However, the pirates were not going to give up so easily. Realizing that the first wave of attacks had failed and recognizing the power disparity between themselves and the formidable Marine forces on the platform, they quickly organized a second wave of attacks.
"Move! Protect the dignitaries as they retreat!"
"Second team, over here! Call for the medics!"
"Lord Felton, please leave quickly, this place is not safe!"
The officers, who had already received their orders, did not participate in defending against the pirates. With so many powerful figures on the Marine platform, there was no need for them to intervene.
Their orders were simply to evacuate the crowd as soon as the pirates made their move, to avoid panic and stampedes. The rest would be handled by others.
Fortunately, they had prepared in advance. So even though the stone viewing platform had been reshaped by the Ishi Ishi no Mi (Stone-Stone Fruit) user, causing many dignitaries to fall, the casualty rate was very low. Only two people were seriously injured, and there were no deaths.
"Captain, what do we do? The Marines were prepared for this!"
A group of pirates huddled together, using the chaos as cover to whisper to each other. One of them, panicked and looking around frantically, spoke up in alarm.
"What else can we do? Fight them to the end!"
The captain, with a fierce expression, gripped his curved sword. "We knew the Marines were prepared, didn't we figure that out yesterday?"
Yesterday, when the Marines entered the city, the quickly stifled cries and screams had already told everyone that their presence had been discovered.
Those who stayed were mostly the kind of ruthless people who were ready to die.
As long as they could kill Jason and preserve the last shred of pirate dignity, their names would be sung alongside Roger's by countless people.
But...
"Oh? So even after realizing you've been discovered, you still decided to stay and fight... A typical pirate mentality!"
A light and airy voice came from behind the group of pirates. They immediately turned around, but all they saw was a fleeting shadow, slicing through the void like a swift dragon.
"What a fast blade!"
The pirate captain softly murmured before his vision turned dark.
In the last second, before he lost consciousness, he saw a male figure wearing a grinning fox mask sheath a sword that gleamed like clear water. Surrounding him were heads flying into the air, and blood fountains spraying from necks like geysers.
Blood bloomed into withered flowers of life!
Magnificent, yet chilling!
After dealing with this group of enemies, Dante took out a Den Den Mushi and, with a voice altered by a device, gave his orders: "Total command: no need to leave any survivors!"
"Any pirate— kill!"
"Anyone assisting the pirates— kill!"
"Anyone causing trouble in the chaos— kill!"
"Anyone acting suspiciously— kill!"
"Anyone making noise for no reason— kill!"
"Anyone disobeying this order, regardless of rank—kill!"
Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill!
The six consecutive "kill" commands fully displayed the ruthlessness of the order!
"..."
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, there was a dead silence.
But as his words fell, the sounds of battle across the execution ground grew even fiercer.
Even Rob Lucci, who was also dealing with enemies, felt his pupils contract and a chill surge through his heart.
"So this is the style of the Marine Assassination Force?"
"A group of mindless blades!"
Even as the highest-ranked member of CP0, he couldn't be as cold-blooded and ruthless as the Assassination Force.
After all, they were merely the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs, with their own concerns.
They had to negotiate, and compromise.
The difference was evident from their names.
Cipher Pol: a secret espionage agency directly under the World Government.
And the Assassination Force... In fact, no one knew its full name.
Only the Marine Fleet Admirals of each generation, along with the commanders and supreme leaders, knew the full name. "Assassination Force" was a name added by outsiders, much like how the world called Edward Newgate "Whitebeard."
But even from the name "Assassination Force," it was clear that this was a force that existed solely to kill!
They were ruthless to their enemies and even more ruthless to themselves!
"What kind of monsters has Soryu (Azure Dragon) raised?"
Rob Lucci couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Ever since the Assassination Force re-emerged into the public eye after their defeat a few months ago, they had remained silent, almost as if they had disappeared.
However, during these past two days of cooperating with them on missions, Rob Lucci was shocked to find that compared to them, he could actually be considered... kind?
Kind?
What a heavy word.
He had never thought that this word would be used to describe someone like him, a butcher who had slaughtered 500 soldiers of a kingdom.
No...
Maybe I really am kind.
Lucci suddenly recalled the incident in "Gourmet City" Pucci. Back then, on that island, Rowen had wiped out 5,000 King's soldiers with a single Qilin attack!
Including the pirate coalition, the number exceeded 30,000!
500 vs 5,000... Indeed, I am a kind person.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then, a burst of dense gunfire rang out.
That definitely wasn't from the Marines.
The reason why the soldiers and ordinary officers were tasked with evacuating the spectators was partly due to Sengoku's concern about accidental injuries from misfires.
After all, every spectator here held a distinguished status, and even a minor injury could lead to international disputes.
So, the source of such a coordinated and dense gunfire was obvious!
"Chaton!"
Sengoku's body radiated golden light, standing like a beacon amidst the chaos, illuminating the darkness and calming the panic.
At this moment, his loud shout drew everyone's attention.
"Understood!"
Receiving the command, Chaton, who had been standing on the platform smoking a cigarette, instantly appeared on the execution platform. His speed was so fast that no one could see his movements clearly.
"Who... who is that?"
"You don't know? That's Marine Vice Admiral Chaton, a monster rumored to be a candidate for Admiral!"
Watching Chaton's mysterious movements through the broadcast, countless pirates were shocked.
Even after slowing down the footage several times, they still couldn't make out Chaton's movements.
The speed of his Soru (a high-speed movement technique) was simply unbelievable!
Even pirates with bounties over 100 million admitted that at such a speed, defending would be extremely difficult.
But that wasn't all!
"Wait, look at that!"
"How is this possible? Has time slowed down?"
In the broadcast, a terrifying scene unfolded.
When Chaton appeared on the execution platform, the bullets that had been flying densely towards Jason suddenly seemed to slow down as if trapped in a quagmire, moving so slowly that their trajectories became visible in the air.
Chaton, still with a cigarette in his mouth, looked relaxed as he walked up, casually deflecting each bullet with his fingers as if he were picking off blemishes from a strawberry.
The deflected bullets didn't fall but instead remained suspended in the air, like patterns embedded in an invisible sheet of glass.
Then, Chaton lifted the Deceleration Domain, causing the bullets that had been thrown off their original paths to regain their speed and shoot out in all directions, making the pirates scream in pain.
"What a terrifying ability!"
"Admiral candidate Chaton, truly a hidden force!"
With such a strange ability, any attempts to assassinate Jason through sniping were rendered useless.
But while outsiders were astonished, the pirates at the center of the execution ground were filled with fear and dread.
This process, which appeared slow to those watching from the outside, was broadcast from a high-angle Den Den Mushi, allowing them to see everything.
But for those trapped within Chaton's Deceleration Domain, it felt as if they had merely blinked, and in an instant, all the iron bullets had vanished, without them even realizing what had happened.
One side moved fast, the other slow— this eerie atmosphere spread among the pirates.
Those inside the Deceleration Domain didn't know whether to trust the pirates outside, and even those outside weren't sure if everyone had witnessed Chaton's actions clearly.
Watching that small, seemingly unremarkable figure, smoking a cigarette and grinning while casually stuffing his hands into his pockets, the entire scene fell into a deathly silence.
"I don't know whether to call you brave or foolish, pirates!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Sengoku stepped forward, reaching the edge of the platform.
Bathed in golden light, he appeared as grand as a mighty Buddha, his expression commanding respect, his voice thunderous.
"To offend the Holy Land is a crime punishable by death!"
**End of Chapter.**
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