York stared blankly at the Den Den Mushi that had been instantly hung up in front of him.
"Does that guy Wang Zhi... need to be that scared?"
Shakky, standing beside York, immediately sneered.
"When he conspired with the World Government to ambush me back then, he was incredibly bold!!"
Hearing this, York reached out and pulled Shakky into his arms.
"Don't worry, I will definitely avenge you! Whether Wang Zhi stays on Hachinosu or hides somewhere else, I will find him!!"
Hearing her lover's words, Shakky hugged York back with both arms, resting her head on his chest.
"I believe you..."
Around them lay the dilapidated auction house, with various fluids and severed limbs scattered everywhere.
Crimson blood flowed like countless streams down the steps of the auction house, while York and Shakky embraced affectionately on the auction stage.
Kaido watched this scene, suddenly feeling a bit sour.
So he decisively led his subordinates to storm the backstage of the auction house.
First, to exterminate everyone from the auction house; second, to incidentally rescue the imprisoned slaves.
These slaves might not necessarily want to join them, but given the chance, they might recruit some skilled hands.
After all, people captured as slaves for auction weren't necessarily weak.
For example, Rayleigh, who would willingly sell himself in the future, or Thor from the Marvel movies.
As long as certain methods were used, even some decent pirate captains could easily become auction items.
...
While Kaido wreaked havoc in the auction house, Dragon simultaneously led Ivankov, Ginny, Kuma, and another team of pirates to launch a sweeping operation against the various human trafficking shops on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Their primary goal was to save people, and their secondary goal was to wipe out the human traffickers.
Especially Ivankov and Ginny, who killed human traffickers without the slightest psychological burden.
Only Kuma still had a bit of a bleeding heart, thinking teaching them a lesson would be enough.
Fortunately, Ivankov finished the job for him, sparing no human trafficker they encountered.
...
The chaos on the Sabaody Archipelago was naturally known to the local Marine branch stationed there.
But just like in Drum Kingdom, they held back.
The Base Vice Admiral ordered all Marines to collectively form a defense line at the edge of Groves 1 to 29.
As long as the pirates didn't cross this line, they were not to initiate attacks against them.
Although the Marine soldiers were slightly dissatisfied, in the end, no one disobeyed the order.
...
The chaos and slaughter on Groves 1 to 29 continued.
The Red Flag Pirates, numbering only 1,700, were ultimately somewhat stretched thin facing the numerous pirate crews across 29 entire islands.
After their initial unstoppable momentum was blocked by a certain pirate crew, the morale of the Red Flag Pirates gradually became suppressed.
Except for the battlefields led by Kaido and Dragon, other battlefields began to show signs of defeat.
Soon, a pirate covered in blood ran frantically to York.
"Captain York! Our offensive has been blocked!!"
"Who is the opponent?"
"This year's Supernova! The Serpent Maga!"
"Hmm? Supernova?"
York raised an eyebrow.
Due to the anime from his previous life, he was quite attentive to the group known as Pirate Supernovas.
Pirates who went from zero bounty to over 100 million Berries within a year were collectively called Supernovas.
Even disregarding Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid, Killer, Bege, Bonney—either protagonists or those who teamed up with them—people like Apoo and Hawkins, who were hostile to the Straw Hats, also had decent strength and growth potential.
Since he happened to encounter one now, there was naturally no reason to let him go.
"Take me to see!!"
Guided by the reporting pirate, York soon saw the Pirate Supernova, The Serpent Maga, who had beaten many of his subordinates badly.
This was a very tall young man, similar in age to York, around twenty-four or twenty-five.
Nearly 5 meters tall, with a well-proportioned build, not ugly, and possessing no other racial traits—a pure human.
At this moment, he was sitting like a king on a fallen architectural pillar.
Seeing York brought over by his subordinate, his eyes immediately flashed with an intimidating light.
"You are the Lord of Depravity, York?!"
Maga sized York up and down.
As young as him, but not as tall, only about 2 meters.
Body proportions were good, muscles not obvious due to clothes.
Mainly that face—much handsomer than his own.
Although he found it unpleasant to look at, Maga had to admit that the legendary Lord of Depravity was a handsome man.
It was just...
"Too young!!"
Maga let out a strange laugh.
"Someone so young, about the same age as me, actually achieved the world's highest bounty? Why do I find that so hard to believe?"
Facing Maga's skepticism, York didn't refute. He just silently picked up an ordinary katana dropped on the ground.
"Haven't used swordsmanship in a long time. Used fists so much I almost forgot my swordsmanship is actually quite strong too."
Looking up at Maga, who was more than twice his height, York beckoned with his hand.
"Come on. If you can survive one move from me, I'll spare your life."
"If you can last three moves, I'll let you leave this island."
"Hah?!"
Maga let out a questioning sound of dissatisfaction and annoyance.
"Who do you think you are! Thinking I can't last three moves against you?!"
Clang!
A sword gleam flashed.
York stood still, merely swinging his sword casually, and the domes of the buildings on both sides of the street were sliced open.
The stone houses slid down along the diagonal cut, crashing to the ground with a roar.
A slash mark that almost cut to the bone appeared on Maga's chest, crimson blood spurting out.
"You..."
"Want to say it was a sneak attack?"
York interrupted Maga beforehand.
"But I swung my sword openly right in front of you. If you didn't react, are you going to blame me?"
Maga shut his mouth, his palm hovering tremblingly over the wound on his chest.
"Seems your strength is decent. Taking a slash from me and not dying—worthy of being a Supernova, you have some substance."
York smiled and said, "But you'll have to be careful with the next strike!"
"Just now I was testing to regain the feel of my swordsmanship. Now, I'm going to slash you seriously. If you can't block it and die, don't blame me!!"
As his voice fell, York gripped the hilt tightly with one hand, and his aura changed.
Seeing this, Maga's pupils constricted instantly. Daring not to be arrogant anymore, he directly activated his trump card.
His already tall and sturdy body expanded rapidly, his upper and lower body elongating drastically.
His mouth protruded forward, his eyes turned into vertical slits, and his body became covered in snake scales.
Within a few seconds, a giant python, 3 meters thick and over 40 meters long, appeared in front of York.
The massive and slender snake body coiled around the tops of the buildings on both sides of the street. Maga's snake head looked down at York, eyes filled with gravity.
"Didn't expect you to really be a snake-type fruit user. No wonder your title is The Serpent."
Watching Maga's transformation, York paused the second strike he was about to unleash.
"Looking at you, it seems you aren't a regular Zoan, but an Ancient Zoan, right?"
"That's right!!"
Maga answered with a hint of pride: "Zoan, Snake-Snake Fruit, Ancient Type, Model: Titanoboa! This is my ability!!"
"Not bad!"
York praised.
"For the sake of you being an Ancient Zoan, I won't kill you. Stay and become my subordinate!"
After speaking, York slowly raised the long sword in his hand.
No Armament Haki, no Devil Fruit ability—just pure, basic swordsmanship.
With a single slash, a massive flying slash shot out.
The giant python Maga transformed into wanted to dodge immediately, but couldn't dodge at all.
This slash left a huge wound directly on the python's chest.
Blood spurted, and the python let out a miserable scream.
Maga's massive snake head rose high, then fell heavily. His snake eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness on the spot.
"Captain!!"
"Captain Maga!!"
Maga's subordinates cried out in alarm, surrounding Maga one after another, checking his injuries with concern.
Of course, some roared in anger, brandishing swords to attack York.
York had no interest in fighting these small fries anymore.
Waving his hand casually, he said to his subordinates, "Capture them all!"
The Red Flag Pirates members who had followed him immediately responded with excitement.
Not long after, the members of the Serpent Pirates were defeated one by one, captured, and became prisoners of the Red Flag Pirates.
With the defeat of the strongest Serpent Pirates, the other battlefields that could suppress the Red Flag Pirates also received support from Kaido, Dragon, Shakky, and even Stussy one after another.
The strength of these four was simply not something the current pirates on Sabaody Archipelago could contend with.
So the chaos on Sabaody lasted for a full day before finally ending with the victory of the Red Flag Pirates.
The Marines of Sabaody.
Surrounding the outer ring of Groves 1 to 29, they watched silently as the inner islands gradually turned from lush green to rivers of blood.
The Marines who were previously disgruntled with the Vice Admiral's orders now felt fortunate.
Fortunately, they hadn't recklessly disobeyed orders; otherwise, they might have become corpses inside as well.
Grove 27.
This was where York and his crew parked their ship.
After a day of chaotic fighting, the pirates returned one after another with their spoils of victory.
Piles upon piles of gold, silver, treasures, and Berry cash formed a small mountain several meters high directly on the island.
Similarly, the number of pirate prisoners captured by the Red Flag Pirates exceeded 3,000.
Apart from these 3,000 people and some slaves who were deliberately released, all the pirates and gangsters engaged in illegal industries on all islands from 1 to 29 had become nutrients for the mangroves.
Correspondingly, the Red Flag Pirates also experienced their first major reduction in personnel.
From the original 1,700, over 700 died in battle, and over 300 were lightly or heavily injured.
No one noticed during the battle, as they were scattered across 29 islands. Even if these islands were small, the total area was quite large.
Now, after a careful tally, everyone couldn't help but feel lingering fear.
"So many died..."
Fortunately, York had previously recruited 49 doctors in Drum Kingdom.
Adding the ship doctors among the original 1,700, they scraped together a total of 60 doctors.
They provided sufficient and meticulous treatment for the more than 300 surviving wounded.
This made the surviving pirates feel lingering fear, but no one felt York had intentionally sent them to their deaths.
They even looked down on the unlucky ones who died.
"Trash with insufficient strength! Deserved to die!!"
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