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Rayleigh's figure had already vanished.
In his place lay a shriveled corpse and a pool of fresh blood.
Boom!
After a brief, suffocating silence, all of Area 42 erupted.
"Rayleigh's dead—Dark King Rayleigh is actually dead?!"
"No way… did Logan seriously kill Rayleigh?!"
"This is huge! A massive scoop!"
"So this is the true weight behind a three-billion bounty?!"
"…!"
Everyone who saw the body was scared out of their minds.
Nothing was more shocking than seeing Rayleigh's corpse with their own eyes.
Logan calmly withdrew his gaze and looked down at the Seven-Star Sword in his hand.
After consuming Rayleigh's blood, the blade gleamed even brighter than before. Its aura felt heavier, stronger.
That was the Seven-Star Sword's greatest strength—it grew more powerful by drinking the blood of strong foes, feeding the darkness sealed within.
It was basically a highly customizable demon sword.
Satisfied, Logan sheathed the blade, spared Rayleigh's corpse a brief glance, then walked away with little interest.
After leaving Area 42, he spread his Observation Haki, scanned around, then pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed Nami.
Meanwhile, in the Extortion Bar in Area 13—
Staring at the Life Card burnt down to its final ashes, Shakky's normally calm face completely collapsed. She shut her eyes and whispered in despair:
"Rayleigh… you shouldn't have gone."
On the other side—
"Hit them again! Harder!" Nami shouted while staring at the giant screen, sipping her coffee and cheering.
On the screen, Marineford was being blasted over and over by laser cannon fire. Craters covered the place; smoke and debris filled the air. Sengoku's swearing could be heard faintly through the chaos.
He was clearly furious.
"Hahaha! The Marines are taking massive losses this time," the girls laughed.
There weren't many casualties, and those who died were just regular soldiers.
But rebuilding Marineford after this level of destruction would cost a mountain of manpower, supplies, and money.
Buru buru.
Buru buru.
The Den Den Mushi on the table rang.
Without taking her eyes off the screen, Nami picked up the receiver.
Logan's voice came through instantly. "Enough playing around. Get back here."
The line cut with a blurp.
Nami pouted, annoyed. "Guess Logan finished his fight. Let's head back."
Outside Marineford—
As the girls departed, the laser assault finally ended.
Sengoku crawled out from a pile of rubble, covered in dust. He scanned the area—everything was destroyed. Even his office tower had an entire corner blown off.
His fists clenched as anger surged.
This was pure harassment.
And the worst part? He couldn't even do anything about it.
"Fleet Admiral! News from Sabaody!" a messenger rushed over.
"Say it," Sengoku growled through gritted teeth.
"Report! Just moments ago, Logan and Dark King Rayleigh fought in Area 42 of Sabaody. Rayleigh was defeated and killed."
"I see." Sengoku nodded slightly.
If even Kizaru and Garp weren't enough to beat Logan, then a seventy-six-year-old man stood no chance.
He didn't know why Rayleigh would pick a fight with Logan, but the outcome? Not surprising at all.
"Anything else?" Sengoku snapped, patience gone.
He was already in a terrible mood.
"Fleet Admiral, we just received word—Saint Charlos is landing on Sabaody soon."
"What?!"
Sengoku's eyes bulged, heart plummeting.
Why now of all times?!
No way.
Logan wouldn't actually touch a Celestial Dragon… right?
…Right?
He tried to reassure himself, but moments later he exploded:
"Akainu! Aokiji! Get to Sabaody immediately and save Saint Charlos!"
His shout echoed across the entire base.
Meanwhile, on Sabaody—
Saint Charlos rode on the back of a giant slave, flanked by guards, heading toward Area 2.
It was the island's illegal human-trafficking district—his favorite playground.
Area 2 also had the best "quality" slaves. If he got lucky, he might even spot a mermaid.
As he approached, the entire street dropped to their knees, trembling, heads practically touching the ground.
This was how one had to greet a Celestial Dragon.
Charlos looked down on them all with contempt, a cold smirk twisting his lips.
At that moment, a curious child glanced up at him for just a moment—carefully, timidly, but still noticed.
Charlos' expression darkened.
"Heh… you filthy insects dare look at me? Who gave you trash the courage?!"
"Guards! Kill everyone here!"
To him, the people kneeling before him weren't human. They were beneath pigs and dogs.
Dying for his amusement was the greatest "honor" they could ever hope for.
A CP0 agent in a suit and demon mask narrowed his eyes, locking onto the child.
Soru.
Finger Pistol.
With a low grunt, he vanished, and a red streak shot from his fingertip toward the child's head.
Clang!
A flash of sword light cut through the attack before it could land.
"Who?!"
Every CP0 instantly tensed, searching the surroundings.
They all had Observation Haki active. Yet none of them sensed the strike.
Not good.
"Saint Charlos," Logan said coldly, stepping forward.
He'd been on his way out after the Rayleigh incident… only to run into a Celestial Dragon strolling right into his path. Was this fate trying to cheer him up?
And a familiar one at that.
Saint Charlos—the Celestial Dragon punching bag of almost every transmigrator.
This guy had died at the hands of protagonists so many times it was practically a tradition.
"Well, he'll make a great gift for Hancock," Logan decided.
Classic move, but hey—if it works, it works.
Just like Charlos, Boa Hancock had a deeply ingrained personality template.
Give her a dead Celestial Dragon? Instant loyalty. The super-obedient type.
One corpse was all it took to turn the icy Empress into a clingy accessory. Maybe he could even train her like Doll into a cute little masochist.
"B-bastard! You dare speak my name out loud?! Kill him! Break his legs! I'm going to make him regret every word he just said!"
Charlos screamed so hard his spit hit the CP0 masks.
The agents didn't hesitate. Except for the two guarding Charlos, the rest launched at Logan.
They knew he was strong. But the orders of a Celestial Dragon were absolute.
They were the swords of the World Government.
If Charlos ordered them to die, they would die without blinking.
They were the ultimate shield.
"Die," Logan said.
He swung the Seven-Star Sword, sending out several flying slashes.
In an instant, the CP0 rushing him froze mid-step, stunned.
A thin line of red split open on every neck.
One by one, they fell into a spreading pool of blood.
Whatever tragic childhoods they had were long gone—now they were nothing but emotionless killing tools.
Their deaths meant nothing.
"Useless! All of you are useless! You two, why are you still standing there? Go kill him! I want his corpse!"
Charlos had no idea how grave the situation had become.
The last two CP0 exchanged a glance and charged.
They didn't get two steps.
Two arcs of sword light flashed, and both of their throats burst open.
Dead.
"Everyone. Leave. Now," Logan said, looking at the kneeling crowd.
His voice cracked like thunder, startling everyone into motion.
After two seconds of stunned silence, they fled like terrified birds, running for their lives.
Many looked back at Logan with gratitude.
If he hadn't appeared, they'd all have died today.
Soon, the only ones left were a few reporters hiding in the shadows with cameras trembling in their hands.
Logan glanced their way but didn't bother with them.
"Silence! Who told you insects you could run? Get back here! Now—"
Crack!
Before Charlos could finish, Logan stomped down on his helmet.
The glass shattered instantly.
A moment later, Charlos' face—shaped like a squashed gourd—was fully exposed.
"Damn, you're ugly."
Logan forced down the nausea and stabbed two cloud-lock chains straight through Saint Charlos's collarbones.
"Ahhh!"
The moment the bones were pierced, a pig-like scream tore across the Sabaody Archipelago.
Charlos's face went paper white. Sweat poured down as the pain hit him.
"You… you dare—"
Crack.
The finger he had just raised was instantly snapped by Logan.
"Ahhh!"
Another scream.
Hiding in the shadows, the reporters clicked their shutters like maniacs.
They fired off photos as if film cost nothing.
The thought that they were witnessing the biggest explosive headline in history had them trembling with excitement; a few of them were close to fainting from joy.
Once this went up to Morgans, they were guaranteed a raise and a promotion.
Logan kept breaking Charlos's limbs one after another. Only when all five were shattered and the man finally passed out did he stop.
He looked at his masterpiece and nodded in satisfaction.
This was how you were supposed to deal with a Celestial Dragon.
Tossing Charlos aside, Logan teleported.
The reporters still snapping photos jumped out of their skins when he suddenly appeared in front of them, their lips trembling.
"L-Logan, you… I—"
"You're working under Morgans, right?" Logan waved lightly, skipping the nonsense.
The reporters exchanged looks and nodded quickly.
"Give me his contact. I need to talk to him."
Under Logan's pressure, none of them dared resist. They obediently handed over Morgans's number.
"Logan, we should go!" Vivi's voice drifted down from above.
After memorizing the number, Logan didn't linger. He hooked the unconscious Charlos with a cloud-lock chain and teleported straight to the ship.
Let him on the ship? As if.
Logan hung him off the back, dragging him by the collarbones. If he wanted to tag along, he could fly behind them.
The moment Logan left, the reporters snapped out of their daze and launched themselves skyward. They vanished in seconds.
They had to publish this story as fast as humanly possible.
The New World was about to shake.
Not long after Logan's group disappeared, Admirals Aokiji and Akainu finally arrived, terribly late.
After casually questioning a few bystanders, Sengoku's worst fear was confirmed.
All the CP0 agents were dead, and Charlos Saint was missing.
There was no need to guess. Logan had taken him.
"A waste of a trip. Let's head back," Aokiji said in his usual lazy tone. If this had been a normal civilian, he might have cared a bit.
Too bad it was a Celestial Dragon.
If Sengoku hadn't given a direct order, Aokiji wouldn't have bothered coming at all.
Akainu boarded the warship silently, his face like a thundercloud.
"Captain, who's that ugly thing hanging behind us?!" The girls looked at the dangling mess of flesh with open disgust.
"A Celestial Dragon?! Captain, you even grabbed a Celestial Dragon?!"
Seeing the unmistakable outfit, Kalifa's face drained of color.
Trained since childhood as an assassin, she'd been brainwashed countless times about obeying Celestial Dragons without question.
Going against the Navy still left a small chance at redemption. But laying a hand on a Celestial Dragon only ever had one outcome: being hunted by World Government agents for the rest of your life, never knowing peace again.
"Our captain really is insane," Duel sighed helplessly. "Looks like we can forget about a peaceful life."
The other girls shrugged. They didn't care.
They'd already blown up Marineford. Adding one Celestial Dragon to the list didn't matter.
"Logan, just kill him already. Why keep him?" Nami frowned, confused.
Something this ugly was unbearable to look at.
Logan smiled at them. "He's my gift for Hancock."
"And starting tomorrow, she'll be your sister."
He burst out laughing, and the ship roared forward at full speed toward the Calm Belt.
The Calm Belt. Amazon Lily.
An island of nothing but women.
Every girl born there was trained as a warrior. Their combat power was terrifying.
And ruling this nation was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.
Amazon Lily was a place countless men dreamed of, but not a place anyone could simply enter.
Unless your ship was lined with seastone like a Marine vessel, or you were strong enough to rival someone like Silvers Rayleigh.
Otherwise, you'd be nothing but sea king food.
Inside the grand palace hall—
"Elder Sister, today's newspaper." Mary Gorud, Hancock's plump younger sister with orange hair, placed the paper respectfully by Hancock's side.
"Anything worth my attention?"
On the throne, Hancock crossed her long legs and propped her chin on her hand, sounding lazy and slightly impatient.
"Elder Sister, a newcomer pirate named Logan has appeared on the seas. In just one month, he killed Crocodile, destroyed Enies Lobby, and now his bounty has reached three billion berries."
"Hm?"
Hancock raised an eyebrow, switching positions so elegantly that her curves seemed sculpted by an artist.
"Logan?"
"....."