"Holy crap… Boss Kizaru really went big this time. Is he seriously planning to let these pirates take Mary Geoise?"
Among the crowd, Lu from Swallowed Star and the Xiao cousins were also staring up at the map, stunned beyond coherent speech.
But once the initial shock passed, Lu and Xiao Yan exchanged a look. As fellow transmigrators, they understood even better than most people in this temple just how many treasures Mary Geoise held.
Even Xiao Yan—who had already decided to focus primarily on cultivating Dou Qi—couldn't help feeling some temptation when he thought about those Devil Fruits that the Celestial Dragons fed to slaves for entertainment.
He couldn't eat a second Devil Fruit himself, of course.
But the Xiao clan still had many members!
Not to mention Xun'er.
One of the main reasons Xiao Yan risked coming to the pirate world with Xiao Mei was to find a Devil Fruit worthy of Xun'er.
And if there were fruits like the Soul-Soul Fruit or Yomi-Yomi Fruit… maybe he could even bring his teacher back to life…
"Hehe, no need for that, old man is fine as I am now. When the day comes that your alchemy reaches true mastery, you'll naturally have ways to restore me."
As if reading Xiao Yan's thoughts, Yao Lao's cheerful voice echoed inside his mind.
From a discarded outcast of the Medicine Clan to the honored Medicine Venerable, even reduced to a single remnant soul, Yao Lao still had his pride.
Until he fully understood the medicinal properties of these Devil Fruits—treasures he deemed divine—he would never allow such miraculous creations to be wasted.
Of course, he wasn't stopping Xiao Yan or anyone else from eating them. Their usage had already been figured out in this world; if consuming one gave benefits, that wasn't considered waste.
"Don't worry, teacher. I'll definitely bring you back to life…"
Xiao Yan whispered a promise; the half-sentence he didn't voice was that he would also help Yao Lao kill that traitorous apprentice.
"Cousin Xiao Yan, the place they're going next sounds really dangerous — please don't go," Xiao Mei said timidly, tugging on Xiao Yan's sleeve. At first she'd approached Xiao Yan only because she admired strength and had heard he would become a Dou Di someday. But gradually she realized she'd fallen for him, and knowing the coming battle would be perilous, she naturally didn't want him to risk his life.
"Trust me!" Xiao Yan ruffled Xiao Mei's little head. He no longer cared about the three-year promise with Nalan Yanran, but he couldn't ignore the enemies who'd reduced his teacher to this state. Even Yao Lao, once a Dou Zun, wasn't a match for those foes, and Xiao Yan's sense of urgency only grew.
"Okay!" One moment earlier she'd been worried for Xiao Yan's safety, and the next, Xiao Mei's face flushed as she nodded repeatedly, clinging to her cousin like a koala. Lu watched with misty eyes. Given his current strength he was no longer the shrimp he'd once been when he first joined the chat group — but having eaten the Ape Fruit's Giant Ape form, he now looked like a golden-haired version of a silverback gorilla.
With that majestic appearance, a sweet little romance was unlikely — though it made many aunties drool over his powerful muscles.
"Alright, alright — if you want to get cozy, wait until we get back to the room. There are still so many people watching!" Lu grumbled as he pried them apart. In truth nobody in the corner paid them much mind; most in the hall were still focused on the dome's large map.
Once the crowd's emotions calmed, Katakuri, standing before Boros's throne, clapped again. Four arrow-shaped attack routes then appeared on the dome-map.
More precisely, there was really only one route — the four arrows marked sequential waves from the outer sea near Mary Geoise toward the Red Port fortress clusters.
The plan looked like a cavalry-style wave charge on land: the vanguard smashes the enemy line, and the second, third and fourth waves rush through the breach and push straight to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
But the pirates chosen for the vanguard couldn't help but shout out. They'd joined the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates to get rich by following the boss and grabbing opportunities — not to be cannon fodder.
"I object! Leading the charge to smash the World Government's defenses is just suicide!" one protested.
"I'm here to get rich, not to be a fool sacrificed for nothing!" another shouted.
"Why are the Beasts Pirates and BIG MOM's people in the second and third waves?! Why are we newcomers being sent out first?!"
"If someone has to die, it should be you lot! You Beasts and BIG MOM people are the strongest—you should all be the ones charging in first!"
The pirates roared in anger, and a few hot-tempered ones had already drawn their blades, ready to start a fight.
Aside from a few weird exceptions, the vast majority of pirates were selfish to the core. If Katakuri's plan only made them take a small loss, they might have tolerated it, acknowledging the gap in power.
But this time Katakuri was blatantly treating them as cannon fodder. No wonder they drew their weapons.
Boom!
Just as the atmosphere grew tense and a full-on brawl was about to erupt, Boros—sitting quietly upon the throne—merely cast a cold glance at the noisy pirates below.
A suffocating wave of Conqueror's Haki crashed down like a collapsing mountain and raging tsunami. In an instant, the entire temple fell silent. Almost everyone froze in place, eyes empty and minds blank.
No one knew how much time passed before a single blade clattered to the ground with a crisp metallic ring. One by one, the dazed pirates collapsed, leaving only a little over a hundred high-level fighters—and a very small number of mid-level fighters—still conscious.
Even so, their legs trembled uncontrollably, and not a single one dared lift their head toward Boros.
The overwhelming terror they felt, as if a natural disaster itself had descended upon them, shattered their psychological defenses completely. Even the most defiant, rebellious pirates had become more docile than lambs in front of Boros.
The members of the chat group—whom Boros had deliberately excluded from the blast—looked at each other in disbelief.
They understood that Boros had subdued the pirates with sheer presence, but they could not comprehend how his power could possibly be this terrifying.
Esdeath was the only one wearing a thoughtful expression, as if she had grasped something from the terrifying Conqueror's Haki released by Boros.
Seeing this, Tatsumaki couldn't help but curse inwardly. When she had first arrived in this world, she could still rely on her Devil Fruit ability to fight this icy woman to a draw.
Yet in just a few short days, Esdeath's growth had become absurd—like she had switched on some kind of cheat.
Even though Tatsumaki had successfully fused her Devil Fruit ability with her esper powers, she still couldn't compete with Esdeath, who had already mastered all three types of Haki.
Seeing her elder sister's irritation, Fubuki felt a headache coming on. Unfortunately, her relationship with Esdeath wasn't good either, so she had no way of stepping in as a mediator.
"Little guy, be careful. That one-eyed man's strength is probably more terrifying than I imagined..."
Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan with lingering fear. Had he still been the Medicine Emperor of his lifetime, he wouldn't have been so helpless—but now he was only a remnant soul, unable to withstand Boros' overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
"Mhm. I know."
Xiao Yan nodded seriously. Among everyone present—aside from clueless bystanders—no one understood Boros' power more clearly than he did. If Kizaru weren't suppressing him from above, then with Boros' strength and personality, he would have turned the pirate world upside down long ago.
"…What… exactly are you?"
Kaido, who was the closest to Boros, growled through gritted teeth, glaring at him with a twisted expression. He had already forgotten how many times he'd asked this question. Once, he had been the most feared being—the "monster" of the Beasts Pirates.
But now, standing before Boros, Kaido felt a faint but undeniable fear rising from his core.
"You're calling me a monster?"
Boros slowly turned his gaze toward Kaido. His single massive eye—usually calm and emotionless—showed a flicker of puzzlement.
In his understanding, there was only one being qualified to be called a monster:
Kizaru, who crushed him completely on every front.
Even now, Boros still couldn't comprehend how someone born on such a primitive planet could possess that kind of overwhelming strength.
At first, Boros thought it was due to the so-called Devil Fruits. But even the strongest Devil Fruit user he had encountered—Kaido—was still far inferior to Kizaru.
So Boros turned his attention to the three types of Haki. With his talent, will, and strength, mastering the three Hakis was effortless. He didn't even need to train deliberately—his Haki naturally surpassed that of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
But even Haki capable of intimidating Kaido and Big Mom felt unimpressive to Boros.
The Conqueror's Haki he'd used just now—enough to incapacitate thousands of fighters—was already close to his full power.
Yet when he compared his current self to the Kizaru he had once faced…
Boros quietly dismissed Haki as the cause of the gap.
"…Where exactly is the difference?"
Without waiting for Kaido to respond, Boros once again sank into deep thought.
By now, the others—Katakuri included—were gradually regaining consciousness.
If it weren't for the thousands of unconscious mid-level fighters still lying all over the temple, these pirates who had just awakened might have thought the whole experience was nothing more than a nightmare.
A nightmare a hundred times more terrifying than any nightmare they'd ever known.
°°°
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