At this moment, outside the Sabaody Archipelago, warships of the Marines were docking in massive numbers.
People on land instantly realized something serious had happened.
Marines poured out from the ships and moved rapidly to secure and control everyone along the streets.
However, the place that felt the impact most heavily was the Lawless District — an area that had only just begun to bustle with activity again in the last few days.
Wherever the Marines went, chaos and ruin followed… Pirates scattered, running or hiding wherever they could.
Even in districts with normal numbering, residents were driven back into their homes and forbidden to step outside. Every shop and business was forced to close its doors.
It was important to remember: in the original timeline, even when Luffy acted out, all he did was punch a Celestial Dragon once… But Oboro? He had outright killed one.
Dom followed closely at Oboro's heels, not daring to lag behind even a single step.
He was so terrified his face had turned pale, unable to speak a word…
The Marines had sealed off the entire island in an incredibly short time. The scale of this operation was vastly greater than when Oboro had escaped as a mere slave before.
Marines were deployed on almost every street. Dom couldn't help but wonder if Marine Headquarters had dispatched their entire fighting force.
In such a situation, not just a local like himself, but even an old veteran who had lived on Sabaody for decades wouldn't dare claim he could use the terrain to help them escape.
If Dom had been leading the way, they would have been captured within five minutes.
Yet, miraculously, Dom saw Oboro doing exactly that.
Although Oboro wasn't a native of these islands, he seemed to know the Marines' deployment and movements perfectly.
Whenever their defensive lines hadn't fully locked down an area, Oboro would always keenly spot that tiny gap and lead him straight through the encirclement.
This was exactly why Oboro had been racing against time — to seize a glimmer of hope before the Marines' grip tightened completely.
"Look… That's a Vice Admiral from Headquarters!"
A short while later, Oboro led Dom onto a street in total turmoil. A group of pirates were fighting against a squad of Marines.
Though the battle looked fierce, it was completely one‑sided. Just a few days ago during the riots, pirates were able to hold their ground somewhat… but now, they were utterly outmatched — even though the Marines here numbered barely a hundred men.
When Dom saw the face of the leading Marine officer, he understood why.
A Vice Admiral from Headquarters had been dispatched… and was commanding only a small, inconspicuous unit.
This meant… other Vice Admirals were likely here as well.
The Marines intended to bring everything under control with overwhelming, lightning‑fast force in the shortest possible time.
Oboro didn't slow down. No matter how weak these Marines were, they could still delay them. Wherever there was chaos, there was a path to survival.
He sprinted swiftly along the edge of the battlefield and darted onto another street. Several Marine soldiers spotted them head‑on and opened fire immediately, without hesitation.
None of the shots hit their mark. As they closed the distance, Oboro simply brushed past them with a sweep of his palm, breaking the necks of every soldier in one fluid motion.
"Indiscriminate killing…"
Dom realized the change in their tactics.
In the past, Marine operations against pirates prioritized capture — offering surrender or finding ways to apprehend targets alive, no matter how vicious the pirates were.
But this time, things were clearly different. The Marines were acting under a single, absolute directive: execute every uncontrollable pirate on the island.
Generally speaking, the Marines cared deeply about their reputation and rarely did things like this.
This was unprecedented.
"Move!"
Oboro urged him on.
Within his mind, he visualized the positions and locations of every soul's fluctuation in the nearby streets.
It was entirely thanks to this ability that the two of them had managed to flee this far, escaping danger at every turn.
Oboro was using the power inherent within him to stand against the military might of the One Piece world.
A power that belonged to him from the very start.
A product born from another world.
And the very source of his confidence and strength.
Unless the Will of this world found a way to utterly obliterate his soul… he still possessed the power to fight back.
Oboro was essentially navigating with a mini‑map constantly active in his head.
He moved through one zone after another before they could be fully encircled. The journey looked perilous, yet his spiritual power protected them.
Some time later, the pair emerged from the streets into a familiar area. It was very close to the sea; not far away lay an inlet branching off from the open ocean.
Unfortunately, that location was already heavily guarded by a large contingent of Marines.
Oboro also spotted two familiar figures.
Vice Admiral Bastille from Marine Headquarters, holding his massive greatsword in hand…
And another — a dark‑skinned man with long, thin, curled mustache: Stainless.
Undoubtedly, these two were the commanders overseeing this sector.
Fortunately, there were only two of them, and the terrain here was dominated by rolling hills.
They could hide their silhouettes behind the slopes, provided they remained quiet and kept their distance.
However, what surprised Dom the most was the signboard of a building situated atop a small rise in the distance.
The Silvers Bar.
And he caught sight of a single person.
The white‑haired, drunken old man.
The one who helped Oboro remove the Celestial Dragon's slave collar.
Silvers Rayleigh — The Dark King.
Right now, Rayleigh was leaning casually against the doorframe, swigging directly from a bottle of alcohol.
About ten meters away stood a row of Marine soldiers. The cleanup operation was so thorough that even such a remote corner wasn't spared… There wasn't another living soul in sight.
The entire area was desolate and empty.
Rayleigh drank, and from time to time, let out loud laughs.
The soldiers standing guard ahead kept turning around to glare at him, annoyed.
In their eyes, Rayleigh was just a harmless, useless drunk. As long as he didn't wander off and stayed quietly by the entrance, they couldn't be bothered to do anything about him.
Rayleigh was laughing for a very specific reason.
Reflected clearly in the lenses of his glasses were two tiny dark dots moving stealthily through the landscape.
Obviously, he knew exactly who they were… and in this whole area, he was the only one who had noticed the anomaly.
At the same time, Oboro — running below — felt a gaze lock onto him… He knew instantly that Rayleigh had spotted him.
For a master who had advanced Observation Haki to such heights, it wasn't difficult at all.
Compared to Rayleigh, the perception of those two Vice Admirals was far, far inferior.
Even if they could use Observation Haki, their range was limited, and they were nowhere near the level of being truly alert to everything around them.
And the reason Oboro chose this exact route… was precisely because of Rayleigh.
The last time they met, Oboro had already recorded the unique spiritual frequency of the old man's soul.
So as long as they were within a certain distance, Oboro could confirm whether Rayleigh was still inside the bar or not.
Judging by the dense concentration of soul signatures all around, the blockade here was much harder to break through than previous ones.
If they got held up here… even if they managed to break out, it would give Kizaru enough time to catch up.
The only person Oboro truly feared and was wary of was Kizaru.
Even if Akainu or Aokiji were coming, they couldn't possibly arrive this fast.
Oboro directed his gaze toward Rayleigh's position. Their eyes seemed to lock across the distance.
Rayleigh appeared to be smiling…
And Oboro gently raised the corner of his mouth.
"Will you step in… or not?"
Oboro was gambling on something.
Even if Rayleigh refused to help, he still had his own methods to escape.
He just needed to make a little use of this old man.
With Shakky around, Rayleigh must already know what had happened.
Truth be told, seeing Oboro and Dom alive and moving freely was a genuine shock to Rayleigh… He had assumed Oboro was already dead.
He deeply admired Oboro's courage in daring to strike down a Celestial Dragon… and he found this young man incredibly mysterious and unusual.
But honestly? Rayleigh didn't believe Oboro could possibly escape the Marines' encirclement.
Because if it were him, even with his level of strength, he couldn't have traveled all the way from the auction house to here — such a vast distance — without being detected or intercepted once… It was unimaginable how Oboro had managed it.
Simple disguises or stealth techniques were never going to fool the Marines for that long.
"Hahahahaha!"
Rayleigh took another big swig of alcohol and burst out laughing.
"Tch… Old man, just go inside already!"
The Marine soldier standing guard in front frowned deeply, finally losing his patience and shouting back at him.
But Rayleigh acted as if he hadn't heard a word. He suddenly stood up, laughing uncontrollably, his face flushed red as if completely intoxicated, his energy soaring.
He muttered words and phrases that made no sense to anyone else.
"Young people these days… truly are amazing… Makes me realize I really am getting too old!"
"Truly… a future full of possibilities."
With that said, he staggered unsteadily down the slope.
He looked exactly like someone having a drunken fit.
"Didn't you hear me?!"
"Hurry up!"
"Stop him right now!"
"This old man is freakishly strong… someone come help me!!"
Immediately, panicked shouts and commotion erupted from the guards.
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