None of them could move.
Their faces were frozen in horror, eyes wide with a fear they had never known. Pupils trembled violently. Cold sweat soaked their terror-stricken faces.
Ripper Jack felt like the entire world had gone dark. In his vision, Klein in his white suit loomed like a towering giant.
And himself…
Nothing more than an ant.
He could only look up in awe.
Drowning in terror, he roared inwardly, "Impossible! Just his presence alone—my body can't even move?!"
"How can he be this strong?!"
Black Crow Edward, captain of the pirate crew, used every ounce of strength he had to try and move—but no matter how much he struggled, his body wouldn't respond. It was like it didn't even belong to him anymore.
"He's not human at all. How could a human be this terrifying?!"
"This guy... this guy's a monster!!"
Gerard the Longarm Warrior was freezing down to the bone, as if he'd fallen into a frozen pit.
"Why?!"
"Why do I feel like there's some demon hunting me?!"
From his perspective, in the shadowed world, Klein stood with a pair of blood-red eyes glowing behind him—like a devil staring into his soul.
The sheer dread made his heart feel like it had stopped beating.
"My body... my body won't listen... What did he do?! Is he a Devil Fruit user or something?" Beast Rider Hall's pupils shook violently.
Then the smell of urine hit his nose—the tiger he rode had just pissed itself.
Terrified of the unknown.
It was far too eerie!
None of them could move. If Klein so much as willed it, he could kill any of them instantly.
Like stepping on a bug.
Effortless.
Everyone felt it now—their lives no longer belonged to them. They weren't in control anymore.
Overwhelming fear gripped every heart like a fragile glass orb, cracking under pressure, on the verge of shattering.
The entire street was drowning in despair.
In horror.
Rear Admiral Ayer's pupils shrank. His face went pale as death, whiter than a three-day-old corpse.
Cold sweat ran down his face. "Th-That's... Conqueror's Haki?!"
He never imagined Klein would possess this legendary trait—something only one in a million are born with. The qualification of a King.
And…
His Conqueror's Haki was strong enough to freeze everyone in place. This wasn't a man—it was a monster!
Ayer's heart was in his throat, full of despair. "It's over... it's over. He's not going to let me live. I don't want to die—"
"I don't want to die!!"
"Why... why did he have to come to the Sabaody Archipelago?! Why bring this monster into my world?!"
Without Klein, he'd still be the king of Sabaody, staying out of pirates' way.
Drinking, partying, spending every night tangled in soft embraces.
But now...
It was all over.
Thud—
Os collapsed onto his butt in shock, staring wide-eyed at Klein's towering, godlike figure.
"Lord Klein..."
He looked around in disbelief at the pirates frozen like statues—each one a bounty of tens of millions, now cowering in sheer terror.
Their eyes screamed despair.
How strong must this man be?
Os' understanding of Klein was shattered and rebuilt in an instant. His heart thundered. "The greatest genius in Marine history... This is Lord Klein!!"
"It's finally quiet." Klein curled a smirk, hands in his pockets, striding toward Ayer like a king approaching his throne.
He didn't glance sideways—not once—not at the thousands of pirates around him.
Each step landed like a hammer on the hearts of those pirates, crushing their pride, their defiance, their confidence...
All shattered.
As he passed, the pirates on both sides of the street felt nothing but fear. Only their eyeballs moved.
Countless pirates screamed inwardly: "Bastard!! He didn't even look at us! What is that?!"
"That's... that's the gaze of a king, looking down on us!"
"Damn it, damn it, damn it..."
"To him, we're just bugs he could crush without effort..."
That final sliver of their self-worth was stripped away. That pain rooted itself deep inside them. So small. So weak. Not even worthy of being seen by Klein.
A scene like hell.
And Klein, cloaked in his white suit and the mantle of justice, walked calmly at the center of it all.
Every soul was shattered by it.
Dragging them into an abyss of darkness.
"Don't come any closer!!!" Ayer screamed, voice cracking, throat raw, legs rooted in place like they were stuck in mud.
With every step Klein took, Ayer's fear surged higher, as if he were descending deeper into some nightmare pit.
"Didn't you say you wanted to kill me?"
Klein's tone was casual, like he was chatting—but to Ayer, it was the voice of death itself.
"You're the one... you ruined my life! My world!" Ayer howled, hoarse, his voice broken. "I just wanted to survive—is that a crime?!"
"Can you really kill all the pirates?!"
"Aren't the Marines under you humans too?!"
"Tell me! Aren't they people too?! I'm a person too! When people die, they stay dead!"
"Watching them fall one by one... I was scared, okay?! I was scared I'd end up just like them!!"
By now, Klein stood before Ayer, resting a hand on his shoulder.
With a slight press—
Thud—
Ayer dropped to his knees. The stone under him cracked. And Klein's voice rang in his ears:
"You're not wrong."
That answer stunned Ayer. His pupils trembled, disbelief on his face.
He... agreed with me?
He didn't refute me?
Why?
Shouldn't he lecture me about his ideals?
Ayer felt like his argument had struck air—weak and futile. His momentum collapsed into despair.
"You're not wrong. The problem is... you're too weak." Klein understood one thing well:
In a world ruled by power, weakness is a sin.
In a world ruled by money, poverty is the root of all misery.
"Do you want to live?"
Those three words pierced through Ayer like sunlight through darkness. He didn't want to die.
He was only in his twenties. Still young, with a whole future ahead of him.
So many women waiting for his affection. For his protection.
He couldn't die!
"Yes! Yes! I'll give you all the money I've made over the years. Just let me go, please!" Ayer begged.
Klein responded with only three cold words:
"Be my dog."
...…
Those words struck Ayer like lightning.
A senior Rear Admiral... becoming the dog of his junior?
Was this a joke?
Did Klein think he was a Celestial Dragon or something?
!!!
"I'm willing to be your dog, my lord!!" Ayer only hesitated for a second before blurting it out.
Captain Bill was stunned—his eyes wide, face slack. "You folded that fast?! What the hell, man?!"
Damn! Savage!
Even Os was dumbfounded. His eyeballs practically popped out. His jaw hit the floor. "Before absolute power, even... even a Rear Admiral... becomes a dog!"
His fists clenched. His thirst for power peaked in that moment.
That's what a man should be!
The pirates listening were cursing Ayer to hell and back.
Weren't you the one who rallied us to kill Klein?
Now...
You're throwing away your dignity to be his lapdog?! Shameless!
Klein sneered. "Sorry, but even a master has to choose the right mutt. Still, I appreciate the effort you put into gathering this many heads for me. I'll give you a quick death."
"Rest easy…"
"And be a dead dog."
The moment you thought about killing me... your name went on my…
Death list.
And now—it's too late.
Ayer was overwhelmed with humiliation. His dignity had already been trampled beneath Klein's feet.
He didn't expect to be mocked even further. His will shattered. If he was going to die, he might as well go down cursing—
Shing!
A flash of steel. A blade drawn just halfway from its sheath—spotless.
Thud—
A thin, deep slash appeared across Ayer's neck. His eyes widened, face twisted in unwillingness as he collapsed to the ground.
"Joining the pirates to kill me?" Klein scoffed. "Let's be honest—you weren't even qualified to be my dog."
That kind of talent and strength? Worthless. Not even worth raising.
Better to end it now.
Save the trouble.
Captain Bill's pupils dilated. Cold sweat poured down his cheeks, fear all over his face.
A Rear Admiral—
Just like that—gone!?
"As his aide, I trust you know how to write the report…"
Bill felt a chill wash over him. He dropped to his knees instantly, banging his forehead on the ground again and again.
Bang. Bang. Bang. His head bled. A dent formed on the stone beneath him.
"I understand! I'll report all of Ayer's crimes to Marine HQ!"
"And... I know where all his money is hidden!"
Klein's eyes lit up.
Now we're talking.
Consider it his fee.
He turned toward Os, who was still sitting in shock.
"Os, go with this guy and get the money. And cuff him, too—just in case he tries to run."