The Execution Begins

After finishing his drink, Carlos left as well. No one there caught his eye, and he could not be bothered to stay.

After leaving the tavern, Carlos found an inn and rented a room. He stayed inside, studying Observation Haki and Armament Haki.

Through his own understanding and Golden Lion's explanations, Carlos felt that awakening Observation Haki would not be too difficult for him.

As its name implied, Observation Haki was divided into the forms of sight and hearing. Carlos had eaten the Eye of the Devil, a special Paramecia Devil Fruit, and was proficient in Dojutsu. The Byakugan, Ghost Eye, Sharingan, and Mangekyō Sharingan were all powers of "sight," which would greatly help Carlos awaken Observation Haki.

Carlos felt that awakening Observation Haki would not be difficult for him at all.

Although Observation Haki had two forms of application—sight and hearing—it had many uses.

The effects of Observation Haki were revealed through development in range, precision, and depth. It could predict attacks, determine numbers and strength, read minds, sense emotions, influence others, detect the presence of others, and briefly foresee the future.

Observation Haki was powerful and useful, but it could not be activated at all times. No one could keep it active constantly, either, and it could only be used while calm. Once someone lost their senses, they could not use it.

Although his Dojutsu was formidable and his insight extraordinarily sharp, learning Observation Haki was still necessary. At the very least, if he encountered special circumstances that required him to close his eyes, he would not truly become blind.

Inside the inn room, Carlos sat on the sheet-covered bed with his eyes closed. Following Golden Lion's method, he tried to sense the auras around him, but the results were minimal.

Though he could vaguely sense something, it was not strong enough to reach the level of awakening. After trying for a while longer with the same result, Carlos decided to give up for now. He would train again after returning to his own territory. He could take a page from Luffy's method of awakening Observation Haki—putting pressure on himself, drawing out his potential, and strengthening his perception.

When he looked down through the window, he realized that dusk had arrived without him noticing. To Carlos, it felt as though only a short while had passed.

Sighing at how quickly time passed, Carlos got out of bed and left the inn, intending to find a restaurant for dinner.

The execution time had not yet arrived. To prevent accidents and reduce risks, Roger's execution had been arranged with great care. The warship escorting Roger would not arrive in Loguetown until close to noon on the day of the execution. Once it arrived, the execution would begin immediately, leaving some Pirates no time to react.

Night was falling when Carlos deliberately made his way to Loguetown's dining street. The shops on both sides had lit their lamps, creating a chaotic, multicolored scene. Hawking cries, chatter, and laughter blended together. Though it lacked the splendor and luxury of a major city, it had a flavor of its own—the difference between a night-market food stall and an upscale hotel.

Since it was dinner time, the street was bustling. Many Pirates were drinking and eating there. With so many Marines present, they did not dare cause trouble lightly. The merchants served them nervously, but they were also making a fortune.

Pirates lived with their lives on the line. They believed in drinking while there was wine and enjoying life while they could. At least half the money on them would be spent on food, drink, and entertainment, so they naturally spent generously.

Normally, the Pirates would have been eager to dine and dash. But at this special time, when the Marines were at the height of their power, no Pirate with a brain would willingly walk into the line of fire.

Of course, the one thing the world never lacked was idiots. There would always be those seeking death, especially after alcohol had numbed their minds and muddled their thoughts.

Carlos had just finished a satisfying dinner when he ran into a group of Pirates with broken brains—or rather, Pirates whose courage had rapidly swelled after drinking.

After Carlos paid the bill and left, intending to stroll around a little more, he noticed a group of about twenty Pirates following behind him. Their faces were flushed red, and they staggered drunkenly. Every last one of them was completely wasted!

Seeing this, the Pirates dining on both sides of the street sneered in unison. They were laughing both at Carlos for getting into trouble and at the twenty foolish Pirates whose brains had been soaked in alcohol.

They had probably forgotten that this was Loguetown in the East Blue, not one of the places where they usually stayed and relied on violence to get whatever they wanted.

There was no helping it. Carlos's clothes made it obvious that he was rich. If they did not rob him, then who would they rob?

Carlos was utterly speechless at the blatantly obvious tail behind him. Were they playing around?

Carlos had no interest in playing with these drunken Pirates, and he could not even summon the interest to kill them himself. Still, they needed a lesson.

The moment Carlos turned around, his eyes had transformed into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Pupil Power radiated outward as he directly cast an Illusion Technique on the seven or eight Pirates who saw his eyes. Drunk and muddled, these drunks were simply too easy to catch in an Illusion Technique.

These idiots could be dealt with with a single glance. The Marines could help them sober up instead!

After casting the Illusion Technique, Carlos left.

Ah...

A pained, shrill scream rang out. One of the Pirates caught in the Illusion Technique suddenly drew his blade and slashed at the person closest to him. The strike landed squarely on a shoulder, carving out a gash deep enough to expose bone. Blood sprayed everywhere—it was brutally bloody.

The pain from that slash instantly scattered the drunken haze. Clutching his arm, the slashed Pirate twisted his face and bared his teeth as he roared, "You bastard, have you gone crazy? You're attacking your own brother?"

After saying that, the slashed Pirate became increasingly terrified as he watched his companion move. He saw his companion reaching toward his pistols...

This was bad—deadly bad! The slashed Pirate was scared out of his wits. To save himself, he charged forward, muttering, "At home, it was sister-in-law who seduced me," revealing an unknown tale of betrayal and cuckoldry.

This was only the beginning. The remaining people caught in the Illusion Technique also attacked the companions around them. Blades were drawn, guns were fired, and they began slaughtering one another without mercy.

The drunken Pirates who had not been caught in the Illusion Technique were slashed and shot. They sobered up, but they could not wake those caught in the Illusion Technique. To protect themselves, they could only fight and kill one another.

The Pirates on both sides of the street hurried farther away to watch the spectacle, lest they get caught in the crossfire. They jeered as they watched. Tonight was truly too interesting.

These drunken Pirates really had guts, starting a brawl right in this bustling district.

Could that ancient saying actually be true?

As long as you were bold enough, the Marines would go on maternity leave?

Only a very small number of powerful and observant Pirates noticed Carlos's scarlet eyes during the brief instant he turned around. Under the night sky, they had looked so sinister, eerie, and powerful!

How could the Marines possibly tolerate such a violent disturbance?

At this special time, they arrived quickly and settled it in no time. The unlucky ones were beaten to death, while the slightly luckier ones were arrested. The street soon became lively again, with only the remaining bloodstains and traces proving that it had not all been a dream.

Carlos did not take the evening's little interlude to heart at all. He continued doing whatever he had planned to do. Other than that minor incident, everything remained normal, and he encountered no further trouble until the morning of the execution.

That morning, Carlos arrived early at the execution square and claimed a good spot, ready to witness this historically significant moment—one that might be either good or bad.