At this moment, a crowd of pirates stood sneering and jeering as they faced Aokiji.
They had no idea that their captain, Demon Oren, had gone pale the instant he saw the man. The fear in his heart had already swelled beyond control.
But his men, oblivious, continued to howl with bloodlust.
"Boss Oren! Rip them apart!"
"These stupid Marine s dared to trespass on our turf?!"
"Kill every last one of them—none leave alive!"
The shouts of over three thousand pirates rose like thunder. Faces twisted with rage and greed; murderous eyes fixed on Aokiji and the Marine s behind him.
None of them noticed their captain trembling. Only a few of the Demon Pirates' division captains, standing nearest to Oren, caught the subtle change.
"Boss, did you… notice something?"
The first division captain, Homa, a tall, lanky sharpshooter with twin pistols at his waist and hawk-like eyes, leaned closer warily. He was the first to sense that something had rattled his captain.
"This isn't good…" Oren muttered, voice low and strained.
"Not good?" Homa frowned. "How could it be? We've got over three thousand men here, and they've brought—what—barely a hundred Marine s? Crushing them should be child's play."
From Homa's view, they held every advantage: numbers, morale, and strength.
Not to mention their captain—Demon Oren, a brute with giant's blood in his veins, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user worth sixty million Berries.
Add to that several lieutenants with tens-of-millions bounties each—how could they possibly lose to a handful of Marine s?
"You fool…" Oren said tightly, fear barely hidden. "Do you even know who that man leading them is?"
"The one in front…?"
Homa followed Oren's gaze and saw a tall, lean man in a black coat and a deep-purple cap, calm and almost scholarly in demeanor.
"That guy? He doesn't look dangerous. Is he supposed to be strong? He looks soft—probably wouldn't survive a single shot from me."
Oren's mouth twitched violently.
"Soft? You call that soft?!"
"If you say that any louder, I won't be able to save you even if I want to."
He drew a deep breath and spoke heavily. "He's Aokiji—Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters. You tell me—do you really think he can't handle your one bullet?"
"The man's a Logia-type Devil Fruit user—one of the most terrifying kinds there is. He's one of the Marine s' top-tier powers! Across this entire sea, few pirates dare even speak his name, let alone stand against him."
"Now tell me again—can he handle your gun?"
The words struck Homa like thunder. His pupils shrank to pinpoints; the color drained from his face.
The name Aokiji—every pirate in this era knew it.
Among the Marine s, three monsters stood above all others: Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Aokiji Kuzan.
Each one a walking disaster. Each one a nightmare to pirates across the Grand Line.
And now—one of those monsters had come for them.
"What… what did I just say earlier?"
Remembering his boasting, Homa's stomach turned cold. He had claimed Aokiji couldn't survive one shot from him. That wasn't bravado anymore—that was suicide.
Oren's warning carried to the nearby captains, and the laughter on their faces froze solid.
"V-Vice Vice Admiral Aokiji? From Marine Headquarters?!"
"That kind of monster came personally to deal with us?"
If it had been just a few elite Marine s, they'd have charged in laughing. But a Headquarters Vice Admiral? Each one was a living calamity.
"Did we… go too far this time?"
"Otherwise, why would the Marine s send him?"
"This is bad. Really bad."
"He's not just any Vice Admiral—he's one of the strongest of the new generation!"
"No wonder the boss turned white when he saw him…"
The second division captain, Pufferfish Demon Grin—a grotesque man with puffed cheeks and whisker-like scars—was trembling, his face bloodless.
Beside him, the third division captain, White Wolf Garson, a pirate worth thirty million Berries, was sweating through his brow.
The three lieutenants, each worth tens of millions, now shook like leaves.
"B-Boss… what do we do?" Homa asked anxiously.
"Relax," Oren growled. "There's still a way out of this." His eyes flashed cold with calculation.
"What way?" Green asked.
"See that little brat standing beside Aokiji? That tiny kid—looks weak and harmless?" Oren's lips curled into a grin. "He's our way out."
"I don't know why Aokiji brought a child along, but anyone standing next to him has to be important."
"Our target," Oren said darkly, "is that boy."
"We'll grab him and use his life to threaten Aokiji. Force him to back off. Once the Marine s retreat, we make our escape."
The three captains' eyes lit up with desperate hope.
"The boss is right!"
"That kid's the key!"
"If we get our hands on him, even Aokiji will hesitate."
"He must've gotten overconfident—bringing such a fragile brat to a battlefield like this. Let's make him pay for his arrogance!"
Oren's grin widened, full of malice. He bellowed to his men,
"Listen up, you dogs! Whoever brings me that brat will be promoted on the spot to Fourth Division Captain!"
His roar rolled across the square like thunder.
In an instant, the three thousand pirates exploded into motion. The air itself seemed to shudder with their killing intent.
Every one of them turned their greedy eyes toward the boy standing beside Aokiji—Kai.
Predators, all of them.
Their bloodlust and hunger were so thick it seemed to warp the air itself.
Aokiji frowned. His eyes grew colder, his expression hardening.
A biting chill swept through the street. Frost began to rise from his coat, drifting like white mist as the temperature plummeted.
It felt as though the whole street might freeze solid at any moment.
Meanwhile, Kai—standing calmly at his side—was watching Demon Oren with quiet interest.
He'd heard every word.
After a brief silence, he chuckled softly, amusement curling in his tone.
"So what you're saying is…"
"…you've decided I'm the easy target?"
The corner of his mouth lifted.
What had been a dull, predictable affair suddenly seemed far more entertaining.