Chapter 240

"But rather…"

"Only I get to decide!"

"As for you? What guarantee do you have that they won't die?"

"With one order from me, they'll all be dead!"

"What the hell are you, brat?"

"How dare you bluster before me? Ridiculous."

Upon hearing this,

Lu En's eyes flashed a crimson murderous glare, but he quickly suppressed this negative emotion.

He laughed: "You're wrong. Right now, you cannot decide their lives or deaths. Rather, I am the one who can!"

"Playing tricks!"

Gater's gaze carried impatience and murderous intent.

Seeing Lu En's calm, unshaken demeanor, he felt not the slightest worry.

In his view,

they were already in an invincible position.

Even if the opponent appeared unshaken…

he was merely a paper tiger.

"You say I cannot decide their lives or deaths?"

"Are you certain?"

"Brother, just one word from you is enough to make them all lose their heads."

"And…"

"Your brat's life is also firmly in my hands at all times."

"I'm curious—where do you get the nerve to speak such arrogant words?"

Gater looked toward Lu En.

Lu En said nothing, but gave Gater a meaning-laden glance.

Seeing this,

Gater's inner fury rose steadily, his eyes locked onto Lu En with furious intensity, as if slapped in the face, making him feel his dignity insulted.

"Damn brat!"

"Now, I'll give you two choices!"

"First: kill all these prisoners yourself, then fight to the death against some of my men, and finally die at my hands."

"Second: surrender immediately, and let my men kill you. Then, these prisoners' lives will face no threat whatsoever."

"Boy, which will you choose?"

"If you don't choose soon, I'll have to choose for you."

Gater grinned savagely.

What he loved most to see…

was the expression of furious helplessness on an enemy's face.

Beside him,

a group of pirates all revealed cruel smiles.

"Kid, did you hear what Brother Gater said?"

"You only have these two choices!"

"Kill the prisoners? Or let them become a burden and get you all killed?"

"You decide for yourself!"

"The one sent by Desishi Sect to rescue the prisoners—will he, to save his own life, unhesitatingly raise his weapon and slaughter them?"

"How eagerly anticipated!"

"Such a scene is truly rare."

"…"

The pirates were extremely excited.

Meanwhile,

on the other side,

in a dark corner unnoticed by anyone,

stood two men dressed entirely in pure white, slender and nearly three meters tall, extremely tall and thin, wearing white animal masks—mysterious and eerie.

They were none other than two CP0 officers!

From start to finish,

they had been present at the scene, observing every detail of the battle.

Yet,

strangely…

no one at the scene sensed their presence at all.

As if,

they had never appeared at all.

Even the sea pirate Gater, with a bounty nearing fifty million Berries, failed to detect their existence.

This brings us to mention—

Joel's ability as a CP0 officer, derived from a Devil Fruit.

Yes!

He is a Devil Fruit user.

It was precisely because of his Devil Fruit ability that no one in the scene could detect any trace of the two of them.

"Should we act?"

Lei Si, standing beside Joel, suddenly spoke up.

"Not yet."

"Let's see what this little kid, Luqi, will choose to do."

"Will he kill all the captives? Or will he choose to be killed by the pirates behind them?"

"We can act after Luqi makes his decision—it won't be too late."

Joel shook his head, watching Luqi with keen interest.

He was curious.

How would Luqi choose?

And at this moment,

Lei Si suddenly looked toward Lu En.

He remarked: "Do you think this brat might actually have a way to resolve the desperate situation he's in? Look at him—he hasn't shown the slightest sign of panic from start to finish, always so calm and unshaken..."

Joel shook his head: "Do you think that's possible? He's just a four-year-old brat. I admit, his strength is passable."

"But can he, by himself, resolve this desperate situation right now?"

"That is absolutely impossible!"

"A four-year-old brat has no right to resolve the desperate situation ahead."

"Unless external force intervenes..."

"This brat will pay a terrible price for his arrogance."

"I wonder whether this brat will choose to kill the captives—or be killed by the pirates behind them?"

The two CP0 officers watched Lu En and Luqi with great interest.

In their view,

the two before them were clearly trapped with no way out!

Under this desperate situation...

How would they choose?

Let's wait and see!

The two of them observed Lu En and Luqi from a godlike, superior perspective.