Half an hour later, Luffy emerged from the hall expressionlessly, carrying the unconscious Kaya in his arms.
Inside the house, the once-imposing Saruba was now barely recognizable.
His usually ferocious face was twisted with despair and terror.
His limb joints had been crushed to dust by Luffy.
His eyes had been gouged out, his ears bitten off, his nose torn open, his lips shredded, and his teeth smashed—his entire face was sunken in.
All of this was done by the deranged Kaya.
"Luffy..."
Robin followed behind Luffy, watching his silent form with growing concern.
Luffy walked ahead without a word, heading toward the port they had arrived from.
He no longer had any desire to explore the town.
He was going to Syrup Village, to see how the East Blue had changed because of him.
To rescue Usopp.
On the bustling streets, the wild laughter of pirates could be heard intermittently, mingled with their desires for violence, slaughter, destruction, and women.
Luffy's ears clearly picked up the conversations among the pirates.
"Wahahahaha, did you guys know? The village we raided yesterday had over forty women! What a stroke of luck. And I even managed to loot a full million Berries from that place, gahahaha, it was amazing!"
"Boss, your luck is truly something else. Our Wild Dog Pirates just formed, and on our first raid, we hit the jackpot. The brothers are over the moon! Over forty women, hehehe, you know, our Wild Dog Pirates only have about twenty members. Yesterday, we partied until our legs gave out."
"Too bad a few of the women were crying and whining, ruining my mood. I just chopped them up. Otherwise, we could've brought them to Loguetown and sold them for some cash."
"Did you hear? The Marine hero of the East Blue is dead, and with a super pirate like Straw Hat Luffy around, the Marines' control over the East Blue has weakened a lot."
"No need to tell me! Haven't you noticed the increasing number of pirates in the East Blue? There are already seven or eight captains with bounties over 50 million. I bet it won't be long before we shed this 'Weakest Sea' title and become the 'Strongest Sea'!"
"We owe it all to Straw Hat Luffy! I heard from our brothers who've entered the Grand Line that pirate crews from the East Blue are highly respected there. Some nobles in towns even hold special banquets to welcome them."
"Now, who dares to call us the weakest? The East Blue not only produced the Pirate King but also Straw Hat Luffy with his 3 billion Berry bounty!"
"I think Straw Hat Luffy might even become the next Pirate King. His growth is just too insane!"
"Yeah, yeah. But I heard there's a new crew called the Beast God Pirates that's supposedly really strong and even defeated the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Who knows? But I'll always support the Straw Hat Pirates. I want to follow Straw Hat Luffy! Get ready, tomorrow we're raiding that Shimotsuki Village for some cash, then we're off to the Grand Line!"
…
…
…
One voice after another flooded Luffy's mind, each conveying tales of brutality, sorrow, and despair.
A large portion of these people were actually his fans.
Just like Bartholomew.
Luffy had never bothered to learn much about the people he had influenced—those who became pirates and set out to sea.
He didn't know who they used to be.
Nor did he know what they had done in the past.
He only knew that Bartholomew had helped him in Dressrosa.
He didn't know that Bartholomew was once a local thug, a vicious brute nicknamed "Devil" known for his cruelty and complete lack of morals.
Or perhaps, Luffy simply didn't want to know.
Back when they set out from Windmill Village, sailing the seas and fighting injustice, they could still be considered adventurers flying the pirate flag.
During the Summit War, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of rescuing his brother Ace, he did not hesitate to release all the prisoners from the entire prison, rendering decades of the Marines' efforts completely futile.
By then, he had thoroughly become a pirate who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends.
Moreover, he was no ordinary pirate, but an evil criminal burdened with countless sins—one who would sacrifice ten thousand, even a hundred thousand people for the sake of a single individual!
Sometimes, people tend to overlook tragedies that don't happen around them...
When one feels pain and regret, it's when cause and effect descend upon themselves and those close to them...
"I'm Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"
This declaration was something Luffy had always upheld, words he could utter without hesitation.
But now, as Luffy opened his mouth, trying to force himself to say those words to solidify his wavering dream,
his lips moved several times, yet no sound emerged.
The words "Pirate King" felt like a mountain weighing millions of tons, pressing down on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
Looking at Kaya cradled in his arms, her dull, yellowish blonde hair stained with blood, her face still wearing an expression of helplessness and terror even while unconscious,
Luffy's heart twisted violently.
A killing intent as deep as an abyss surged from the depths of his soul, uncontrollable and something he had no desire to control!
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Luffy's eyes turned crimson, his black hair instantly igniting into pale flames.
A ring of black Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, sweeping over Loguetown like a tidal wave, crushing everything in its path!
A pirate captain was loudly discussing which village to visit tonight to enjoy the local beauties, when suddenly, his head exploded as if struck by a giant hammer, splattering brains and blood all over those around him.
In a bar, a vicious pirate was forcibly embracing a waitress, completely ignoring her helpless screams while letting out lecherous laughter.
Bang!
His head instantly burst apart, leaving only a headless corpse standing rigidly.
At the harbor, pirates on a ship were joyfully pushing along a group of pale, emaciated men and women, laughing and shouting about how they would vent their desires tonight.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The next moment, heads exploded one after another, headless corpses spurting blood as they stiffly collapsed to the ground.
In just an instant, within a radius of over ten miles centered on Loguetown, every pirate whom Luffy perceived as guilty had their heads exploded by his Conqueror's Haki, dying without understanding what happened.
"Robin, set sail. We're heading to Syrup Village."
Luffy's voice was hoarse beyond recognition.
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