"I don't understand... I don't understand what you're saying..."
Weevil staggered to his feet, his shinbone grinding against the rocks.
His eyes were vacant, as if his body no longer belonged to him. Only the pain remained, crashing over him in relentless waves without pause or respite.
His ears rang with a constant buzzing, his vision blurred into monochrome haze.
He couldn't see clearly, couldn't comprehend, his consciousness compressed into a tiny corner by the agony. All thought had narrowed to a single desperate notion—
How to make it stop...
...
Facing the attacks, only his body's instincts responded.
The Sharp Blade pierced through his raised, fingerless palm, severing tendons.
His body burned, froze, was pierced through.
Initial roars gradually deteriorated into hoarse, broken whimpers.
...
Why must I endure this...
Why won't the pain end...
Why...
Why do I still live...
I want to die.
If I die, the pain will stop, right...
Mother... where are you, tell me...
Mother, it hurts so much.
...
"Ugh... ugh..."
Weevil, with not a single patch of unbroken flesh left on his body, completely surrendered, collapsing to the ground.
Tears flowed uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking with convulsive sobs.
"I... I want to go home... I don't want to fight anymore! I don't want to be a Pirate... Mother!! Mother!!"
...
Swoosh—
Griffin's body brushed almost against Weevil's skin as he passed, his blade tracing a perfect arc across the man's neck.
The distance was measured perfectly—shattering his throat without severing the major arteries.
Weevil's whimpers became muffled, indistinct gurgles.
...
"Being a Pirate isn't child's play. Your mother should have told you that."
Shhk—
The blade plunged into Weevil's eye socket as Griffin leaned close to his chest and whispered.
"From day one, you should have been prepared to be killed."
——
——
——
A long time passed.
As the island crumbled and sank beneath the waves, Weevil's body became the largest remaining fragment.
Sharp reefs impaled his abdomen, blood dyeing the surrounding sea red, where fish gathered in a frenzied, bloodthirsty feast.
Seabirds pecked at his charred, smoking flesh, raising their heads to cry triumphantly.
Griffin, drenched in blood, slowly withdrew Spring Rain from Weevil's heart. This scene...
Was like a knight who slew demons, now stained and fallen into darkness by the demon's blood.
...
...
"Is it over?"
The voice came from mid-air, howling winds accompanying it.
Golden hair whipped wildly in the gale as the man stood upon an invisible staircase, using his swords as feet. Each step radiated terrifying pressure.
He spread his arms wide, his grin stretching almost to the point of splitting his face. A sharp, wildly arrogant laugh exploded from deep within his throat.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!! What an exhilarating slaughter! I couldn't help but watch with rapt attention!!!"
The man leaned forward, clenching his fist.
"Brat! Become my right hand!"
"Help me achieve the ambition of ruling these seas from the sky!!"
...
Griffin turned, blade in hand, offering a faint smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting..."
"Golden Lion, Shiki."
——
——
——
Dressrosa.
On the eastern shore, a large number of citizens were boarding evacuation ships under the Marines' direction, slowly departing from the harbor.
Saint Shangong, dragged by a rope, cursed furiously: "Bastards! Beasts! Lowly commoners!! How dare you treat this Saint like this!!"
"You actually make me squeeze onto this shabby pirate ship with these filthy commoners!!"
"Once I return to the Holy Land, I'll have you all executed!!"
...
King Riku forced a bitter smile: "Saint Shangong, let's not dwell on such details at a time like this. Our priority is to escape."
"In your current... immobilized state, if that person catches up..."
Shangong shuddered—not out of fear, but from the chilling cold between his legs.
Damn it...
Could the precious Celestial Dragon Artifact be frozen beyond repair?!
Gritting his teeth, Shangong scanned the dust-covered citizens and reluctantly demanded: "Bastards... Is there no doctor among you filthy commoners?!"
"I shall grant you the honor of treating this Saint!!"
Treatment...
Everyone glanced at the frozen yellowish ice block between Shangong's legs, then simultaneously lowered their heads in silence.
Even those bandaging the wounded immediately stopped their work, using the injured as human shields.
After receiving no response for a long while, Shangong flailed about in frantic desperation: "Executed! I'll have you all executed!!"
Swish—
The sound of a drawn blade made Shangong jump. Seeing Kyros holding his sword with both hands, he hastily waved: "Wait wait! Not you!!"
"Though you've committed the grave crime of disrespecting World Nobles, I grant you special pardon for taking me along! Special pardon, understand?!"
Kyros paid him no mind, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the harbor.
...
Shangong stared at the trail of flames that had become his nightmare, feeling something threatening to surge forth between his legs again, only to be forcibly held back by the frozen ice.
Throwing a terrified glance at King Riku, his lips trembled: "He... he's really coming..."
...
Kari frowned slightly upon spotting Shangong aboard the pirate ship.
The crowd was too densely packed.
A large-scale attack would cause heavy collateral damage...
No, if the situation weren't critical, the main body wouldn't have altered plans abruptly.
Some sacrifices are acceptable—completing the main body's mission takes priority!
With this resolution, Kari thrust his palms forward.
The atmosphere roared as a fireball larger than a house erupted from his palms, instantly transforming into a massive sea of flames that engulfed the pirate ship carrying Shangong!
Fire Release - Great Flame Technique!
——
As the blistering heatwave washed over them, the people aboard looked up at the curtain of fire with despair in their eyes, their ears filled with the roaring sound of flames consuming the air.
Swish————
Kyros' figure suddenly leaped out, soaring high into the air and transforming into a streak of silver light.
His blade gleamed with blinding intensity under the interwoven sunlight and firelight, cleaving downward with a furious shout—
BOOM!!
The flames were torn apart, creating a narrow gap that exploded into a shower of fiery rain!
Kyros landed with his longsword still vibrating slightly, his helmet knocked off.
His gaze remained iron-steady as he watched Kari charging toward them.
"Whoever you are, I will never allow you to harm these people!"
...
"So strong... That face..."
"I remember now! Kyros! The undefeated Kyros with three thousand victories!"
"We're saved! If it's him, even if—"
In the next instant, Kyros was swallowed by a fiery dragon. The blazing flames erupted, sending him flying backward like a broken kite!
...
A deathly silence fell. Everyone stared at the black-clad, white-haired figure standing on the ship's bow, their bodies frozen stiff as if turned to ice.
——
"Step aside. I only intend to kill him."
His icy gaze fell upon King Riku and Ovilia.
King Riku's sword-hand trembled slightly, yet he managed a bitter smile: "If we let you kill Saint Shangong, Dressrosa will be finished."
If the Goa Kingdom hadn't been Garp's hometown, the hundreds of thousands who witnessed the Celestial Dragon's death would have faced indiscriminate regional annihilation.
This wasn't without precedent in history.
The World Government wouldn't care about your circumstances or how powerful your enemy was—if a Celestial Dragon was killed within your territory...
The entire nation shared the guilt!
...
"Very well, then you can all die together."
Kari hesitated no longer. In an instant, he charged at King Riku, his swinging arm like a descending guillotine blade, ready to cleave both King Riku and Ovilia—along with Saint Shangong behind them—in two.
Viola's eyes widened. As a Glare-Glare Fruit user, she could barely track Kari's movements, but her body couldn't keep up with her perception.
She could only watch helplessly as the attack closed in.
Screech—
A white thread materialized before Viola, forcibly blocking the strike.
Following the thread...
A tall figure appeared in front of Viola, pink flamingo feathers quivering.
...
Doflamingo tugged on his strings, grinning as he said: "Kari, how could you bring harm to such a beautiful lady?"
...
Kari offered no reply, throwing his full weight into an elbow strike that slammed hard into Doflamingo's chest!