Shiki's eyes were crimson, his aura violent, as he spat out cold words: "Reynolds, don't joke about this."
Roger was publicly executed by the Navy?!
What a load of nonsense!
Who was Roger?
He was the Pirate King who reached the final island, Laugh Tale!
He was the man who had defeated him, the Golden Lion!
Those useless Marines could catch Roger?
They weren't even fit to carry Roger's shoes!
Shiki refused to believe it a thousand times over.
After the initial shock, he assumed this was just a lie Reynolds was spinning, a little trick played in front of him.
Of course, perhaps for a split second when Reynolds said it, he believed it. After all, at Reynolds' level, lying was beneath him.
But thinking of Roger's immense strength and their history over the years, Shiki quickly ruled out that possibility.
Reynolds remained unmoved by Shiki's extreme reaction.Reynolds smiled slightly. "Shiki, do you think I'm joking with you?!"
"Bullet, tell him if what I just said is true or not."
Seeing Reynolds' confident demeanor despite being questioned, Shiki began to feel unsettled.
He shifted his gaze instantly to Bullet and said coldly:
"Tell me, is the news about Roger true or not?!"
Although he hated Bullet, the guy was a member of the Roger Pirates. And he was utterly devoted to Roger.
Shiki believed Bullet would never joke about Roger's life or death. If even Bullet confirmed it, then it was undoubtedly true.
Called out directly, Bullet opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded unwillingly:
"He's not lying. Captain Roger was indeed executed in Loguetown."
Saying that sentence seemed to drain all of Bullet's strength.
Forget Shiki; even Bullet himself couldn't accept this reality. The goal he had chased all his life had died just like that—at the hands of those Marine bastards.
Yesterday, when he saw Roger about to be executed, he had planned to intervene forcefully and rescue him.
But in the end, Reynolds stopped him.
If Roger had truly been defeated by the Navy and captured, Reynolds would never have stopped Bullet. Because Roger's life or death meant nothing to him; his plans would proceed regardless.
But the problem was, Roger wanted to die.
He wanted to use his own life to usher in the Great Pirate Era!
No one could stop that.
Perhaps Roger felt that with his terminal illness, his days were numbered anyway. Rather than withering away like a dead leaf, he chose a death with greater value.
"It's true... It's actually true. Roger is really dead."
Finally accepting reality, Shiki felt dazed, mumbling to himself, nearly stumbling and falling to the ground.
The man he had fought for most of his life... was just dead?
"With Roger's strength, how could the Navy possibly catch him?!"
"Impossible! It's impossible!!"
"Argh!!"
Shiki's eyes nearly split with rage. Clutching his aching head with both hands, he roared continuously.
"You're right. How could those Marines be a match for Roger?"
"Because Roger wasn't captured. He turned himself in."
Thinking back to the scene yesterday—a hero at the end of his road—Reynolds couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Turned himself in?! You're saying Roger surrendered?!"
Recovering his senses, Shiki still wore a look of disbelief.
"That's right. Captain Roger surrendered. For those trash Marines to catch the Captain? It's nothing but a pipe dream!" Bullet chimed in. In his eyes, saying Roger was captured by the Navy was an insult to Roger.
Learning the truth, Shiki immediately grinned and laughed maniacally:
"Jihahahaha... I knew it!!"
"Those Marines are just a bunch of useless trash! How could Roger lose to them?!"
Laughter, hearty and unbridled, echoed through the palace.
"That's right! It had to be like this! If Roger didn't want it, how could those idiot Marines catch him?!"
"Jihahahaha... After all, you are the man who defeated me!"
"But you bastard... turning yourself in? How stupid can you be!!"
"Why? Just why?!"
While relieved, Shiki also felt Roger was foolish beyond belief. He finally became the Pirate King, only to surrender to the Navy? What an idiot!
"Shiki! You have a death wish!"
Hum.
Roger being insulted triggered an instant explosion of powerful aura from Bullet.
Although he had joined the Reynolds Pirates, he allowed no one to insult Roger. Shiki's words had crossed his bottom line.
Boom—
Dark red currents surged out. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the walls, the flowers and grass outside were blown away, and even the clouds in the sky slowly dispersed.
Bullet was enraged!
"Bullet! Calm down!"
Sensing trouble, Linlin immediately stepped in front of him to block his path.
"Out of my way! No one stops me today!"
Bullet stared deathly at Shiki. He already disliked the guy, and remembering the vivid scenes from yesterday, his rage surged uncontrollably.
"Hehehehe... With just you?!"
His eyes regaining clarity, Shiki glanced at Bullet with disdain. His tone carried the domineering arrogance of the Golden Lion who once roared across the heavens:
"Bullet! When I was roaming the seas, you were still wearing diapers!"
"Roger had the right to be arrogant in front of me, but what are you?!"
True to his name, even with a steering wheel in his head affecting his strength, Shiki's aura hadn't diminished in the slightest. Perhaps that was why he was a Conqueror's Haki user.
Of course, Bullet was no pushover either.
"A toothless old lion dares to act superior in front of me? Die!"
"You think I'm afraid of you?!"
Their gazes clashed, sparks of lightning faintly erupting at the center of their collision.
"Enough!"
Reynolds, his face dark, stepped between the two.
Damn it. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have brought Bullet.
Truly troublesome. A magnet for conflict.
"Captain, today either Shiki or I must die!"
"Reynolds, you see this? Under these circumstances, how can I join your crew?!"
"Once I kill Bullet, I'll join your pirate crew!"
Bullet and Shiki refused to yield, both wanting the other dead.
The others looked on helplessly. Bullet was their crewmate, but Shiki was the target the Captain wanted to recruit. Should they stop them or not?
Forget it, let's just watch the show. Leave this headache for the Captain to solve.
"If one of you dies, the sea will lose another powerhouse."
"Stop it, both of you." Reynolds waved his hand, intervening again.
"Shiki dies today!"
Ignoring the warning completely, Bullet prepared to strike.
Hum.
Just as his words fell, an indescribably powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted abruptly from Reynolds' body. Pressure heavy as a mountain slammed directly onto Bullet.
Bullet didn't even have time to react. The immense pressure made it impossible for him to stand, and with a thud, he was forced to his knees.
This sudden scene made the jaws of Crocodile and the others drop.
This... this was a bit too ridiculous, wasn't it?!
Who was Bullet?!
He was a ruthless man with strength comparable to "Dark King" Rayleigh, only slightly inferior to Roger. He possessed incredible stamina, powerful Haki, and a heaven-defying Devil Fruit.
Even though they knew Reynolds was stronger than Bullet, surely it shouldn't be this exaggerated?!
Witnessing this, everyone felt their worldview crumbling.
Bullet's face twisted, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He mobilized all his strength to resist the Haki, desperately trying to stand up.
But against the power Reynolds exerted on him, his strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree—unable to budge even an inch.
"You..."
Bullet strained to lift his head, looking at Reynolds walking slowly toward him. His eyes were filled with terror.
This was the first time he felt deep, powerless fear when facing a person. Even when facing Roger, he had never felt like this.
This pressure didn't even allow him the thought of resistance.
Was this Reynolds' true strength?!
Not long ago, he actually wanted to spar with Reynolds. Thinking back now, it was laughable.
Reynolds walked up to Bullet, looked down at him expressionlessly, and spoke word by word:
"Bullet, remember this. In the Reynolds Pirates, there is only one voice, and that is mine."
"I have repeated the same words twice just now. I hope this is the first time, and also the last time. Do you understand?!"
Feeling the undisguised killing intent radiating from Reynolds, Bullet, whose mouth was trembling, nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Remember today. If there is a second time, I will send you to meet Roger."
Reynolds snorted coldly and voluntarily withdrew the pressure on Bullet.
Drenched in cold sweat, Bullet collapsed on the ground as if granted a great amnesty, gasping for breath like a man reborn.
In those few short seconds, he felt like he had walked through the gates of hell.
"I warned you long ago. Why bother?"
Linlin glanced at him coldly, then looked away with disinterest.
Aside from Linlin, Bullet and the crew weren't the only ones shocked.
Shiki was equally stunned.
As an old rival, Shiki knew Reynolds' strength well—an existence more terrifying than himself, Roger, or Rocks.
He wasn't surprised that Reynolds could defeat Bullet.What surprised him was that Reynolds' Conqueror's Haki had reached such a terrifying level!
Even though Reynolds focused the Haki entirely on Bullet, the residual pressure alone made Shiki tremble uncontrollably.
Given Bullet's character, if he truly wasn't pushed to his absolute limit, he would never have knelt.
For a powerhouse like him, this was more humiliating than death.
"Reynolds, you..."
Watching Reynolds walk toward him, Shiki's body trembled slightly.
What on earth did this guy go through in these fourteen years?! Why has he become so strong?!
At this moment, Reynolds was genuinely annoyed.
He tried to be nice, but no one listened, right?!
They just had to force him to use violence, didn't they?!
Fine, he'd satisfy them.
His Conqueror's Haki had leveled up over ten times. Although it hadn't reached Joy Boy's level yet, compared to other Conqueror's users, his was absolutely overwhelming.
If not for his wariness of that bastard Im, with his current strength, he would have slaughtered all the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois long ago!
Why would he need to hide and bide his time for decades?!
Shiki was so terrified he couldn't speak. With every step Reynolds took, Shiki took a step back.
Until he had nowhere left to retreat.
"Rey... Reynolds, what do you want?!" Shiki asked, his lips extremely dry.
His mind was blank, completely forgetting Reynolds' purpose for coming here.
"Shiki, I have no interest in wasting time with you."
"I know your strength has declined because of that steering wheel, but you are still the ambitious Golden Lion."
"However, with your current strength, trying to realize your ambition is nothing but a fool's dream."
"I'll give you three seconds. State your choice! Submit or die!"
"Three!" "Two!" "One!"
"I submit!"
"Reynolds! I submit!!"
Afraid Reynolds wouldn't hear him, Shiki practically screamed it out.
He didn't doubt Reynolds' words for a second. If he dared to refuse... perhaps before the first word left his mouth, he would be a corpse in the next second.
Damn it, these big shots always make me take multiple-choice questions. It was Rocks back then, and now it's Reynolds.
Shiki truly wanted to cry but had no tears.
[Ding! Congratulations Host on successfully recruiting S-Class Potential Crew Member: "Golden Lion" Shiki!] [Congratulations Host, obtained 500,000 Voyage Points!]
Reynolds was already immune to the System notifications that could pop up anytime, anywhere.
"Stay here. Don't make any moves. Wait for my orders at any time."
After Shiki made his choice, Reynolds didn't linger and decisively left with his people.
Originally, he thought about taking Shiki with him, but having him and Bullet together... just looking at them annoyed him.
Since Shiki was used to being alone anyway, let him stay here by himself. If there was anything to do later, Reynolds would just give him orders directly.
"Yes, Captain." Shiki replied tremblingly from behind.
Only after Reynolds and the others had completely left did Shiki collapse weakly onto the ground.
Too terrifying!
The current Reynolds was several times more terrifying than Rocks back then!
No, not just several times... dozens of times!
...
...
On the Golden Ark.
Bullet huddled honestly in a corner. The other crew members remained silent as well.
But their gazes drifted intentionally or unintentionally toward Reynolds.
This was the first time they had seen Reynolds unleash his full power.
Convinced. They were truly convinced now.
"Bwahahahaha... You guys can't be serious, right?!"
"My brother isn't as scary as you think. As long as you don't disobey him in the future, nothing will happen."
Seeing them so restrained, Linlin laughed heartily.
"Don't worry, Captain. From now on, we will follow your lead in everything!"
Crocodile swung his golden hook, guaranteeing righteously.
"Kishishishishi... That's right, Boss. We aren't disobedient guys like that one."
Gecko Moria gloated while chiming in.
If it were before, hearing this, Bullet would have beaten Moria up immediately.
But now? He was as obedient as a good baby.
Reynolds glanced indifferently at Bullet. After this display of dominance, this guy would behave himself.
Truly, spare the rod and spoil the child.
...
Holy Land, Mariejois.
In the magnificent fairyland, shrouded in mist all year round.
The Conference Hall.
Today, the Five Elders were clearly in a good mood, smiles on all their faces.
With Roger dead, a major thorn in their side was gone.
"Roger, that guy, is finally dead. If he had exposed that secret, we would have been in big trouble."
Mentioning the secret regarding the Clan of D, the Five Elders stopped smiling.
"Alright, let's not dwell on hypotheticals. Roger's death is a fact, and it is something worth celebrating for us."
The blonde Elder waved his hand, signaling everyone not to worry unnecessarily.
"Getting rid of Roger is certainly a good thing, but don't forget the last words he said before dying."
The long-haired Elder reminded them with a heavy expression.
"You mean the One Piece?!"
"Exactly!"
"Now, everyone on the sea knows Roger hid all his treasure at Laugh Tale. Anyone who gets that treasure can become the richest person in the world."
"No one can refuse such temptation. The current calm is just an illusion."
"I'm afraid it won't be long before countless people rush to the sea in search of that final island!"
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ONEPIECE My Crewmates Are All God-Tier! (222 Chapter– Full)
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