No… no!
William's eyes widened, his heart filled with disbelief and terror—what was this brat trying to do? Daring to attack him before was one thing, but now he was actually trying to seize the opportunity to kill him outright?
He was a noble prince of mixed blood from two kingdoms, and his ancestors were the World Nobles who founded the World Government!
How dare he?!
"Not good!"
In the valley, Kizaru, witnessing this scene, also paled slightly. Without hesitation, he turned into a beam of golden light and shot up into the sky toward the edge of the cliff.
Whoosh!
He reached William's side at top speed. Just as the sword tip was about to pierce William's chest, Kizaru lashed out with a powerful kick—launching William's body high into the air, out of harm's way.
Whew. That was close...
William, flying through the air, felt his life's circumstances take a dramatic turn, but he was at least temporarily out of danger and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It's just… his back really hurts. That bastard Commander from G-2 Branch, couldn't he have pulled his punches a bit? Was that kick meant to save him or murder him…?
His body eventually crashed into the mountain wall, then slammed heavily onto the ground.
Not far away, Nao, who had landed, ignored him for the moment. Instead, he turned his head to look at Kizaru, who had appeared before him without him noticing, and said calmly, "Why, Vice Admiral?"
"Don't be too reckless, kid."
Kizaru rubbed his temples, a look of exasperation on his face. "Letting you act before was the biggest concession I could make. Defeating this guy and teaching him a lesson is fine, but actually killing him would cause too much trouble…"
"So, what do we do with this guy?"
Nao glanced at William, who was screaming and clutching his back on the ground. "Lock him up and send him to Impel Down?"
"That… Headquarters will try its best to push for that…"
Kizaru's gaze darted away, stammering, "First, we'll expose the filthy dealings in the cold storage, then conduct a deeper investigation into his other misdeeds. Once we gain control of public opinion, we can logically send him to Impel Down…"
"Too much hassle, Vice Admiral."
Nao shook his head slightly, scoffing, "Let me guess? While Headquarters is busy, the two royal families will have already bribed the newspapers and the World Government, putting pressure on them. Perhaps William won't even have warmed his ass in Impel Down before he's quietly released again?"
"…"
Kizaru looked at him, speechless for a moment.
Because even he had to admit that, given William's background and connections, such a scenario was highly probable.
"Then there's nothing more to say, Vice Admiral."
Nao wiped the still-drying blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled at Kizaru. "You know, I've always preferred to pull weeds out at the root. I hate it when evil isn't completely eradicated and some despicable scum is left to plot against me all the time…"
Hum!
He flicked his wrist, slashing out a wave of sword energy directly towards William, who was lying on the ground not far away.
Kizaru was startled, instinctively raising his fingertip, but then he saw the blood covering Nao's body after fighting for a day and a night.
For some reason, he ultimately sighed and lowered his arm.
"You bastard! You bastard!"
Noticing the incoming sword energy from the corner of his eye, William's face instantly contorted, and he shrieked in absolute terror, "Borsalino! What the hell are you doing?! Hurry up and stop—"
Boom!
His scream was cut short.
The surging sword energy slammed into him, sending his body violently airborne from the ground, where it was mercilessly torn into pieces in mid-air…
Thud.
Body parts scattered across the ground. His head tumbled a few times before landing near the two men.
Kizaru looked down
William's once-handsome face was frozen in a mask of horror, his eyes wide open in shock.
Kizaru met that lifeless gaze and said nothing.
Only after a long silence did he sigh again and flash Nao a helpless smile.
"Kid, you've really gotten yourself into big trouble this time…"
"It's fine."
Nao kicked the head away, sheathed his swords, and looked up at the night sky, a brilliant smile spreading across his face in the moonlight:
"What happens later, happens later. At least tonight, I had my fill!"
In the Valley
The moment Nao cut down William, the area around the tent camp fell into complete silence.
The marines who witnessed this scene all stopped what they were doing, looking at each other. Then, as if reaching some unspoken agreement, they simultaneously cheered, raising their arms, and bursting into hearty laughter.
"Hell yeah, Nao!"
"That kind of scum shouldn't even be allowed into Impel Down; he should've been killed on the spot!"
"To hell with the Warlords of the Sea! They're all damned pirates, haha!"
Amidst the commotion, Shia leaned against her tent entrance, gazing far off at the figure looking up at the night sky, a smile gradually forming on her lips.
As expected of the Nao I've always liked. This, this is the real you…
And at the same time, at the rock cave entrance behind her.
Kale and Bub, bound to the wall by Seastone shackles, stared at the body parts on the ground, their faces filled with disbelief, their expressions faintly dazed.
How was this possible? Prince William… the prince they had always revered as a god, not only lost to that brat, but actually died?
Does he really think he can stay in the Marines after this? What was he thinking…?
"This isn't over. It can't end like this."
Kale, regaining her composure, stared intensely at Nao's distant silhouette, muttering in a venomous whisper, "You'll pay the price, brat. You'll die for what you've done. Mark my words—you'll follow him into the grave…"
Thwack!
A massive palm came crashing down.
Kale's frail frame flew through the air and landed with a thud, knocked clean out.
"Follow him into the grave?"
Standing behind her was Rear Admiral Buma, towering nearly nine meters tall.
She sneered, spitting on the ground.
"Keep dreaming, bitch."
Hot Nest Peninsula
All over the city, in streets and alleys, people who had secretly been watching the battle atop the cliffs were frozen in shock, jaws hanging open.
By now, they'd all pieced together the identities of the two combatants.
One, needless to say, was William, the dual prince of the Alabasta Kingdom and the Angia Kingdom, a descendant of the World Nobles, who had just been invited three months ago to officially become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The other was just a Marine from G-2 Branch, a rookie named Nao who had gained a slight reputation in a small sea area in the past.
But what did they see? After a prolonged and arduous battle, that nameless young Marine had actually cut down William, a Warlord of the Sea, into scattered body parts right before their eyes?!
It was unbelievable!
As they gradually recovered from the intense visual shock, this small town, silent under the night sky, instantly erupted in an uproar!
"Big news, big news!"
From the second-story window of a small inn, a tall, thin man who looked like a reporter suddenly turned his head, excitedly telling his companion inside the room:
"Hey, Gil! You got it, right? You got all the footage just now, right?! This is huge news!"
"No kidding, don't need you to remind me! I'm already contacting the chief!"
His partner was already dialing a Transponder Snail while furiously writing a draft of the news on paper.
His overly excited emotions made his right hand tremble slightly, unable to even hold the pen steady, his voice equally frenzied with excitement:
"This is it! This is how we hit the jackpot! We've got the scoop of the century! We have to beat every other paper to press!"
Such a scene wasn't just happening on the second floor of this inn; similar events were being replayed and broadcast in every corner of the entire Hot Nest Peninsula.
Whether by urgent Transponder Snail communication or by news coo…
Countless individuals were frantically contacting the outside world at top speed, reporting to their respective superiors and bosses, transmitting the sudden developments on the Hot Nest Peninsula.
The speed of news dissemination has always been terrifying…
Without a doubt.
When night ended and dawn broke, this vast, boundless ocean was destined to fall into a complete uproar because of this sudden "Major Incident"!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin