"You've had your turn—
Now it's mine."
After absorbing all the cannon fire, Mislanda gave a strange, twisted grin.
He lifted his right leg…
and stomped down hard.
In the next instant—
a fiery shockwave erupted from beneath his foot, surging forward like a living inferno, tearing through the stone floor and sweeping straight toward the guards ahead.
BOOOOM!
The ground cracked open with a deafening roar.
Dozens of guards were sucked into the fissures, their screams cut short as their bodies were shredded apart by the violent blast of power.
After years of mastering his Dark-Dark Fruit, Mislanda had refined its use to an astonishing degree.
Absorption and release—
he had absorbed all those bullets and cannon blasts from earlier, converting them into energy and storing it within himself.
Now he simply let it all out at once.
It was almost like watching Marvel's Black King from X-Men in action.
The remaining guards froze in terror.
A black ring of darkness unfurled beneath Mislanda's boots, expanding outward to engulf a wide section of the floor.
Within seconds, the ground beneath the guards began to soften—turning to a thick, inky mire.
"What—what's happening?!"
The soldiers panicked.
They struggled frantically, but the harder they fought, the faster they sank—
just like quicksand.
"No! Help! Somebody help us!"
Within a few breaths, they were buried up to their chests.
Then up to their necks.
Finally—only their outstretched hands remained above the surface.
Mislanda clenched his fist.
The black ring at his feet shrank rapidly, condensing into a small dark sphere.
He didn't hesitate—he simply crushed it.
The trapped men were annihilated instantly.
Having finished the guards, Mislanda turned his gaze on the prison warden.
The earlier shockwave hadn't caught him—unfortunately for him.
"Y-you bastard! What are you doing?! This is the Celestial Dragons' slave prison! The World Government will—"
Before he could finish, Mislanda appeared before him in a blur and seized him by the throat.
He dragged the struggling warden all the way to the center of the prison.
All around them were rows upon rows of iron cages.
Inside were the slaves of the Celestial Dragons—
pirates, marines, bounty hunters, commoners… even officials from allied nations.
Many of them looked up at Mislanda with trembling eyes full of hope.
They didn't know who he was—
but if he could destroy the guards, maybe… just maybe, he could free them.
Mislanda glanced around, then placed his palm on the warden's head.
A terrifying suction force burst from his hand.
The warden's body began to compress—his bones cracking and folding inward as if being crushed by invisible gravity.
"AAAAHHHHH—!"
His screams echoed through the prison—until they suddenly stopped.
A few seconds later, Mislanda was holding what looked like a grotesque, fleshy ball in his hand.
The once-fat warden had been compacted into something the size of a melon—
still bleeding, still twitching faintly.
The watching slaves all sucked in sharp breaths.
Terrifying.
Too terrifying.
"You all listen to me," Mislanda's voice boomed through the hall.
"My friend and I came here today for one purpose—
to set every single slave here free!"
The prison fell silent.
Then, like a wave, came the shouts and cheers.
They hadn't dared believe it—but it was real!
Excitement, disbelief, tears—
everything exploded at once.
"But," Mislanda continued coldly, "I'm only responsible for opening your cages.
Whether you escape this place alive… depends on your own fate."
His gaze swept over them like a blade.
"If any of you get out of here and dare to return to a life of cruelty or evil—"
He raised the bloody meatball in his hand.
"—this will be your end."
He tossed it into the blazing pit in the center of the room.
Whoosh!
The fat warden's remains turned to ash in seconds.
The slaves nodded furiously, none daring to breathe too loud.
"Good. Now—go."
A pulse of darkness surged from Mislanda's body.
Thick black mist filled the prison like living smoke, spreading to every cage.
Crack… crack… crack…
The air was filled with the sound of metal breaking.
Moments later, the mist withdrew back into Mislanda's body—
and under the flickering firelight, the slaves realized—
their cages were gone.
Broken.
"Freedom!"
"Move! Don't block the way!"
"I'm getting out of this hell!"
The slaves erupted into wild cheers, surging toward the exits like a human tide.
Mislanda smiled faintly and turned away, walking toward the warden's office without looking back.
Behind him, the guards' screams were short-lived.
The freed slaves, mad with rage and vengeance, trampled them into pulp.
Meanwhile, Fisher Tiger had reached the section where the fish-man slaves were kept.
When they saw him, every one of them dropped to their knees.
"Boss Tiger! You saved us! Our lives belong to you from now on!"
Tiger nodded grimly, grabbing a torch from the wall.
"Brothers—follow me!
Burn this place to the ground!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Within moments, the entire prison descended into chaos.
The remaining guards tried to fight back, but the sheer number of slaves overwhelmed them.
Realizing the situation was out of control, they sent a desperate call for help—
to the nearest stronghold.
The Holy Land – Mary Geoise.
Inside the warden's office, Mislanda looked around carefully before stopping in front of a large safe.
Click.
The lock snapped open easily.
Inside were bars of gold, pearls, emeralds, diamonds—piles of wealth fit for a Celestial Dragon.
Mislanda didn't hesitate.
He took everything.
"No reason to leave it behind," he muttered.
"Better in my pocket than theirs."
As he was about to leave, something on the desk caught his eye—a small ornate box.
He opened it.
Inside lay a strange fruit with swirling golden patterns.
"Hm? A Devil Fruit?"
Mislanda's lips curled into a grin.
"Well, that's a pleasant surprise."
Devil Fruits were rare enough as it was.
Finding one here was pure luck.
"System," he called.
"Can you tell me what fruit this is?"
[Ding! Scanning...]
[Scan complete. Paramecia-type—Gold-Gold Fruit. Grants the power to manipulate and create gold.]
"Gold-Gold Fruit…?"
Mislanda blinked.
"The same one that belonged to Gild Tesoro, the Golden Emperor…?"
He stared at the shimmering fruit in his hand—
and slowly, a wicked smile spread across his face.
~~--------------------------
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