Chapter 240: The Rampaging World

Sabaody Archipelago.

It was already deep into the night.

Tourists in the streets and alleys, and the human traffickers hunting for prey, had all dispersed.

The silence around was terrifying.

A sound of chaotic footsteps, accompanied by a silent oppressive pressure, raced swiftly toward a distant alleyway.

"Edwin went that way!"

"Damn it!"

"Just how many secrets of the CP organization has this guy leaked?!"

The man at the head was named Speed, wearing a pure white robe, with a monkey mask on his face.

Speed's voice carried barely suppressed rage, and often, anger is born mostly from fear.

That's right.

Speed was afraid.

He feared that the purge of the CP organization by the World Government, triggered by the suspected defection of Rob Lucci, would eventually wash away his own CP0 high-ranking uniform.

His hands were not clean either.

Or rather, who sitting in this position could claim to be entirely innocent?

If you look for problems in a person, you can absolutely find them.

He knew the methods of the World Government, no, or rather, of the one who issued the order to purge the CP organization this time.

The only opportunity left to him now.

was to complete the task at hand and arrest the former CP9 chief, Edwin, and bring him to justice.

A group of CP organization agents made no sound, silently following behind Speed, pursuing the fleeing Edwin.

Quickly.

Edwin, who had been fleeing ahead, stopped in his tracks.

He was surrounded.

Every possible route of movement around, even the rooftops, were filled with CP organization agents with cold expressions.

"Edwin!"

"We were colleagues once; I don't want to make this too ugly."

Seeing this, Speed let out a long breath.

The gaze he cast upon Edwin, aside from relief, even carried a hint of unspeakable greed.

Crisis often comes with the possibility that if this single job is done well, what awaits him might not be anything other than promotion and wealth.

"You have nowhere to escape now; come back with me."

"Perhaps you still have a sliver of a chance at life."

"A chance at life?"

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Edwin's mouth.

Facing the situation before him, he knew he had nowhere to escape.

But as a member of the CP organization, what he knew even better was that if he truly believed Speed's ghostly lies and went back with him, what awaited him would only be a fate of being unable to live and unable to die.

"Your ability is lacking, but your jokes are quite good."

Speed's expression suddenly sank, yet he still forced patience, voicing the doubts in his heart:

"I don't understand; with your seniority, you only needed to wait quietly for a few years to retire with honors."

"Even if transferred out of the CP organization, you could still hold a position in the World Government."

"The future may not be entirely bright, but there would be basic security."

"Why betray the World Government at a time like this? Secretly collude with the Emperor Big Mom? Even go mad enough to leak the news of the Pluton blueprints—!"

"So you are still too young."

A cold sneer rose at the corner of Edwin's mouth:

"Can people like us really retire with honors?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Those who retired before me in these past few years, within a year, would encounter various accidents; they either died or were paralyzed all over."

"But were those really accidents?"

Speed's breath hitched.

He didn't know if those were accidents, but what he knew was that he himself had done countless similar things.

But what he knew even better was.

If he couldn't deal with Edwin today, what awaited him would only be a dead end.

"More words are useless; come back with me."

"I can't go back."

Edwin shook his head, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth:

"I can die, but I cannot die in vain."

"It's just a pity I won't be able to personally witness the day when those self-important scum, who think they can control everything, collapse, go mad, curse, yet are utterly terrified."

"What do you mean?!"

Speed was slightly stunned, inexplicably feeling a hint of unease.

Immediately, Edwin's demonic whisper reached his ears:

"How many pirates do you think know about this, aside from the Whole Cake Island? Among the kings who roam the seas, how many would be interested in Pluton?!"

"Could this possibly be..."

"Could this be the greatest war for supremacy since Luo Jie opened the Age of Great Navigation twenty years ago?!"

While speaking, Ed took a test tube containing purple rock from his pocket, shook it in front of Speed, and then suddenly crushed it...

Boom!

"A gift for you!"

Speed's breath stopped abruptly; he recognized what that was:

"No good, it's Power Rock!"

"Retreat!"

The words hit the ground.

The group of agents could no longer care about anything else; they withdrew violently and scattered like birds and beasts.

Yet their movements were ultimately a step too late.

The Power Rock, contacting the air, triggered a violent explosion; crimson light instantly swallowed the buildings within several hundred meters nearby.

Boom!

Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, a mushroom cloud bloomed at the center of the Sabaody Archipelago.

The violent shock flattened everything within a thousand-meter range and nearly evaporated all CP Organization agents.

A few minutes later.

Speed, his body covered in blackened scorch marks, pushed away the stone slab pressing on him and struggled to his feet.

He was in a wretched state, yet far luckier than the others, barely surviving.

"Madman!"

Looking at the lava flowing from the explosion's center, Speed paid no mind to his own injuries; his eyes held only unspeakable fear.

"A thorough madman!"

"Making the news of the Poseidon design plans' existence in Water 7 public to the world—how dare he? The entire world will boil because of this!"

"I..."

Halfway through speaking.

Speed opened his mouth but could not say another word.

Only then did he come to his senses.

Countless CP Organization elites sacrificed themselves, and Ed took the opportunity to spread the news of the Poseidon design plans to the whole world...

This mission had failed completely; there wasn't even a chance to salvage it.

Would there be any way to survive if he returned to the CP Organization at this moment?!

Flee?

Flee, but where could he flee to?

Even Ed, who had planned this for a long time and even prepared an escape route for himself, could not escape the CP Organization's pursuit, let alone him.

Speed stood stunned in place.

In the distance lay charred corpses; around him, the wails of civilians could faintly be heard.

The air was extremely hot after the explosion, yet it could not dispel the chill on his body.

In the following days.

An underground rumor spread from the Sabaody Archipelago; in just a few short days, it swept through the Grand Line, the New World, and even the Four Seas.

Countless pirates, kingdoms, and the Six Emperors of the underworld were all shocked by this news.

At this moment.

Sabaody Archipelago.

Inside the Black Cat Bar,

an old man with a full head of white hair and wearing glasses leaned in a corner, drinking the pungent strong liquor from a flask now and then.

The old man's attention, however, was drawn to the content of the conversation by the person at the next table.

"Did you hear?"

"Behind that explosion a few days ago was a purge operation launched by the World Government to erase the news of the Poseidon design plans."

"I never thought the Ancient Weapons actually existed."

A drunkard couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The fat man beside him, however, wore a look of panic:

"I thought it was just a legend; it's actually true..."

"Does Poseidon also have the power, as legend says, to destroy a nation with a single shot?!"

"How is that possible?!"

A man wearing glasses and dressed like a scholar spoke up to refute:

"The weapons of our era cannot achieve that level, let alone the ancient times whose technology was far behind the present."

"That is not necessarily so; I once heard that several hundred years ago, there was an ancient kingdom with extremely advanced technology, possessing technology far surpassing the era."

"Poseidon might be a product of that era."

"If I could obtain that thing, I could easily obtain this world!"

The conversation of the several people was heard word for word by the white-haired old man.

The more he listened,

the tighter the old man's brows furrowed.

"So the thing in Tom's hands has finally circulated out?!"

"The storm this time will probably be no less than when that fellow turned himself in."

"Whitebeard probably won't be interested in such a thing, but Big Mom, Kaido, and even Shi Ji, who has been hiding all along, are probably unable to sit still."

A smile gradually curled the old man's lips:

"Interesting."

"Is the era that Luo Jie single-handedly created about to surge into its first climax?!"

"It truly makes one's blood boil."

"However, this old bone of mine cannot go and steal the spotlight from the young ones again."

Having said that,

the old man drained the strong liquor in the wine flask in one gulp, stood up, and walked quickly toward the bar counter. He waved at the tall, mature woman leaning against the bar counter and declared solemnly:

"Xia Qi, put it on my tab!"

"Lei Li~"

Xia Qi's tone was slightly helpless, but as a friend of many years, a gentle smile appeared on her face:

"The rotten debts you've owed these past years are enough to buy this bar."

"Then I'll buy it?!"

"Get lost!"

Xia Qi gave Lei Li an annoyed look, then immediately took a wanted poster from under the bar counter, handed it to Lei Li, and said:

"Many newcomers will arrive here recently, a mix of good and bad, but the biggest group among them is probably this fellow."

"Knight Gao Wen, from the East Blue, known as the most righteous man in the East Blue."

"Originally wanted for 248 million Berries, he successively defeated the former Warlord Hanafuza and the former Marine Admiral Zephyr; his momentum is even stronger than that of Fire Fist Ace, who entered the New World a while ago."

"Some people even think he is the pirate most likely to shake the Four Emperors' status in recent years."

"Even Zephyr was defeated?"

Lei Li was stunned.

He was extremely familiar with Zephyr's peerless Armament Haki; in the past, they had fought each other many times, with victories and defeats on both sides.

Yet now, such a man had fallen into the hands of a pirate newcomer.

While Lei Li was shocked, an indescribable excitement also appeared in his eyes:

"No one will be powerful forever, but there will always be someone powerful!"

"Indeed."

"This era created single-handedly by Luo Jie will absolutely not be boring."

Xia Qi said calmly:

"Won't you go and meet him?!"

"Perhaps he is the person you have been waiting for."

Lei Li shook his head:

"If he is the person I am waiting for, then he will surely come here just as we saw back then, and even later go to Elbaf to meet that fellow Jabba."

Xia Qi raised her hand and inhaled a drag of a lady's cigarette. As she exhaled the gray-white smoke, her gaze fell upon Lei Li, and for a moment she could not help but feel curious:

"What exactly did you see back then at Laugh Tale?!"

"Hahahaha..."

The only response to Xia Qi's question was Lei Li's laughter as he walked further away.

After a long while, Xia Qi came to her senses. The cigarette burned between her fingers, and the smile on her face became even more obvious:

"Truly..."

"That fellow tricked me again."

North Blue.

Several islands floated silently in the high sky, then gradually sank into the clouds a few breaths later.

Jin Shizi stood within his palace, one hand gripping Beppo's neck, allowing the latter to struggle desperately without being able to move him even a fraction.

Jin Shizi turned his head, looking at the youth before him with a face full of excitement; the youth wore a white hat and had a somewhat sinister countenance:

"You are Trafalgar Law, the user of the Ope Ope no Mi?"

"I am."

Law's face was solemn, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The anger that had surged in his heart because Beppo was captured completely vanished the instant he realized the identity of the person before him.

Only a chill rose from the soles of his feet, reaching straight to the crown of his head.

The old man before him, though his face had changed somewhat compared to the face on the wanted poster,

still had the signature golden hair and the Haki capable of shaking heaven and earth, which allowed Law to instantly recognize the identity of the person before him.

Jin Shizi Shi Ji!

A legend capable of clashing with Pirate King Luo Jie and Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world!

This is an opponent I cannot handle.

"What are your conditions?!"

The Jin Shizi raised a hand and pointed at the ship's wheel atop his head, unable to suppress the excitement in his eyes:

"Let's make a deal."

"Help me remove this thing, and I will grant you one condition, while returning your companions to you."

Law glanced at the ship's wheel on the Jin Shizi's head and instantly discerned the crux of the problem:

"This ship's wheel has grown together with your brain tissue; the bond between them will deepen as time passes."

"It may even be influenced by emotions, accelerating this process."

The Jin Shizi's eyes lit up:

"All correct!"

"Even without the Ope Ope Fruit, with merely this insight and reserve of medical knowledge, you are already one of the finest ship doctors of this era!"

"I've changed my mind now."

"The position of ship doctor on this vessel is still vacant."

"You're hired!"

Law gradually calmed down.

At least from the current situation, the Jin Shizi's goal was not to take his life, meaning there was still room for negotiation.

Looking at the Jin Shizi before him, what arose in Law's mind was Corazon, killed by Donquixote Doflamingo over a decade ago.

With my current strength, I cannot yet avenge Corazon; but what of the Jin Shizi?

What of the Jin Shizi, who was capable of rivaling Luo Jie and Whitebeard?!

It should...

No.

It is definitely possible, isn't it?!

Recalling that man who was like a nightmare, a trace of ferocity surfaced in Law's eyes:

"I have one condition."

The Jin Shizi slowly lowered Bepo in his hands and said indifferently:

"Speak."

"Help me kill one person."

"Good!"

Law froze for a moment and instinctively countered:

"You're not asking who it is I want killed?!"

"To me, whoever it is makes no difference whatsoever!"

"Truly just as expected... so arrogant!"

Law instinctively exclaimed in admiration, yet the more the Jin Shizi acted this way, the stronger his confidence in the Jin Shizi's power became.

After all, as a legend capable of contending with Luo Jie, he naturally possessed such an overbearing will that declared, 'If not me, then who?'

"Deal!"

The words had no sooner landed than—

A sharp, overbearing aura radiated outward from the Jin Shizi in all directions.

The problem that had plagued him for over a decade was resolved in an instant; the excitement surging within him was beyond words.

This was especially true when recalling the scene of his battle with Gao Wen at Rapeseed Flower Port.

"Knight Gao Wen... next time, next time you absolutely will not escape!"

"Even a rising star born of this era is destined to fall before me!"

(End of Chapter)