At this moment, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the atmosphere remained strangely peaceful despite the storm that was about to shake the world.
The so called gods of the world still lived in arrogance.
The Celestial Dragons wandered the streets as usual, each one escorted by guards and mounted atop slaves. Their disgusting sense of superiority had not changed in the slightest.
Two Celestial Dragons slowly moved through the streets.
One of them was a grotesque young man wrapped entirely in bandages. His body was so fat and swollen that he looked almost square shaped from every angle. Yellow mucus hung from his nose while he sat atop a heavily wounded slave.
"Father, let me ride Kuma instead."
His voice carried obvious greed and excitement.
Ahead of him was a middle aged Celestial Dragon, also covered in bandages, riding a massive figure with visible mechanical parts exposed beneath torn flesh.
That figure was none other than Bartholomew Kuma.
The middle aged Celestial Dragon violently lashed Kuma with a thorned whip.
"Damn insect! Because of you, we ended up like this! Now you can spend the rest of your life crawling beneath me!"
Kuma lowered his head silently and continued forward.
The slave beneath the younger Celestial Dragon suddenly roared in fury.
"You bastards! How dare you treat Kuma like this?! I swear I'll kill you!"
Crack!
The whip smashed directly across his mouth before he could continue.
"A slave should behave like a slave! If not for filthy trash like you two, we wouldn't have suffered so much!"
The man being ridden was Emporio Ivankov.
A month ago, during the failed rescue operation, Ivankov and the others had all been captured.
Aside from Sabo, who was awaiting public execution, the remaining captives had all been reduced to slaves.
Ivankov became the mount of the younger Celestial Dragon.
Kuma became the mount of the father.
The others suffered similar fates.
Dellinger and Morley were handed over to other Celestial Dragons.
Crow Rags had been taken away by a strangely beautiful female Celestial Dragon for unknown reasons.
No one knew what she wanted with him.
Crack!
Another whip struck Kuma's back.
"Move faster!"
Kuma quietly crawled forward.
Ivankov clenched his teeth in rage.
The Sea Prism Stone explosive collar around his neck prevented him from resisting. Even now, while obeying, he continued to suffer abuse.
Crack!
The thorned whip coated with Sea Prism Stone tore through Ivankov's skin, leaving behind a bloody wound.
The younger Celestial Dragon laughed with a disgusting expression.
"I heard today's auction has three long arm tribe women. I've never played with one before."
His eyes filled with lust.
"Tch, I should've brought some wives with me. Now nowhere to vent."
Crack!
Another whip landed on Ivankov.
"Faster! A mount should know its place! If I miss the auction because of you, I'll skin you alive!"
Ivankov's anger finally exploded.
"To hell with this!"
He slammed both palms against the ground and stood up instantly.
The young Celestial Dragon screamed as his fat body crashed onto the street.
"What are you doing?! You filthy slave!"
Ivankov's killing intent burst out violently.
The surrounding guards instantly stiffened.
The middle aged Celestial Dragon immediately shouted toward the black suited agents nearby.
"You useless dogs! Capture him now!"
The agents rushed forward without hesitation.
Ivankov grabbed the explosive collar around his neck.
"If not for this damned thing..."
Clang.
Clang.
The warning sound echoed sharply.
The younger Celestial Dragon's face instantly turned pale.
"It's going to explode! Stay away from me!"
The agents abruptly stopped.
"You idiots! Save me first!"
Hearing the order, the agents hurriedly dragged the young Celestial Dragon away.
Clang.
Clang.
The alarm grew more frantic.
"Damn it! Why won't this thing come off?!"
Sweat appeared across Ivankov's face.
At that exact moment, grains of yellow sand began rising into the air.
More and more sand filled the surroundings until the entire street was swallowed by a massive sandstorm.
The middle aged Celestial Dragon stared in shock.
"A sandstorm? In Mary Geoise?!"
The agents immediately sensed something hidden within the storm.
"Someone's inside!"
The air grew heavy.
Even Kuma slowly raised his head.
A lazy voice echoed through the swirling sand.
"Tch, what a troublesome welcome."
A figure slowly emerged from the storm.
Ivankov's eyes widened in disbelief.
The man walked directly toward him and placed a hand on the explosive collar.
"What are you doing?! Get away! It'll explode!"
The stranger ignored him.
Boom!
The collar detonated instantly.
A violent shockwave exploded outward, shattering windows across the surrounding buildings. Cracks spread through the walls as thick smoke filled the street.
The younger Celestial Dragon coughed blood from the impact.
"Osaka!"
The middle aged Celestial Dragon panicked and rushed toward his son.
The agents quickly formed defensive positions.
Then, a voice echoed from the smoke.
"Still alive? What a pain."
The smoke slowly cleared.
Two figures stood within the ruins.
One was Ivankov.
The other was a tall man with slicked back hair, a long scar across his face, two cigars clenched between his teeth, and a golden hook replacing his left hand.
It was Crocodile, one of the commanders of the Ion Pirates and former Warlord of the Sea.
The middle aged Celestial Dragon trembled in fury.
"You dare rescue a slave in front of me?!"
He pointed toward the agents.
"Capture them! Kill them!"
The agents, however, hesitated.
One of them swallowed hard.
"T, that's Crocodile..."
"I don't care who he is! Capture him!"
No one moved.
Crocodile slowly turned his head toward the Celestial Dragon.
His cold gaze instantly made the man freeze.
It felt as though death itself had grabbed his throat.
The Celestial Dragon's body trembled uncontrollably.
"D, don't come closer..."
Crocodile smirked with disdain.
"So this is a Celestial Dragon? Pathetic."
The next second, his body exploded into a massive storm of yellow sand.
The entire street vanished beneath the desert.
Screams echoed everywhere.
"My arm!"
"Water! Give me water!"
"Help me!"
The sandstorm raged violently before finally disappearing.
Silence fell.
A massive desert now occupied the area.
Two skeletal hands protruded from the sand.
Nothing else remained.
The Celestial Dragons were gone.
The agents were gone.
Only Crocodile stood there calmly while smoke drifted through the ruined streets of Mary Geoise.
Ivankov stared at him in disbelief.
Kuma slowly raised his head.
===
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