The island's residents felt the tremors coming from afar, muffled through the earth.
Deep underground, a black shadow darted through the veins of the earth. Everywhere it passed, tiny golden particles gathered, forming clumps, streams, and distinct trails, moving as though alive, chasing in the same direction as the black shadow.
If one were to slice the island vertically, they would see a cross-section filled with web-like golden threads flowing together, sixteen merging into eight, eight into four, four into two...
B.I.B. was using the power of the Gold-Gold Fruit to manipulate the vast golden ore veins beneath this island of real gold and silver.
Suddenly, as it moved underground, leading the molten gold's convergence, it paused and turned back. Its narrow eyes seemed to pierce through layers of earth and stone, gazing toward a spot on the surface, the royal palace atop the island.
There were many chaotic presences all over the mountain, but near its true body, there were three familiar auras, ones its body had fought before. Through Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi), B.I.B. recognized them as Jabra, Blueno, and Fukuro.
These three, already grievously wounded, now seemed to be on the verge of death. Beside them was another strong presence, another CP9 agent, perhaps?
And the one currently fighting its body... without a doubt, that was Rob Lucci.
Morning's first light spilled over the mountain peak.
The drunken king, haggard and pale, staggered toward the shattered floor-to-ceiling window. Looking down, he saw the dense, chaotic crowd still clashing after battling all night, no sign of the fight ending soon...
The Heavenly Tribute had been targeted by pirates. The royal family and the nation's citizens were crushed under massive debts to the Chamber of Commerce, unable to repay...
Whether it's me, this useless king, or my foolish citizens, we're all doomed.
Just as the king considered hanging himself, a few wounded palace guards and Marines passed by, supporting one another.
Before long, the king made his way toward the treasury. Half of the palace in that direction had already been reduced to rubble, smoke rising, flames licking at the remains.
"Your Majesty, it's dangerous over there…" a wounded guard cried, chasing after him.
By now, the royal treasury had utterly vanished. The burning patches on the ground were bundles of Belly banknotes turning to ash. Gold, silver, and jewels lay scattered amidst the shattered ruins.
The two massive vault doors, solid steel, now hung crookedly from the remaining wall, twisted and mangled like pretzels. What kind of destructive power could have done this?
The lion-man, Kumadori, had spent the last of his strength, his light-pink hair grown wildly to wrap and protect his three unconscious comrades.
Together, Jabra, Blueno, Fukuro, and Kumadori all hung limply from the broken walls, completely unconscious.
Robin, kneeling on one leg, sat atop the rubble, her gaze fixed on the very center of what used to be the treasury room, where now, only Liam and Lucci remained.
Lucci dangled from Liam's hand, his body battered and bloodied, his eyes lifeless as he stared at the sky. The leopard traits on his face slowly faded, his claws and tail retracting back into his human form…
"This… this can't be real…" The king, seeing this scene, sank into despair. "Even the government's CP agents… defeated?"
The female pirate sitting high atop the ruins turned her eyes toward him. The king fell to the ground in fright, trembling.
"Already scared?"
With the rising sun at his back, Liam flicked his nails, studying the blood-covered Lucci he held, unsure if the man was even conscious.
He sighed and shook his head. "No wonder you lost."
He casually tossed the "little leopard" aside with a heavy bang, then looked toward another man, a bald, overweight middle-aged merchant pinned beneath the debris, his leg crushed and unable to escape.
Liam looked at the man twice, still unsure what to do with him.
But the bald merchant was already terrified beyond reason, stammering, "Giorno, you, you, you can't kill me!"
"Oh? That's simple enough!" Liam clapped his hands, one hand on his hip as he laughed and strolled closer. "I have a few types of people I don't kill! Good people, idiots, interesting people, and those I don't dislike. You don't look very interesting, and I certainly don't like you. So… are you a good person?"
He lifted his foot and pressed it firmly onto the bald man's face.
The man's leg was trapped under rubble, his fat face crushed beneath Liam's shoe. His skin turned deathly pale as he trembled violently.
"Is he a good person?" Liam yawned, asking lazily.
Robin just spread her hands, how would she know? The unconscious CP9 agents couldn't answer either.
Liam's gaze drifted toward the fallen king. The king's pupils quaked as he pointed and shouted through gritted teeth, "They're loan sharks, usurers of the Chamber of Commerce—"
"Looks like," Liam interrupted, pressing his foot harder onto the bald man's head, "you're not a good person."
You pirates have no right to judge me! the bald man screamed inwardly, his teeth chattering.
Suddenly, a desperate idea struck him. Remembering Liam's earlier words, he cried out frantically, "I'm an idiot! A big idiot! A super idiot!"
"Bullshit!" Liam said coldly, stomping down. "You're too wicked for that title!"
BANG!
The bald middle-aged man shut his eyes in utter despair.
But after waiting a moment, nothing happened.
When he dared to open them again, he saw the black-haired young man, who had earlier taken a leopard's form, somehow rushing forward to block Giorno's downward stomp.
Lucci braced himself on the ground, his body trembling violently as blood gushed from his mouth and splattered across the bald man's face.
His tattered clothes exposed a massive cross-shaped scar on his back, like the emblem of the World Government itself.
"He's one of us…" Lucci's bloodshot eyes burned with fury. "You've already let one of them get away…"
"One got away?" Liam tilted his head, recalling the guy from earlier, the one with some kind of Weapons Fruit, possibly a gun- or cannon-type ability.
Instantly, his expression darkened. "You've got some nerve blaming that on me! If you hadn't jumped in and messed things up, I'd have kicked him into the ground ages ago!"
With that, Liam sent Lucci flying with a brutal kick.
When he looked down again, the bald middle-aged man was trembling as he fumbled a Den Den Mushi out of his coat.
Lifting his thick, greasy neck, he shouted hysterically, "Giorno! Kujo Jolyne! Do you even know who stands behind the Haiqi Chamber of Commerce?! You can't kill me! I'm warning you, it's for your own good!"
Liam noticed that the Den Den Mushi's face had already transformed, wearing a pair of black round sunglasses, its features plump and serious. It was clearly connected in a live call.
"…Giorno Giovanna and Kujo Jolyne, is it?"
The Den Den Mushi's expression grew cold as a deep, calm voice spoke from the other end.
"I'm Du Feld…"
"Th-The King of Loans?!"
The king, hearing that name, nearly collapsed in terror.
The name Du Feld, ruler of the Underworld, was infamous even throughout the first half of the Grand Line. To those who knew that world, his name was legendary, a man whose influence rivaled nations. Compared to such an Emperor of the Underworld, even one or two powerful pirate crews were nothing more than thieves. But Du Feld, the "King of Usury," was the kind of man whose mere existence shook governments.
From the other end, Du Feld took a slow drag on his cigar. His voice was calm, a steel blade cutting through the rising fury of the morning.
"...I hope you'll extend me the courtesy of letting that man leave alive."
Liam yawned, scratching his ear. Then he turned to look up at the distant sky, his Stand was flying toward them, trailing a shimmering cascade of golden light behind it.
"Do you want me to give you 'face,' huh?" Liam chuckled, taking the Den Den Mushi from the trembling man's hand and setting it gently on the ground. "Alright, I'll give you all the face you need."
He pressed a finger to his lips in a silent "shh" gesture toward the Den Den Mushi, instructing it to stay put and simply listen.
(To Be Continued…)
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