Within the open gates of the city, the streets of the royal city lay in ruins. Houses had collapsed, and the ground was riddled with craters as if it had been bombarded.
A six-meter-tall headless grizzly bear, covered in black fur, stood motionless like a statue. From its shattered skull, thick, crimson blood gushed out like a fountain.
After a while, the headless bear fell like a mountain, raising a cloud of dust. The black fur receded rapidly, and the massive body reverted to the form of the large man, Terrell, who was also headless.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed audibly, breaking the silence. Dozens of horrified eyes focused on the sturdy figure of Rosha, who landed firmly in front of Drake.
Rosha looked at the fallen Drake, who was staring up at him in astonishment.
“Drake, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Drake’s face reddened as he realized his current posture made him look like a seal lying on the ground, almost as if he were trying to be cute for Rosha. He quickly scrambled to his feet, coughing to cover his embarrassment, then stared at Rosha like he was a monster.
“You… are you a monster? Not only have you mastered the Rokushiki, but you’ve also learned Life Return? Who taught you that? Does the 177th Branch have such experts? Was it Vice Admiral Adira?”
Drake’s barrage of questions made Rosha’s head spin. Just as Rosha was about to explain, both of them frowned, turning to look down the street.
“Discovered, huh?”
A cold voice echoed down the broken street.
“Who’s there?”
Drake gripped his weapon tightly, ready to strike at any moment.
In their line of sight, a slender, tall figure around 190 centimeters, holding a long sword, appeared on the street. The figure wore a black and white spotted hat and a black skull T-shirt.
The officers of the SWORD unit gathered behind Drake, warily watching their surroundings. Peacock also approached, with a group of grinning pirates trailing behind her, completely oblivious to their enemy status. The officers seemed unfazed by this peculiar situation.
Rosha smirked. This was the irrational nature of Devil Fruits. These pirates had probably been whipped into submission by Peacock’s Whip-Whip Fruit.
More than the submissive pirates, Rosha was intrigued by the person approaching. From the man’s appearance, Rosha recognized him immediately.
“Tra… Trafalgar Law?”
Rosha involuntarily muttered.
The man paused, frowning under his spotted hat, and looked curiously at Rosha.
“You know me?”
Law’s scrutinizing gaze swept over Rosha, Drake, Peacock, and the officers behind them.
“You’re not pirates.”
Hearing this, Rosha remained expressionless, but Drake’s face changed, a hint of killing intent appearing in his eyes. Law walked closer, stopping just five meters away, while Drake gripped his axe and sword tightly.
Law glanced at Drake’s tense posture but seemed unbothered by the officer’s actions and killing intent. He continued to focus on Rosha.
“Explain why you know me.”
“Does it matter that much to you?”
Rosha’s lips curled into a smile. To Drake’s astonishment, he stepped forward and extended his hand to Law.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Rosha. Isn’t it a coincidence? We both have ‘Law’ in our names.”
Law’s eyes flickered with doubt. Despite having formed the Heart Pirates with Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi a few years ago, he had remained in North Blue, focusing on medical research and treating the sick due to his past experiences and profession. He hadn’t been publicly recognized by the Marines yet. Apart from his family, few people should know about him.
Seeing Law’s hesitation, Rosha reassured him:
“Don’t worry, I’m not connected to those people you’re thinking of. I recognize you for different reasons. But now isn’t the time to discuss this. We could talk somewhere more private.
Law frowned, studying Rosha for a while, before pressing down on the brim of his hat and turning to walk down the street. “Follow me.”
“Hey, kid, what’s going on? You know this guy? He’s a pirate, right? Are you sure we should follow him?”
Drake grabbed Rosha’s arm, pointing at the headless fat man on the ground.
“Don’t forget our mission. This guy is the third officer of the Giant Bug Pirates. His death will surely anger Mig Jones. We should head to the Prince’s Palace as soon as possible.”
“No rush. To know your enemy is to win a hundred battles.”
Rosha patted Drake’s shoulder. “We’re new here and know nothing about the city’s layout. We need to be cautious and gather information first. That guy can help us. Don’t worry, he’s not an enemy, at least not now. Besides, I’m curious why he’s here in Prince’s City.”
“Cautious?”
Drake glanced at the chaotic scene, filled with bloodstains, craters, and the headless corpse.
Does this kid even understand the meaning of caution?
Watching Rosha head after the disappearing Law, Drake sighed and turned to complain to Peacock, “I feel like this kid is unreliable. Why are we listening to him and disguising ourselves as pirates anyway?”
“Hehe, I find it quite amusing. We might learn something useful. Besides, what do we do with these pirates? Keeping them with us seems too conspicuous.”
Peacock pointed to the fifty or so pirates following her.
Drake looked at the group, slowly drawing his weapons.
“Let’s kill them all. We’ve all read the files on the Giant Bug Pirates. None of them are innocent. Each one deserves the death penalty for their crimes.”
He glanced at the headless fat man, “We’ve already killed one of their leaders. Keeping the others would only cause trouble. Your ability only lasts for two hours.”
“Alright, let’s kill them all.”
Peacock nodded, looking at the pirates behind her. Despite their fear, none of them tried to flee or resist. They still wore silly smiles, looking at her adoringly.
The officers drew their blades and pounced on the pirates.
Meanwhile, from the distant end of the street, the sound of numerous footsteps grew louder.
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