The moment that voice reached Arashi's ears, his figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was already standing in front of the pirate who had ordered Robin and Perona to be captured.
Without giving the man even a moment to react, Arashi's blade flashed from its sheath.
The next instant—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Several sword beams erupted simultaneously, passing straight through the pirate's body.
Before the surrounding pirates could even comprehend what had happened, the man's body exploded apart after being cut through by the sword energy.
Limbs and chunks of flesh scattered across the ground.
After dismembering the pirate who had dared speak those words, Arashi immediately raised his head and looked at the stunned pirates around him.
At the same time, his Conqueror's Haki was quietly unleashed.
As his eyes narrowed slightly, an invisible yet overwhelming pressure burst forth.
A buzzing sound that seemed capable of rattling the soul echoed through the street.
Every pirate present suddenly felt the world spin around them.
One after another, they collapsed to the ground.
After knocking all the pirates unconscious, Arashi didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"Robin."
"Kill them all."
Robin, who had just arrived beside him with Perona, froze briefly.
This was the first time she had ever felt such intense killing intent from Arashi.
Ever since she had met him, he'd always claimed that he disliked fighting and killing.
Yet at this moment, the killing intent radiating from him was continuously rising, as though he intended to slaughter every pirate in the entire capital.
Even so, Robin didn't hesitate.
She immediately activated her Devil Fruit powers.
One by one, the necks of the unconscious pirates snapped.
As soon as Robin had killed them all, Arashi gripped his sword and continued walking forward.
The sight on this street was even more horrifying than the previous one.
Corpses lay densely packed across the road.
The blood flowing from countless bodies gathered together and formed a crimson stream that slowly ran toward the lower sections of the street.
"S-save... save me..."
A weak voice suddenly came from Arashi's right.
Following the sound, he saw a little girl no older than seven or eight lying in a pool of blood.
Both of her arms had been severed.
Several horrifying wounds covered her small body.
Before Arashi could react, Robin rushed over and picked the girl up.
However, the moment Robin lifted her—
The girl's head drooped limply.
Her heartbeat stopped instantly.
"N-no..."
Robin stared at the child in her arms.
Feeling the life leave her body, she slowly looked up.
Her voice trembled.
"Mr. Arashi..."
Arashi remained silent.
He simply stared at the little girl.
After a long while, he turned around and spoke softly.
"Loli."
"Today, you can kill as many as you want."
"Mm!"
Perona had clearly been waiting for those words.
The moment Arashi finished speaking, she released her Devil Fruit powers without hesitation and floated away.
Meanwhile—
Drake stood alone in the street, staring motionlessly toward the royal palace.
Marine soldiers continuously ran past him.
He knew that with the arrival of these reinforcements, the battle at the palace would inevitably change.
After the last Marine passed by and rushed toward the palace, Drake took a deep breath.
Then he suddenly turned around and charged toward the pirates who were looting and murdering civilians throughout the city.
"The Marines are here!"
"Run!"
"It's Drake!"
Several panicked voices rang out.
Clearly, the pirates had been keeping a close eye on Marine movements.
Now that Drake was charging directly at them, they immediately abandoned their plunder and scattered in all directions.
In moments, the street was left with nothing but wreckage and the corpses of innocent civilians.
Looking at the fleeing pirates, Drake arrived in the street and let out a furious roar.
Then he chose a direction and gave chase.
At this moment, he had only one thought in mind.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill every pirate who had harmed innocent civilians.
Kill them all.
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
The pirates throughout the city were constantly monitoring Marine movements.
Wherever Drake appeared, they fled immediately.
Not a single one gave him the opportunity to strike.
The fleeing pirates soon regrouped on another street.
Carrying the treasures they had stolen, they hurried toward their respective ships.
Two pirate crews whose ships happened to be anchored in the same bay met each other on the road.
Surprisingly, neither side attacked the other.
Instead, they laughed and greeted one another.
"Hey! Looks like you guys made a fortune today!"
"Hahaha! Not bad yourselves!"
"Let's get out of here while the Marines are still busy helping the kingdom army!"
The two pirate crews, who had once fought one another at sea, now reached an unspoken understanding.
Neither side intended to start a conflict.
After all, carrying away their stolen treasures was far more important.
If they started fighting now, they might end up losing everything.
Suddenly—
The pirates at the front stopped dead in their tracks.
Those behind them nearly crashed into their comrades.
At the same moment—
Arashi slowly walked into the middle of the street with his sword in hand.
Without giving the pirates any chance to react, he raised his head and spoke a single word.
"Die."
The instant those words fell—
A heaven-shaking sword aura exploded into existence.
Like a colossal tidal wave rising from a storm-tossed sea, it instantly engulfed the entire street.
The moment the sword aura descended, a thunderous roar erupted.
The entire street shook violently.
Before the pirates could even recover their senses, they were swept into the massive wave of sword energy.
Screaming in terror, they were hurled high into the sky.
Then they crashed back down one after another.
Every single one died with eyes wide open.
At that very moment—
Drake, having sensed the sword aura that had erupted nearby, rushed toward its source at top speed.
When he arrived at the street and saw pirate after pirate falling from the sky like rain, his pupils contracted sharply.
Then he looked toward the figure standing proudly at the far end of the street, sword held casually in one hand.
His face filled with shock.
"M-Mr. Arashi?"
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