The moment the words left his lips, Jand slowly closed his eyes and exhaled his final breath.
The others hanging beside him had long stopped breathing. Their corpses were beginning to show signs of decay, with livid spots marking their skin.
Gin stood in silence, his iron crutch rotating idly in his grip, producing a sharp whoosh as it sliced through the air.
Unlike Kuro, Gin was much more familiar with the low-ranking guards from Raven Harbor.
He'd always preferred simple, straightforward people—those like the late Pearl. Jand had been one of them.
Their thinking was uncomplicated.
If you're good to me, I'll be loyal to you. If you're a worthy lord, I'll give my life for you.
Gin had respected men like that.
And now, Jand had been executed for nothing more than a ridiculous excuse...
"Offended the king?" he muttered coldly.
He tightened his grip on the iron crutch.
"I think it's time we test Kuro's idea of replacing the king."
With that, Gin slowly turned around.
In the next instant, countless soldiers flooded in from all directions, encircling him.
"There he is!"
"That's the man who broke into King Stelly's execution grounds!"
"I—!"
Before the shouting soldier could finish, Gin's figure blurred—and then he slammed into the crowd.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact rang out.
Dozens of soldiers were launched like rag dolls, skidding across the ground. Their armor cracked and shattered.
Several unlucky ones were struck directly by the iron ball atop Gin's crutch, their bodies bursting into a mist of blood.
In mere moments, a wide clearing opened around Gin.
The once-confident encirclement of guards now cowered in terror. Their weapons trembled in their hands—some even dropped theirs altogether.
Whether it was the sheer destructive force Gin had just unleashed, or the horrifying sight of their comrades being flung like debris, one truth became impossible to ignore:
The man before them was a monster. An unstoppable force.
"Fall back!"
"Use your guns!"
The guards scattered like frightened birds, desperately clinging to their flintlocks as if that would protect them.
He's just flesh and blood, they told themselves. No one can survive a bullet storm!
With that desperate hope, they fired in unison.
A chorus of gunfire erupted. Muzzles flashed. A hailstorm of bullets rained toward Gin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But then—
A voice cut through the air, devoid of emotion:
"Where's that bastard Stelly?"
The guards froze. Their eyes widened.
Gin was still standing.
Amid the raining bullets, he strode forward unharmed, step by step.
It was as if the bullets... were avoiding him.
"I... I remember now!"
A guard, pale with realization, gasped.
"That's Gin—the demon! A senior officer of the Gawain Pirates!"
"He's got a bounty of over 20 million!"
"RUN!"
Panic exploded among them.
The guards at the port dropped their weapons and fled in terror. Chaos engulfed the harbor.
At that moment, Kuro arrived with reinforcements, having just disembarked from the ship.
He was ready to scold Gin for acting rashly and ruining the mission.
But then he saw Jand—and the others, lifeless, strung up like warnings.
An almost tangible killing intent surged from Kuro. The surrounding pirates instinctively recoiled.
Clang!
The claw-blade was unsheathed, gleaming with a cold, merciless light.
Kuro's eyes calmed, his expression eerily composed.
Yet Gin, standing beside him, knew better.
That killing intent hadn't disappeared. It had been compressed, buried deep inside Kuro's body.
Even Gin's Observation Haki could barely sense it now.
"It seems," Kuro said quietly, "the Kingdom of Goa really does need a new king."
His voice was low and restrained—every word carried weight.
"Let's go."
The words barely hit the air before Kuro moved.
He stepped forward—and vanished, Gin close behind him.
Meanwhile, deep within the capital of the Kingdom of Goa, inside a grand palace...
Stelly lounged on his throne, gazing down arrogantly at the kneeling courtiers below.
He basked in the intoxicating pleasure of power.
Once merely a minor noble, Stelly had been adopted by Outlook III, Sabo's father. Through scheming, he had ousted Sabo and claimed the inheritance for himself.
Now, backed by Outlook III, he sat upon the throne of the Kingdom of Goa—his most triumphant moment.
"The people of Raven Harbor had the nerve to ask me for money?"
He chuckled, spreading his arms with a twisted grin.
"Not taxing them is already a mercy. They should be thanking me."
"They really don't know their place."
"The last lesson wasn't enough. Maybe this time, seeing those lowlifes die will make them remember."
At his side, Princess Sally—golden curls framing her anxious face—voiced her concern.
"Raven Harbor isn't even under our direct control. We have no right to collect taxes from them."
"And I heard… the one backing Raven Harbor is the famous Pirate Knight Gawain. His bounty is already up to 248 million berries."
"If he retaliates—!"
"Enough!"
Stelly cut her off, raising his voice arrogantly.
"We're a member of the World Government. If he attacks us, it's the same as attacking them."
"Even if I gave him ten lives—!"
BOOM!
The palace doors exploded.
Splinters of wood flew through the air, one shard narrowly missing Stelly and nailing him to the throne behind.
The words died in his throat.
So close.
Just a little closer… and I'd be dead?!
He had never known such fear. His body trembled. His face went ghostly white.
"G-Guards! Guards!"
Princess Sally, finally reacting, cried out in panic.
But no one came.
Only two cold-faced figures stepped through the shattered gates.
Side by side, they walked forward.
And behind them, the air was filled with the quiet, dreadful promise of death.
Gin gripped the iron crutch tightly, his voice cold and laced with disdain.
"Are you the king of the Goa Kingdom? The one they call Stelly?"
"Y-Yes… that's me!"
Stelly nodded frantically, an ingratiating smile plastered across his face. There wasn't a shred of dignity in him—he looked less like a king and more like a dog groveling at the feet of power.
He couldn't fight, nor did he understand what was happening.
But even a fool could tell: if these two had made it past countless palace guards, they could easily take his life.
Compared to life and death, what was pride and a throne?
Gin stepped forward, each stride deliberate. A feral smile crept onto his lips.
"Jand wanted me to deliver a message," he said, eyes gleaming. "He wants to know—when did he ever offend you?"
"Jand…?"
Stelly froze, rummaging through his memories. The name meant nothing to him.
"Do I... do I know him?" he stammered. "If I ever wronged him, I-I take it back. I forgive him. Whatever it was, it's forgiven!"
Gin's smile faded. His eyes turned cold, deadly.
"So you don't even know his name," he said flatly. Murderous intent radiated from him.
"If you're going to forgive him, I suggest you say it to his face."
"Alright! I will! I'll say it myself!"
Stelly, desperate to survive, abandoned all pretense. At that moment, nothing else mattered—he would say or do anything to escape these monsters.
"Good."
With a nod, Gin raised the iron crutch and swung it directly at Stelly's head.
Bang!
Blood, flesh, and fragments of bone burst into the air. Stelly's headless body shuddered, then crumpled to the floor. A crimson pool spread beneath him as blood gushed from his arteries.
Princess Sally, drenched in gore, rolled her eyes back and collapsed unconscious.
"Stop!"
Only then did a voice ring out from the side of the palace—anxious, furious.
Outlook III rushed onto the scene, his face twisted in rage as he stared at his adopted son's corpse.
"The Kingdom of Goa is a member of the World Government! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" he roared.
"Not even pirates on the Grand Line or the Seven Warlords of the Sea are spared if they're caught trying to usurp a nation! Death is the only sentence!"
Kuro's expression didn't change.
"And do you even know what this man did?" he asked coolly.
"It was just the lives of a few commoners…"
"Commoners?"
Kuro raised an eyebrow. The blood-soaked claw blade in his hand glinted ominously.
"You call them slaves. But Gawain… he sees them—and us—as human."
He stepped forward, a mocking smirk curling at his lips.
"And besides…"
"The World Government doesn't care about succession, do they? Otherwise, how would the Kingdom of Goa have ended up in your hands?"
"Strange how the king died without explanation, followed by the mysterious deaths of multiple princes. Suspicious, isn't it?"
A flicker of panic crossed Outlook's face, though he quickly masked it with indifference.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Kuro studied him with a hint of amusement in his gaze.
He suddenly dismissed the idea of killing Outlook III on the spot.
What was the point? Kill him, and the throne would simply pass to another puppet.
But if Outlook stayed, if Gawain had leverage on him—now that was a tool worth keeping.
With that in mind, Kuro's smile widened.
"You know the truth, whether you admit it or not."
"And now that Stelly's dead and has no heirs… with your skills, wouldn't it be easy for you to claim the throne?"
"Oh, and Gawain mentioned something else—didn't you have a real son? One of your own blood?"
His tone grew teasing.
"His name's Sabo, right? He's stronger than you think. According to Gawain, he might even surpass him one day."
Sabo's face flashed through Outlook III's mind, and his expression twisted with fury.
"You mean that rebellious brat living on the trash heap, consorting with untouchables?!"