After agreeing on a time with Franky at the bar, Leno stood up and left.
Only after Leno's figure disappeared did the "Square Sisters," who had been following nearby, finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.
The two sisters looked at each other, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
They turned toward Franky in unison, their gazes filled with admiration.
"Big brother, was that really the Thunder God who's famous across the seas?"
"Oh yeah—who else could it be?"
The sisters hugged each other, tears streaming down their faces. In that moment, they felt an overwhelming sense of safety.
Like them, Blueno behind the counter also let out a breath.
The instant he recognized Leno, the bull-man's heart had leapt into his throat.
He never imagined that someone of that stature would walk into such an unremarkable little tavern.
Although he had no personal grudge with the man and hadn't received any orders to deal with him,
someone that terrifying, simply sitting there, was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.
Blueno knew perfectly well what Leno's attitude toward the World Government was.
Thankfully, Leno hadn't paid him any attention just now—otherwise, his life would have been in real danger.
After leaving the bar, Leno went straight to find Robin and the others and spent the day strolling around with them.
It wasn't until evening, after making arrangements for everyone on the ship, that Leno's figure appeared near the bar again.
He had thought he might run into some of the other agents this time, but even until the bar closed, not a single one showed up.
Looking at Blueno's solitary figure, Leno understood—so they didn't meet every day after all.
With that in mind, Leno didn't hesitate. In a flash, he appeared right in front of Blueno.
Seeing Leno suddenly standing before him, cold sweat instantly poured down Blueno's face.
He forced himself to stay calm, looked at Leno with a puzzled expression, and asked in an uncertain voice,
"You're the customer from earlier today. May I ask why you've stopped me?"
As he spoke, his body tensed, his eyes darting about, ready to react or flee at any moment.
Even though he couldn't yet figure out the other man's purpose, being stopped in the middle of the night was clearly not a good sign.
No matter how strong the opponent was, he wasn't going to let himself be taken without a fight.
Besides, he still had his Devil Fruit ability—escaping shouldn't be too difficult.
"Heh."
Just as he was on full alert, a cold snort came from in front of him, and then Leno's figure vanished from his sight.
"Tekkai!"
Almost instinctively, Blueno immediately activated his strongest defense, his mind already turning to use his ability.
But before he could even bring it out, he felt a tremendous force clamp around his throat.
His mind instantly went blank, unable to think, even his breathing becoming difficult.
In a single instant, the pitch-black hand crushed through the "steel"!
The bull's head tilted to one side, bloodshot eyes still filled with disbelief, as if he hadn't expected to die so easily.
Even in death, Blueno couldn't understand why Leno had killed him—they had never crossed paths before.
Leno didn't care what he thought. After dealing with the body, his figure quickly disappeared.
The disturbance caused in that brief moment alerted no one; the night remained tranquil.
The night remained quiet. In a corner known to no one, a high-ranking agent of the World Government had vanished without a sound.
Leno did not immediately return to the ship after leaving, but instead went alone to the seashore.
His thoughts were in turmoil.
Although this killing had been quick and effortless, it gave Leno a strange, unsettling feeling.
When had he become so indifferent to life, treating human lives like grass beneath his feet?
He had killed before, but that was always because others provoked him first—only then did he strike back. They deserved it.
But killing so casually now, just to obtain something, stirred an unfamiliar feeling within him.
Ever since learning that his spatial backpack could "strip" Devil Fruits, his attention had been completely focused on the types of abilities.
Human lives had almost been subconsciously ignored—something that had never happened to him before.
Could it really be as the old saying goes: 'When you carry a deadly weapon, the urge to kill arises'?
Leno sat cross-legged, carefully sorting through his own heart.
He had a premonition that if he couldn't get past this hurdle, his Conqueror's Haki would be hard-pressed to advance further.
"Killing… killing…"
Leno murmured to himself, thinking of the Celestial Dragons' wanton slaughter—massacring cities and annihilating nations; thinking of pirates' frenzied invasions, burning, killing, and plundering.
The strong kill at will; the weak don't even have the right to survive.
This world has its own operating laws: survival of the fittest. Humans are no different from other species.
All things are but sacrificial dogs—choose what is weighty and take it.
I shall take it!
A terrifying surge of Conqueror's Haki shot into the sky, crimson arcs of lightning raging wildly. The ground around him continuously cracked and disintegrated, even the nearby seawater being pressed into a depression.
Standing within that dreadful thunderstorm, Leno's eyes shone brighter than ever before.
This time, Leno achieved enlightenment. His Conqueror's Haki rose to a new level, and he felt even more confident about the upheavals to come.
When Leno returned to the ship, the lights in the cabin's living room were still on.
As he drew closer, he discovered it was Robin, still reading there.
Leno stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around her from behind, lowered his head, and whispered by her ear,
"It's so late—why are you still awake?"
She had noticed the moment he came back aboard, but hadn't moved.
She knew this man would come over sooner or later—and sure enough, the moment he did, he couldn't behave himself.
Feeling the wandering hand, Robin suppressed her shyness and asked,
"Is everything taken care of?"
"Yeah, just a small matter."
Matching the movements of his hands, Leno rubbed his cheek against Robin's, his voice impossibly gentle.
Gradually, the Robin in his arms began to breathe more heavily, her breaths growing warm.
"Was it about dealing with CP personnel?"
"…"
Leno paused, a little surprised. 'This woman is a bit too smart, isn't she?'
'You're really putting a lot of pressure on me here—it makes me feel kind of dumb.'
"I only dealt with one. The others will still be useful in the future."
"Of course, that's assuming they don't come looking for you."
As he spoke, he scooped Robin up in his arms and turned toward the bedroom, still muttering,
"Tonight is so beautiful, we should do some things we 'love' to do!"