The king suddenly stood up, his face full of surprise:
"Really?!"
"He's in..."
Before he could finish, a cold-faced young man in a black suit walked in.
The young Rob Lucci stepped into the empty great hall.
The king stared at the teenage boy in astonishment... This was... the reinforcements sent by the World Government?
Two ministers exchanged knowing looks—damn it... Was the World Government mocking them, sending a child?
But no matter what they thought, Rob Lucci kept walking forward indifferently until he came to a stop.
"Where is the prey."
The slightly chubby minister froze.
"Prey?"
"You mean that group of pirates?"
"They've occupied the western port of the kingdom as their base."
Rob Lucci said coldly:
"I understand."
Then he turned and left, heading for the hall's exit.
At that moment, the king suddenly called out:
"Please, wait."
"No matter what, please put the hostages' safety first."
"I beg you."
Rob Lucci turned his head and glanced at the king.
"Are you giving the World Government advice?"
As he spoke, a faint pressure emanated from him.
Everyone in the hall froze, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads... This pressure...
When they came to their senses, Rob Lucci was already gone.
The king's body went limp, collapsing into the throne, cold sweat soaking his brow in disbelief.
"World Government..."
...
At the port, the pirates' main base.
The pirate captain sat in the chief seat, raising his wine cup.
"Well done, brothers!"
"Tonight, indulge yourselves!!!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Some crew members raised their cups, others had their arms around stolen women.
They celebrated without restraint, venting their wild joy.
"The kingdom wasn't such a big deal after all!"
"That's right!!"
"Now the whole kingdom is ours!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Long live the boss!!!"
"What are you talking about! You should call him the new king!!"
"Hahahaha!!"
"More wine, more wine!"
In their revelry, no one noticed the sudden appearance of a boy in a black suit aboard the ship.
Rob Lucci walked up behind a group of drinking men.
"Who's the leader of your lot."
Several pirates turned in shock and quickly backed away.
"You bastard, where did you come from?!"
A nearby pirate ship crewman also spotted Rob Lucci and asked casually:
"Where'd you come from, brat?"
Rob Lucci's cold voice rang out:
"In the name of the World Government, I am arresting you."
The pirate captain looked as if he'd just heard a joke.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Arrest me? Just you??"
"Looks like the World Government's really short on manpower now."
"Sending a brat like you to try and arrest me."
"Ridiculous."
"Don't make me laugh!"
"Get lost, we don't have time to play house with a kid."
With a casual wave, two pirates leapt at him with drawn blades.
Rob Lucci muttered under his breath:
"Tekkai."
Crack, crack—
Two snapping sounds rang out. The pirates stared in shock at their broken blades, shattered against Rob Lucci's body.
The captain's heart sank slightly, but he was still confident—he had hostages.
"I see."
"You've got some skill, so you are World Government."
"But if you make any sudden moves, I can't guarantee the safety of the hostages, kid."
Six or seven pirates raised their guns, aiming at Rob Lucci.
Seeing him stand still, the captain thought he had him, laughing wildly.
"Lock this brat up too."
"We'll use him as a hostage to threaten the World Government."
"That way, we'll have nothing to fear."
"Hahahahaha!"
His men grinned viciously.
"Yes!"
...
A few pirates marched Rob Lucci toward the warehouse where soldiers were imprisoned.
They shoved him inside and slammed the door shut.
Faintly, their laughter could be heard outside.
"With a World Government hostage—"
"Now they'll have to listen to us."
"This is great."
...
Inside the warehouse.
As the pirates' voices faded, Rob Lucci looked at the stunned soldiers.
"I want to confirm something."
The nearest soldier spoke blankly:
"What?"
Rob Lucci said coldly:
"Are all the hostages here."
The nearest soldier replied:
"Yeah, why?"
Rob Lucci's lips curved slightly.
"I see..."
"Soru!"
Whoosh—
A blur flashed past. Rob Lucci instantly appeared before a soldier, his Shigan piercing the man's heart.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Blue crescent-shaped air blades burst from Rob Lucci's kicks, slicing several soldiers in half.
Bloody flowers bloomed again and again in the warehouse.
These ordinary soldiers were butchered amid their screams.
All 500 members of the kingdom's guard were annihilated in moments.
Outside, the partying pirates still hadn't noticed.
Rob Lucci shook the blood from his fingers and kicked each corpse toward the center of the warehouse, piling them into a small mountain.
...
By the time the pirates realized, it was too late.
The captain, along with his men and mortars, surrounded the warehouse door.
"You bastard!!!"
"You killed all my most important hostages!!!"
Rob Lucci said coldly:
"That's because they committed a crime."
"So I executed them in the name of justice."
The pirates stared in disbelief.
"A crime?"
Rob Lucci said indifferently:
"As kingdom soldiers, weakness is a crime."
"Yielding to evil forces, letting the kingdom fall into crisis and teeter on the brink of destruction—"
"Such soldiers have no right to live."
The pirate captain felt a flicker of fear. That reasoning...
"You... and you call yourself a World Government official."
Rob Lucci said calmly:
"Justice does not bow to evil."
The captain snapped out of it—this man couldn't be allowed to live...
"Fire!!"
"Kill him!!!!"
Boom boom boom boom boom—
Five mortar blasts roared.
The top of the corpse pile was instantly engulfed in flames.
Just as the pirates thought it was over and breathed in relief—
A figure slowly rose from the fire.
Rob Lucci had blocked all five shells with his back reinforced by Tekkai.
He vanished in an instant, reappearing before the stunned pirate captain, grabbing his face.
"Shigan!"
Blood burst forth. The captain's body became a beehive of tiny holes, lifeless in an instant.
Rob Lucci dropped him casually, then looked at the fleeing, terrified pirates.
"Rankyaku."
...
Grand Line, Enies Lobby.
At CP9 headquarters, Spandine smiled in satisfaction at the young man who had shocked both the kingdom and the Government.
"Not bad, Lucci."
"I've covered this up for you."
"Justice does not compromise."
"In the future, just do whatever needs doing—if there's trouble, I'll handle it."
Rob Lucci nodded slightly.
"Thank you, sir."
Spandine chuckled.
"Alright, go get some rest."
"Relax a bit."
"Yes."
He slowly walked out...
At the window, Spandine watched Lucci's departing figure with a trace of contempt.
His white-haired subordinate asked curiously:
"Sir, aren't you afraid of losing control by indulging him like this?"
Spandine snorted.
"No matter what, he's just a weapon brainwashed since childhood."
"He can't stir up much trouble."
Then, as if thinking of something, he sighed.
"Every family has a disappointing junior."
"This is mainly for the sake of my own brat."
"Everything's already been arranged up top. In two years, once a spot opens—"
"I'll be transferred to the Government's high ranks."
"When that happens, you'll all be coming with me."
"I plan to hand CP9 over to my son."
"Need to leave him some subordinates."
"Right now, I've thrown him into CP5 for training—useless fool."
"Sigh."
The white-haired man shrugged and said nothing. Matters like this were not for outsiders to comment on...
...
Months later...
Something shocking happened at sea.
In Big Mom's territory in the New World, several islands were ripped from their roots and hurled skyward, vanishing without a trace.
Whole Cake Island.
At this moment, Charlotte Linlin was in a furious frenzy, rampaging and destroying everything around her.
"That damned Shiki!!"
"What is he trying to do!!!"
"Find him for me!!!"
"I'll kill him!"
Her many children shivered.
"Yes!!!"
---
(For each review +1 additional chapter)
read +170 chapters on Patreon tambeerg