A muffled, panicked whimper came from the mast.
"Mm—mmph!!"
Charloss twisted his suspended body with visible effort, his triangular eyes darting wildly. His urge to speak was painfully obvious.
Romu studied him for a moment.
Yeah… letting this idiot scream during his execution will be more impactful.
With a flick of intent, a vine sprouted from the mast, snaked forward, and neatly removed the gag.
The moment his mouth was free—
"You filthy commoner!!"
"How dare you desecrate a god!!"
"You Marine pigs—if any of you touch a single hair on me, I'll have your entire bloodlines flayed alive!!!"
Charloss screamed hysterically.
Even hanging like livestock, his arrogance didn't diminish in the slightest.
To him, Marines were dogs. Harmless. Owned.
The caged Marines stiffened. Some clenched fists. Some gritted teeth.
No one stepped forward.
Charloss' grin stretched grotesquely wide.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
"You see?! I am their god!!"
Thunk.
A wooden spike punched under his fingernail.
A scream like a slaughtered hog tore through the air.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Romu didn't even look at him.
Instead, he turned to the Marines.
His goal wasn't their catharsis.
It was symbolism.
If Marines killed a Celestial Dragon…
…it would be the World Government and the Marines humiliating themselves.
A spectacle greater than any execution in history.
But reality was uglier.
Eight centuries of Celestial Dragon rule had broken people psychologically.
Even with knives at their throats… they froze.
"Guess I'll pick a lucky player," Romu muttered.
A cage opened.
A dagger floated forward.
It clattered at a Marine's feet.
He didn't grab it.
He collapsed, shaking.
Charloss howled with laughter—
Another fingernail spike silenced him into shrieks.
"No pressure," Romu said calmly. "Participation is voluntary."
A tiny green seed appeared in his palm.
He flicked it.
The seed shot into the Marine's mouth.
A heartbeat later—
He convulsed violently.
Green light pulsed beneath his skin.
Then—
Branches burst from his mouth, nose, eyes—
Seconds later…
A living tree stood where he had been.
His limbs hung from branches like grotesque fruit.
Silence swallowed the deck.
Only wind and waves remained.
Everyone stared.
Romu scratched his head.
"Relax," he told Charloss. "Someone will play."
Charloss pissed himself.
CP0 agent Kapanci watched in horror.
This… makes our torture methods look like children's games…
Then—
"I'll do it."
A small voice cut through the terror.
A boy Marine. Maybe ten.
Hands trembling on the bars.
Romu nodded.
The dagger floated to him.
The cage opened.
Veteran Marines hissed warnings—
He stepped forward anyway.
Ran.
And stabbed Charloss in the stomach.
A wet scream echoed.
"You're free," Romu said simply.
That was enough.
His point was made.
He scanned the rest of the Marines.
Impatience crept into his eyes.
Opportunity had been offered.
They chose fear.
Fine.
Their bodies would at least repay his energy costs.
Charloss' screams continued—
Romu exhaled slowly.
Enough games.
He turned to finish it—
His Observation Haki flared.
A powerful presence was approaching fast.
A roar tore across the sea—
"STOP!!!"
Romu ignored it.
He spat out his toothpick.
Midair, it expanded into a wooden spike—
THUNK.
Charloss' head snapped sideways.
Pinned to the mast.
Dead.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM!!
The deck exploded inward.
A purple-haired man in a Justice coat landed in the crater, eyes blazing with fury.
Admiral Zephyr.
The Black Arm.
He stared at Romu like a storm given human form.
And the air… froze.