Chapter 9
"Say 'no good' one more time?"
Kam hoisted Lachi up by the collar—slap slap slap! The smacks rang out loud and clear!
"Stop, stop hitting…!"
Lachi was completely dazed.
Sure, he himself might be "no good," but since the Five Elders had spoken, even "no good" had to become "good"!
Kam was so damn rich—couldn't he just throw a little money around to smooth things over?
Did he not understand basic social etiquette?
And one thing Lachi still couldn't figure out: How the hell was Kam so strong? Wasn't he supposed to be unable to use Haki?
"Kam, don't get too arrogant!"
Lachi, now swollen like a pig's head, squeezed out a threat and roared while pointing at Kam: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't bully—"
Boom!
"Arrogant?"
"I'm a Celestial Dragon—if I'm not arrogant, then who the hell is?!"
Kam directly slammed a fist into Lachi's head!
Holy crap!
He almost let the protagonist template line slip out.
Good thing he interrupted it in time.
"Kam! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't bully—"
What the hell!
Still going?!
Kam grabbed Lachi by the collar again and roared: "Don't bully what? DON'T BULLY WHAT!"
He had already made up his mind.
If Lachi finished the classic protagonist line, he would kill him—even if it cost a fortune!
One King Luffy was headache enough.
A second one? No way!
Most importantly—his own laugh was "kekeke"!
"Don't bully…"
"Don't bully the you—"
"Hmm?! Don't bully WHAT?!"
"Don't bully…"
Lachi was on the verge of tears!
He had a premonition: if he finished this line, he would achieve greatness in the future.
But he was also absolutely certain that if he said it, Kam would kill him on the spot.
If he shut up, he'd be slapped to death immediately!
"Don't bully… don't bully…"
Suddenly, inspiration struck. Lachi forced a dry laugh: "Ahahaha! I mean after being taught a lesson by Big Brother Kam, I suddenly feel so…good!"
"Exactly!"
"What I meant was getting beaten by Kam feels so good~"
After saying that, Lachi even gave Kam a flirty glance.
That look.
Tsk tsk tsk!
Blegh!
Kam: ???
He was stunned. What kind of mental gymnastics led to that interpretation?
But…
Don't bully… don't bully…
Mochi mochi…
Yeah, actually it kinda works.
Kam glanced at Lachi's cowardly appearance and immediately dismissed the ridiculous idea that he was protagonist material!
"Still, it's strange."
"In the original plot, there shouldn't have been any Celestial Dragon going after World."
Kam thought to himself, then asked Lachi: "I want to know—if you took this mission, with your strength, how exactly would you survive on the battlefield?"
"Huh?"
Lachi's mouth fell open, eyes bulging like a cow's.
"On the battlefield?"
"Why the hell would I personally go to the battlefield?"
"I'm a Celestial Dragon! My life is so precious—how could I possibly go to the battlefield myself!"
Lachi said this with absolute pride!
Even though he was only collateral branch,
His life was still priceless!
The World Government had already summoned the Warlords—World was doomed!
So just put your name on it, claim the credit, and done.
Why actually fight!
"Ah, this…"
Kam was speechless.
First time seeing someone make "cowardice" sound so elegant and refined.
But fair enough—who isn't afraid of death?
Kam himself also… uh…
Cherished life!
After a pause, Kam asked: "Let me ask you this first—how do you rate my strength?"
"Str… stronger than me. A little." Lachi said unwillingly.
"Then who do you think is stronger—me or World?"
"World!" Lachi answered without hesitation.
"In that case, how about a bet?"
Kam smiled: "This time, I will personally take the field against World. We'll bet on whether I can capture him! The stakes—10 billion berries!"
Lachi: !!!
What a great deal!
…
…
Recalling how foolishly Lachi thought he was going to die, Kam let out a long sigh of relief.
"Though this idiot is probably not the one who killed the original host."
"But that feeling of loathing…"
"It's real."
Kam was optimistic—might as well scam whatever he could.
He had just spent a trillion berries buying a kingdom—his funds were actually a bit tight!
As for World?
A guy who could be defeated by Luffy's Second Gear—how strong could he possibly be!
"Kam, even though your mission isn't really to subjugate World, I think Lachi had a point. With your strength…"
At that moment, the five old men—who had stayed silent the whole time—shook their heads.
"Hmm?!"
Kam frowned: "Don't tell me even you grandfathers think I'm no match for World! You should know my strength."
He now had solid mastery of both colors of Haki.
Both at beginner level! And his Armament was stronger than most beginners.
At this point in time, Luffy was still a rookie who couldn't even use Haki properly. Yet he could defeat World.
Of course Kam could too!
Even if Luffy had protagonist halo, Kam had the system!
"Haha~ Of course we know!"
Saint Saturn patted Kam on the shoulder with a laugh: "World's been frozen for so many years—his bones are probably brittle. How could he possibly be a match for our dear grandson Kam?"
"Then it's settled."
Kam gave a quick salute and left.
It wasn't until long after Kam had departed that the five elders' expressions turned grave.
"Old Five, is it really okay to deceive him like this?"
"Even we would struggle against World."
Saint Saturn sighed: "Sigh… Ever since Kam collapsed and woke up, he's become so diligent and hardworking. He's only recently learned both colors of Haki—I didn't want to crush his confidence."
"But!"
The other four tensed.
"Don't worry. When the time comes, we can just assign an Admiral to go along—say we're worried about his safety. If he refuses, then we simply won't let him deploy!"
"That works. But which Admiral should we send?"
"How about Issho? The new guy is pretty good."
"No! He's blind—what if he doesn't keep watch over Kam properly?"
"How about Aramaki?"
"I say it has to be Borsalino. He's a bit lazy, but his strength is undeniable."
"Anyway, it has to be someone powerful, reliable, and hardworking."
"Exactly! And ideally someone who's already fought the Straw Hat kid before and can kill him quickly!"
…
…
Thus, under the Five Elders' arrangements, Kam led ten Marine fleets and several Vice Admirals to subjugate Bondy World.
And to "ensure Kam's safety," the Five Elders specially assigned an Admiral to escort him.
The next morning, on the main warship.
"Kizaru???"
Kam stared blankly at the sleazy old man beside him, face full of despair.
Since when was "reliable and hardworking" used to describe Kizaru?
And having the uncle kill the nephew—this was beyond ridiculous.
It was ridiculous to the max!
"Ora ora~"
Kizaru gave Kam a flirty sideways glance: "Kam Saint boss, this old man is just a little sleazy-looking. No need to be so distressed, right?"
"Kizaru!"
Kam rubbed his temples and ordered: "This mission is to subjugate the pirate World! But if anyone attacks me along the way, you are obligated to eliminate the attacker!"
"Ora ora~ Of course." Kizaru nodded.
"Rumors say Kizaru is a Revolutionary Army mole, but there's no solid evidence!"
"And this time, the five old men didn't tell Kizaru the real target. This operation is the perfect chance to test whether Kizaru is actually compromised!"
Thinking this, Kam felt a little better.
That same day, the Marines arrived at the outskirts of "Ship Island."
On Kam's orders, all forces held position.
His real goal was to kill Luffy—he had to wait for him to appear before acting!
Soon.
King Luffy and the Pirate Empress appeared as expected.
Then, just like in the original, Luffy got knocked into the sea by World the moment he showed up—only to immediately start doing sit-ups! Eagerly rushing off to punch World.
"Kekekekekeke!"
Seeing this, Kam laughed loudly: "Since the summoned Warlords have arrived, it's time for us to move out."
"Kizaru, protect me. Hina, Gion, Tsuru—each of you lead a squad of Marines and follow me to subjugate World. The rest stay put!"
"We absolutely cannot let King—cough cough—let World escape!"
"Yes sir!"
Everyone saluted.
Only Hina frowned and reminded: "Kam Saint-sama, World's strength is tremendous. He was once a man who made the World Government and Navy tremble alongside Roger and Whitebeard."
"We can handle World ourselves, no problem."
"But your safety… I'm afraid we can't guarantee it."
Kam shot Hina a cold look and snorted: "A mere World? Not worth mentioning!"
A pirate who could be defeated by Luffy's Second Gear—how strong could he be?
Kam genuinely didn't take World seriously.
Besides, the five old men had told him!
World's bones were brittle from being frozen.
He wasn't Kam's match at all!
Hearing this, Hina could only nod and drop it.
…
…