Inside the Mermaid Cafe, the atmosphere was stretched to its absolute limit, so tense that even the sound of a pin dropping could trigger an explosion.
"Kid! Stop!"
Jinbe's massive blue figure stepped between Monkey D. Luffy and Eustass Kid. Sweat poured down his forehead, not from fear of Kid's strength, but from his deep understanding of the "rules" governing this island.
"Luffy, Kid! You both need to calm down!"
He lowered his voice, unusually serious.
"This isn't an ordinary place. This is the 'absolute silence zone' designated by Admiral Renzo! Fighting here will bring unimaginable consequences!"
"Ha? Silence zone?"
Kid's lips twisted into a savage grin. His mechanical arm clanked loudly as metal objects, cutlery, trays, even accessories on terrified customers, began trembling and floating.
"Don't joke with me, Jinbe."
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Luffy, then flicked toward the G-5 flag outside. Rage burned within him, rage from the humiliation he suffered at Sabaody at the hands of that "fat bastard" Rehn.
"I'm a pirate! Eustass Kid! And you want me to act based on a Marine's rules? Follow some stupid silence law like a good little boy?"
"Magnetism, String!!"
With a violent swing of his arm, the floating metal surged like a torrent, not at Luffy, but smashing into the café's delicate coral wall.
BOOM!!!
The explosion shattered the elegant structure, blasting a massive hole into the wall. Debris flew everywhere, and water from outside poured in.
"AHHHHH!!"
"Run! The Worst Generation has gone mad!"
"We're doomed! G-5 is coming!!"
Customers and mermaids screamed and fled in panic.
"Hey! Spiky guy!"
Luffy pressed down his straw hat, his face darkening.
"You broke the place! And… you ruined my meat!"
"That's their problem!"
Kid laughed wildly.
"Straw Hat, since we met here, don't think you're leaving in one piece! I'll smash this place, and that so-called Admiral's reputation, into dust!!"
But just as Kid prepared a second strike.
WOOO, WOOO, WOOO!!!
A shrill, piercing alarm erupted overhead.
Unlike normal alarms, it sounded deliberately irritating, designed to provoke someone's "wake-up rage."
Then, the ground trembled.
Heavy, synchronized footsteps approached from all directions.
"Who the hell is it?!"
"Who made noise over 80 decibels in our jurisdiction?!"
"Who wants us to write a 10,000-word report?!"
A group of Marines burst in, shoving aside onlookers.
But these weren't ordinary Marines.
Their hats were crooked, cigarettes hung from their mouths, some carried calculators, others decibel meters, they looked more like armed gangsters than soldiers.
G-5 Branch, Fish-Man Island Special Operations Unit.
At their head stood a tall officer with a mohawk, sunglasses, and a spiked club embedded with Seastone.
"Iron Hammer" Barton.
He strode into the wreckage, surveyed the destruction, then fixed his bloodshot eyes on Kid and Luffy.
"Very good… very good."
Grinding his teeth, he pulled out a notebook and began listing:
"One coral load-bearing wall destroyed, repair cost: 50 million Beli."
"Emotional damage to civilians and rare mermaids, 300 million Beli."
"Excessive noise disrupting garrison rest, fine: 1 billion Beli."
"And…"
He snapped the notebook shut and pointed his club at them.
"You two suicidal brats!! Do you know whose territory this is?!"
"This is Lord Renzo's backyard! A model zone of absolute peace and prosperity for his retirement life!!"
"Fighting here, are you asking to die?!"
Luffy scratched his nose, confused.
"Uh… who are you, mister? That's a long title."
"I'm Commander Barton of G-5!!"
Barton nearly choked on rage.
"Straw Hat Luffy! Eustass Kid! Don't think being Supernovas scares me!"
He waved his hand, G-5 soldiers raised their weapons.
"According to Article One of the Fish-Man Island Security Code!"
"Any fighting, destruction, or noise, regardless of identity, is considered a declaration of war against Admiral Renzo!"
"The consequence-"
His expression turned vicious.
"We arrest you and sell you to the mines! You'll dig Seastone for life until your debt is paid!!"
"Now! Hands on your head! Hand over your wallets! Then kneel and sing 'Conquest'!!"
Silence fell.
Even the Fish-Man residents trembled.
G-5's reputation was infamous, they were madmen who valued "efficiency" and money above all.
"This is Renzo's rule…"
Jinbe sighed.
"Here, breaking the rules is worse than being a pirate."
But, Kid laughed.
"War? Mining? Singing?"
"You Marine lapdogs think too highly of yourselves!!"
His killing intent exploded.
"One year ago at Sabaody, that fat bastard humiliated me."
"And now some random colonel thinks he can boss me around?!"
"You think I've been playing around these past two years?!"
"Magnetism!!"
BOOM!!!
The café ruins exploded.
Steel beams, iron plates, even Marine weapons, were ripped free, drawn into a massive metallic arm behind Kid.
"What?!" Barton's face changed.
"My club, can't hold it!"
"Die, you Marine trash!!"
"Punk Crash!!"
The giant arm slammed down.
BOOM!!!!
The G-5 formation shattered. Marines were blasted away, screaming.
Amid the dust, Kid stood arrogantly.
"See that, Straw Hat?"
"Your 'rules' are just garbage."
"Now… your turn!"
Luffy looked at the destruction, then clenched his fists.
"You… messed up everyone's place to eat."
"That's too much!"
"Gumo Gumo no Elephant Gun!!"
The two monsters clashed.
The coral district became a battlefield.
Buildings collapsed. Shops were destroyed.
"My shop!!"
"Our tribute pajamas for Lord Renzo!! Ruined!!"
Merchants wailed.
At the edge, Commander Barton crouched behind rubble, clutching a golden Den Den Mushi.
"This is insane…"
"This isn't a fight, it's burning our money!"
"That building was Advisor Nami's investment! That fountain was Steward Rehn's design!"
"If Lord Renzo finds out…"
He shuddered.
G-5's unwritten rule: If losses occur due to incompetence, the responsible party sells themselves to repay it.
"No! We have to stop them!"
"Bring that thing out!!"
"The… final deterrent weapon?!"
"NOW!!"
Soon, soldiers carried out a strange golden device shaped like a chibi sleeping face.
This was: [God's Whisper Simulator]
Barton put on soundproof gear, and pressed play.
Zzz
In the battlefield, Kid was about to attack again.
Then,"Yaaawn…"
A lazy, hoarse, irritated yawn echoed across the entire area.
It wasn't loud, but it pierced the soul.
The aura of a top-tier powerhouse.
The signature yawn of Renzo.
"…Who… is being so noisy…"
"…want to die…"
"…Rehn… go… bury them…"
Silence.
A recording.
But devastating.
Luffy froze. His pupils shrank.
He remembered that man.
"That… Renzo…?"
Kid froze too.
That voice, the same oppressive tone from Sabaody.
A cold sweat slid down his forehead.
Barton jumped out.
"STOP!!"
"That's Lord Renzo's voice!"
"He's already sensed this disturbance!"
"If you don't stop, he'll wake up completely!"
"And then, Steward Rehn will bring divine punishment and turn you into charcoal!!"
Kid clicked his tongue.
"…just a recording."
But, the civilians had stopped running.
Instead, they looked relieved, even worshipful.
"Lord Renzo is angry!"
"They're finished!"
This… disgusted Kid.
Pirates were rats here.
A Marine… was a god.
"…boring."
He dismissed his metal arm.
"Today, you're lucky."
"Straw Hat, we'll settle this in the New World."
He left.
"Hey! You didn't pay!" Barton shouted.
"Put it on my tab!"
Kid raised a middle finger without turning back.
Luffy sighed.
"…I'm hungry."
He deflated onto the ground.
"Jinbe… is there still food?"
Jinbe shook his head helplessly.
"Luffy… I think we need to deal with the fine first."
....
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu