Among stacks of wine barrels in the corner, Rayleigh's knuckles whitened from gripping tightly.
Through the messages carried by his Observation Haki, he pierced the smoke and dust, his mind trembling. The nature of this power its very essence surpassed even Gol D. Roger's peak.
Even more shocking was the qualitative transformation of that power.
"A Marine hero has become the world's most wanted fugitive…"
The wine bottle in Rayleigh's hand cracked silently, spiderweb-like fissures spreading across its surface. "The 'quality' in that fist… even the World Government can no longer suppress it?"
"How dare you touch a god's property?"
Saint Charlos' anger boiled over at Garp's complete disregard. His foolish arrogance overcame his fear as he suddenly raised a flintlock pistol inlaid with gold and jewels, aiming the black muzzle directly at the terrified Camie in the water tank. "Die, you lowly mermaid!"
Bang!
A jet of flame erupted from the barrel.
The lead bullet sliced through the air with a deadly whistle, heading straight for Camie's fragile head.
At that critical moment!
Snap!
A faint, yet unmistakably sharp, sound!
Garp didn't even turn his head. He casually lifted his right hand and extended two fingers index and middle.
The bullet, capable of piercing steel, was clamped firmly between his fingers, less than ten centimeters from Camie's temple. The tip of the bullet glowed red-hot from the friction.
Sparks splattered against Garp's bronze chest with a soft hiss, leaving subtle white marks.
Time seemed to freeze for a second.
Garp slowly turned his gaze toward Saint Charlos, whose face twisted in shock and fury.
He applied a gentle pressure with two fingers.
Ssss!
The glowing red lead bullet, like soft clay between his fingers, was crushed instantly, melting into a drop of deep-red molten iron.
The scalding droplet hit the auction house floor with a hiss, releasing a thin wisp of blue smoke.
"God?"
Garp's voice was low and hoarse, like thunderclouds rumbling, laced with mockery and icy murder. "A maggot in a cesspool… dares to call himself a god?"
Saint Charlos' face drained of color, his lips quivering under his bubble helmet, unable to utter a single word.
Extreme fear had finally overcome his foolish arrogance.
At that moment, Rayleigh emerged slowly from the shadows among the barrels.
He still held the cracked wine bottle, expression complex, eyes sharp as he stared at Garp. "Garp, this punch won't just topple the auction house. The entire game of the new era… will be shattered by you."
Garp turned his gaze toward Rayleigh, a faint, humorless curve forming at the corner of his mouth. "Rayleigh? Roger's first mate… hiding here pretending to be drunk? Trying to play mediator?"
"Mediator?"
Rayleigh took a sip from the bottle, wine seeping from the crack. "No. I came to visit an old friend… to personally break chains that have bound him for too long."
His gaze deepened, as if piercing through Garp to the very source of his power. "The quality in your fist… even the master of the Lost Century Throne deep in Pangaea Castle… would tremble before it, wouldn't he?"
Saint Charlos, desperate, shouted again, hysterical and sharp. "CP0! Kill him! Kill this traitor! Execute him under the orders of the Gorosei!"
As if answering his call, six black figures silently descended from the shadows of the auction house ceiling.
Dressed in sharply tailored black suits and wearing expressionless white masks, their presence was corpse-cold.
The leader's voice, devoid of life, mechanically announced: "Under orders from the Gorosei, execute the traitor Monkey D. Garp. Kill him without mercy."
Six murderous intents locked onto Garp instantly.
Garp didn't even bother to look up. He merely furrowed his brow, as if swatting away bothersome flies.
"Too noisy."
He casually lifted his left foot and stomped.
Boom!
An unimaginable, heavy, resounding thud.
It wasn't an explosion; it was pure power transferred directly into the ground.
From Garp's left foot, the solid floor radiated outward in a visible shockwave, like stones disturbing a pond's surface.
Wherever the wave touched, the hard floor cracked and shattered, exploding upward like fragile cookies.
Rumble!
The six CP0 agents, just landing, were hit by an invisible giant hammer.
The violent ground shockwave sent their bodies flying uncontrollably through the air.
White masks shattered!
Suits tore!
They collided helplessly against the surrounding walls like kites with broken strings.
Debris rained down, embedding deep into the walls! Their fates remained uncertain.
The auction house fell into a deathly silence.
Only the faint sound of falling debris and Saint Charlos' chattering teeth remained.
Rayleigh looked at the six figures embedded in the wall, then at the floor Garp had crushed barefoot, and burst into laughter. He raised the cracked wine bottle. "Ha! That stomp… worth five billion! Absolutely!"
Garp ignored everyone and walked directly to the auction platform. He extended his massive hand, lightly pressing with all five fingers along the tank's edge.
Crack!
The thick glass tank shattered like paper, water gushing out.
Camie screamed, sliding down with the torrent.
Garp reached out with his other hand and steadied her delicate arm.
He didn't even glance at the sea-prism handcuffs. With two fingers, he twisted the lock lightly.
Snap!
The handcuffs, said to bind devils, broke instantly like cheap toy locks.
Camie fell to the wet floor, staring at her freed wrists in disbelief, then looked up at the towering figure before her, tears rolling down her cheeks like strings of broken pearls.
Garp's gaze returned to Saint Charlos, cowering beside a wine barrel, trembling.
He grabbed the back of the man's bubble helmet like lifting a chicken, hoisting him up.
"Tell the Gorosei,"
Garp's voice was ice-cold, as if from the ninth circle of hell. "Make the bounty… look impressive."
He tossed Saint Charlos carelessly, sending him headfirst into a nearby half-full wine barrel.
Gurgle… gurgle… gurgle…
Charlos' legs flailed helplessly outside the barrel before going still.
Garp ignored the chaos, turning toward the massive doorway.
Sunlight outlined his scarred back.
Rayleigh tossed him an entire bottle of wine. "Hey, old man! To breaking chains!"
Garp caught it without looking back, gripping the bottle with all five fingers.
Crack!
The bottle shattered in his palm.
Amber wine soaked Charlos' legs as they dangled from the barrel.
"If fate allows," Garp's voice carried on the wind, absolute and unwavering, "then we'll drink together."
He strode away, disappearing into the blinding sunlight.
Above the ruins of the auction house, news Den Den Mushi hovered, recording everything. Their projectors cast the latest headlines onto the colorful bubbles floating over Sabaody Archipelago
"Godslayer Garp: The Night a Five-Billion Bounty Was Born! Celestial Dragon in a Barrel, CP0 Embedded in the Walls!"
Caption: A ridiculous yet humiliating scene, Saint Charlos upside-down in a wine barrel, legs flailing wildly, with the collapsed auction house ceiling behind and six CP0 agents embedded like relief sculptures in the wall.
On a sunny day, Luffy stretched his rubber neck, eyes wide as he watched the live news broadcast. "Wow! Grandpa shoved a Celestial Dragon in a barrel! So cool!" He jumped excitedly.
Nami gazed at the five-billion-berry bounty and the collapsed auction house, imagining countless berries sprouting wings and flying away. She weakly pressed her hand to her forehead. "It's over… really over…"
Zoro stared at the CP0 figures embedded in the wall, serious. "That old man… ridiculously strong…"
Sanji lit a new cigarette. "At least the mermaid is safe… he did one good thing."
Robin watched Garp's departing figure, whispering, "The wheels of history… have begun to crush the chains of the old era."
Usopp and Chopper hugged each other tightly, trembling. "Five-billion-berry Grandpa… so terrifying!"
At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku watched the Den Den Mushi broadcast of the collapsed auction house and the Celestial Dragon in a barrel, his palms bleeding from digging into them.
Sakazuki's magma dripped onto the carpet. "We need to deploy a Super Special Force!"
Kizaru picked up a fragment of a wanted poster. "My salary can't cover the damage on Sabaody Archipelago~"
Vice Admiral Tsuru held Sengoku's trembling hands tightly as the fax machine hummed, spitting out the final orders. On the screen, the blood-red five-billion-berry bounty blazed before their eyes.
Tonight, the structure of the seas changed irreversibly.