Kai raised his head and looked around the chaotic casino with interest, a faint playfulness in his eyes.
As his gaze swept across the hall, he spotted quite a few infamous great pirates from the Grand Line.
"If I wiped out all the pirates here…"
"I imagine their combined bounties would reach several hundred million berries."
Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself.
Of course, he was only imagining it.
If he really took action and captured every pirate here in one sweep…
the Donquixote Family, as the owner of this casino, would certainly go completely mad.
Although Kai had no need to fear the Donquixote Family, he had come here today specifically to invite Doflamingo to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
For now…
it was not convenient to completely tear off all pretenses with the Donquixote Family.
That would benefit neither side.
His gaze shifted.
Kai's eyes passed over several great pirates with bounties as high as forty or fifty million berries.
"Magician, Poison Sting…"
"This casino really has attracted all the major pirate crews from the surrounding seas."
Seeing several familiar pirate figures, he could not help clicking his tongue in interest.
Finally—
his gaze settled on the enormous figure not far away, a man built like a small mountain. When Kai saw the golden helmet on his head, he instantly recognized him.
One of the Donquixote Family's top executives.
Pica.
A Stone-Stone Fruit user.
Extremely powerful.
His bounty was close to one hundred million berries.
On the Grand Line, Pica's strength was absolutely enough to qualify him as a top great pirate.
Yet even such a powerful man was still only Doflamingo's subordinate.
From that alone, one could imagine how much influence the Donquixote Family held on the sea.
While Kai was observing the pirates inside the casino, the more than two thousand pirates present were also watching him with cold, scrutinizing eyes.
The atmosphere was strange.
Oppressive.
A sharp killing intent slowly rose.
At that moment, one pirate revealed a savage smile and became the first to break the eerie silence.
"I was wondering who it was."
"Turns out it's just a five-year-old Marine brat!"
"Kid…"
"Who gave you the courage to barge into this casino? Is this a place someone like you can enter?"
"Since you dared walk in here, don't even think about leaving today."
"In this life, the people I hate most are Marines!"
"Three years ago, a group of damn Marines forced my pirate crew into a desperate situation. In the end, all my men were wiped out. I only barely escaped after surviving nine deaths."
"But because of that, I lost an arm!"
A one-armed man slowly stood up, glaring furiously at Kai with a vicious expression.
It seemed…
he wanted to vent every bit of his hatred for the Marines onto Kai.
The one-armed man was One-Armed Derry.
A pirate with a bounty of forty-seven million berries.
He was not weak.
Even on the Grand Line, he had a fierce reputation.
At the same time…
as Derry slowly left the gambling table, countless pirates focused their gazes on him.
Then, the way every pirate looked at Kai changed, becoming full of gloating expectation.
It was as if they were all looking forward to seeing Kai torn apart by Derry.
The atmosphere in the casino ignited.
After that brief silence, the mood became wild and heated.
Countless pirates grew excited, their eyes cold and expectant as they stared at Kai and sneered.
"That brat is finished!"
"A Marine brat actually dares to walk into this casino alone? Does he not know this is a paradise for pirates?"
"That kid is far too bold!"
"Derry was hunted by Marines three years ago and barely survived. He even lost an arm. His hatred for Marines is as endless as a raging river."
"And now, a five-year-old Marine brat dares appear inside the casino. There's no way Derry will let him go."
"Looks like we're in for a good show."
The pirates spoke with great interest.
All two thousand of them seemed to have already imagined Kai being ripped apart alive by Derry.
On the other side…
Pica, one of the Donquixote Family's top executives, raised his brow slightly and looked coldly at Derry and Kai.
As the person responsible for maintaining the casino's rules and order, he did not interfere.
Because in his view…
a Marine daring to step inside the casino was itself a challenge to the Donquixote Family's authority.
This was the Donquixote Family's territory.
Even the Marines had no right to enter.
Otherwise…
it would be regarded as a challenge to the Donquixote Family's dignity.
Clearly, Pica had already classified Kai as an enemy challenging the Donquixote Family's authority.
"Just a brat…"
"Where does he get the courage?"
Pica felt puzzled.
He chose to watch coldly.
If Kai was beaten to death…
he would simply order someone to clean up the corpse.
After watching for a while, Pica shook his head.
It was nothing more than a minor farce.
There was no need for him to personally step in.
A Marine brat that young would probably be torn apart by that pirate named Derry in minutes.
Originally, a chaotic place like a casino was already filled with violence.
And now, seeing that a bloody fight was about to break out, countless pirates naturally became excited.
They clenched their fists and cheered.
Blood and casinos…
were a perfect match.
Soon, Derry stopped walking.
He stood less than half a meter in front of Kai.
His nearly three-meter-tall body loomed over Kai like a small mountain. He looked down at him, his eyes full of brutality, killing intent, and coldness.
An intense pressure slowly spread from his body.
His single remaining arm made him look even more vicious.
"Brat, kneel for me!"
"Maybe…"
"if I'm in a good mood, I'll spare your pathetic little life."
Derry grinned savagely, looking at Kai as if he were a weak ant.
Compared to Derry's body…
five-year-old Kai truly looked as small as an ant.
"Ah…"
Looking at Derry standing so close, Kai shook his head helplessly and sighed.
After a moment…
he slowly raised his head and looked at Derry indifferently. A crimson light flashed through his eyes, and an aura like that of a prehistoric beast began spreading from his body.
"Why are you so eager to die?"
"Is living not good enough?"
"Today, I really didn't want to arrest you pirates."
"I only came here to deliver a letter."
"But…"
"you've made me very unhappy."
Kai's lips moved slightly.
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing Kai's words, Derry burst into wild laughter, his face filled with arrogance.
"Unhappy? So what? What can you do to me? Are you going to kill me?"
"You actually got that right."
The moment those words fell…
before Derry could react—
Kai moved.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound split the air.
Kai vanished from where he stood.
In an instant…
when he appeared again…
there was already a bloody head in his hand.
Drip.
Drip.
Bright red blood slowly fell from the severed head in Kai's grasp, landing on the floor tiles beneath his feet. The color was vivid and chilling.
A thick stench of blood spread in all directions.
Then…
Thud!
A heavy sound rang out.
One-Armed Derry, the great pirate with a bounty close to fifty million berries, had somehow lost his head.
His life force vanished in an instant.
A cold headless corpse collapsed heavily onto the floor beside Kai, making a dull impact and kicking up a faint layer of dust from the tiles.
In the blink of an eye, blood flowed from the corpse and spread across the floor, forming a small red pool that surrounded the body.
Savage.
Terrifying.
Enough to make one's scalp go numb.
A horrifying sight.
Kai shook his right arm, flicking away the few traces of blood staining his hand.
"My killing technique still isn't polished enough."
"I actually let blood stain me…"
"In the end, I'm still not fast enough."
Kai muttered quietly to himself.
Then, casually, he tossed the dead man's head toward the crowd of gathered pirates.
Bang!
The head drew an arc through the air and smashed heavily onto a gambling table. It rolled several times before stopping, blood staining the entire table red.
This scene was clearly seen by the more than two thousand pirates surrounding him.
In an instant…
the noisy atmosphere once again became deathly silent.
A dead silence.
After a moment, Kai broke the strange atmosphere himself.
He slowly turned his head, his calm gaze landing on Pica, one of the Donquixote Family's top executives.
"You're one of the Donquixote Family's top executives, aren't you? Then do me a favor and pass on a message."
"Tell Doflamingo to get out here. Now."
"And let me remind you of one thing."
"My patience is very limited. I have no intention of wasting too much time here."
"If I still don't see Doflamingo soon, then this casino will have no reason to continue existing."
"Also…"
"not a single pirate here should think about escaping."
Visit my patreon for more chapters
Advance 60+ Chapters Available
patreon.com/ZeusOp