Luffy killed two Celestial Dragons in the blink of an eye, and even Moria and Law, who were with him, couldn't help but be shocked.
The auctioneer on stage was even more terrified. Trembling, he let out a strange scream, dropped the microphone from his hand, and ran toward the backstage area.
Behind them were caged slaves waiting to be auctioned off.
While everyone was cramming toward the front door to escape, it was obviously safer and faster to leave through the back.
Unbelievable and insane! How could someone dare to kill Celestial Dragons!?
The auctioneer was so shocked that he didn't think for even a second about fleeing rationally.
However, as soon as he rushed backstage, he saw an elderly man walking toward him with a small wine jug and a smile on his face.
The old man's eyes narrowed, and in an instant, a wave of Conqueror's Haki struck the auctioneer's mind.
With a thud, the auctioneer collapsed to the floor.
The old man smiled faintly, crouched down to take the auctioneer's wallet, and tucked it away with a straightforward grin.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Luffy tossed the strangled Celestial Dragon aside and turned his gaze to the last one.
This final person was not very old—he looked to be only about 15 or 16 years old.
"Father! Mother!"
He was trembling, tears streaming down his terrified face.
As he ran away, he let out a high-pitched scream.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
"Moria," Luffy said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Moria frowned but acted immediately.
"Those old bastards from the Five Elders want me dead so badly—this is a great way to return the favor."
He was already targeted by the World Government, so what difference would it make to kill another Celestial Dragon?
The black shadow that spread beneath his feet reached the fleeing Celestial Dragon in an instant.
The shadow rose from the ground like sharp steel cables and pierced straight through the Celestial Dragon's chest.
Pffffff!!
The Celestial Dragon spewed a large amount of blood, but because of his helmet, the blood pooled inside rather than spilling onto the ground.
The taste of blood and the pain sent his brain into overdrive.
Raising his hands to grab the shadow that had impaled him, the Celestial Dragon let out a faint groan of pain.
But in just one or two seconds, his consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness.
Luffy shook his head. "Shame it's only three. In the future, I'll make a personal visit to the Celestial Dragons. I'm sure plenty of people will be happy about it."
The Celestial Dragons were not many in number.
Excluding Vivi, there were only 19 families in total.
"Hahaha, you've made quite the mess the moment you arrived here, Monkey D. Luffy."
A laugh came from the stage, and then everyone saw an elderly man wearing glasses, with a scar over his right eye, slowly emerge from behind the red stage curtain.
"Silvers Rayleigh!" Law's eyes narrowed slightly.
The Government had never revoked Rayleigh's bounty, although compared to the blond-haired man in his wanted poster, the man before them had gray hair now.
Still, there was hardly any difference in his appearance—Law recognized him instantly.
"Mr. Rayleigh, this is our first time meeting," Luffy greeted.
Rayleigh's eyes fell on the straw hat atop Luffy's head.
"You're just like Roger—always finding trouble wherever you go. Hahahaha, I've been waiting for you here for a long time."
"Waiting for me?" Luffy asked, surprised.
"Ten years ago, when Shanks lost his arm in East Blue, I knew that sooner or later you'd end up here."
Rayleigh smiled faintly, glancing at the three dead Celestial Dragons. "Let's talk somewhere else. A Marine Admiral will be here any minute."
Leaving through the now-empty front entrance of the auction hall, the five of them headed toward Area 13.
When the Marines finally arrived, there were only three Celestial Dragon corpses in the hall.
The Marine captain leading the unit looked terrified, sweat pouring down his face.
"Quick! Get a doctor! See if there's still a chance to save any of them! That cruel pirate, Straw Hat Luffy—how dare he harm the World Nobles!"
He didn't even dare to use the word kill.
If they were truly dead, it would be the end for him.
As the officer in charge here, he had an unshakable duty to keep the Celestial Dragons safe.
When one dies, so does he.
"Contact Headquarters immediately!!"
The captain quickly grabbed a Den Den Mushi and dialed the number for Marine HQ in a panic.
---
Area 13 – Shakky's Rip-off Bar
This place was so remote that very few customers ever visited.
When Luffy and the others returned, Shakky was calmly reading a newspaper.
"You're back," she said with a soft laugh. She stood up, walked behind the bar, and prepared drinks for everyone.
Luffy and Rayleigh sat at the counter.
"The wine here is as good as ever, Shakky," Rayleigh said, swirling the pale yellow drink in his glass.
"No need for flattery—you've been drinking here for over ten years." Shakky sighed. "Men are creatures that can't be tied down. Luffy, don't go learning from him."
Luffy: "..."
"Hahaha, enough about the wine. Luffy, you must have a reason for coming to me—something you want to ask, right?"
"I want to ask you something. Where's the final island?" Luffy asked immediately.
"Beyond the New World," Rayleigh answered.
"Hahaha, you really want to know?" he asked.
What a sly old man. Luffy rolled his eyes and replied with a grin, "It's fine if there's something you can't tell me. I just came by to see if I could get anything, and I don't regret asking."
"It's not that I can't tell you—it's simply useless to ask me."
"What do you mean?" Luffy frowned.
"You need to find the four Road Poneglyphs before you can truly locate it."
Rayleigh was completely straightforward, giving his answer without hesitation.
"All I can say is—it's an island in the sky."
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."