There were roughly more than two hundred nobles present. Vane had already listened to their inner thoughts with his Observation Haki beforehand—every single one of them was filthy to the core.
So killing them stirred not the slightest guilt in Vane's heart.
The commotion Bonez caused was loud enough that everyone's attention was drawn to the battle between Bonez and the kingdom's army. No one noticed that a silent slaughter was unfolding right behind them.
Vane summoned Netherworld Mist. The frigid energy transformed into one gleaming ice crystal after another, shooting toward the filthy nobles' brains or hearts.
Once an ice crystal struck a vital point, it turned into ice-element energy within the body, freezing the blood inside them.
He still couldn't freeze someone solid in one instant like Aokiji could, turning their entire body into a massive block of ice—but freezing them from the inside posed no problem.
One after another, eerie and twisted ice sculptures appeared—bodies pale and bloodless, cold mist rising from them.
"Once the Marines and the World Government find out, they'll probably raise my bounty again."
Killing nobles on such a large scale—especially nobles from World Government–affiliated nations—even if the Marines were unwilling to raise Vane's bounty, member nations across the world would pressure them into doing so.
They might not care if pirates robbed commoners, or even robbed them of their money. But when their lives were at stake—that was terrifying. Nobles were afraid of death.
For pirates who sought both wealth and lives, they would definitely issue the harshest manhunt.
Like Kid, whose first bounty exceeded even Luffy's after the assault on Enies Lobby. His crime? Excessive slaughter. No doubt plenty of nobles were among his victims.
...
Bonez's side.
"Monster! There's no way we can kill a monster like this!"
"His body cuts people!"
"H-He's the pirate with a 69 million Belly bounty—Black Steel Daz Bonez!"
Even the strongest Captain of the kingdom's army could only endure a few exchanges before being smashed away by Bonez's attack. His armor was torn apart, blood spraying everywhere.
Any soldier who fell—no matter which part of Bonez's body struck them—suffered horrifying slashing wounds.
The kingdom's soldiers were still human. After so many comrades had died, their will had already collapsed. No one dared to block Bonez's path anymore.
The white-haired king had lost all his guards. The vicious pirate capable of defeating them all single-handedly now stood before him—yet the king showed no trace of panic.
"The King of the Twin Kingdom."
Bonez had once worked in the assassin world. When it came to a mission, whether the target was eight or eighty, he would carry out the kill.
Considering the man's advanced age, Bonez decided to use a stronger attack to finish him in one blow—so he wouldn't feel any pain… I really am a kind-hearted former assassin.
Bonez's body turned into a gray blur, sweeping past the king's body.
Something's wrong!
Bonez had cut down countless people. The king's body felt too loose—there was no sensation of human flesh and blood.
Spinning around instantly, Bonez saw that the king's body had indeed been smashed and sliced apart by his charge, nearly half of it destroyed.
But there was no blood. No human tissue.
Only white snowflakes—and those snowflakes were restoring the king's body.
"A Logia Devil Fruit user?!"
This king was a Logia Devil Fruit user… It looked like the Snow-Snow Fruit the captain had once mentioned.
"Young man, you're still too young."
Why had the Twin Kingdom's bloody policies been able to continue for so long? Why had the king always remained king?
The King of the Twin Kingdom provided the answer—each king consumed a Devil Fruit and became a powerful ability user.
With overwhelming strength, neither citizens nor nobles within the Twin Kingdom could defy the king's will.
Every king, during his reign, would seek out a sufficiently powerful Devil Fruit. When his time was nearly up, he would pass it on to his successor to consume.
It had to be a fruit that granted formidable power immediately upon consumption. The Jacket-Jacket Fruit, the Bean-Bean Fruit, ordinary Zoan fruits—none of those would be collected.
Thus the cycle continued. The current king had eaten the Snow-Snow Fruit gathered by the previous king. And he had already prepared a powerful Gold-Gold Fruit for his own successor.
He had no idea that his Gold-Gold Fruit had already been stolen.
"Snow Monster!"
The king transformed entirely into a snowman. His body swelled, his teeth turning into sharp ice crystals.
"Snow Arrows!"
With a flick of his hand—now made of snow—seven or eight sharp arrows formed from snow crystals shot outward.
Clink, clink, clink…
Clearly, these snow arrows posed no threat to Bonez. The danger they presented was even less than the same number of musket shots striking him.
"Blizzard!"
The king knew his fruit lacked offensive power; the earlier attack had merely been a test.
But that didn't matter. The Snow-Snow Fruit's low temperature itself could serve as a weapon.
Within a small area, snow piled up rapidly, enough to submerge a person's calves. The temperature plummeted sharply.
"A Logia…"
Bonez frowned slightly.
One of the reasons he had worked so hard to learn Armament Haki was precisely because it allowed one to deal with Logia Devil Fruit users.
In the relatively Haki-scarce first half of the Grand Line, Logia users could rely on their elemental intangibility to remain undefeated.
To defeat them, one had only three options: find an elemental counter, use Armament Haki, or Seastone.
As for seawater—the ultimate bane of Devil Fruit users… so far, very few Logia truly feared seawater. Crocodile was afraid of any kind of water, but others more or less had ways to handle it.
Against the Snow-Snow Fruit, the three best methods were unavailable to Bonez.
No Armament Haki. No Seastone. The Snow-Snow Fruit feared high temperatures… but unfortunately, he had no means of producing heat.
Lacking a countermeasure didn't mean he would give up. Facing a Logia head-on was itself training. Only by experiencing the helplessness of striking an opponent without dealing a single point of damage could he steel his resolve to master Armament Haki.
Time and again, the king's body was shattered. Time and again, the Logia trait allowed him to recover.
"It's useless. I am an invincible Logia user. Your attacks don't even count as a tickle."
"And the faster you move, the more your body heat will be stripped away by me—until you freeze into an ice block! Hahaha!"
Bonez said nothing, attacking relentlessly.
On the ship, he had constantly endured extreme assaults—electric shocks, blazing flames, and freezing abilities. These icy winds would not freeze him so easily, at least not anytime soon.