The entire venue fell into a dead silence.
The deafening music had stopped at some unknown point, and the people writhing on the dance floor froze in place. Everyone's gaze converged on the man who was leisurely wiping his fingers.
The woman slumped on the ground was still softly sobbing. The mess of spilled red wine and fruit formed a shocking contrast with Ian's calm and nonchalant demeanor.
"You!!!!"
The muscles on Bellamy's face twitched violently, his smile long since frozen into a ferocious snarl. He violently kicked away the table in front of him, sending bottles, cups, and plates shattering to the floor.
"You're courting death!"
Amidst his furious roar, the muscles in his legs suddenly tensed, and he transformed into a spring-like afterimage, lunging straight toward Ian!
Gion, a Marine Vice Admiral, her pupils contracted, and her hand was already resting on the hilt of the famous blade 'konpira'. Arresting pirates was her duty, but the man before her possessed an incomparably noble status. If anything happened to him in Mock Town, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Tina, standing nearby, also instantly entered a battle stance, her hands positioned to release her ability at any moment.
However, they were all one step too slow.
Or rather, someone was faster than them.
"How dare you."
The cold two words escaped Gunko's mouth, devoid of any emotion.
Just as Bellamy was about to pounce on Ian, the bandages wrapped around Gunko's body shot out like living things!
The bandages instantly converged in the air, twisting into an incomparably sharp arrowhead. It precisely bypassed Ian and wrapped directly around Bellamy's neck!
"Ugh!"
His forward momentum instantly ceased. A terrifying strangling force took hold, lifting Bellamy's feet off the ground, leaving him dangling in mid-air. Hoarse sounds escaped his throat, and his face quickly turned a liver-like shade of purple.
Simultaneously, just as Bellamy's fierce-looking comrades, who had drawn their swords, were about to charge forward, Tina made her move.
"Cloak: Feather Cage!"
With a wave of her slender hand, several black iron bars materialized out of thin air, instantly forming an indestructible cage that trapped all the pirates inside.
"Clang—"
The pirates crashed against the iron bars, making a dull sound, their faces filled with terror and bewilderment.
From the moment Bellamy lashed out until he was strung up and his comrades were imprisoned, the entire sequence took no more than two or three seconds.
It happened so fast that most of the pirates in the bar hadn't even reacted.
Gion slowly released the hand resting on the sword hilt. With Gunko, a member of the God's Knights, guarding Ian, the pirates of Mock Town were completely unable to approach him. Her previous worries were clearly unnecessary.
Ian raised his eyelids, looked at Bellamy struggling desperately in mid-air, and waved his hand with a touch of boredom.
"Gunko, let him down. Don't finish him off so quickly."
"Yes, Young Master."
Gunko responded expressionlessly. The bandages loosened, and Bellamy fell to the ground like a pile of mud, violently coughing while clutching his neck, desperately gulping down air.
The shadow of death had just passed over him. The arrogance and contempt in his eyes when he looked at Ian were completely gone, replaced only by a thick, palpable terror.
He finally realized that he had provoked an existence he absolutely should not have provoked.
Ian ignored him, instead picking up a fresh glass of red wine, swirling it gently, and allowing that playful smile to return to his lips.
"Didn't you say you wanted to live for the moment? How about we play a game."
He extended his right hand and slowly said to Bellamy, "Rock, paper, scissors. Simple, isn't it?"
"If you win, I'll let one of your comrades go."
"If you lose—"
Ian paused, his smile growing even brighter. "You will personally choose one of your comrades from the cage and kill him."
Boom!
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire bar erupted into chaos.
All the pirates stared at Ian as if he were a madman.
As for the members of the Bellamy Pirates trapped in the cage, they were scared out of their wits, frantically shaking the bars.
"Boss! No, Boss!"
"Bellamy Boss, save us!"
Bellamy trembled all over, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He looked at Ian's handsome yet devilish face, and his teeth began to chatter.
This wasn't a game; this was judgment from hell!
He suddenly remembered something, grasping at it like a last straw, and shouted urgently, "Wait a moment! Please wait a moment!"
"I am... I am a member of the Donquixote Family! My Young Master is the Seven Warlords of the Sea, 'Heavenly Yaksha' Doflamingo!"
"I ask that you spare us, for the sake of Young Master Doflamingo's reputation!"
Bringing up Doflamingo's name was Bellamy's final trump card. In the first half of the Grand Line, the name Heavenly Yaksha was enough to make most people wary.
Because besides being the Young Master of the Donquixote Family, Doflamingo was also a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
However, before Ian could speak, Gunko, standing behind him, let out a disdainful snort.
Gunko's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached every corner of the bar. The scorn in her tone made it sound as if she were talking about a petty street thug.
"A mere Doflamingo?"
"Is he even worthy of the Young Master giving him face?"
She took a step forward, looking down at Bellamy sprawled on the ground, and spoke every word clearly, sounding like a clap of thunder.
"Open your dog eyes and look clearly!"
"Standing before you is a noble Celestial Dragon!"
"The Young Master of the Nerona Family from the Holy Land Mary Geoise—Saint Ian!"
A... Celestial Dragon?!
The Young Master of the Nerona Family?!
Bellamy's mind went instantly blank, as if he had been struck by divine lightning, and all the strength drained from his body.
In this world, there was an existence that transcended all rules.
That was the Celestial Dragons, the descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago, who proclaimed themselves the descendants of the Creators.
If he offended Doflamingo, he would at most be cleaned up by the family. But offending a Celestial Dragon, especially the Young Master of the Nerona Family... Bellamy didn't dare to think further. He could even imagine an Admiral from Marineford rushing over on a warship, or perhaps... perhaps they might directly launch a Buster Call on Mock Town.
If that happened, let alone him, everyone on the entire island would have to be buried with him, and Mock Town might be erased from the map.
"Thud!"
Bellamy could no longer stand. He prostrated himself completely, slamming his forehead against the cold floor with all his might, his body shaking like chaff.
"S-Saint Ian! This lowly one was blind! This lowly one deserves ten thousand deaths! Please... please spare this lowly one's dog life!"
Watching him in this state of utter abasement, the smile on Ian's face did not diminish in the slightest.
He slowly extended his right hand and formed a fist.
"I heard your epithet is Hyena!"
"A hyena is also a dog!"
"Since you are a dog, you must obey your master's command!"
"The game of rock, paper, scissors begins."
"Make your move! Hyena Bellamy!"
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