who kills lightly."

"What happened? Will you tell me?"

Issho quietly sheathed his sword, tapped his cane to the ground, and answered calmly:

"Because I accidentally blocked their path, they tried to kill me."

"Such filth deserves to die."

His voice was resolute, and with both hands resting on his cane, his clothes fluttered as an overwhelming aura surged from him. His words left the gathered Marines stunned.

Trying to kill someone just for getting in their way? Who could be so arrogant?

Hearing this, Yoriichi instinctively looked toward the charred corpse still pinned beneath the meteorite. At this point, it had already burned to cinders. The flames were dying down.

Even though the body was no longer recognizable, the gem-studded golden rings on the man's fingers still glinted brightly in the sunlight.

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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter

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