Chapter 631: Another One Bites The Dust
After Tesoro left, the vault was deserted, leaving behind only a scene of chaos.
On the floor lay a dirty, crumpled little teddy bear toy, motionless.
Following a massive tremor, a piece of debris fell from the ceiling, landing right on top of the bear, completely burying it…
Outside at the base of the Golden Tower, a group of Tesoro’s remaining subordinates was locked in battle with a group of pirates.
These pirates belonged to a crew known as the Twin Swords Pirates, with a little over a hundred members. They had initially come to the Golden City for a bit of fun, but they had stumbled upon the city’s massive chaos. Realizing this was a golden opportunity to loot the city, the Twin Swords Pirates quickly rallied their crew and got to work. Naturally, the iconic tower of the Golden City became their prime target.
However, when they reached the tower, they discovered that it was still heavily guarded.
Having come this far, there was no way they were going to leave empty-handed. Besides, they figured that any place with such strong security must have some valuable treasures. With that in mind, they fearlessly launched an attack on the guards.
As a result, the guards, already shaken by the events that had transpired at the tower, were no match for the pirates. Despite being armed with firearms, the guards were swiftly overwhelmed by the pirates wielding cold weapons.
The members of the Twin Blades Pirates all favored dual-wielding weapons. After defeating the guards, the excited pirates clanged their blades together in celebration. The captain of the Twin Blades Pirates, feeling triumphant, waved his hand and commanded, “Charge in and grab everything you can carry!”
“Yeah!” the pirates cheered, eagerly rushing toward the large door.But just as they reached the door, there was a loud bang, and the door was kicked open from the inside!
The Twin Blades Pirates were startled and saw a large group of people carrying massive boxes, filing out one after another.
“Damn it, someone got here first!?” The captain of the Twin Blades Pirates immediately realized what was happening. Without even taking a moment to see who these box-carrying individuals were, he jumped up in anger and shouted, “Drop what you’re carrying! That’s ours!”
“Yeah, put down those gold boxes! They belong to us now!” the pirates of the Twin Blades crew shouted, surrounding the entrance and echoing their captain’s demands.
But before they could finish their threats, a voice suddenly interrupted, “Oh!? And what if we don’t put them down? What are you going to do?”
A figure emerged from the crowd coming out of the tower, walking up with a clearly irritated expression.
The captain of the Twin Blades Pirates stood with his hands on his hips and scoffed, “Hmph, if you don’t put them down, we’ll… we’ll… we’ll…”
He started out strong, but then suddenly began to stutter, struggling to finish his sentence. His voice trailed off as he found himself unable to speak properly. The pirates were puzzled by their captain’s sudden bout of stammering, but when they looked at him, they noticed his face had gone deathly pale. He was trembling all over, and large beads of cold sweat were pouring down his face.
As the pirates turned their eyes toward the figure who had stepped forward from the crowd, they quickly recognized who it was. One by one, they began to tremble just like their captain.
“I… I can’t believe it!! It’s… it’s the Dragon Hunter Pirates!?”
The pirates screamed inwardly, filled with despair. This was the worst possible luck—what were these notorious individuals doing here!?
They all wished they could tear their own mouths apart. What had they just said? They had actually dared to tell the Dragon Hunter Pirates to put down their stuff! They were in big trouble now!
Just when the pirates thought they were about to die, their captain suddenly snapped out of it. Rubbing his hands together, he quickly put on a fawning smile and said to Ian, “Captain Ian, what I meant was that we’ll clear the way so you can pass through!”
What the hell! There’s a move like that? Captain, you’re a genius!
The pirates of the Twin Blades crew gave a thumbs-up to their captain in their hearts and quickly followed his lead, smiling obsequiously and nodding furiously, looking every bit the sycophants.
Ian glanced at the pirate crew and, realizing he didn’t recognize them, figured they were just a bunch of nobodies. He didn’t bother with them, snorted, and led his crew away.
The members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates followed, while the Twin Blades Pirates immediately lined up in two rows to respectfully see them off.
However, when they saw Admiral Aokiji coming out behind them, along with Perospero and Katakuri from the Big Mom Pirates, they nearly had a heart attack.
They stood there, dumbfounded, watching the group of powerful figures leave, unable to process what had just happened.
It was only after Ian and the others had gone far away that they turned to look at their captain.
Thank goodness their captain was quick-witted enough to pull off that sudden reversal; otherwise, they wouldn’t even know how they had died just now. The pirates’ admiration for their captain grew even stronger…
The appearance of these pirates wasn’t a mere coincidence. After leaving, Ian noticed that the entire Golden City had descended into utter chaos. Large groups of well-dressed wealthy individuals, whether gentlemen or noble ladies, were desperately fleeing in panic. The grace and elegance they usually displayed had vanished, as they scrambled to reach the ships in the harbor, trampling over each other in their haste. People were constantly being knocked down, only to be trampled underfoot by dozens of others.
Meanwhile, the lower-level service workers of the Golden City were rushing toward the areas where seawater was flooding in, crying tears of joy as they celebrated their newfound freedom under the spray of the water.
As for the marauding pirates, they were laughing wildly as they looted anything they could carry from the luxurious shops. And whenever they encountered any Marines who still had a sense of justice, they would engage in a brief skirmish before quickly fleeing.
All the underlying tensions within the Golden City had been fully unleashed by this incident. Every aspect of human nature was on display at this moment.
Faced with this chaotic scene, both Ian and Fujitora shook their heads in dismay, unsure of what they could do. In the end, they could only lead their crew toward the harbor.
Because Katakuri and Perospero were with them, Ian and his crew couldn’t simply fly back to their sky island; he had no intention of bringing these two back to his base. So, they decided to head to Aokiji’s ship first, planning to leave the Golden City and figure out their next move.
When they arrived at the harbor, they found the situation there even worse.
The ships were jammed together in a chaotic mess. Pirates, Marines, and wealthy individuals were all desperately trying to escape, but the congestion was so bad that no one could move. A mass of ships, big and small, had gathered at the entrance to the harbor, forming an impenetrable blockade.
To make matters worse, one of the ships stuck in the jam belonged to the Celestial Dragons!
It wasn’t uncommon for the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles, to visit the Golden City, so their presence wasn’t surprising. However, after the chaos erupted in the Golden City, the Celestial Dragons were also forced to flee, only to find themselves trapped in the harbor.
On the grand, ornate ship bearing the flags of the World Government and the World Nobles, a frustrated and anxious Celestial Dragon stood at the edge of the deck, holding a pistol. He was continuously firing at the people on the nearby ships!
“Move aside! Move aside! You filthy peasants, how dare you block my path! You all deserve to die!” he shouted furiously.
The Celestial Dragon fired his gun repeatedly, bullets tearing through the air and hitting several people on a nearby ship, causing blood to spurt from their chests as they collapsed. That ship belonged to a wealthy individual, but those who were shot were just hired sailors, mere commoners. The wealthy owner had long since hidden inside the cabin, too afraid to come out.
With the sailors controlling the ship now dead, that vessel was completely immobilized.
However, the Celestial Dragon firing the gun showed no awareness that there was anything wrong with his actions. He simply turned to the other side of the deck and began shooting at people on another nearby ship.
No one dared to stop him, not even the black-suited bodyguards standing behind him. They knew better than to intervene when a Celestial Dragon was in a rage. Instead, they stood behind him with their hands clasped, watching impassively as he continued his killing spree.
The people on the nearby ships, witnessing this, were equally powerless to speak out, their anger suppressed by fear.
“Such deep malice in these Celestial Dragons…” Fujitora sighed, shaking his head after sensing what was happening.
Kuina frowned at the scene and couldn’t help but glance over at Aokiji. Wearing his sunglasses, Aokiji was also staring in the direction of the Celestial Dragon’s ship, his brow furrowed as if deep in thought.
“Man, these guys are like cockroaches—always popping up wherever you go…” Ian sneered coldly, then, with a single leap, he jumped toward the Celestial Dragon’s ship.
Thud. Ian landed on the deck of the Celestial Dragon’s ship with such force that the entire vessel shook.
The Celestial Dragon lost his balance and fell to the deck. Clumsily getting back on his feet, he adjusted the glass helmet on his head and glared angrily at Ian, who had suddenly appeared. Pointing his gun at Ian, he shouted, “How dare you, you filthy commoner! Who allowed you to board my ship!?”
This Celestial Dragon looked quite young, though it was unclear which family he belonged to. His face was covered in pimples, and his greasy, shiny complexion only added to his foolish appearance.
He didn’t immediately recognize Ian, but the bodyguards around him did. The moment they saw Ian, their faces went pale.
“This is bad, sir! He’s Ian, the Black Dragon of the Dragon Hunter Pirates!” The bodyguards, terrified, drew their swords and moved to shield the Celestial Dragon.
Upon hearing Ian’s name, the Celestial Dragon seemed momentarily stunned with fear. Instinctively, his finger squeezed the trigger of his gun.
Bang! A bullet shot towards Ian, but he didn’t even flinch. He simply extended his left palm, and the bullet collided with his Haki-hardened hand, instantly flattening into a lump of metal.
As he caught the bullet, Ian’s right hand, which was gripping his sword, subtly pushed the hilt with his thumb, loosening the blade from its sheath.
Swish! The bodyguards couldn’t even see Ian’s movements. They only caught a glimpse of a flash of steel slicing horizontally through the air. An intense pain shot through their necks, followed by a gush of blood.
With a single stroke, Ian had taken out all six of the Celestial Dragon’s bodyguards. Now, the terrified Celestial Dragon found himself face-to-face with Ian.
“You… you…” The Celestial Dragon was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground, his pants wet with fear. He tried to crawl backward, stammering, “I… I know who you are! Don’t come any closer!”
Ian, however, merely sneered. He drew his sword and casually swung it in the Celestial Dragon’s direction.
With a crisp sound, like paper being sliced, the Celestial Dragon froze in place.
A thin red line appeared from his head down to his groin, and suddenly, a torrent of blood erupted from the wound.
There was a soft crack as the glass helmet on his head split neatly in two, the cut so smooth that it was almost impossibly precise.
Like slicing through a mere chicken, Ian effortlessly cleaved the Celestial Dragon into two with a single stroke, stepping back disdainfully to avoid getting any blood on himself.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was utterly stunned. A World Noble, a Celestial Dragon, had been so easily slaughtered right before their eyes!?
There had long been rumors that Ian, the Black Dragon of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, had killed a Celestial Dragon before, but no one expected it to be true! Watching him now, killing a World Noble as if it were nothing, it was clear this wasn’t his first time…
Tesoro had gone to great lengths to prevent the Celestial Dragons in his city from encountering Ian, but despite all his precautions, they had crossed paths with him after all…
Leaping into the air, Ian hurled a black fireball at the Celestial Dragon’s ship, quickly reducing it to ashes. Then, hovering in mid-air, he shouted to the surrounding ships, “Move out one by one! If anyone tries to cut in line, they’ll have me to deal with!”
He pointed to the ship at the front of the blockade and commanded, “You! Go first! The rest, follow in order!”
Killing a Celestial Dragon didn’t faze Ian in the slightest. His only concern was getting his crew’s ship out of the harbor. So, he decided to temporarily play the role of a traffic cop to get things moving…
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