Rage.
Frustration.
Humiliation.
Resentment.
Fear.
All these emotions churned in John's heart, indescribable.
The moment he said he wanted to live,
the pressure on his skull vanished.
Carlo put away the heavenly dragon halberd and looked down at John, who was still rattled. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile that sent a chill through John's heart. "Very well. From today on, you're my subordinate—my first one. Congratulations, Captain John."
Leaving John, who had narrowly escaped death, Carlo returned to Silver Axe.
On the ground, Silver Axe—whose body had been smashed to pulp—had, after some recovery, almost returned to his original form.
However, his giant-like frame had shrunk back to its normal size.
He stood less than two meters tall, looking utterly weak.
Carlo repeated his tactic, pressing the heavenly dragon halberd to Silver Axe's forehead.
But before he could issue his recruitment demand,
a figure drifted in from nowhere, descending from the sky to hover slowly in mid-air before him.
Golden Lion crossed his arms, cigar clenched between his teeth, looking down at Carlo.
"Carlo, you really piss me off, you know that?"
Carlo lifted his head slowly. "Oh? Why? Because I crushed your childhood friend?"
He nudged the half-dead Silver Axe with his foot.
Golden Lion ignored the sight. He sneered, "No! Because you cost me ten million Berries."
Without even glancing at Carlo, he jeered at Silver Axe, who lay gasping on the ground, "Zehehehe, A Xiong, still breathing?"
"None of your damn business!" Silver Axe's eyes twitched; he was furious that Golden Lion had seen him in such a wretched state.
Golden Lion cackled, "Zehehehe, see? I told you to stay in the West Blue and keep out of the dangerous New World, but you wouldn't listen. Now look at you—West Blue's so-called top killer, freshly arrived in the New World, only to be crushed by some no-name brat. Don't go around claiming you were ever my rival; you may not feel ashamed, but I do."
"I just got careless! Next time, I'll settle the score myself!" Silver Axe climbed to his feet, shot Carlo a hate-filled glare, and prepared to leave with Golden Lion.
However—
a black war halberd swept across, its crescent blade resting against his shoulder.
Its terrifying weight pressed on the weakened Silver Axe, buckling his knees and nearly forcing him to kneel.
He turned his head, face dark, to meet Carlo's expressionless gaze.
"You—"
"Did I say you could leave?"
Carlo held the halberd one-handed, pinning Silver Axe by the neck.
Silver Axe's face twitched in fury, about to retort—
but someone beat him to it.
"Brat Carlo, are you… ignoring me?!"
Mid-air, Golden Lion's face was icy, veins bulging on his forehead.
Along with his furious roar came a monstrous aura—like a tsunami or an erupting volcano—crashing down.
Rumble—
The bright sky suddenly dimmed.
Countless black-red lightning bolts burst from Golden Lion, slashing the heavens and releasing an abyssal pressure.
Several of those thick black-red bolts locked onto Carlo below and blasted straight at him!
"Put you in my eye?"
Carlo's lips curved into a savage, defiant grin.
"Who do you think you are?"
"Worthy of my regard?!"
The moment those words fell—
Rumble—!!
A violent black-red sphere erupted from his body, shooting skyward like a reversed torrent of seawater, colliding head-on with Golden Lion's terrifying Conqueror's Haki!
The two black-red masses clashed in mid-air, bursting into countless crackling sparks.
Boom!!!
Black-red lightning scattered, whipping up fierce gales and shockwaves above the harbor.
Thud, thud…
Row after row of onlookers and pirates collapsed like reaped wheat, dizzy, foaming at the mouth, some even bleeding from every orifice.
"Conqueror's Haki +1!"
"Conqueror's Haki +1!"
"Conqueror's Haki +1!"
Ignoring the constant notifications in his mind, Carlo stared unflinchingly at Golden Lion in the sky.
His Conqueror's Haki surged like a tsunami, wave after wave, clashing against Golden Lion's!
The two black-red spheres resembled colliding planets, neither yielding an inch.
For a moment they were locked in stalemate.
Although Carlo was slightly weaker, no matter how Golden Lion pressed or exploded with terrifying Haki, he could not shatter Carlo's momentum.
Carlo's aura was like a small boat in a storm—
however violent the tempest, however fiercely the vessel pitched, it never capsized.
The longer he held out against the two clashing Conqueror's auras,
the uglier Golden Lion's expression became.
Just as Golden Lion's face twisted and his hands moved toward the twin swords at his waist—
a tall, straight figure stepped in, standing beside Carlo.
At the same time, a mighty aura—no weaker than Carlo's—rose up, merging with his Conqueror's Haki and thrusting skyward!
Boom!
A mass of black-red lightning exploded in the sky.
Golden Lion's body swayed.
The ground beneath Carlo cracked.
"Mamamama, Shiki, at your age you're still squabbling with comrades over a mere ten million Berries?"
Charlotte Linlin laughed delightedly.
Her tall figure subtly blocked Golden Lion's view of Carlo.
Her arrival and actions made Golden Lion's face darken further.
Golden Lion snorted. "Linlin! Are you speaking up for this brat?"
Linlin's eyes curved. "Mamamama, I'm not speaking for Carlo. We're all on the same ship—shouldn't we get along?"
She pointed at Silver Axe, who had been forced to his knees.
"Besides, your friend started it by barging into Hachinosu and attacking Carlo without permission."
"Now he's lost to Carlo and caused such destruction to Hachinosu. Shiki, do you think he can just dust himself off and leave without paying a price?"
"Hachinosu isn't made of blocks you can simply rebuild. These ruined towns and harbors cost money to restore. Even if Rocks were here, the same rule applies. Don't you agree, Shiki?"
Golden Lion was silent for a moment, then gave the smiling Charlotte Linlin a long, hard look.
"Then what do you suggest we do about it?"