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"Damn it… my body's gone numb…"
Luffy struggled on the platform, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move the jitte gently resting against his chest.
"What the hell?!" Bartolomeo was stunned in the crowd.
He had just started to see Luffy in a new light—then the guy went and got caught this easily?!
He was completely speechless.
Smoker slowly got up.
Seeing Luffy reacting just like any other Devil Fruit user, he finally relaxed a little.
He'd been seriously worried Luffy might be immune to Seastone.
Now that everything seemed under control, Smoker regained his usual calm.
He looked down at Luffy and said:
"Too bad. This is the end of your journey."
"In this world, the Navy stands for justice."
"As for you, Straw Hat—"
But before he could finish, Luffy's voice cut him off:
"My journey isn't ending here."
Luffy looked up at him and said, loud and clear:
"I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!!!"
Even though the Seastone had drained his strength, he still shouted it with everything he had.
Bartolomeo saw that too—and for a second, he just stared.
"Don't make me laugh!!!"
Smoker grabbed Luffy by the collar and yanked him up.
"Pirate King? You're nowhere near that level!!!"
The reason Smoker said that… was because he'd seen Roger's execution with his own eyes.
That overwhelming, one-of-a-kind presence had burned itself into his memory.
So when he heard Luffy say those words, he just couldn't hold back his emotions.
At the same time, the crowd in the square started buzzing:
"What the hell? The new ruler of the East Blue got caught just like that?"
"Yeah, must be a mistake on the Navy's wanted list. A guy like that? No way he's some big-time pirate."
"Hahaha, did you guys hear that? That brat actually said he wants to become the Pirate King!"
"Ha! What a joke. He's already in the Navy's hands and still dreaming."
"Come on, someone like him becoming Pirate King? Gimme a break!!!"
There was so much noise, it was hard for Bartolomeo to make anything out clearly.
But even without hearing everything, he could tell most of them were laughing at Luffy—mocking his wild dreams.
It made him start to waver a bit too, and he looked up at Luffy struggling up on the execution platform.
Is this really the end for that guy?
The noisy voices that Bartolomeo could barely make out—Luffy, who had awakened his Observation Haki, could hear them all, loud and clear.
Already struggling from the effects of the Sea Prism Stone cuffs, Luffy now had to listen to everyone sneering at him nonstop.
It made him feel worse—made him want to explode.
A pressure started building in his chest.
With every passing second, more voices poured into his mind, piling on.
The pressure built up more and more—until finally it reached its limit.
Like a dam bursting, it all came flooding out!
"SHUT UP!!!!!!"
Luffy suddenly roared.
At the same time, a surge of dark red energy exploded from his body!!!
That shout marked the peak of Luffy's outburst.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
People who had been standing around the square moments ago started collapsing one after another.
They were all knocked out cold by that insane pressure.
Of course, not everyone was that weak.
Bartolomeo dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth as he fought to stay conscious, veins bulging on his forehead.
He forced his head up to look at Luffy again on the platform.
To him, Luffy looked like a damn legend right now!!!
So what exactly was that pressure?
Of course—
"Conqueror's Haki?"
Watching from the sidelines, Bai Ye looked a little surprised. He didn't expect Luffy to awaken Conqueror's Haki here, of all places.
Looks like the story's gone a bit off-script thanks to me...
Bai Ye couldn't help but sigh.
Should I say... Luffy really is the chosen one?
"Bastard!"
Smoker grabbed Luffy by the collar, clearly rattled.
He'd been the closest to Luffy when the Haki burst out, so he took the full brunt of it.
If he weren't strong enough, he probably would've already let Luffy go by now.
Luffy looked him straight in the eyes, face dead serious:
"I don't care if it costs me my life. I'm still gonna be—!"
Right as he said that, even though his Haki didn't spike again, the skies above the square suddenly changed!
A fierce gust of wind blasted toward Smoker.
Already struggling after being hit by the Haki, Smoker finally lost his balance.
He tumbled off the execution platform, and the seastone ten hands he was holding slipped away from Luffy.
Now free, Luffy raised both hands high, using every ounce of strength left to scream from his chest:
"I'M GONNA BE THE PIRATE KING!!!"
The wind howled even harder now, whipping around Luffy and puffing up his clothes.
It was like the storm itself was honoring its king.
Dark clouds started forming overhead, ready to pour or maybe strike with lightning.
The whole scene looked like something out of a damn myth—and Bartolomeo was seeing it all unfold.
"Luffy… Luffy-senpai is amazing!!!"
Right then, the rooster-headed fanboy felt like he'd just found a brand new religion—burning Luffy's image deep into his heart.
But what he didn't know was that Bai Ye was feeling really conflicted right now.
He looked over at Dragon nearby and muttered:
No wonder he's your kid… this dramatic moment? You set him up perfectly. Full marks.
Yeah, that so-called "miracle" just now? Totally staged—by Luffy's old man.
Now really interested, Bai Ye flash-stepped to Dragon's side and said:
"Leave the rest to me. After all, Luffy's my captain too."
Without waiting for Dragon to reply, he quickly formed hand seals on his chest:
[Thunder Hex—Glorious Wrath!!!]
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning tore across the sky and struck the execution platform right at Luffy's feet.
Just that one hit was enough to completely destroy the already fragile structure, sending smoke and debris everywhere.
When the dust finally settled, Luffy was standing in front of everyone, hand on his straw hat.
He flashed a huge grin and laughed:
"Looks like I survived after all! Hahahahaha!"
Click!
And that perfect scene—Luffy walking out of lightning unharmed—was captured clearly on camera.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what the hell just happened here?!"
"Hey Luffy! Did you take out all these guys?!"
At that moment, Zoro—who had just bought Snow Walk and Kitetsu III—and Sanji—who had just won the gourmet tournament's big fish prize—finally arrived.
Too bad… they totally missed the big show.
"Yo, Luffy, Sanji…"
On the other side, Usopp and Nami showed up too.
Nami was carrying a big pack, looking kinda panicked:
"Guys, we gotta go, fast! A huge storm's about to hit!!"
"Huh?" Luffy blinked, then asked:
"Where's Bai Ye?"
Zoro answered, "He's the last guy you need to worry about."
Sanji added, "Yeah Luffy, even he said we'd all meet back on the ship."
Hearing that, Luffy didn't waste time and quickly regrouped with everyone:
"Alright then—let's go back to the Merry!!!"
"YEAH!!!"
"....."