Two minutes later, Shanks, carrying the bodies of Roger and Buggy, finally escaped the plaza and stumbled into the street. But only one word remained in his mind—Why?
He couldn't figure it out. Since that demon could kill Buggy without hesitation, why did he spare him?
"Foolish Shanks..."
The tender voice suddenly exploded, but like the death knell of hell, it drilled clearly into the ears of everyone who hadn't fled far. Shanks' footsteps halted abruptly, his face filled with horror.
That demon... knows me?
Broly's voice, wrapped in careless mockery, drifted over gently: "If you want to kill me, then hate me, resent me. And then live on in an unsightly way, keep running and running, cling to life. Wait until one day you possess the same power as me—oh no, possess the power to touch me, then come find me."
These words were like red-hot nails, driven fiercely into Shanks' mind, destined to become a nightmare he could never shake off in this life.
But right now, Shanks had neither the mind nor the time to delve into it. He had only one thought—take the bodies of his Captain and best friend, escape, and survive.
Shouldering the two heavy bodies, he ran desperately toward the pier.
Just as Broly had said, at this moment, he could only rely on the sole obsession of "surviving" to keep running and running.
On the other side of the plaza, those future Shichibukai had long lost interest in watching the show.
Even that red nose had died miserably on the spot. No one dared to bet whether that monster would kill on a whim and wipe out those hiding in the dark as well.
This was especially true for Borsalino. The second Broly withdrew his power, he turned into a beam of golden light and slipped away, not even bothering to take the young Smoker with him.
In just a few minutes, the huge Loguetown plaza was left with only Broly and Smoker.
Young Smoker looked at the empty plaza, standing dumbfounded on the spot, his heart in a panic: Should I also run quickly?
Growl!
Broly's stomach suddenly let out a thunderous protest.
Smoker, who was about to turn and run, looked back upon hearing the sound. Seeing Broly frowning and rubbing his round belly with his small hand, he didn't know where the courage came from, but he actually took the initiative to speak: "Um... are you hungry? How about... coming to my house for something to eat?"
Broly raised his eyebrows and scanned the other party with interest.
One hour later, at Smoker's home.
Looking at the empty plates piled up like a small mountain on the dining table, Smoker's worldview completely collapsed.
He stared at Broly's belly, which had almost no rise or fall, muttering frantically in his heart: Where on earth did all that food go?
Clatter!
Broly threw the spoon onto the empty plate and looked up at Smoker.
Smoker immediately understood his meaning and scratched his head with embarrassment: "There's... there's no more food... This was originally stocked for me to eat for a week. Now I'm afraid there's no one at the vegetable market, so I can't buy new ones."
Broly licked the corner of his lips, his tone indifferent. "It's fine, being half full will do."
Smoker was once again choked speechless.
Could it be that the stronger the person, the more ridiculous their appetite?
At this moment, Broly suddenly propped his chin up and looked him up and down with interest: "You have quite the guts. In that situation, you actually dared to stop me."
Smoker was stunned and scratched his head a bit shyly: "I... I didn't think that much at the time. I just thought that if you unleashed that move, those fleeing soldiers would definitely die, and so many families on the island would be broken... Then my brain got hot, and my body rushed up first."
When saying this, the boy's face was full of green embarrassment.
This appearance would be absolutely impossible to see on him twenty years later when he became a Marine Vice Admiral.
"Hmm, quite a sense of justice, rare."
Broly gave him a thumbs up, the mockery in his eyes fading a bit, but still carrying a hint of playful amusement.
It was precisely this pure and undisguised sense of justice that made him choose to stop just now.
After all, in this fucked-up world where beasts and scum walked everywhere, this kind of person was too rare.
Smoker was stunned again: Is this... praising me?
But Broly changed the subject as if remembering something fun. "By the way, as payment for this meal, let me give you a reminder—if you eat a Devil Fruit in the future, prioritize the Zoan Mythical types. If you get a Logia type, you also have to pick high-power ones like Rumble-Rumble or Magu-Magu."
He knew too well that the reason Smoker appeared less and less in the future was largely because the Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability was too weak and simply couldn't keep up with the intensity of the times.
Of course, there was another reason he found more interesting—to make way for that "King of Deserters."
After all, the more Smoker adhered to justice, the more it made the deserter king, who was like Oda's own son, look like a joke. Just thinking about it made him amused.
Smoker was completely confused: The topic jumped too fast, right? He had just started practicing martial arts not long ago and hadn't even decided whether to use fists and feet or swords, let alone Devil Fruits.
Before he could react, Broly had already jumped off the chair, ready to leave.
"Are you leaving?" Smoker asked quickly.
Broly didn't look back, his voice wrapped in a careless smile: "You kid are quite upright; you'll probably become a Marine in the future. Being seen with me would delay your progress, wouldn't it?"
Smoker looked at Broly's small back, feeling that this guy in front of him, who was four or five years younger than him but kept calling him "brat," was truly unfathomable.
Based solely on their brief interaction, Broly didn't seem rotten to the core.
Yet he could kill that red nose who seemingly hadn't offended him without hesitation. Smoker was baffled, but he didn't know the real reason Broly killed Buggy—
Thinking about how this red nose committed all kinds of crimes like burning, killing, and looting in his early years, yet could step by step ascend to become a Shichibukai and even touch the throne of the Four Emperors, maybe even getting close to the position of Pirate King, Broly felt this plot was "interesting" to the point of absurdity.
When reading the manga as a child, he only thought this red nose's luck was funny.
But looking back after being a corporate slave in his previous life, he simply felt disgusted.
Many people abide by the law all their lives, so why should those scum who turn over a new leaf be able to sit on equal footing with them, or even live better lives?
Pah, disgusting.
As for saying "for fun" to Shanks, he really couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense, and he really did find it "fun."
This guy had a special identity; he was a Celestial Dragon, a future Four Emperor, and had unclear ties with the World Government. Keeping him was like keeping a firework that could be set off at any time; the days ahead would definitely not be boring.
...
Marineford.
At this moment, the Fleet Admiral's office was already in chaos. Through the Visual Den Den Mushi, everything that happened in Loguetown was seen by them.
When they heard Roger's shocking last words, the high-ranking Marines wished they could slap themselves: Damn it, no wonder Roger turned himself in voluntarily; he was waiting for them here!
Born evil pirate old ghost!
But what shocked them even more was Broly's appearance.
This reminded them of Charlotte Linlin, who had a bounty of 50 million Berries at the age of only 6.
But the brat in front of them was more than a hundred times more terrifying than Charlotte Linlin.
Visually estimated to be no more than 3 years old, he killed Admiral Sengoku as soon as he made a move. The destructive power of that "Omega" move far exceeded any of the Four Emperors on the sea today, and even the former King of the Sea, Rocks, would probably find it hard to reach.
What chilled their spines even more was that in every move of this brat, there was not a trace of anger or hatred, only a kind of almost playful casualness.
It was as if killing Sengoku, bombing the plaza, and killing Buggy were just fun ways for him to pass the time.
Current Fleet Admiral Kong immediately ordered an emergency meeting, summoning all officers of Rear Admiral rank and above to the supreme conference room.
A even more violent new era was about to arrive.