Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

Ace already possessed advanced Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and physical skills sufficient to suppress most powerful opponents. The Mythical Zoan Suzaku provided him with regenerative abilities and the life force, and now the Dark-Dark Fruit has added gravity, absorption, and ability nullification. The weaknesses of the two fruits can even compensate for each other: the Dark-Dark Fruit doubles the pain, while Suzaku's regenerative abilities allow injuries to heal rapidly.

“If Sengoku knew you could eat two Devil Fruits at the same time, Marineford would probably have fewer walls today,” Sabo chuckled. “If Teach knew, his reaction would be even more spectacular.”

They'll find out sooner or later.

Ace closed his fingers, and the flames and black smoke vanished simultaneously. The gravitational pull caused by the first appearance of darkness also dissipated, and the debris, now free of its pull, clattered to the ground.

Gunshots rang out in the distance, followed by shouts and curses escalating into a nasal tone. The sounds came from the domed building deep within Area 1, where the human auction venue was located.

After Ace's Observation Haki covered the area, the entire scene on the street came into his senses. Several people wearing bubble hoods were driving away civilians, while guards and marines were forcing all passersby to kneel.

Ace turned and walked toward the auction house: "Now that we have new abilities, we should test their effects. The generals haven't arrived yet, so let's use those so-called gods to give the people on the ship some courage."

Chapter 109 Lawlessness, Sandbags Used to Test Courage

Outside the human auction venue, the street that was originally crowded with pedestrians has been cleared out, leaving a wide path.

Whether civilians, pirates, or gangsters, everyone knelt on either side, their foreheads pressed to the ground. No one dared to raise their head, nor did anyone dare to flee. The only sound in the street was the scraping of chains against the stone slabs.

Three people dressed in white and wearing transparent bubble headgear walked in the middle of the road.

Charlos Saint held a chain, the other end of which was tied to a blood-soaked pirate captain. The man had injuries to both legs and could only crawl forward by dragging his body with his hands. When his movements slowed down even slightly, Charlos Saint drew his gold-inlaid musket, aimed it at the man's legs, and pulled the trigger.

After the gunshot, screams echoed from the street all the way to the entrance of the auction house.

"Who told you to stop? Crawl faster, and don't touch my shoes again!" Charlos yanked the chain hard, the collar digging into the slave's neck.

Saint Roswald, walking behind, did not stop his son. Charlia Palace, however, kicked aside a commoner kneeling slightly ahead, complaining about the island's polluted air and urging the auction to begin quickly. She had come specifically to buy merman slaves; ordinary humans were beneath her notice.

The navy and men in black, who were responsible for guarding them, surrounded the three. Suddenly, one of the bodyguards noticed that there were two more people standing at the end of the street.

Ace and Sabo walked towards them without stopping or kneeling.

"You in front, kneel down immediately!" The bodyguard drew his sword and blocked the way. "The Celestial Dragon is here. Take another step forward and you'll be executed on the spot!"

Ace didn't look at him; his gaze was fixed on the pirate chained up. In his previous life, when he saw these scenes on a screen, he only felt disgusted by the Celestial Dragons. Now, standing here in person, with the smell of blood, gunshot wounds, and collars embedded in his flesh clearly before him, the feeling was beyond mere disgust.

The corrupt officials protected by power treated living people like livestock, while hundreds of people around them could only kneel down, not even daring to have the thought of resistance.

Ace looked at Sabo: "Do you think that when a god is injured, the blood that flows out is different from that of a human?"

Sabo gripped the alloy staff tightly. Having left his hometown as a child due to the coldness of the nobility, he was no stranger to such people: "You'll know once you try."

Charlos, hearing the conversation, stopped in his tracks. Snotty-nosed, he raised his musket, pointing it at Ace: "Two lowly commoners dare to discuss the Creator? I'll buy you both, gouge out your eyes first, then—"

Before his fingers could even make a move, a blond figure had already traversed dozens of meters.

Sabo gripped the staff with both hands, striking the bubble head mask from the side. The transparent mask shattered instantly, and the alloy staff continued its inward thrust, slamming into Charlos's face.

The sound of bones breaking drowned out his curses.

Charlos's face was half-caved in, and his obese body flew across the street, crashing through a wall before being buried under rubble.

The whole street fell silent.

The people kneeling by the roadside finally raised their heads. Some opened their mouths but couldn't utter a sound; others stared at the ruins by the wall, forgetting even to run away.

Sabo struck a Celestial Dragon, and with a single blow, rendered him unconscious.

"Charlos!" Roswald was stunned at first, then pointed at Sabo and screamed, "Kill him! Chop those two bastards to pieces! Notify the Admiral immediately!"

The bodyguards and navy personnel were startled awake by the noise, and their knives and guns turned towards the two men simultaneously.

Ace remained standing in the same spot. He used Carina's Message-Message Fruit to send his voice into the minds of the entire Eclipse Pirates.

"Everyone, assemble in area 1. You have three minutes."

The cadres scattered across the island simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

Ace continued, "There are three Celestial Dragons here. Whoever gets there first gets to practice on them. Everyone without Conqueror's Haki gets a chance to try and see if we can force them to reveal anything by stepping on these so-called gods."

In Area 24, Leona had just finalized a supply deal with a merchant. Upon hearing the message, she released the cargo crate and placed her hand on the hilt of Byakuya's sword: "Using Celestial Dragons for practice? The captain's pastimes are getting more and more troublesome each time."

In the amusement park in Zone 33, Shaq was gazing at the Ferris wheel. His triangular eyes turned to Zone 1, and without a word, he strode away.

At Port 41, Geno salvaged a set of parts from the wreckage of the candy ship, and the thrusters on his back immediately spewed flames, propelling him into the air.

At the same time, the navy and bodyguards on the street began firing. Bullets and shells surrounded Ace and Sabo from both sides, and before they could get close, a pillar of lightning struck down from the sky, shattering the dozen or so people charging in front of them along with the ground.

Enel landed beside Ace on a bolt of lightning, carrying the Regin Knife on his shoulder: "Yehahahaha! I was the first to arrive, so these so-called gods are mine now?"

"We'll divide it up once everyone's here."

While the two were talking, a navy officer turned the cannon towards Enel's back. Before he could even ignite it, an arc of electricity shot out from the tip of the Regin. The current flowed along the barrel into the powder chamber, and the entire cannon exploded from the inside, throwing several nearby soldiers off balance in the blast wave.

Enel didn't even turn his head, only glancing at the fallen man with his mind net: "You can't even hide your killing intent, yet you dare to aim at me from behind."

A sword aura suddenly slashed from the other end of the street. The blade swept across the ground, slicing through the bodyguards blocking the way, along with their weapons. Leona, carrying Bai Ye, emerged from the dust: "We cleared out a few people along the way, but we were still a step too late."

Shaq also fell from the roof, the stone slabs beneath his feet trembling. A bounty hunter attempted to ambush him from behind, but Shaq grabbed him by the throat and tossed him aside.

Before three minutes had even passed, the entire Eclipse Pirates crew had arrived.

The combined bounties on these individuals exceeded three billion. The Navy and bodyguards, who had initially intended to protect the Celestial Dragons, found themselves involuntarily taking a step back upon recognizing Ace standing at the forefront.

Roswald and Charlia also recognized the 1.5 billion "Breakthrough". The two collapsed to the ground, their previous demeanor of making everyone kneel down completely gone.

Charlia pointed at the crowd, her voice trembling: "Do you know what you're doing? You're harming Celestial Dragons! A Marine Admiral will come! You'll all die here!"

"It's good that the Admiral is here." Ace put his hands in his trench coat pockets, turned to his crew, and said, "The one lying by the wall, and these two in front of us, are all yours. Those without Conqueror's Haki can take turns, don't rush to kill them. I want to see if anyone can break through their own bottleneck by crushing their shells of power."

The onlookers' expressions turned even uglier after hearing this arrangement than when they saw Sabo make his move.

When others attack Celestial Dragons, it's usually out of impulse or desperation. The Eclipse Pirates, however, used three Celestial Dragons as training punching bags, even discussing the order of attack. This wasn't out of fear of an attacking Admiral; they were actively undermining the foundation of the World Government.

"This humble monk will go first!"

Urouge stepped past the crowd and stood in front of Roswald. His body blocked the sunlight, casting a large shadow on the Celestial Dragon.

Roswald backed away, using both hands and feet: "You can't touch me! I am a descendant of the Creator!"

Urki clenched his fist, his smile widening: "Then let this humble monk see if the Creator's bones are harder. Under this fist, all beings are always equal."

With a slam of the fist, Roswald's nose shattered along with his bubble hood, and his entire face was slammed against the stone floor.

Chapter 110 Breaking the Shackles, Kizaru Attacks

Roswald slammed into the ground and remained motionless. Blood seeped from beneath the shattered hood, trickling down the cracks in the stone slabs to Urki's feet.

"He's already unconscious?" Urki stretched his shoulders. "I only threw one punch. With a body like this, even performing a ritual to help him pass on would be too much trouble."

"If you land one more punch, he'll really be dead."

Leona approached Charlia. The latter was slumped on the ground, the air thick with the stench of urine. Leona didn't even bother to remove the White Night charm, simply slapping Charlia across the face with her gloved hand.

With a crisp sound, Charlia's face turned to the side, and several bloody teeth rolled to the ground.

"They can't even hold a knife and fight to the death, there's nothing to see here." Leona retreated back into the crowd.

The other officers reacted similarly. Geno raised the miniature cannon on his wrist, compared it to the three of them, and then decided that using the new weapon against such targets would be pointless to obtain any data.

Bucky hid at the back of the crowd, swallowing hard. He didn't care about the Celestial Dragons' bloodline, but he knew very well that attacking them meant a Marine Admiral was about to land on the island: "We've already fought them, should we leave now? If we stay any longer, the warships will surround the island!"

Ace scanned the group but found no signs of Conqueror's Haki awakening. These executives already lacked respect for the world's rules; fighting a few weaklings who trembled without their protection wouldn't necessarily cause a qualitative change in their will. Zoro had nearly drawn his sword to attack a Celestial Dragon before, but he hadn't awakened Conqueror's Haki as a result.

Only Shaq remained silent.

He stared at the three Celestial Dragons on the ground, his face devoid of anger. The more he saw their weakness, the more he realized how absurd his past compromises had been.

As a former member of the Sun Pirates, he once looked up to Fisher Tiger. Tiger single-handedly scaled the Red Line, freeing the slaves of Mary Geoise, many of whom were fish-men kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons. That great fire proved to everyone that the so-called realm of the gods was not inaccessible, and that even the gods were afraid.

After Tiger's death, Jinbe accepted the position of Shichibukai for the future of Fish-Man Island and cooperated with the World Government. They called it the greater good, enduring the continued capture and trafficking of their fellow fish-men, hoping to gain acceptance from humanity by bowing down.

Now, the Celestial Dragons who uphold these rules are right beneath our feet. Stripped of their guards, marine status, and identities, they couldn't even withstand a single punch from Urouge.

“That’s ridiculous,” Shaq said in a low voice.

Ace walked up to him and said, "Think it through and then take action. No matter what happens today, I'll be here. You don't need to worry about the World Government's reaction on behalf of Fish-Man Island."

Shaq looked up at Ace and said, "You're right, Captain."

He closed his eyes, erasing the image of Jinbe carrying the weight of the situation and constantly yielding from his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer willing to find excuses for any compromise.

Shaq took a step forward and appeared before the unconscious Charlos and Roswald. As he pulled his right arm back, the muscles tensed, and the moisture in the surrounding air was stirred, producing a muffled sound like waves crashing against rocks.

"Fishman Karate - Five Thousand Tiles Straight Fist!"

The force of the punch pierced through the air and simultaneously penetrated the chests of the two Celestial Dragons. Their bones and internal organs shattered in the impact, and their bodies were thrown several meters before they landed without breathing.

Charlia only managed to let out half a scream. Shaq turned and swung his hand, the edge of his palm slicing across her neck, breaking her neck bone instantly.

Three bodies lay in the middle of the street where they had once demanded everyone kneel.

The surrounding people were no longer just silent. Some tripped while backing away, and others covered their mouths, afraid that their breathing would attract the attention of the Eclipse Pirates.

Beating up a Celestial Dragon could be considered a serious crime, but killing three Celestial Dragons in the street would be a declaration of war against the World Government's rule itself.

"How are you feeling now?" Ace asked.

Shaq wiped the blood from his fist: "It's much better than bowing down to them. Compromise won't bring peace; only when the enemy loses the ability to continue harming us will the problem be truly solved."

As the last word fell, a red light shone deep within his pupils.

A dark cyan aura exploded from Shaq's body, causing the surrounding rubble to tumble outwards. His will, no longer bound by old shackles, mixed with the rage accumulated from a century of oppression by the merfolk, swept across the street in all directions.

The doors and windows of the shops along the street shook simultaneously, and the chains around the slaves' necks clanged. Behind Shaq, it was as if Tiger had appeared, scaling the Red Line with his bare hands, but that image quickly vanished. He wasn't trying to inherit anyone's legacy, nor was he trying to prove Jinbe wrong. The power erupting now belonged only to him—from this day forward, anyone who tried to re-chain him and his people would first have to endure his fists.

Several pirates who had been watching from a distance collapsed to the ground with their eyes rolled back before they could even utter a sound. Nearby, weaker marines and gangsters also lost consciousness en masse.

The Conqueror's Haki has awakened.

“That’s right, Shaq!” Ace walked up to him despite the impact. “What was truly broken wasn’t those three people, but the shackles that you’ve always kept in your heart.”

Urouge stared at the corpse on the ground, then at Shak, who was still unleashing Conqueror's Haki, and his eyes widened: "Why? My punch was clearly harder than his! How can someone who could break at the slightest touch awaken Conqueror's Haki?"

Before anyone could even laugh, Karina quickly walked to Ace's side. The seabird she had contracted was circling high in the sky, its Message-Message Fruit continuously sending back images it saw in the distance.

"Ace, a warship is approaching the Sabaody Archipelago. Its course is clear; its target should be us."

Dozens of nautical miles away, a naval warship was cutting through the waves. Above the warship, a golden flash moved forward at a relatively slow speed through the clouds.

Kizaru received Sengoku's orders ten minutes ago. His initial mission was to immediately head to the Sabaody Archipelago to intimidate the Eclipse Pirates who had just landed there. The warships were to follow, while he himself used the Glint-Glint Fruit to travel at a leisurely pace.

"Moshi moshi." Kizaru raised his wrist and spoke twice into the black Den Den Mushi, "Haven't we entered the island's signal range yet?"