As his footsteps gradually came to a halt, Kai froze in place, curiosity filling his eyes as he took in the smoky, chaotic street ahead.
Lights flickered — a riot of rainbow colors.
Even though it was daytime, the place was painted in disorder.
A breeze carried a sharp, heavy reek of alcohol straight toward Kai.
Clearly, this was a street full of taverns.
This was the Demon Pirates' stronghold!
And it was the main target for Kai and the others on this visit.
"The Demon Pirates really are arrogant scumbags."
"This place…"
"Are they trying to turn the whole street into some kind of kingdom?"
Kai narrowed his eyes. Under the blinking colors, scantily-clad women were dancing sensually inside the taverns. Pirates with hair dyed in all sorts of colors shouted and caroused. The scene was raw and primal — messy and filthy. Besides the harsh smell of booze, there was an odd, unsettling tang in the air. The atmosphere burned hot; it was a playground for rogues.
"Spread out all twelve hundred personnel," Aokiji ordered without hesitation the moment they arrived.
"Lock this place down. No one from outside is allowed in."
"Yes, Vice Vice Admiral Aokiji." Miz acknowledged the order. Then he turned and addressed the twelve hundred subordinates in front of him: "Disperse into twenty squads of sixty. Block every alley and passage in this street. No one is to enter or leave without our permission. Any violator will be executed on the spot. Understood?"
At the command, twelve hundred Marine s answered in unison: "Yes!"
Soon after, the twelve hundred Marine s split up and sealed every entrance and exit of the street exactly as ordered. Two elite squads were assigned close to Miz — handpicked to follow Aokiji into the Demon Pirates' headquarters. These two squads were also designated as Kai's personal escort; ever since they suspected Kai's background was of great importance, Miz had been extra attentive to the boy's safety, terrified of any accident during the raid.
"Your job is to keep that boy safe." Miz lowered his voice and said gravely to the two squads — one hundred and twenty Marine s in total. "He must not be harmed. Understood?"
"Colonel Miz, rest assured. We will complete the mission," the Marine s answered solemnly.
Aokiji then stepped onto the filthy, chaotic street and said "Follow me."
Kai's eyes flashed; he took a step and followed. Miz led the one hundred and twenty Marine s close behind, their gazes fixed and alert for any sudden pirate attack.
At the same time, as Aokiji entered this street under the Demon Pirates' control, figures began to materialize from dark corners — pirates dressed in all kinds of clothes, with hair dyed in different colors, faces twisted, eyes cold and hostile as they stared at Aokiji.
"Marine? What an odd visit!"
"You've got some nerve. Do you know where you are?"
"This is Demon Pirates territory!"
"You Marine s are trespassing! You must be begging to die!"
The pirates' eyes were sharp, murderous — the air thickened with oppressive malice. Gradually, the number of pirates swelled. Hundreds became thousands. In the end, The assembled force ballooned to over three thousand pirates, surrounding Aokiji and his few hundred Marine s, hemming them in with a crushing density. Cold, murderous eyes fixed on Aokiji.
"C-Colonel Miz—won't this go badly?" one Marine whispered from behind Miz. "More than three thousand pirates have gathered! Some of the Demon Pirates' captains are showing up. We only have a few hundred between us. If they rush in, we'll just get trampled."
"Don't worry — with Vice Vice Admiral Aokiji here, we don't need to be overly afraid," Miz replied, though he too felt nervous and swallowed it down.
Aokiji watched the thousands of pirates with a calm, almost lazy amusement; his expression hardly changed. "Everyone's here?" he mused. "Oh — not quite. One's missing. Demon Oren is the real target of this operation."
Beside him, Kai observed the horde with a blank expression and an eager glint in his eyes. He was itching to move. "Three thousand pirates… If I started slaughtering, I could go on for a long, long time," he thought." The oppressive atmosphere and the hungry stares stirred the blood in him — a violent, savage tide threatened to take over his mind.
"Calm," he reminded himself. "This isn't the time. This is Aokiji's show, and I'm just a spectator. I won't steal his thunder." Kai drew a deep breath and suppressed the murderous surge. A red glint flashed briefly in his eyes, then cooled away.
A path opened among the throng. From it came a massive, hulking man — nearly six meters tall, all muscle and bulk, like a living mountain. His presence alone radiated raw, terrifying pressure. The crowd's excitement flared instantly.
"He's come! The boss is here!"
"These Marine s are doomed…"
"Boss is coming out in person — every last Marine here will be torn apart!"
"Oren! Tear them to pieces!"
The pirates roared and surged with bloodlust. The giant who had stepped out was none other than Demon Oren, captain of the Demon Pirates — a bounty of sixty million Berries and a truly monstrous pirate.
"Marine…" Oren bellowed, striding forward, "who gave you the guts to trespass into Demon Pirates territory? I was just going to make an example of you, but you actually attacked us first — so today I'll personally bury your whole branch! From now on, Flowstream Island will be ours!"
He sneered up at Aokiji. But the instant Oren recognized the face of Aokiji, his sneer stiffened and froze. A coldness crawled from his feet to the crown of his head; goosebumps rose all over him. The towering aura he had carried vanished in an instant — gone like smoke.
"You… you are—" Oren gasped, eyes filled with terror. "Aokiji?!" He stared at the expressionless Vice Admiral, voice cracking with fear. "Vice Vice Admiral Aokiji of Marine Headquarters — how could he have come to Flowstream Island?! Someone of that level came all this way to deal with us?" Panic and disbelief warred in him. Oren knew how fearsome Aokiji's strength was — one of the top combatants on this sea, one of the Marine s' new pillars—a full-fledged monster.
"This is bad!" Oren's throat went dry, anger warring with alarm. He tore his gaze away from Aokiji and landed it on the small figure standing at Aokiji's side. Beside Aokiji that young form looked tiny — a meaningless speck compared to Oren's six-meter frame. In Oren's eyes, the child was an ant.
"Target!" he snarled. "That brat…" Oren's eyes glittered with greed and calculation as he fixed on Kai. "Aokiji's way too dangerous. If we can't find something to blackmail him with, we'll be finished today. I don't know why Aokiji brought a kid with him, but this gives us a chance! If we capture that brat, we can turn the whole situation around!"
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