The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Damn it, how did he become so strong?!"

"Of course, it's about cultivating yourself two hundred times harder than ordinary people every day. Don't you do that?"

A teasing voice suddenly rang out behind Pete, startling him.

Before I could even turn around, I felt a sharp pain on the right side of my neck, as if some foreign object had pierced my body.

Pete tried to struggle and resist, but the powerful lightning broke through his Armament Haki defense, electrifying him so that his muscles tightened and he could not move.

"Thank you for bringing the power of the Reaction-Reaction Fruit from so far away. I will accept it."

"And while I'm at it, I'll see you off on your journey."

Seeing that the metal syringe had finished collecting the blood, John's free left hand, palm up, was shaped like a knife, and he easily plunged it into Pete's back of the heart, as if a hot knife were cutting butter.

“John…”

As his heart was ripped from his back, Pete staggered forward and turned with difficulty to look at John.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"sorry."

"Stop with the apologies afterward, go and repent in the underworld."

John remained unmoved, crushing Pete's heart before delivering a chop to his neck.

The head was thrown high into the air, and blood gushed out from the severed neck.

If Pete hadn't betrayed John and instead chosen to stand with him against those greedy men who coveted the treasure, John wouldn't have become as ruthless as he is now.

"You ruined my life, otherwise I would have had a much more interesting life!"

With a kick, he sent the falling head flying, then transformed into lightning and vanished from the spot.

Back in the plaza, John appeared beside Huang, put his arm around her slender waist, and was about to take her back to the room to properly punish the naval bodyguard who had failed in his duty of protection.

"John!!!"

The two were interrupted by a hoarse roar as they were leaving.

The ferocious lion that had been sent flying backwards returned in its full beast form, running wildly on all fours, its momentum overwhelming.

Along the way, its enormous body trampled and injured many fish-men and mermaids who were still unconscious.

John pursed his lips, then suddenly had a thought and asked Huang:

"How about we practice on this guy?"

"I am no match for him."

Without even thinking, Huang shook her head.

She hasn't mastered Haki yet, and if she faces an enemy who has already mastered it, she definitely won't last a single move.

"Then why did you stand in front of me without hesitation before?"

John was growing more and more fond of the girl.

Huang pouted, looking aggrieved:

"I didn't have time to think about it. I completely forgot that you are stronger than me. I just wanted to protect you."

"Yet you still complain..."

"Then as a thank you, I'll teach you how to be domineering."

John's mind stirred, and the metal weapons scattered in the square began to clang and tremble, as if they had come to life and converged into a torrent of steel that surged towards them.

As she approached, the torrent of steel engulfed her amidst her terrified screams.

Then, visibly, it took shape into an exquisite suit of armor, enveloping and controlling the phoenix, allowing her to raise her sword and face the charging ferocious lion.

"John, why is this armor moving on its own?!"

Phoenix watched helplessly as she ran, encased in armor, moving so fast that she left afterimages in her wake.

Then, he leaped high into the air and slashed downwards with both hands, gripping his sword.

Chapter 139 has no answer.

Clang

The sound of swords clashing reverberated throughout the heavens and the earth.

A magnificent, soaring slash erupted from the sword's edge, illuminating the plaza in the night like a crescent moon descending, before crashing down towards the enormous, ferocious lion diagonally below.

In extreme rage, because Observation Haki is highly dependent on mental state, it requires calmness and focus to read the opponent's "sound" and next move. The ferocious lion can only rely on its naked eye to discern the direction of the attack.

However, the sudden, dazzling white light of the crescent moon caused the ferocious lion to lose its vision as if it had been hit by a flashbang, leaving it with no choice but to cover its entire body in Armament Haki to withstand the attack.

As the attack struck the ferocious lion, a dense series of metallic clanging sounds rang out, causing it to grimace in pain.

Even the eyes, which had been clouded by hatred, were brought back to a sliver of clarity by the pain.

In fact, the lion's Armament Haki completely blocked the flying slash, but it was like a rolled-up newspaper hitting the skin, producing the most basic pain.

There wasn't much harm done, but the feeling was unavoidable.

Immediately afterwards, the ferocious lion stood upright, transforming into a human-beast form. It raised its claws and tore through the dazzling white curtain formed by the flying slash, leaping high into the air to attack the armored figure in mid-air.

Seeing the ferocious lion's actions, Huang couldn't help but think of ways to deal with it.

John read Phoenix's thoughts through the "Mind Network" and controlled the armor to drive Phoenix's body in real time, making her swing her sword to meet the fierce lion's claws.

The sword and claws collided in mid-air, and the force of the clash created waves of air that sent the unconscious mermaids and fish-men on the plaza below floating up like leaves in the wind.

"Go and sense his presence."

Suddenly, John's voice rang out from inside the helmet, guiding Huang to calm down.

Immediately, the armor propelled Huang's body, and with the uncertain perceptions in her mind, she abruptly sheathed her sword and retreated.

The next moment, the ferocious lion actually used the Moon Step to turn around in mid-air, and swung its tail, which was covered in Armament Haki and looked like a steel whip, towards the spot where the phoenix had originally been.

"Be bold in your judgments, and don't be afraid of making mistakes!"

"Imagine that the armor you are wearing is formed from your own life energy; it is your own weapon."

"Armor is fluid, like a torrent capable of penetrating every tiny pore of the enemy's skin..."

Guided step by step by John's voice, Phoenix successfully dodged seven out of ten attacks from the ferocious lion, and withstood the remaining three attacks with her armor.

The force of the recoil was transmitted through the armor, causing Huang Yin to grit her teeth in pain, but it also made her feel the sensation of being "armored" more clearly.

Gradually, a faint black film covered the surface of the armor; this was Armament Haki.

The black membrane began to flow again, emitting a faint orange light, penetrating the thick armored protection of the ferocious lion's body and injuring it from within.

The battle lasted a long time, until the sunflower cast its rays down from the sea.

Its daybreak.

The fish-men and mermaids who had been stunned by Conqueror's Haki woke up one by one in the square, staring blankly at the two people fighting fiercely, not understanding what had happened.

The intense battle throughout the night left the ferocious lion panting heavily, and the Armament Haki covering its body became faintly visible, almost completely depleting its Haki.

In contrast, Phoenix, apart from being somewhat mentally exhausted, showed no signs of fatigue, as her body, guided entirely by her armor, was not strained at all.

It is impossible to defeat it directly by force, but it is only a matter of time before the ferocious lion is worn down.

Meanwhile, along the edge of the square, long tables were set up with a variety of delicious dishes.

Watching John enjoy his breakfast, Begabank, sitting opposite him, yawned and complained:

"Such a big thing happened and no one came to wake me up, leaving me to sleep alone in the room until now. Aren't you afraid I'll be in danger?"

"I'm not a combatant!"

"You're alright, aren't you?"

John chewed on the clam meat, giving Begabank a reassuring look.

He'd been keeping a close eye on Vegapunk with his Observation Haki the whole time; there was absolutely no way the old guy would have an accident.

Beside them, King Saturn and Neptune stood stiffly, exchanging glances before King Saturn, the highest-ranking of the couple, spoke.

“I apologize, John Saint. We mistakenly believed that you instigated this rebellion, and we sincerely apologize to you.”

"It's alright, sit down and eat with us."

John waved his hand, not taking it to heart.

Put yourself in his shoes: if he heard someone say during the day, "Why is the king a mermaid instead of a fish-man?", would he then start a rebellion or riot at night?

He couldn't help but think of the other person.

There's nothing we can do, it's just too much of a coincidence.

Thank you for your understanding.

King Saturn, along with Neptune and his wife, bowed to John before taking their seats.

After sitting down, King Saturn, who looked several years older overnight, sighed and asked for help:

"Saint John, what should we do to enable fishmen and mermaids to live in harmony?"

"Ryugu Palace Castle really didn't mean to discriminate against Fishman Street!"

"I do not know either."

John shrugged, indicating that he was powerless to help.

Then, recalling something, he recounted his personal experience.

“I didn’t start out living in Mary Geoise; I grew up in a wonderful country.”

"But do you know that even in such a beautiful place, there is still a lot of discrimination?"

“When I was in school, my teachers would always tell me and my classmates that if anyone didn’t study hard, they would end up sweeping the streets, carrying bricks on construction sites, or collecting scrap and waste when they grew up.”

"Workers are clearly the greatest, and it is the most dignified thing for them to support themselves through their own labor, but they are still discriminated against because they are not respectable, not rich enough, and not powerful enough."

"I can hardly believe that the saying 'laughing at poverty but not at prostitution' is still regarded as a sacred saying today."