Extracting Souls

The Big Mom Pirate Crew members' gazes followed the pink light, their thoughts freezing, and expressions of utter horror gradually appeared on their faces, clearly realizing the crisis behind this event.

No one would believe that this nonsensical assassin could harm Roy. Do they really think the Four Emperors are like those Battle Emperors who were killed by avalanches?

Their concern was that this incident could trigger a full-scale war between Nightmare and Big Mom. After all, Nightmare was never one to mince words, and to be assassinated on their territory, especially by a member of their Big Mom Pirate Crew, was simply outrageous.

Sure enough, after a flash of cold light, the pink figure flew backward at an even faster speed than it had come from, crashing heavily to the ground. The small, exquisite Sea Stone dagger also fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"Pekoms, what are you trying to do, you bastard? Are you trying to start a fight between Lord Roy and Mother?" Baron Tamago had been working with Pekoms for a long time, asked incredulously.

"Pekoms, are you some kind of spy sent by another pirate ship? I'll teach you a lesson!" Oven, hot-tempered and impulsive, was enraged by Pekoms's behavior. His body glowed with an orange-red light, and the surrounding temperature began to fluctuate.

"No need." Katakuri raised his right hand to stop Oven, then shook his head and said, "He's already dead!"

As the Charlotte Family's greatest masterpiece and the leader of the Sweet Four Generals, Katakuri's words are naturally beyond question.

Therefore, the group, who had not yet recovered from Pekoms's audacious actions, were once again stunned.

It's important to know that Big Mom Pirate Crew 'Pekoms strength is definitely not weak, given that he is a Turtle-Turtle Devil Fruit User with terrifyingly strong defenses that most people can't even break through.

Although any of their family ministers were confident that they could easily defeat Pekoms, as for killing him, perhaps only the Sweet Four Generals could do it. Roy's effortless attack, which they couldn't even see clearly, was beyond their imagination.

"Is this Nightmare Roy? No wonder he's a man who can rival my mother, he's incredibly strong!" Cracker a deep breath. Fearing pain, he had hidden his true form inside the biscuit man for many years, and what he feared most was an enemy like Roy with sharp attacks.

"As expected of the man I've set my sights on, he's certainly Haki." Smoothie's eyes gleamed.

"His actions are completely unpredictable, it's really a headache!" Katakuri looked at Roy warily, worried that he might suddenly make a move.

"I didn't expect your Big Mom Pirate Crew to have such a surplus of Sea Stone?" Roy glanced at the Sea Stone dagger lying on the ground and said meaningfully.

Sea Stone is extremely scarce and has always been a strategic resource on the high seas. Apart from the Marine Headquarters and the World Government, very few forces possess large quantities of Sea Stone. Even Roy himself only became wealthy after raiding a dedicated Sea Stone base in the North Blue.

For the Four Emperors' pirate crews, Sea Stone is no longer a particularly rare item, but following the order of Big Mom – Sweet Four Generals – Thirty-Four Ministers – Family Members – Combatants, the chances of Pekoms possessing Sea Stone Weapon are really slim.

Otherwise, Capone Bege, a member of the Worst Generation and the latest addition to the Big Mom Pirate Crew, wouldn't be so short-handed as to not even have a single Seastone Bullets.

Seeing that Roy didn't intend to pursue the matter, Katakuri breathed a sigh of relief, but then realized that there were other forces involved behind the assassination. With a grim expression, he ordered the trembling pirate crew members around him, "Quickly send someone to find out whether Pekoms's Sea Stone Weapon was stolen from his family or whether someone specifically funded him."

"Idiot, do you think I wouldn't have thought of this? In the end, you'll only find out that this Sea Stone Weapon was given to you by members of the Charlotte Family. What will you do then? Uphold righteousness and betray your own family, or turn against Nightmare? I'm really looking forward to it." In the noisy crowd in the distance, an inconspicuous figure said smugly.

"No need for all that trouble." Roy strode over to Pekoms's corpse, ignoring his unseeing eyes, and knelt down to place his hand on Pekoms's forehead.

The expressions of the Big Mom Pirate Crew changed slightly. Although Pekoms was in the wrong, Roy had already killed him, so why desecrate his body? In addition, Pekoms had been their colleague for many years, so they couldn't help but feel a sense of shared grief. For a moment, they looked at Roy with a sense of camaraderie.

Roy was naturally aware of the changes in the mentality of those around him, but why should he care about the thoughts of these weaklings? If hatred could kill, he would have died countless times already.

A moment later, Roy removed his hand, stood up, and white mist emerged from Pekoms' forehead, quickly forming a faint figure that was vaguely recognizable as Pekoms's form.

Seeing this scene, even under the bright sunlight, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and a thought popped into their minds, "Is this what it means to see a ghost in broad daylight?"

Katakuri, on the other hand, remained calm. His mother could also extract a person's soul, so it's not surprising that Roy could do the same, right?

What a load of rubbish!

Big Mom can indeed extract people's souls, that's true, but Roy is extracting the souls of the dead!

Moreover, the souls extracted by Big Mom are essentially in the form of lifespan; how can a dead person have a lifespan?

That's why Big Mom was so interested in Brook's existence in the original story.

However, he also noticed a characteristic: Pekoms's soul seemed to be fading away and could not last as long as the soul his mother extracted.

"Where did you get this Sea Stone Weapon?" Roy knew his own limitations and quickly asked.

"It was given to me by a mysterious person who claimed to give me hope for revenge, but the price was that even if I failed, I had to use... my own death to sow discord between Nightmare and the Bogmom Pirates." Pekoms' voice was very mechanical, devoid of spirit, and became intermittent, as if it was about to dissipate.

Fortunately, no one cared about Pekoms' condition. The members of the Big Mom Pirate Crew were stunned by the news. They didn't expect that there was really a hidden force on Whole Cake Island trying to sow discord between them and Roy. Thinking back to their previous mindset, they broke out in a cold sweat and almost made a big mistake.

The mysterious figure in the distance also felt a chill run down his spine, cursing inwardly, "Is Nightmare really human? And aren't they saying the dead are the most tight-lipped? Can this game even continue?"