The Valley of the Gods was now filled with danger.
The top warriors of the Rocks Pirates were all scouring the island for the Devil Fruits treasured by the Celestial Dragons.
Zaki also knew that Roger's pirate crew and the navy would soon join the chaos, and there were powerful figures everywhere—each capable of killing him with ease.
But if he missed this opportunity, where else could he find the Celestial Dragons?
A gentleman's revenge is said to be best served after ten years. A villain's revenge, however, is always too late.
Zaki felt that being a gentleman didn't suit him. Being a villain was far more satisfying.
And now, with Linlin's three powerful talents and Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit ready as a perfect escape route, the risks were manageable.
"You all go first! I'm going to kill a Celestial Dragon!" Zaki said calmly to the others.
He was mainly speaking to Kuma, knowing that the Paw-Paw Fruit could safely send the others away at any time.
"How can this be…?" Ivankov and Ginny were in shock, unable to process his words.
"It's too dangerous for you two to stay here. Kuma! Send them away!" Zaki ordered before they could react.
Kuma looked at them, hesitated for a moment, then clenched his teeth and hugged Zaki tightly.
"Come back alive!"
Now only Kuma and Zaki remained. For a moment, there was silence.
"Brother Zaki, just forget it. Killing the Celestial Dragons won't change anything!" Kuma said timidly.
"Kuma, do you know?" Zaki stood up. After eating so much in a single day, he, who was originally about Ivankov's height, could now look Kuma in the eye.
"People come into this world with a mission."
Zaki's mind flashed with the image of a husband who had stood up to the Celestial Dragons to protect his wife, only for her to kneel and cry over his lifeless body after they left.
"I will leave proof that I was here."
That man's pregnant wife—his last, most precious treasure—had been shot dead, and all Zaki could do at the time was run, worried he wouldn't even escape alive.
"Peace survives when sought through struggle, but it dies when sought through compromise," Zaki muttered, his eyes reflecting the flames around him, glowing faintly red. "If no one resists, the Celestial Dragons will continue their evil unchecked."
In truth, Zaki could simply leave now and return when stronger, wreaking havoc in Mary Geoise.
He could even ally with the Revolutionary Army or build his own pirate alliance.
But killing a Celestial Dragon was dangerous and carried heavy consequences. There was no real gain—other than his own pride and reputation.
If he only acted when there was profit, he never would have saved that child… or ended up in this world in the first place.
There could be only one reason for him to do this: "I want to. Even if I die, I won't regret it."
Kuma stared at Zaki, the firelight flickering in his eyes. He didn't fully understand what his "brother" meant, but he vaguely felt that if there really was a Sun God Nika, it had to be Zaki.
"No! Spare me!"
As it turned out, when the Celestial Dragons were on the verge of death, their arrogance vanished quickly. When threats failed, they begged for mercy, sobbing and groveling.
A Celestial Dragon Zaki didn't even know was kneeling before him, his fat neck glistening with tears and snot, begging for his life.
This was the first Celestial Dragon Zaki had killed, so he lingered for a moment to watch the man's pathetic display.
But boredom soon overtook him. Zaki picked up the golden gun the man had dropped—a weapon utterly useless against him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He shot the Celestial Dragon in the forehead. Then, just to be sure, he put a few more bullets into his chest and head.
Using his Traveler's Instinct, whenever Zaki wanted to do something, his intuition guided him.
Now, he wanted to kill Celestial Dragons—and he could find them even with his eyes closed.
By the end of the day, he had killed two. There was only one more nearby.
"Most of the Celestial Dragons have already evacuated, but… Saint Binkosalon, Saint Rostanford, and Saint Bacchus Luo are still unaccounted for," a subordinate reported.
Saint Satan, who was still outside, listened with a grim expression. Seeing the situation stabilize, he pressed his cane into the ground and frowned.
"I'll go and see for myself."
Satan used his Observation Haki to scan the island. He soon found two corpses, but the last—Bacchus Luo—was still missing. However, he found an unexpected sight.
"The sinful descendants of the Buccaneer tribe?"
Satan appeared before Kuma. The boy had no time to react before he was knocked aside.
Satan's expression was emotionless, but when he saw the paw-shaped pads on Kuma's hands, his eyes narrowed slightly.
To him, these "untouchables" were beneath notice. He didn't even need to lower his head to look at the boy kneeling before him.
"It's a pity you have the blood of Buccaneer. You have only two paths—death or slavery. History has already decided that for you."
Kuma froze. His mother had died a slave because of her Buccaneer bloodline, and his father had followed the same fate. Now, it was his turn.
But fear did not grip his heart.
"Uncle… are you supposed to be noble?"
"Some are born high and mighty," Kuma muttered. "But isn't that absurd?"
"If someone is born a slave, does his life have no meaning at all?"
"Now that I have the power of a Devil Fruit, I'll become Nika and save—or kill—one more person!"
Kuma charged forward, clapping his hands together. A transparent paw-shaped shockwave began to form between his palms.
But Saint Satan stepped on Kuma's head with one foot and raised his cane, ready to end him.
"That boy… let him go."
Satan turned his gaze and saw a tall child—Zaki—gripping Bacchus Luo's head with one hand, lifting him into the air like a ragdoll.
Satan's eyes narrowed. Seeing Bacchus' miserable state, a hint of anger flashed across his face.
"How dare you treat a Celestial Dragon like this?"
"Celestial Dragon? Oh, sorry. I thought this was a stray dog on the side of the road," Zaki mocked with a smirk.
He loosened his grip, and Bacchus fell, cracking two teeth and leaving deep dents on his body from Zaki's hold.
"Kuma, you did great just now. You should've blasted his head clean off! No need to listen to this trash. Noble? Worthless!"
Satan took a deep breath, unwilling to hear any more insolence. His pupils narrowed, and an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki surged toward Zaki.
But Zaki's own Conqueror's Haki erupted instinctively, colliding with Satan's. The air crackled, sand and stones flying as the shockwave drew the attention of nearby fighters.
"Kings, princes, generals, ministers! Are they even a different species?"
*Please Send Powerstones*