Translator: PapaSmurf0700
At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was on the verge of losing his mind.
"That madman! What in the world does he think he's doing?!" he roared, slamming his fists on his desk, scattering stacks of paperwork. The news had just reached him: Bai Ye, the Straw Hat's upstart strategist, was broadcasting the illegal human auction to the world.
"Get me Admiral Kizaru, now! Tell him to shut that broadcast down! I want it cut off immediately!"
A terrified subordinate stammered, "Report, sir! We can't reach the Admiral. Sentomaru confirmed Admiral Kizaru arrived on Sabaody ahead of him."
Sengoku squeezed his eyes shut, a vein throbbing in his temple. "That absolute moron. Did he mistake his wiretap Den Den Mushi for his personal one again?"
-----
Meanwhile, in the Alabasta palace, the broadcast played to a throne room simmering with cold fury.
"How dare they," Queen Vivi hissed, her voice dangerously low. When she heard the freed slave, Lisa, declare she was from Alabasta, something inside her snapped.
Today's Alabasta was not the struggling kingdom of the past. Since taking the throne and learning the secrets of the Nefertari clan from her father, Vivi had transformed her nation into an economic and military power, independent and proud. To hear that one of her own people had been kidnapped and put on display like an animal was an unforgivable insult.
Just then, Ikalem, the stoic captain of the royal guard, approached the throne and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty," he said, his tone grave. "The Revolutionary Army is here. They wish to have an audience with you."
While a queen raged, the citizens of other kingdoms watched in abject terror. They had believed a simple, miserable truth: suffer quietly, pay the exorbitant Heavenly Tribute, and you might be granted a stable life. Now, that illusion was shattered. The broadcast showed them that even if you paid, even if you obeyed, you could still be stolen from your home and sold like cattle.
It wasn't just injustice. It was the death of hope.
-----
Back at the auction house, Bai Ye gestured to a large man beside him, a broken shell of a person who had once been a pirate captain but now couldn't stop himself from crouching like an animal. He was Saint Roswald's personal slave and mount.
"Next," the Priest announced to the reporters' cameras, "he will tell you what happens after you are sold."
The man opened his mouth to speak. "I am..."
BOOM!
A blinding beam of yellow light descended from the heavens, incinerating a patch of ground right where the reporters had set up their Visual Den Den Mushi. In an instant, every camera was vaporized.
"Ooooh, my. It's certainly lively here," a lazy voice drawled.
A tall, lanky figure in a pinstripe suit emerged from the fading light, his hands shoved casually in his pockets. Admiral Kizaru had arrived.
"It could have been even livelier," Bai Ye shot back, completely unfazed. "But it seems you have a distaste for public broadcasts, Admiral."
The Priest's taunt hung in the air. He was openly accusing an Admiral of destroying the press's equipment.
"The Priest, Bai Ye," Kizaru said, his voice dripping with condescension. "I have nooo idea what you're talking about."
"I believe you don't," Bai Ye said with a smirk. "Because we still have one camera rolling."
He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Hidden among the reporters, Bob held a single, active Visual Den Den Mushi, its unblinking eye aimed directly at the Admiral. Bai Ye, knowing the Navy's playbook, had planned for this from the start. Everything Kizaru had just done was broadcast live.
Kizaru's lazy smile didn't falter, but a flicker of genuine surprise crossed his eyes. "Well now... that's a little frightening." This kid wasn't just some reckless rookie, was he?
But it didn't matter.
Kizaru slowly raised his hand, a pinpoint of brilliant light gathering at his fingertip. "Tell me, Priest... have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
In that same instant, an immense pressure descended on the scene. A new voice, calm but radiating absolute authority, cut through the tension.
"You'd better not move, Borsalino."
On the rooftop of the auction house stood Silvers Rayleigh, a bottle of sake in one hand and a sword in the other, its tip aimed squarely at the Admiral.
"Ah," Kizaru breathed, his casual demeanor finally cracking. "The Dark King... I didn't expect to see you here, Rayleigh."
The moment he saw the former vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, Kizaru knew the situation had spiraled completely out of control.
Click-click-whirrrr!
The sound of dozens of camera shutters filled the air. The reporters, numb with shock, had recovered. Even if a third Celestial Dragon appeared now, they wouldn't hesitate. This was the story of a lifetime.
"FATHER!!!"
A shrill, pathetic scream came from the edge of the crowd. Saint Charlos, wearing a fresh set of clothes but with the crater from Luffy's punch still visible on his face, shoved his way forward.
Is that… another Celestial Dragon? the reporters thought, a moment of instinctual fear warring with their journalistic hunger. They were supposed to kneel. They were supposed to look away. But looking at the two pathetic, beaten World Nobles and the utter lack of reaction from the pirates, they made their choice.
They raised their cameras and started shooting. Bob turned his live feed toward the new arrival.
"What are you standing around for?!" Charlos shrieked at the Marines. "Rescue my father! Rescue them now!"
He saw his father's miserable state and lost what little composure he had.
"I'll make every last one of them my slaves!" he screeched, his voice broadcast across the globe. "I'll brand their faces, make them crawl on all fours like dogs, I'll feed them scraps from the floor..."
For five uninterrupted minutes, the entire world listened as a World Noble, a descendant of the gods, described with gleeful detail the torment he would inflict on his slaves. People heard rage. They heard pain. They heard utter despair. But across the sea, from the North Blue to the Grand Line, they all felt one thing in common: a burning, pure hatred for the World Government.
"See?" Bai Ye murmured to himself, a grimly satisfied smile on his face. "It's always more convincing when it comes from the source." He almost felt like this disfigured cretin was cute in his own, destructive way.
"YOU IDIOTS! WHY AREN'T YOU MOVING?!" Charlos screamed, realizing the Marines were still frozen in place.
The Marine commander tried to explain. "Sir, the pirates can execute the hostages at any moment, we must—"
Charlos kicked the commander, stumbling from the pathetic force of his own attack. The humiliation only fueled his rage. He began beating the man with his fists.
"Who are you to question me?! You Marines are nothing but dogs raised by us! The Admirals themselves must obey my command!" he ranted. "I am a descendant of the Creator! A noble Celestial Dragon! Now, obey me! Obey me or I'll find your families and make them my slaves! No, I'll make you my slave!"
The commander clenched his fists until his knuckles were white, but he simply lowered his head and took the beating. He knew this contemptible creature was someone he could never, ever touch.
"Insolent cur! I'll kill you myself!" Charlos shrieked, pulling a golden pistol from his coat and firing it without hesitation.
BOOM!!
The shot never landed. A silver flash intercepted the bullet—a sword slash so fast it was almost invisible.
SLASH!
A wave of compressed air erupted from the slash, sending Charlos, the commander, and a dozen nearby Marines tumbling to the ground. The force of the attack continued onward, aimed directly at Bai Ye.
The Priest's eyes narrowed. Golden light coalesced around his right hand, forming a longsword. He met the attack with a fluid motion, redirecting the force of the slash harmlessly into the sky.
He then looked across the plaza.
"It's been a while, Vice-Admiral," Bai Ye said coolly. "You seem to have gotten stronger."
A man in a garish, mustard-yellow suit approached, his sword resting on his shoulder. It was Vice-Admiral Tokikake. He completely ignored the sputtering Charlos. "You're the one who's improved, boy. Last time, you couldn't have taken that slash."
"Ah, you're certainly prompt, Kake," Kizaru remarked, a subtle note of derision in his tone.
"Unlike an Admiral, I don't have to worry about the political fallout," Tokikake shot back without missing a beat. Kizaru fell silent, having no retort.
Tokikake turned his full attention back to Bai Ye. "You've made your point. Your show is over. What are your terms for releasing the Celestial Dragons?"
"Oh, it was a wonderful show," the Priest replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Especially the part where the righteous Marines stood by and did nothing. Truly inspiring."
He let the insult hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "As for releasing them... we'll have to wait a little longer. There's one final act to this human auction."
Bai Ye turned and shouted.
"Luffy! It's your turn!"
As Bob's camera panned upwards, the world saw a figure high in the sky, his right leg swollen to an impossible size.
Gomu Gomu no Gigant Axe!!
The massive leg came crashing down, completely obliterating the human auction house in a cataclysmic explosion of wood and stone.
When the dust began to settle, Monkey D. Luffy stood defiantly on the ruins, one hand holding his straw hat to his head. He lifted his gaze, looking directly into the camera, and spoke to the world.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy. And I'm going to be the King of the Pirates."
His voice rang out, clear and strong.
"In this world, NO ONE is born to be a slave!"
"On behalf of the Straw Hat Pirates, I officially declare war on the World Government!"
P.S. The big fight around Chapter 100 was with Tokikake, not Stainless. Sorry. I've already fixed it.