The Palace Bloodbath
At that same moment, inside the royal palace.
The obese king wrung his hands nervously, bowing over and over before a sharp-eyed man in a pristine World Government uniform.
"P-please, sir, I beg you—say a few good words to your superiors! This was all just a misunderstanding! That damned old hag lured the pirates here! Our kingdom's loyalty to the World Government is absolute—heaven and earth can bear witness to that! Next year's Heavenly Tribute—we'll pay it in full, even if I have to sell the entire country to do it! Absolutely! Without fail!"
The official covered his nose with a spotless white handkerchief, clearly disgusted by the musty air of the hall. His tone was light and cold.
"Good. If a non-member kingdom doesn't even have this much value, then there's no reason for it to exist. We'll take the criminal away. Consider it your chance to prove your loyalty."
"Yes, yes, thank you, sir! Thank you!" The king bowed so low that his jeweled crown nearly fell off.
The mood between the two—sycophantic and smug—was at its peak when—
BOOM!
The heavy bronze gates of the palace exploded inward.
A figure stepped through the smoke and sunlight—tall, black-clad, his presence like a demon walking out of hell.
The guards at the door barely had time to raise their weapons before a flash of cold steel swept through them.One by one, they clutched their throats or hearts, eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing into the spreading pool of blood.
"E-enemy attack! Enemy attack!" the alarm bell screamed through the palace corridors.
Dozens of guards poured into the hall from every direction, brandishing spears, muskets, and swords, their formation tight and desperate.
But it didn't matter.
Tanma didn't need technique. He didn't need style.
His blade, Calamity, was a whisper of death.He moved forward as if taking a stroll, each step followed by the wet thud of falling bodies.
Wherever the sword flashed, men were sliced apart—guns, shields, and armor offering no resistance.A guard who tried to ambush him from behind lost his head before his feet even moved.A line of elite soldiers raised their shields—and were torn to ribbons, along with their defenses.
There were no screams, just the rhythm of steel through flesh, and the dull collapse of bodies hitting marble.
Ten men died with every step he took.Blood mist filled the hall, turning the royal carpets crimson.The air reeked of iron and terror.
It wasn't a battle.It was a purge.
To Tanma, these men—who served greed and power while trampling the weak—were no different from the corrupt Navy officer he had cut down days ago.Rotten flesh clinging to a dying empire.
His goal was clear.
The king.And the World Government official.
The soldiers' courage broke long before Tanma reached them.They screamed, dropped their weapons, fled—but none escaped the flicker of his blade.
By the time he stepped into the grand throne room, the floor behind him was paved in corpses and blood.
The king collapsed on his throne, his ornate robes stained dark, eyes wide in terror.The World Government official had gone pale, backing away but trying to sound composed.
"Y-you… Who are you?! How dare you attack me! The World Government will never forgive you!"
Tanma didn't even glance at him.His eyes first found the old woman—chained in the corner, weak, barely breathing.
Then his gaze shifted back to the king and the official.His voice, when he finally spoke, was calm and glacial.
"You… the two of you… You don't even deserve to die."
The words had barely left his lips before Calamity flashed again.
The official tried to raise his den den mushi, but his arm—and half his shoulder—were severed in one stroke.
The king squealed, collapsing into a heap."Wait! Don't kill me! I'll do anything! I'll give you whatever you want—!"
His plea ended in a wet snap.A round head rolled across the marble floor, the terrified expression still frozen on its face.
Tanma flicked the blood from his blade, then turned toward the chained woman.One smooth swing, and the chains shattered.
The old woman looked up at him in disbelief, shaking uncontrollably.
Tanma said nothing.
He reached into his cloak, took out a small cloth pouch filled with Baileys, and set it beside her.Then, without a word or glance backward, he walked out through the blood-soaked hall.
He didn't seek gratitude. He didn't care for witnesses.
He simply erased what offended him.
The sunlight fell across his back once more as he stepped over the corpses, his figure fading beyond the palace gates.
What he left behind was chaos—an island gripped by terror, its history forever marked by that day.A new legend began to spread:The Black Swordsman who slaughtered a king and a World Government envoy.
It wouldn't stay a legend for long.
Not long after Tanma left the island, the World Government moved swiftly.An emergency intelligence report—stamped Top Secret—was dispatched to major naval bases across the New World.
Subject: TanmaAffiliation: Rocks Pirates (Core Member)Crimes:– Slaughter of a World Government official– Execution of a monarch– Mass killing of royal and palace guards
Threat Level: ExtremeStatus: To be eliminated on sight
The bounty poster attached showed a blurry image—Tanma's dark silhouette, blade drawn, eyes like frozen stars.
Below it, the figure burned in bold ink:
Bounty: 500,000,000 Berries
A number high enough to shake the seas.
It marked him not just as a killer—but as a legend in the making.And for the Navy, it was the beginning of a hunt that would shake the New World itself.