Pirate: I'm an admiral now, what's wrong with taking a little extra money?

"A boring trick."

Sakazuki snorted and took off his navy cap, revealing that his arm, which had been wrapped in bandages, was now completely healed.

Moreover, as his emotions fluctuated, the surrounding temperature suddenly rose, and even the deck beneath his feet began to emit black smoke.

“These scum don’t deserve to breathe. Let me in and burn them, along with this wicked place, to ashes!”

"No, Lieutenant Sakazuki!" The major's face turned pale with fright. "They're all civilians inside! If it explodes, the consequences will be unimaginable! The orders from above are to 'preserve the hostages as much as possible'! And the target is a Devil Fruit user; they need to be captured alive and sent to Impel Down!"

Sakazuki gritted his teeth, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.

The feeling of wanting to destroy evil but being bound by rules and regulations made him feel nauseous and want to vomit.

"Try to preserve it as much as possible?"

Kane leaned against the railing, toying with a gold-plated lighter he'd swiped from Zeff. "So, as long as nothing major goes wrong, it's fine?"

The major was taken aback: "Uh...theoretically, that's true, but..."

"Since it's a real combat mission, then we're allowed to act freely within certain limits, right?"

Kane turned around and gave the three monsters beside him a kind smile.

Sakazuki glanced at him, instinctively taking a step to the side, and said warily, "What do you want to do? I'm warning you, if you dare to do anything messy at this time..."

"How could that be? I am the navy that cares most about civilians."

Kane straightened his tie. "I'll go negotiate. After all, nobody wants to see bloodshed, right?"

Before Sakazuki could react, Kane had already leaped off the warship.

"Wait! Warrant Officer Kane! The negotiation expert is still on his way..." the major shouted anxiously.

"no need."

Sakazuki suddenly spoke, staring at Kane's retreating figure with a complex expression, "That bastard may be a bad person, but he wouldn't do anything outrageous."

……

The auction house doors were tightly shut.

From inside the door came arrogant, maniacal laughter.

"Boing~Boing~! Listen to the navy outside! My patience is running out!"

Gardo's legs sprang like springs, bouncing back and forth on the ceiling, while he grabbed a trembling noblewoman in his hand. "If I don't see the ship in three minutes, I'll snap this woman's neck!"

"Hahaha! Is this what the Navy is like? What a bunch of useless trash!"

The surrounding pirate henchmen joined in the commotion, some brandishing knives at the hostages' faces, others carrying boxes of explosives.

The hostages huddled in a corner, crying out in despair.

Just then.

Boom, boom, boom.

A dull, rhythmic knocking sounded on the door.

"Who?!" Gardo stopped what he was doing and stared warily at the door.

"A food delivery person."

A gentle voice came from outside the door, "Someone just counted 500 million Berries in cash and a ship. Please sign for it."

Gardo was taken aback, then overjoyed: "They're smart! Open the door!"

The heavy iron door was pulled open a crack.

Sunlight streamed into the dimly lit hall.

There was only one young marine standing at the door.

He wasn't carrying a gun, nor was he holding a money box; all he had on his face was that warm, welcoming smile.

"Where's the money? Where's the boat?" Gardo's eyes widened as he saw the empty space behind him and flew into a rage. "How dare you play me for a fool?!"

"Don't rush, the procedures are quite complicated, but they're already being processed."

Kane strode into the hall, ignoring the dozens of muskets pointed at his head, as if he were walking into his own backyard.

His gaze swept quickly across the entire room.

More than a hundred hostages were positioned on the left. A dozen or so pirates were scattered around the perimeter. Explosives were piled up at the main entrance.

'Tsk, hostages and pirates mixed together, this is going to be tough...'

Kane thought to himself, 'I need to find a way to separate them.'

He walked to the center of the hall and looked into the hopeful eyes of the hostages who were looking at him.

Then, he took out a megaphone, took a deep breath, and shouted to all the hostages:

"Listen up, everyone! I am Warrant Officer Kane from Naval Headquarters!"

Hope ignited in the eyes of the hostages.

"Due to the robbers' exorbitant demand, after a one-minute-long amicable negotiation between Naval Headquarters and them, we have decided—"

Kane paused, a regretful expression on his face.

"We've decided not to pay! And, to prevent the pirates from becoming even more arrogant, headquarters will be conducting an indiscriminate artillery barrage on this area in thirty seconds!"

"Please rest assured, hostages! If you unfortunately perish, I will personally arrange for the highest-grade... wreaths for you! I will also have your names engraved on the back of the memorial stone!"

"Alright, the final thirty-second countdown begins! 30, 29..."

next second.

"Aaaaaahh ...

The hostage area erupted in screams ten times more desperate than when they were first taken hostage.

"No!!"

"Has the navy gone mad?! Indiscriminate shelling?!"

"Help! I don't want to die! I have money, I'll give you money, okay?! Don't fire!"

The ladies fainted from fright, and the men collapsed to the ground in terror. The smell of incontinence filled the hall.

Several hostages who had originally tried to escape in the chaos were now too weak to stand up and could only huddle in a corner, clutching their heads.

[Ding! Intimidation of civilians has caused widespread panic!]

This behavior is a serious violation of naval regulations!

[Disciplinary points +100! +100! +100... (continuously refreshing the screen)]

Even the pirates were dumbfounded.

Galdo's cigar fell to the ground, and he even forgot to spring his leg: "Hey... this isn't right, is it? Aren't you navy supposed to be righteous? You even blow up hostages?"

"justice?"

Kane tilted his head, looking at Galdo on the ceiling: "Destroying pirates is the greatest justice. As for sacrifices... they are necessary stepping stones on the road to justice."

"You...you're a madman! You're more like a pirate than I am!"

Gardo was enraged; a sense of humiliation and fear made him tremble.

"Men! Attack! Kill this mad navy man! Let's break out!"

Gardo suddenly compressed his legs, his whole body gathering power like a cannonball, unleashing a burst of killing intent.

"Yes!"

The pirates were so frightened by Kane's words that they lost their minds. If they didn't fight desperately, they would be executed by cannon fire on the spot!

They pulled the trigger menacingly or charged at Kane in the center of the hall with their knives raised.

On the ship, the major, observing through binoculars, cried out in terror, "Damn it! That bastard Kane has angered the bandits! Attack! We're doomed, we're all doomed!"

A flash of rage crossed Sakazuki's eyes, and magma erupted from his body as he prepared to rush out and beat up Kane as well.

however.

Even faster than him was a golden flash...

Inside the auction hall.

The smile on Kane's face vanished the instant all the pirates made their move.

Instead, a chilling indifference prevailed.

"If we don't care about the hostages, clearing the area will be much easier."

"Shave - Instant Hell Kill".

Chapter 19 The Execution of Justice, Sakazuki's "Awakening"!

Before the sonic boom could even resound in the air, death had already arrived.

"boom--!"

The pirate closest to him didn't even have time to scream before his head exploded like a squeezed watermelon.

Hot red and white liquid sprayed in a fan shape onto the delicate face and pearl necklace of the noblewoman behind him.

The lady froze for a second.

Immediately afterwards, a scream loud enough to pierce eardrums echoed throughout the hall.

"Aaaaaahh ...

But compared to the carnage that followed, the screams were as insignificant as a mosquito's buzz.

"what?!"

Gardo's pupils contracted sharply as he looked at the ceiling chandelier.

Disappeared?

That navy officer disappeared?!

"too slow."