Fists Against the Celestial Dragons, Situation Escalates

Quiet, deathly still—

Although the Celestial Dragons are rich, very rich, extremely rich. However:

That's the money of the entire Celestial Dragons group, nineteen families and a whole bunch of people. Divided among them, it would make any single Celestial Dragons incredibly wealthy, but this "nation" is, after all, just a small, insignificant country. Compared to truly great powers:

It's not worth mentioning.

"You... you..."

The old Celestial Dragons face alternating between pale and flushed, raised and lowered his trembling hand repeatedly. He couldn't bring himself to utter the command to 'kill him,' for he saw no trace of the familiar fear in Roman's eyes, only an impatient warning:

If you say another word, I'll kill you!

Marine Admiral is indeed a formidable weapon, but the world is full of reckless individuals willing to risk everything to challenge even the emperor. The older Celestial Dragons are not ignorant youths; they understand the cruelty of this world to some extent.

In fact, every few years there are incidents of Celestial Dragons 'disappearing' while traveling, especially in the New World, where Celestial Dragons are 'at their own risk' when they go. The Navy can't be your bodyguards every day! Not only would the Navy be unwilling, but the Five Elders wouldn't agree either.

Without the Five Elders, ordinary Celestial Dragons... are just so-so.

"Snort!"

With a heavy snort, the old Celestial Dragons turned and sat down. The gazes around him... well, actually no one dared to look at him. But he still felt as if countless questioning and disdainful eyes were fixed on him, making him feel burning with unease.

Compared to the 'pragmatic' Celestial Dragons, his children were indignant. How could anyone in this world dare to oppose Celestial Dragons? This was outrageous!

"Roman..."

Nami pulled Roman along, and the heavy atmosphere in the air turned the entire auction house into a terrifying powder keg, as if it would explode at any moment!

"Don't panic,"

Roman started with his usual phrase, and just as everyone was afraid he would say something like "Panic won't help," Roman pointed behind him.

"Luffy."

Luffy?

The group, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, simultaneously realized something, and their expressions quickly turned serious. Because:

Unlike Robin, Franky, Nami, and others who have witnessed the darkness of the world and know how to be flexible, Luffy's personality...

Boom!!

With a loud bang, the auction hall doors were blown open, and a group of people 'rolled' in.

"Luffy! Can you please stop traveling like this?"

Zoro, rising from the ruins of the gate, dusted off his hair and shook off the wood chips! The others also scrambled to their feet, rubbing their backs and arms. Luffy's 'Gum-Gum Group Movement' technique was certainly fast, but those who had used it before...

It's a long story.

"Hey Roman, you guys are here too!"

Luffy glanced up at the auction venue and saw Roman and his group next to a pile of gold, as well as the items on the display stand:

"Keimi! I've finally found you~~ Hahaha!"

Given Luffy's temperament, he would naturally rush straight to the booth! But Hachi immediately hugged him from behind.

"Wait a minute, Straw Hat!"

"Don't be impulsive, this is an auction—"

Then, once Luffy has made up his mind, how could Hachi possibly stop him?

"Keimi is right over there, what do you mean by impulsive?"

"Wait a minute, she's wearing an explosive collar around her neck, and those people in the front row..."

Tear,

One struggled to pull the person away, while the other rushed forward with his head down. In the heat of the moment, Hachi's clothes were suddenly ripped, revealing six arms...

"Ahhh, it's an octopus!!"

"You filthy thing, who gave you permission to appear on human soil?!"

"Guards, guards, kill this vile fish!"

If the previous Hachi was just a strange-looking human in the eyes of these high-ranking officials, then the moment he revealed his Fish-Man identity, he became a complete 'animal'.

"Keimi ~~!!"

In an instant, a torrent of angry shouts and curses surged forth, causing Hachi to instinctively loosen his grip. Luffy, continuing his charge forward, was also tripped up by the reacting guards. In that chaotic moment:

Bang!

After a gunshot, Hachi fell into a pool of blood.

?!

Luffy was charging forward recklessly, Guotou in astonishment.

"Hmph hmph ha ha ha,"

The snotty Celestial Dragons fired the shot was overjoyed, dancing with glee.

"I hit the Fish-Man! I knocked him down!"

"This is the Fish-Man I caught, so it's free—free, Fish-Man, free, octopus~~"

Look at this guy, so excited, he's as happy as a 300-pound child. He didn't even notice that the silent Luffy had turned around and was walking towards him.

Snap,

Hachi, lying in a pool of blood, grabbed Luffy's foot.

"Wait... wait a minute... Straw Hat!"

"Don't be angry... I'm fine..."

"I was a pirate... I did wrong things... I deserve to die! You saved me despite all the past grievances, so I want to help you... to atone for my sins to Nami..."

"Stinky fish!"

Faced with Hachi's heartfelt words, the Celestial Dragons standing to the side, with snot hanging from his nose, flew into a rage.

"You've already been hit, and you still dare to keep talking! It's infuriating..."

Snap!

Luffy forward, anger rising on his face.

You've made me angry too!

??

"Hey, hey, hey, that guy wouldn't be...?"

"Is he serious?!"

"Stop, Straw Hat— "

Brush,

Before the snotty-nosed, dim-witted Celestial Dragons could even react, a fist rapidly enlarged in his pupils!

Thud—

If you slow everything down by a few thousand times, you'll see that everything else seems incredibly slow compared to Luffy's punch.

Before Luffy's fist even touched the snotty man, the bubbles on his head burst instantly! Then, his face caved in with the force of the punch, leaving a 'fist mark'. Immediately afterward, the fist slammed into his face, and ripples spread across the snotty man's fat, instantly turning his face into a distorted and abstract picture!

Then, a surge of power coursed through his entire body, sending the Celestial Dragons's obese frame flying backward as he was struck, crashing heavily into the adjacent arena! A violent shockwave erupted from his body, instantly creating a massive crater in the ground, which then shattered into countless fragments of dust that roared outwards in all directions! And then:

Boom!

Luffy clenched his fist, smashing half of the venue open with a single punch at the Celestial Dragons named 'Charloss'.

Click,

What a sturdy fellow!

Roman's gaze fell on the snotty-nosed man who had left a trail of ruins on the venue. Although the man had passed out, he was actually not in any danger of death, which once again impressed Roman with the Celestial Dragons' resilience.

Um······

Luffy's Observation Haki allows him to distinguish friend from foe, enabling him to act with impunity. He has never made a mistake, but—

The Celestial Dragons are enemies, that's beyond doubt; Hachi has indeed reformed, and that's true too. So, combining the two to fight the enemy for a friend is undoubtedly the right thing to do, but what happens afterward? Many things aren't just about right or wrong, but also about the consequences...

"I heard that if we beat these guys up, Marine Admiral will come?"

Zoro drew his sword from his waist.

"Then we must hurry!"

Sanji a cigarette.

"I'm going to find the key to the collar,"

Franky nodded and took advantage of the chaos to head towards the back of the booth.

"I'll treat Hachi,"

Chopper opened the medkit with his other hand.

"This is outrageous!!"

The elderly Celestial Dragons couldn't sit still any longer! He suddenly stood up Vice Admiral pointed his cane at the Straw Hat crew.

"How dare you hit Celestial Dragons? You have no place in this world—"

Snap,

His hand was suddenly empty; the gun, shaped like a cane, had fallen into Roman's grasp.

"Nice one,"

A casual glance with X-ray vision revealed the ingenious mechanical structure, the pointed metal bullet, and the high-strength alloy that didn't deform even in Roman's hands... No wonder it could take down the Fish-Man Hachi with one shot; it turned out to be Celestial Dragons's 'special supply' weapon.

Could this be something Vegapunk made? Hmm, it would be great for Nami to use for self-defense after being modified.

"You--"

Just as the angry old Celestial Dragons was about to say something, he met Roman's calm gaze.

"It's mine now."

!

"I... I..."

These young thieves at sea are taking advantage of my old age and weakness; how can I tolerate them thieving to my face?!

But:

It's no longer a matter of 'ten rifles are faster than a punch'. At this close range, Roman only needs to raise his cane gun to strike with incredible speed and accuracy!

"Danger, Saint Rosward!"

Fortunately, the old Celestial Dragons was not alone. The men in black suits and sunglasses, as well as the armored guards, rushed over and pulled him back while using their bodies to separate Roman.

"Quickly... quickly call the Marine Admiral and the fleet!"

The old Celestial Dragons was shouting as he retreated, hid behind many guards, but the face of the boy from earlier was still on his mind.

The indifferent expression, and those eyes... why do they seem so familiar?