"Mr. Rayleigh," Fenric greeted with a calm smile. "Didn't expect to see you here."
Rayleigh tilted his head. "Oh? And you are?"
"Just a passerby." Fenric gestured casually toward the three unconscious Celestial Dragons on the floor. "I'll be taking these three with me. As for the rest, do continue."
Rayleigh didn't press. He simply watched Fenric closely.
Luffy, Law, and the others held their tongues, wary of the tension between two men who radiated a pressure unlike anything they'd felt before.
Then Fenric moved.
He raised a hand slightly. His mind power surged.
The three unconscious Celestial Dragons floated into the air and drifted to his side as if weightless.
Gasps erupted across the room.
"What kind of power is that?!" Usopp whispered, eyes bulging.
"I've never seen anything like it…" Sanji muttered. "This guy's dangerous."
"Neither the old man nor this uncle are ordinary," Zoro said grimly. Then his eyes widened. "Wait… I think I saw that guy on the shore earlier!"
Fenric ignored their whispers. To him, Luffy and the others were still too green. Rayleigh was the only one here worth his attention.
"Well then, Mr. Rayleigh, I'll be taking my leave."
Rayleigh called out, frowning. "The identities of those three aren't trivial. If you walk away with them, the Navy won't stop hunting you."
Fenric smirked. "I appreciate the warning. But that's exactly what I want~"
With that, he turned and strode off. The three Celestial Dragons floated behind him like puppets.
Rayleigh murmured under his breath, watching him go. "Not a Devil Fruit ability… something else. How strange."
Law and Kid exchanged looks, both shaken.
"Is this guy insane?" Kid muttered.
Law clenched his fists, then moved to follow.
At the auction house's front entrance, he caught up. "Uncle, be careful. The Navy's already surrounded the place."
Fenric turned his head, smiling calmly. "Thanks for the warning, boy. Here's some advice for you in return—leave this island while you still can."
His tone carried the weight of experience, his presence the effortless authority of a man far beyond Law's level.
"Uncle, I have a name. Trafalgar Law. Not 'boy.'"
Fenric chuckled. "Alright then, Law. I'll remember. If you find yourself in trouble one day… come find me."
He left those words behind and strode confidently out the door.
Outside, rows of heavily armed Marines were already waiting.
Their jaws dropped when they saw the three Celestial Dragons floating behind him.
"That's Saint Rosward!"
"Damn it, he's captured the entire Rosward family!"
"Brigadier General, what should we do?!"
The Brigadier General's face went pale. He recognized the distinctive robes of the Celestial Dragons immediately—hard to mistake, even if their faces were unknown.
He gritted his teeth and gave the order.
"Don't let him escape!"
At that moment, Fenric's eyes gleamed coldly.
(ZUUN!!)
An invisible wave of power burst from him, sweeping across the naval formation.
Conqueror's Haki.
In an instant, the soldiers' eyes rolled back as they collapsed one after another, unconscious before they even understood what struck them.
Even the brigadier general staggered, swaying unsteadily before falling face-first to the ground.
Fenric's mastery of Conqueror's Haki was unquestionable. In the entire pirate world, there were few who could wield it with greater skill.
Against such overwhelming willpower, those without unshakable resolve were instantly crushed. Many would wake with splitting headaches—if they woke at all.
With the navy force incapacitated, Fenric calmly strode forward, three Celestial Dragons floating behind him like tethered dolls. Within moments, he disappeared into the streets beyond.
Only when his presence had completely faded did Law and Kid, standing at the auction house gates, finally regain their composure.
"That was Conqueror's Haki…" Law muttered, his voice heavy.
"What kind of monster is that guy?" Kid's face darkened. His own grasp of Haki was barely at the beginner's stage, and the gap between himself and Fenric was undeniable.
After a long silence, Kid spat, "The old man inside—that was Dark King Rayleigh. But the monster who just left? He's on another level. This is about to turn into chaos. We're getting out of here, now."
He turned and barked to his crew, "Back to the ship!"
Law said nothing, but the sharp glint in his eyes betrayed his thoughts. He quietly gathered his companions and prepared to leave as well.
The story had already shifted off course—because of Fenric.
Fenric occupied an inconspicuous house tucked away in the shadows of the archipelago. Its previous owner—a petty human trafficker—had been disposed of without ceremony.
Inside, Saint Rosward and Saint Shalria were bound tightly, secured so thoroughly that escape was impossible should they awaken. For now, they were tools—pieces in Fenric's design.
As for Saint Charloss, Fenric had been far less merciful. His severed head rested in a bloodstained sack.
That grisly trophy was destined for Marine Headquarters.
A message. A provocation.
If the system demanded he sow chaos, then Fenric would set the world ablaze. Let the Navy send all three admirals if they wished—he would welcome it.
And if the pressure grew too great? The sea was his sanctuary.
The only restriction was the system's boundary: he could not leave the waters surrounding the Sabaody Archipelago. But within that cage, the storm was his to command.
—---
Meanwhile, a Marine warship surged across the waves toward Sabaody.
On its deck stood Admiral Kizaru—Borsalino—his lanky frame draped in a striped yellow suit, his every movement radiating languid indifference.
Behind him loomed a massive man with a round bellyband and a colossal axe slung across his back: Sentomaru.
At that moment, Sentomaru was lecturing the admiral in a deep, stern voice.
"Uncle, once we land, we'll move to flank the target. Don't forget to keep in contact with me!"
"Mm," Kizaru answered vaguely, nodding as though half-asleep.
Sentomaru's brow twitched. He rubbed his forehead with a pained sigh.
"Listen, Uncle. Yellow Den Den Mushi for field reports. Black Den Den Mushi for Headquarters. Don't mix them up."
"Mm." Another casual nod.
In the distance, the enormous mangrove trees of Sabaody Archipelago loomed into view.
Finally, weary of his subordinate's nagging, Kizaru's lips curved in a lazy smile. "Well then, to make sure none of our little fugitives slip away… I'll head on ahead."
Before Sentomaru could reply, Kizaru's entire body flared with dazzling golden light.
The next instant, his figure elongated into a radiant beam that shot off the deck at impossible speed, vanishing into the horizon.
Sentomaru's eye twitched. He grumbled under his breath, "Tch. What an unreliable old man…"
----
[Translator's Note:The previous deal has ended! It's a shame we didn't make it—but hey, we still placed in the Top 3! If we keep up this update pace, we'll wrap up the current arc sooner rather than later! Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me!!]