The square.
After a few seconds of eerie silence, it was finally broken by an angry shout.
"What are you talking about, Xiano?!"
A Captain gritted his teeth and roared, "Are you still treating us as enemies? Don't forget, you just killed a Navy Vice Admiral! The World Government will definitely brand you as a Pirate and put a bounty on your head. Stop acting so high and mighty!"
"That's right! We should clearly be on the same side now. You won't even let us plunder, and you're still bringing up your past reputation. Don't you think you're overdoing it?!"
Another Pirate Captain followed up with a question.
"Overdoing it? High and mighty? Since when have Pirates become so good at labeling others?"
Xiano raised an eyebrow, his index finger slightly lifting. "Listen up, scum. The Navy I killed deserved it, and you? You're just another pack of damned hyenas!"
Buzz!
The moment his words fell, a powerful shockwave erupted from his fingertip.
Finger Pistol!
The two Pirate Captains who had questioned him didn't even have time to react before their heads exploded, turning into two corpses on the ground.
Thud!
Xiano immediately jumped down from the execution platform, landing on the ground and startling the surrounding Pirates.
Looking at the corpses on the ground, the Pirates swallowed hard, shrinking back as they looked at him, unsure whether to flee or attack.
"Hey, Kuina." Xiano ignored the rabble, his gaze turning to a certain spot.
"I'm here, Captain!" The young Master Swordsman immediately raised her hand in response.
"You've been asking me in the café what my dream really is, haven't you?"
He looked around, the ruins and remnants of cannonballs coming into view.
"Now seems like a good time to answer you!"
"Huh?" Kuina was surprised. "Now? Right here?"
Boom!
Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed, splitting the clouds.
The pale electric light illuminated Xiano's sharply defined profile, his black hair dancing wildly in the wind as he grinned ferociously:
"Of course, right in front of this world-famous execution platform!"
He bent down, his five fingers suddenly piercing into the stone base of the execution platform. The bluish-gray bricks groaned under the pressure in his palm.
The execution platform, which had stood unshaken for eighteen years under the pouring rain, now, to the astonishment of everyone watching, began to rise with a rumbling sound!
"Eighteen years ago, the Great Pirate Era began here, and you guys, in a way, traveled thousands of miles to come here as pilgrims..."
"What a joke, Roger!!!"
Amid the roar, the execution platform completely left the ground, and he actually lifted it high with just one hand, carrying it on his shoulder:
"Luring fools from all over the world into the sea to kill each other with mere treasure, dangling the so-called One Piece to make everyone tear at each other like wild dogs. The common folk barely manage to scrape together money to pay the Celestial Tribute, only to be ravaged back and forth by you scum. What the hell is there to look forward to in this damn era?!!"
His roar exploded through the rain, shaking the air.
"If you really want to change something, do it yourself! Starting this Great Pirate Era, waiting decades in vain, expecting some so-called chosen one—what kind of nonsense is that?!"
"If you feel oppressed, go and confront those who oppress you! Joining the navy and acting like a submissive dog, or becoming a pirate and pillaging everywhere, bullying the weaker—what kind of nonsense is that?!"
The square fell into dead silence.
All the pirates were like ducks with their throats squeezed, staring dumbly at the execution platform and the figure holding it up.
"This world never needed a Pirate King, nor does it need so many arrogant fools!!!"
"Roger was the one who opened the era of great pirates, making this world even worse, but everyone has long been fed up with this state of affairs!"
"So, my dream is to become the one who ends this ridiculous era! And to shove this shitty era of great pirates—"
"Back into Roger's coffin!!!"
Xiano suddenly hurled the execution platform off his shoulder with all his might.
The platform, weighing several tons, now flew like a cannonball, whistling straight toward the distant sea!
Boom—
Watching the platform fly away, Xiano spread his arms, baring his teeth in a wild laugh. A terrifying invisible shockwave suddenly exploded outward from him!
Conqueror's Haki!
The sky flashed with thick black lightning, and the entire Loguetown flickered under its shadow. A fierce wind rose, bricks and stones cracked, and the clouds rolled back!
The pirates in the square immediately felt dizzy, collapsing in waves like wheat being cut down.
The few surviving pirates also fell to their knees, trembling as they watched their companions fall to the ground foaming at the mouth. They couldn't help but look in horror toward the base of the execution platform—
That black-haired boy, just standing there, seemed as if he could pull the entire sky down!
...
In the distance.
Nojiko, Nami, Kuina, and others looked up at the bizarre and terrifying weather, their faces filled with shock.
"Is... is this my brother's doing?"
Nami swallowed hard, her words stumbling, "Just talking about a dream? Although I felt pretty pumped listening to it, how on earth did he do this?"
"It's Conqueror's Haki."
Zeff's voice came from the side. The old man gazed at the figure in the storm with a complex expression, murmuring:
"Perhaps we should have expected it... Our Captain is a man with the rare Conqueror's quality, one in a million."
Becoming the one who ends it all?
Ending the era of great pirates?
Pulling down those arrogant figures in the sky, one by one?
Hey, hey, hey, can you really say that out loud? This dream is way more exaggerated than finding the All Blue or something...
Conqueror's Haki?
Is that a type of Haki? Nami was full of questions.
But it sure looked impressive. She gazed at the pirates lying all over the square, her eyes filled with envy:
"Wow, that's my brother for you! Damn, I really want to learn that ability too. Just waving a hand and making so many people fall—no Devil Fruit could ever compare!"
"Conqueror's Haki is innate, not something just anyone can learn."
Zeff shook his head, recalling certain scenes he had witnessed in the past. Comparing them to the sight before him, he couldn't help but feel even more emotional. "You might not know this, but even among those with the qualifications for Conqueror's Haki, the power displayed during the initial awakening can vary greatly.""
"What about my brother?" Nojiko asked curiously. "How does his awakening rank? Is it impressive?"
"I've never seen anything more exaggerated."
Zeff clicked his tongue. "And the most terrifying part is that, even though it's his first awakening, he shouldn't be able to control it yet. But look, all the Pirates who have passed out in this square are Pirates. Not only us, but even the residents hiding on both sides haven't been affected in the slightest."
It really seems to be true...
Kuina followed the Old Man's gaze and couldn't help but marvel in her heart.
As expected of Lord Xiano...
The crew members were so engrossed in their conversation, their attention entirely focused on what was happening ahead.
None of them noticed that, not far from their side, behind the ruins.
A tall figure with white hair, shackled with Sea Stone Handcuffs, was also staring blankly in the direction of the execution platform, like a statue, motionless for a long time...
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