After doing all that, Harry ignored the shocked cries behind him and headed in the direction Garp had gone.
Even after killing the Celestial Dragons, he still intended to talk with the Marines about how to defend against the undead scourge.
Back where he had been, the countless spectators were completely stunned.
How many years had it been? This was the first time a Celestial Dragon had been murdered.
A deathly silence rolled across the battlefield like a tidal wave. Even the breathing of the crowd seemed to freeze in that instant.
The first to recover were the slaves.
Under Harry's precise control, the Celestial Dragons had died, but the slaves had not been harmed at all.
Tears suddenly poured from their clouded eyes. Their trembling hands reached for their necks, and the slave collars there were disintegrated by green light. Then at last, they erupted into cries they had held back for far too long.
"They're dead… those animals are finally dead!"
One burly man whose skin was covered in whip scars staggered to his knees, then clawed madly at the dirt with his shriveled hands and flung blood-caked sand into the air.
In the distance, the pirates looked at one another in silence. The newly arrived Supernova, Kid, had happened to witness Harry killing the Celestial Dragons.
He yanked open his collar and burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! That lunatic actually did it! The Navy's pride is about to get stomped straight into the dirt!"
But not everyone was as unhinged as he was. More people simply watched in silence, feeling uncertain about the future.
Now that Celestial Dragons had been killed, it would inevitably affect the fragile balance between pirates and the Navy.
If the Navy and the pirates stopped cooperating against the looming crisis, then the undead scourge would sweep across the whole world, and when that happened, the entire world would be destroyed.
Harry paid no attention to the uproar behind him. He quickly caught up to the Straw Hats and began walking side by side with Garp.
After seeing Harry kill three Celestial Dragons and then calmly continue walking beside him toward the Marine base, Garp could not help pausing in surprise.
"You're not leaving? Once word gets back to the base, even if I don't move and Kizaru doesn't either, you'll still have to face at least three Admiral-level fighters at the same time."
Being surrounded by three monsters capable of destroying a city with a single blow would have been difficult for anyone, even Harry.
But the pirate world was different.
Harry had discovered that the people in this world were extremely lopsided in their development, and he happened to have attacks that were especially effective against them.
So forget three. He would not care even if there were more.
Harry laughed lightly. "It's fine. Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll convince your colleagues. They won't attack me."
Though puzzled, Garp did not think too much about it.
He also felt that the Marines and Harry probably would not actually come to blows, even after the deaths of three Celestial Dragons.
After all, even among those filthy rulers, there were smart people. They would obviously know how to handle the current situation.
They would absolutely settle accounts with Harry after the battle against the undead, but they would never risk the destruction of the world by choosing this moment to fight a powerhouse like him.
Compared to the common people, these so-called gods were even more terrified of the world ending.
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the Marine base on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Long before they reached it, everyone could already see the huge force of Marines waiting in full formation ahead.
At the front stood two of the Navy's three Admirals, Aokiji and Akainu. Behind them were a large number of Vice Admirals, and behind them an even denser mass of Marine soldiers.
And it was not just the Navy. Even Cipher Pol agents were stationed in the distance. The Seven Warlords of the Sea were there too, along with members of other powerful hidden organizations.
With a force like this, even Kaido himself would come here only to die.
Garp glanced at the unconcerned young man beside him and grumbled inwardly, "What a cocky brat. But he's smart. He knows the Navy won't dare touch him right now, so he actually has the nerve to walk straight into a Marine base alone."
If Garp could think of that, then naturally other smart people could too.
The instant Akainu noticed Harry, his Observation Haki told him at once that this man with the pale lightning scar on his forehead was the one who had killed the Celestial Dragons.
The cap on his head trembled slightly. Magma trickled down from his neck as he glared at Harry, his throat working several times before he forced out a hoarse growl.
"Bastard… do you even know what you've done?"
Without question, what this damned pirate had done would drive a wedge between pirates and the Navy.
Even if the matter were resolved peacefully, they could never cooperate as closely as before in the fight against the undead.
And that would have a massive impact on the decisive battle to come.
Unlike Akainu, whose hatred of evil was as fierce as magma and whose temper was just as explosive, Aokiji was far more laid-back.
Leaning against an ice pillar, his eyes hidden behind his shades, he lazily licked a popsicle and stepped in to smooth things over.
"Well now, killing Celestial Dragons really is the kind of news that shakes the century. Don't get mad, Akainu. More importantly, shouldn't we deal with those walking skeletons first?"
As the World Government's watchdogs, the Celestial Dragons' loyal hounds, Cipher Pol should have been the angriest after hearing that Celestial Dragons had been killed.
And yet, for some reason, they were acting even colder than Aokiji.
The chief of CP-0 stepped toward Harry. When he stopped in front of him, a restrained hiss came from beneath his bird-beak mask as he spoke.
"Harry Potter, you murdered three noble Celestial Dragons. Your crime is unforgivable. Under the old laws, you would certainly be put to death in the cruelest way possible.
But today, the Five Elders are willing to let this matter pass. In exchange, you will join the Navy and enter the vanguard fighting the undead. That is how you will wash away your sins."
The moment he finished speaking, the agents of Cipher Pol and the Admirals of the Navy quietly surrounded Harry, clearly ready to attack at any time.
Seeing that, Garp gave a faint nod. Just as he had expected, the Navy did not dare attack Harry lightly.
But this was already the limit. In the coming decisive battle, Harry would definitely be sent to the most dangerous place imaginable. Even so, that outcome was still better than being ganged up on and hunted down by multiple Admirals.
Whether it was Garp or anyone else, they all thought Harry would accept the Navy's offer.
That way, as long as he survived the final battle, he would also escape punishment afterward.
But what no one had expected was that Harry not only refused, he rejected the offer outright.
"I refuse."
Harry's voice was calm. It was not loud, but it hit like a bomb detonating over still water, kicking up monstrous waves.
The chief of CP-0's pupils contracted violently. With his strength, he had obviously heard Harry clearly, but he asked again anyway, unable to believe it.
"Wait. What did you say?"
Harry's tone remained as calm as ever. "I refuse."
"Do you understand what that means? With the forces we have here, if we're willing to pay the price to attack you, you won't even be able to escape!
Harry Potter, think very carefully. Don't act on impulse!"
The chief of CP-0 was starting to panic.
He suddenly realized that the man in front of him was not some rational person they could pressure into compliance, but a lunatic.
Any sane man would have accepted those terms. Only a madman would insist on dragging everyone down with him.
Even Garp was thrown by Harry's answer.
He had not expected this at all.
The last thing he wanted was for Harry and the Navy to start fighting here and waste their strength, so he tried to stop him too.
"Harry, you…"
But the moment Garp met Harry's eyes, he stopped.
There was not the slightest trace of madness in Harry's gaze. There was only calm and confidence.
And seeing that, Garp felt his mind go blank for a second as an unbelievable possibility slowly rose in his head.
Could it be that Harry was refusing not because he wanted mutual destruction, but because he was absolutely certain the Navy could not kill him?
Once the chief of CP-0 became convinced that Harry really would rather die than yield to the World Government, he laughed in anger.
Without hesitation, he gave the order.
"Everyone, attack Harry Potter at once. I'd like to see exactly where his confidence comes from."
But the very moment he finished speaking, as all the experts belonging to the World Government moved to attack Harry, an invisible ripple spread rapidly outward from Harry's body.
In the blink of an eye, that wave swept across every Marine present.
The Marines caught inside it instantly rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the ground, throwing up clouds of dust one after another.
A few seconds later, out of the tens of thousands gathered around the Marine base, only two people were still standing.
One of them was Harry.
The other was the Hero of the Marines, Garp.
Garp stared at the Marines strewn all over the ground, including Admirals like Aokiji and Akainu, all of them unconscious. His usually hearty face stiffened instantly, and his eyes widened like saucers.
The half-chewed cracker in his mouth dropped to the ground with a soft smack, and his calloused hands began trembling uncontrollably.
"W-what kind of monstrous power is this?" Garp's voice seemed dragged up from the deepest part of his chest, hoarse with disbelief. "Conqueror's Haki? But that's impossible. How could Conqueror's Haki knock out fighters on the level of Admirals like Aokiji?"
Garp whipped his head around and stared at Harry, suspicion and gravity filling his face.
"Kid! Who the hell are you? How did you put all these people down?"
Not far behind him, the Straw Hats were just as dumbstruck by the unbelievable sight in front of them.
Whether it was a mighty Admiral or an ordinary rank-and-file Marine, there was no difference between them now. They had all fallen like insects.
Luffy's eyes went wide, his straw hat tilted back behind his head. Watching the usually imposing Admirals drop one after another like paper dolls, he leaped excitedly into the air and flailed his arms around.
"That's amazing! Harry! Is this the true power of Conqueror's Haki?!"
Zoro's grip on his three swords tightened slightly. His throat moved, and he muttered under his breath, "What a terrifying guy…"
Usopp dropped straight onto the ground, cold sweat pouring from his forehead as he stammered, "Th-this kind of power… can a human really have something like this?"
Chopper hid behind Robin, showing only his furry little head while his antlers shook nervously.
"Th-that's way too strong!"
Franky's mouth fell open. His mechanical joints clicked loudly, and sparks practically flew from him with excitement.
"Super! That's seriously super!"
Brook held his guitar, strange light gleaming in the sockets of his skull as he strummed and sang, "Yohohoho! Such tremendous power, what a breathtaking performance!"
Unlike her excited crewmates, Nami, Harry's first Lender in the pirate world, had learned more about Harry's strength through the Chat Group, so she handled the current situation better than anyone else and was not quite as shocked.
Still, she shared the same question as everyone else.
What exactly had Harry done?
How had he managed to defeat so many Marines at once, including Admirals, the strongest military power in the world?
So Nami walked up to Harry's side and asked the question everyone wanted answered.
"Harry, how did you do all this? As far as I know, even the strongest Conqueror's Haki shouldn't be able to knock out an Admiral. It should barely affect them at all."
Harry made no attempt to hide it. With a mysterious smile, he said, "It's a new spell I developed.
After learning that this world possesses a strange power like Conqueror's Haki, I studied it in detail and discovered it had enormous room for development.
Just now, I combined soul projection, a spell that normally requires physical contact to knock a target's soul out of their body, with Conqueror's Haki, and created a new spell, Conqueror's Soul Projection.
While this spell isn't as powerful against a single target as ordinary soul projection, its usefulness against large numbers of enemies far surpasses the original.
Once someone is struck by my Conqueror's Soul Projection, three checks are triggered. The first determines whether they hold hostility toward me. If they do not, they are exempt from the effects. If they do, the second check begins.
The second check determines whether they possess Conqueror's Haki. If they do, they are completely immune. That is one of the flaws of Conqueror's Soul Projection.
If they do not possess Conqueror's Haki, then the final check begins, whether the strength of their soul has reached at least one-third of mine. If it has, they are exempt. If it hasn't, then their soul is blasted straight out of their body, and they fall unconscious."
Harry's explanation left Luffy completely lost.
His intelligence had never been especially high. There was no way he was following all that.
Nami and the others, on the other hand, understood part of it. Nami herself blinked in shock and asked, "So basically, unless someone's quality rises high enough, numbers are meaningless against you?"
Harry smiled and wagged a finger gently, correcting her.
"No. Even before this, numbers were already meaningless against me."
After thinking about it for a while, Garp finally understood what Harry meant.
His face filled with disbelief, and he could not help demanding, "Damn it, how is that possible?
I don't understand exactly what soul strength means, but I assume it's something like willpower.
How can the will of the Navy's strongest fighters, the Admirals, not even reach one-third of yours?
You definitely used something else!"
Looking at Garp's rugged face, still full of disbelief, Harry shook his head with a smile.
"Sorry, Mr. Garp, if you're weak, train more. If you can't handle losing, stay out of the game. Weakness is the original sin!"
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