Chapter 144: Public Execution Plan

New World, the sea area guarded by G5 Branch.

On the deck of a Marine warship,

As the only two Devil Fruit users of the Buggy Pirates, Buggy and Foxy were gifted a pair of Seastone handcuffs.

Not far away.

A Marine holding the rank of Rear Admiral stood with a frenzied expression beside Akainu, listening to orders.

"I understand, Admiral."

Having spoken, the Rear Admiral stepped forward quickly, flipping through Buggy's shirt lining and pulling out several tattered treasure maps and Log Poses.

Buggy lay on the ground weakly, but when his peripheral vision caught the Marine taking a photo, he suddenly rose, trying to snatch it back.

Yet the Rear Admiral kicked him down.

"Admiral, we found this."

Akainu took the photo.

On the photo, which had been specially waterproofed, three boys stood with their arms around each other.

On the left, the one with the bright smile was the Red Nose; on the right was the red-haired boy showing the same smile; and in the middle, the white-haired boy with a confident smile was Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen.

"Keep them alive and bring them back to headquarters."

Hearing that Admiral Akainu had personally captured Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's childhood friends, the Marines of G5 Branch erupted in excitement, especially since the Admiral only requested they be kept alive.

That meant they must be properly tortured.

The Marines of G5 Branch were famous for torturing and killing pirates and disregarding headquarters' orders, yet they obeyed Akainu's commands and even regarded him as their idol.

In their eyes, what the hell was a Pirate Emperor? He was just someone driven away by Admiral Akainu.

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen only dared because he could fly; if he had the guts to clash head-on with Admiral Akainu...

With Admiral Akainu's terrifying strength, he would surely punch the Pirate Emperor's head to pieces.

While Akainu returned to his office to plot, the branch Marines swarmed Buggy, punching and kicking him.

"Say it! Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is a coward!"

"Say it! Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is an idiot!"

Though beaten black and blue, Buggy still pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

"He is a man of backbone, after all."

The Rear Admiral who had previously found the photo on Buggy pulled a pistol from his waist and aimed it at a Buggy Pirates crew member.

"Say it! Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is an idiot!"

Almost the next second, the gunshot rang out, and crimson blood sprayed onto Buggy's face, mixing with the tears at the corner of his eye.

The Rear Admiral slapped Buggy's face.

"You're no good either, Red Nose."

"Look at Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen; at least he clung to the thigh of Golden Lion and became a Pirate Emperor."

"And you? A bounty of ten million."

"Not even enough for your Marine Grandpa to buy a meal."

"Hahahaha~"

Ignoring the mockery in his ears, Buggy looked at the crew members who had followed him from East Blue all the way to the New World, lying motionless on the ground.

Dead. Ajie is dead.

Ajie, who loved eating oranges the most, is dead.

Eighteen years, a full eighteen years, Buggy had never desired power as much as he did in this moment; he longed for strength like Captain Luo Jie and Saint Saint Saiwen possessed.

If it were Saint Saint Saiwen, he surely would not have lost.

He surely would not be like him, forced to watch his crew members be tortured and killed while being able to do nothing.

The Buggy of this moment was not the small pirate whose edges had been worn down by more than twenty years of wasted time in East Blue.

At this time, Buggy's blood was hot.

Buggy raised his head to look at that Rear Admiral, as if trying to carve the man's face into his mind, only to be met with punch after punch heavily smashing into his face.

"I told you to look! I told you to look!"

Only after beating Buggy into unconsciousness did the Rear Admiral stretch.

"Lock them all in cages."

Marine soldiers each lifted two pirates and, like tossing trash, threw all the Buggy Pirates members into cages made of Seastone.

The dead pirates were thrown into the sea.

No one noticed the flash of red-black lightning that briefly appeared at Buggy's fingertips.

In the Marine warship's office.

Akainu was looking at the Den Den Mushi on the table.

"This is our only chance. Once Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen reaches his peak, the Marines will hardly have another opportunity to destroy the Morning Star Pirates."

"Last time, Kuzan was not here."

"That is why the Buster Call failed."

"This time, we have prepared in advance. If Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen wants to save them, he will lose his speed advantage. With Kuzan and Borsalino present, he cannot escape even with wings."

The Den Den Mushi: "What if Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen does not come?"

Akainu held a cigar in his mouth.

"There is no 'what if'."

"Release the news to the outside world: the Marines are about to publicly execute the descendant of the Pirate King, Luo Jie. Whether he comes or not, there is no loss for us."

"If he comes, destroy him."

"Not coming?" Akainu sneered.

"Who would join a Sea Emperor who cannot even protect his captain's child?"

The Den Den Mushi spoke, its eyes flickering.

"Sakazuki, I need to report to the World Government. If the Five Elders agree..."

Akainu interrupted, biting his cigar: "Can't you, this Fleet Admiral, show some backbone for once?"

"Does everything require the Five Elders' approval?!"

The Den Den Mushi roared immediately.

"Sakazuki, I am the Fleet Admiral!"

"You must consider that Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen and the Morning Star Pirates are no longer what they were, and there are moles..."

Akainu interrupted again.

"Sacrifices are inevitable. Why can't the sacrifice be your son?"

"I will release news of the public execution of Luo Jie's descendant. You, Fleet Admiral, decide what to do."

In reality, Akainu always believed the Navy's duty was obedience to orders, yet whenever he encountered Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, only one thought remained in his mind.

Kill them. Kill them all.

Two years ago, when Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen was only seventeen, he had left his side unscathed.

Rather than wait a few more years for Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen to reach his peak in his twenties, it was better to seize this golden opportunity and annihilate the Morning Star Pirates in one blow.

If luck was good enough, they could also conveniently slaughter all the remnants of the Luo Jie Pirates.

If this group of remnants lacked the courage to come and rescue him, Pirate King Luo Jie would become a laughingstock on the seas.

Just think about it: Luo Jie's descendant publicly executed, while the former Luo Jie Pirates dare not show their faces. Such a result would undoubtedly be better.

No matter the outcome, the Navy wins.

Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.

Inside the spacious, bright palace, the Five Elders took their positions one by one. Saint Saturn sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples.

"The Navy has captured Luo Jie's descendant and hopes to execute him publicly in Marineford."

"Sakazuki's plan is to use this to lure out the remnants of the Luo Jie Pirates and Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, then gather all the Navy's top combat power to annihilate them in one blow."

"What does everyone think? Is this feasible?"

Saint Saturn was utterly speechless. He had just given the Logia-type Snow-Snow Fruit to Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen as a thank-you, and now the Navy had concocted such a plan.

Why didn't you say so earlier?!

If there had been such a plan from the start, why would he have wasted another Logia-type Devil Fruit?

Regarding the Elbaf National Treasure matter, the Five Elders and Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had cooperated very pleasantly, even preparing to strongly woo the other party in the future.

However, pleasant cooperation was one thing; it did not affect their determination to eliminate Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen at all.

Before, there was no opportunity, so they chose to cooperate.

Now, a golden opportunity had fallen right on their heads.

Saint Saturn realized that if the Navy's plan succeeded, this would be the closest the World Government had ever come to annihilating Luo Jie's remnants and the Morning Star Pirates.

The last time the Buster Call was launched,

ordering the shipwright to tamper with the coating on the Donghai Dihuang ship was considered by Saint Saturn to be the greatest masterstroke since he became one of the Five Elders.

But it failed.

Now that a golden opportunity had fallen on their heads, Saint Saturn admitted he was indeed somewhat tempted.

Saint Vochuli blew his beard and glared: "I still say the same thing: what if it fails?"

"Are you prepared to deal with the retaliation?"

"We must prioritize stability."

Saint Natsushiro, holding the Shusui, let a sharp glint flash through his eyes.

"If the Navy lacks manpower, this old man also wishes to test Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's blade."

Everyone says Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen and Mihawk possess superior swordsmanship; I, Saint Natsushiro, am not inferior!

Saint Saturn quickly took over the conversation.

"Let us vote by raising our hands."

Except for Saint Vochuli, the other four Five Elders, including Saint Saturn, raised their hands.

Saint Saturn immediately made the final decision.

"Order the Navy to prepare as soon as possible."