Sometimes, people are truly strange.
Especially in the world of pirates, the line between good and evil is never very clear.
Luffy looked down as if gazing at ants, staring at Wyper, who lay on the ground with a face full of anger yet strange satisfaction.
It was as though he had completed some great mission and was now intoxicated by his own world.
Maybe…
If it had been pirates like Whitebeard or Red-Haired Shanks who came today, Wyper might actually have survived.
Perhaps even his entire tribe could have been saved.
After all, they valued such bonds deeply and might even have tacitly approved of Wyper's actions, actively helping him fulfill his wish.
That might also be why Wyper acted the way he did.
Unfortunately…
This time, he truly chose the wrong person.
...
"So…"
"So this is why you injured Merry?"
Luffy's voice was still cold, devoid of any emotion.
Wyper tilted his head and said with a look of complete indifference,
"Come on!"
"I know I won't survive today!"
"This is my own business."
"One man acts, one man bears the consequences!"
On the Going Merry, the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
"So, kill me however you like?"
Facing Wyper's expression of someone ready to die in peace, Luffy suddenly chuckled.
He truly couldn't understand how such a person's mind was structured.
"Robin, Brook!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Go. Kill all the Shandia!!!"
"What!? Wait!!!"
The moment Wyper heard Luffy's command, he struggled violently on the ground.
The chains clattered loudly as he shouted at Luffy,
"This was my decision alone! It has nothing to do with the Shandia!!!"
"I've already left the Shandia! You can't do this!!!"
"They didn't do anything!!!"
"The Shandias don't even know about my plan!!!"
Luffy's hollow, abyss-like eyes stared at Wyper, who had suddenly turned pale with terror and disbelief, still shouting desperately.
The black-gauntleted hand suddenly rose, stopping Robin and Brook, signaling them to wait.
Seeing this, Wyper instantly stopped struggling, as if afraid that any more noise might anger Luffy again.
It wasn't that he had never met Blue Sea people before.
On the contrary, it was precisely because the Blue Sea people he had met—whether pirates or merchants—had all been so loyal and righteous.
Everything now had long exceeded his control.
In his mind, Enel's strength wasn't much greater than his own.
It was only the Logia power of the Goro Goro no Mi that rendered him helpless.
So the crew that could defeat him should also be able to restrain Enel.
With his assistance, they could surely defeat Enel.
This was the thinking of the strongest warrior of the Shandia—someone bold enough to lead the entire tribe in an attack on the Holy Land even without certainty.
The admiration of his people had long placed the burden of reclaiming the Holy Land squarely on his own shoulders.
The pride of the entire tribe was concentrated in him alone.
Luffy, having stopped Robin and the others, looked mercilessly at the pitiful figure lying on the deck and suddenly spoke,
"I think you're right."
"The Shandia indeed haven't committed any crime worthy of death…"
Wyper instantly let out a sigh of relief—but Luffy's next words turned his eyes blood-red with rage.
"So!"
"Robin, Brook, capture them all and imprison them in the Goa Kingdom, enslaved for eternity until the bloodline of that tribe disappears from the world!!!"
"Anyone who dares resist or disobey—"
"Execute them on the spot!!!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Having followed Luffy for a long time, Robin and Brook felt no discomfort toward such bloody methods.
After responding, Brook leapt straight into the White-White Sea, his eye sockets blazing fiercely as he ran toward where Raki and the others had disappeared.
From Robin's back suddenly sprouted pink wings like those of an angel, her face resolute and murderous as she soared into the sky.
"What!?"
Wyper glared at Luffy, roaring as if he wanted to devour him,
"You can't do this—ugh!!"
Luffy abruptly tightened his grip on Wyper's throat again, completely cutting off his voice.
Looking at Wyper pinned tightly to the deck, Luffy slowly said,
"Roger really did set a bad precedent…"
"When did pirates become something that could help everyone?"
Snap…
Luffy slowly lifted Wyper's body, applying just enough force to cause unbearable pain while not suffocating him to death—the control was perfect.
Luffy pointed toward the distant, faintly visible Shandia Holy Land, where Enel's divine palace stood.
"You did all this for this ridiculous thing, didn't you?"
"I truly never expected…"
Under Wyper's terrified gaze, a blazing flame flickered across Luffy's gauntlet.
In an instant!
Towering flames erupted skyward!
Vast heat rapidly condensed in Luffy's palm.
Seeing Luffy's actions, Wyper immediately felt a sense of dread.
Both arms clutched tightly at Luffy's elbows, blood trickling from the corner of Wyper's mouth.
This great Shandia warrior, crushing his own throat, forced out the words,
"You… ugh… what… are… you… doing!?"
His sorrowful eyes continuously pleaded for mercy from Luffy.
But fate never shows mercy to anyone.
If from the very beginning they had cast aside their so-called Shandia pride and knelt to beg sincerely, perhaps Luffy and his crew wouldn't have minded casually eliminating a self-righteous Enel.
Unfortunately.
In his arrogance, he chose the stupidest possible path!
Luffy deliberately prolonged his life for so long just so he could witness how laughable his decision truly was!!!
BOOM!!!
A dazzling white beam erupted from Luffy's palm.
Boundless spiritual power formed into an even more overwhelming steel-like flame.
At this moment, the entire sky dimmed once more!
That blazing white radiance! That boundless inferno!
Like a burning legion, ready to devour everything in existence!
"No… don't…"
"Please… please…"
Blood and tears flowed from Wyper's eyes, yet they could not stop Luffy in the slightest.
The surging flame pressure swept across the shattered Heavenly Gate, across the broken cloud islands.
At the tip of the blazing pillar, a mass of flowing fire suddenly danced upward!
That flame, carrying terrifying heat, suddenly transformed into a massive dragon!
A five-clawed flame dragon!!!
The divine dragon suddenly soared skyward, piercing the heavens!!!
Those vertical eyes glowing with divine light—like the final touch in painting a dragon—brought this steel-flame dragon to life.
With a body half the size of the Holy Land Upper Yard, the divine dragon flew a full circuit over the land.
The flames it casually shed sparked several massive forest fires across the entire Holy Land!
Priests and attendants fled in madness!
Using every device they could, they escaped toward areas beyond the Divine Island.
After circling once, the flame dragon shot straight into the sky.
From its fleshless throat burst a deafening roar.
ROAR!!!
Countless fireballs followed that roar, raining once again toward the Holy Land of Upper Yard.
Above the Blue Sea.
A massive wooden raft sailed across the surface beneath Skypiea.
"Captain, what is that!?"
Van Augur, the sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates, lowered the scope of his rifle and stared in shock at the flame dragon visible in the sky, asking Blackbeard behind him.
However…
Blackbeard himself was also staring blankly at the sky, unable to respond.
...
ROAR!!!
The flame dragon in the sky let out another furious cry.
Its blazing body dove straight toward the sacred island in the hearts of the sky people!
The sweeping crimson flames scorched the land!
BOOM!!!
Upon crashing into the ground, the flame dragon suddenly dissipated, turning into sheets of fire that spread across the center of the island.
And this island, which had existed in the sky for four hundred years, suddenly split open from the center, countless cracks spreading outward!
The island… cracked apart!
Countless chunks of earth and stone fell away from the land
The terrifying heat burned everything in the cloud layers into nothingness!
The land began to sink downward!
RUMBLE RUMBLE…
The sky itself tore open with a massive gash.
...
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Completed version available on Patreon P@treon(.)com/Veltoria