Overwhelming Destruction!

At dusk, in a natural cave on the back mountain of Klar Village.

"Hmm... overall, they're not even as good as the parts on your body."

Lowett placed his hand in a basin, swirling the water to wash away the bits of flesh. Then the Black Sand Hand dragged over a towel and wiped it clean.

"But no point wasting them. We're scraping by at the very bottom of the sea right now, so make do, cheap goods."

"Roar!"

The Black Knight sat up from the center of the magic circle with a low growl.

The two extra sections of bone on his body made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"But Fishman muscles and bones are sturdy, and their blood and internal organs are unusual too. They can withstand high pressure. If I could get Arlong's corpse..."

A cold glint flashed through Lowett's eyes.

"The second Black Knight would be guaranteed!"

The Black Knight made from Kuro's corpse had mainly retained his original agility and skill. Its gains in strength and toughness were not obvious. Against enemies who could be killed in one slash, the killing efficiency brought by speed far surpassed that of strength.

But a Fishman corpse could not be modified that way. Without Kuro's long years of training, its limb flexibility could not compare at all. Moreover, such modifications would sacrifice the Fishmen's greatest advantage—their strength. It would be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

As he pondered, Lowett suddenly raised an eyebrow and turned toward the wall.

Beyond that direction lay the sea.

"Roar!"

The Black Knight clenched both fists and growled.

The corner of Lowett's lips lifted.

"You sensed it too?"

Zombie Puppets had no thoughts and could not convey information as accurately as the Black Knight. However, through the Soul Link, Lowett could still interpret certain simple signals.

"Looks like we have guests. They came rather quickly."

Four companions had gone missing. Based on Lowett's understanding of Arlong, it was entirely possible that he would bribe Rat to kill with a borrowed knife, or personally come to punish the culprit.

The least likely possibility was that he would fear Momonga's reputation and swallow his anger.

Meanwhile, outside the beach.

"There's actually a natural harbor here? How rare!"

Looking at the cliffs surrounding the bay in a concave shape, even Rat, who frequently traveled through these waters, clicked his tongue in amazement.

He was greedy, not stupid. With his eye for such things, he could naturally tell that with slight alterations, this natural harbor would become a perfect place to settle.

The entrance ahead was narrow, while forests covered the rear. Settling here would allow them to advance or retreat freely.

And Arlong had chosen Cocoyasi Village instead of this place?

Rat's face filled with disdain.

What a foolish beast!

"Colonel, look!"

A soldier suddenly cried out, pointing toward the beach.

"There's a cave!"

At the base of the cliff wall right beside the beach, a pitch-black cave entrance was extremely conspicuous.

"There really is something suspicious here!"

Rat was secretly overjoyed. Then he forcibly calmed himself, exchanged a glance with the accompanying lieutenant colonel who knew the situation inside and out, and headed into the cabin.

He was going to notify Arlong.

Though they had not seen the enemy, the traces of artificial excavation could not be faked. Since Arlong was willing to help, that would naturally be for the best.

On the other end, Arlong's gaze turned cold after receiving the call.

"I see... I understand. Reinforcements will arrive soon."

He hung up and turned around.

"Chew, inform Kuroobi and have them head over."

"Boss..."

Chew frowned at that.

"If we really need to blockade the waters, Chew, I'm afraid we won't have enough men."

Arlong certainly would not send out his entire force. After all, Rat was merely a pawn they were using to test the waters. Thus, despite talking grandly about sending a large force for support, he had only dispatched Kuroobi and a few others to monitor the situation.

If Rat could not beat the enemy, he could run. If he could, then they could act when the opportunity arose.

"I know. Their task remains to identify who our enemy is. As for everything else, we'll lie low and avoid the heat for now."

They were moving?

Chew stared in shock.

Arlong's expression darkened.

"Do you really trust that idiot Rat?"

They had run rampant in the East Blue for more than a day or two. Plenty of people knew about them. In the short term, they could rely on Rat to stall Momonga, but would Momonga truly refuse to act forever?

Rat thought far too highly of his own status and those so-called unwritten rules.

These iron-blooded soldiers who had fought their way out of the Grand Line showed no one any respect except Affiliated Nations.

Otherwise, those Navy scum like Rat would not need to go to such lengths to conceal the truth.

"I see..."

Chew gave a mocking smile. It was not a matter of whether they trusted Rat, but whether Rat was worth trusting.

He was simply too stupid. That was all.

"Oh, right. Remember to take Nami with us too. Her ability to draw sea charts is an indispensable part of our conquest of the seas... If she refuses, you know what to do."

Arlong added sinisterly.

A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Chew's face.

"Understood!"

It would be a shame, but this joke had already lasted five years. There was nothing wrong with ending it early.

After five years, Nami surely understood what would happen to the villagers if she disobeyed them.

What neither of them noticed was that behind the wall, Nami was sitting crouched on the floor, staring ahead with terrified, helpless eyes. She bit into her palm to stop herself from making a sound as blood slowly seeped out.

Unaware that Arlong had already sold him out, Rat returned to the deck in high spirits, only to find every soldier around him wearing a grave expression.

Following their line of sight, Rat's pupils contracted.

"You are..."

"Black Count, Lowett!"

Before Rat could utter that nickname he loathed, Lowett slammed his cane heavily against the ground and smiled.

"Don't get it wrong..."

Under that icy gaze, Rat froze. Then, feeling that he had lost face, he sneered disdainfully.

"B-Black Count, my ass! I've never heard that you came from any noble family."

He swept his gaze over the beach.

Besides Lowett, there was only one other person standing at the cave entrance: a man dressed entirely in black, with a wide gray cloak draped over his shoulders and a mask covering his face.

Only two people?

Rat smiled confidently.

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"Heaven is helping me!"

They did not even need the Fishmen to help against opponents like this.

His eyes gleamed as he looked at Lowett, as though he were looking at mobile military merit. "Headquarters issued a strict order demanding that we arrest you, but you've always hidden yourself well. We couldn't find you."

"But today will be your death day!"

He had brought over a hundred soldiers, supported by a warship and cannons. With such a force, he was confident that Lowett had no chance of escape.

"Hidden myself?"

Lowett tilted his head, his face full of confusion.

"Didn't you receive the gift I sent you?"

"Huh?!"

Rat's face stiffened. Faced with the lieutenant colonel's look as though he had seen God, he hurriedly waved his hands. "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, don't talk nonsense!"

As a truly wanted criminal, being associated with Lowett was enough to get him killed ten times over.

"That shouldn't be possible."

Lowett placed a finger beneath his nose and frowned in thought.

"I specifically arranged for a subordinate to stay aboard every ship, and they only left after confirming the ships would be discovered."

Every ship?

The gift was ships?

Rat was stunned for a moment. He racked his brain, then his expression suddenly changed.

"So it was you!!!"

Recently, there had been one subject that everyone throughout Branch 16's waters feared to discuss. It was not Momonga, but the ghost ships!

By now, more than twenty ghost ships had been discovered in these waters, causing widespread panic!

That strange absurdity, that unknown and unfathomable horror, was more terrifying than death.

Thinking of the torment he had suffered lately, as well as the money he had lost whenever Commodore Pudding Pudding used each incident as an excuse to extort him, Rat's eyes turned red.

"Bastard! Today, this colonel will eliminate you in the name of justice!"

He gripped the railing and roared at the soldiers behind him.

"All of you, attack! No need to take him alive!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lowett smiled, a smile as warm as the spring breeze.

"Then I won't hold back either."

As his words fell, an oppressive, terrifying aura erupted from his body, and heaven and earth seemed to change color.

In the eyes of the warship's soldiers, dreadful black clouds and dense mist spread from Lowett, reflecting the clear sky into a lifeless gray. Something invisible, inaudible, and indescribable was steadily devouring their courage.

This was not magic, nor was it Conqueror's Haki. It was merely Soul Aura!

The soul strength of a Ten Saints Venerable could even shatter a planet. Though Lowett was only an Elementary Mage, the strength of his soul was enough to crush ordinary people.

If he advanced to the level of an Official Mage, merely spreading his Soul Aura would be enough to shatter the souls of mortal races.

Watching the Navy soldiers tremble after he had merely released his Soul Aura, Lowett murmured softly.

"How can the weak understand that they must hold reverence before the strong?"

Flap! Flap!

A raven black as ink descended from the sky. Lowett raised a finger and let it perch there.

"I hope that before death, you can maintain this same reckless courage."

"Caw!!!"

The pure-black raven spread its wings. A brilliant light shone from its crystalline red agate eyes, and as it cried and swayed its head, two scarlet trails of light streaked through the air.

Under the lingering glow of dusk, those trails were so conspicuous that people could not help looking at them... and that one look became eternity.

Buzz!!

Powerful mana fluctuations rippled outward like waves. The eyes of every Navy soldier who met the raven's gaze instantly lost their light, and they stopped moving altogether.

Crack!

The next instant, a scalp-numbing sound of shattering erupted from the soldiers' chests, densely joining together across the deck.

Their ribs bulged outward in an arc no normal person could possibly achieve, as if something were swelling inside them.

Crack!

Their chests bulged again after having just sunk back down, round and swollen like eggs. Their ribs shattered into fragments. Beneath the fascia, something black kept pecking at their flesh, seemingly trying to break out of its shell.

Pfft... splatter!

Finally, a raven's head broke through the flesh of a soldier's chest and poked out.

At the same time, the soldier being used as an "eggshell" vomited blood mixed with organs from his mouth and fell straight down.

"Caw! Caw!"

Seemingly startled, the raven screeched, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky.

And from the hollow in that soldier's chest, another raven's head emerged.

Flutter flutter!

One soldier after another turned completely into bird nests. The ravens "settled" inside their bodies flew out one after another, circling the warship with shrill cries like a black cloud.

Combination Magic: Blood Plague Raven!

"Ah!!!"

Rat, who had received special treatment, did not die. He even retained complete consciousness.

He screamed in unbearable agony, his chest bulging high like that of a pregnant woman. The eerie sensation of something besides his heart beating inside him made cold sweat stream down his face.

Staring at Lowett, Colonel Rat begged desperately.

"P-please... spare me."

The raven grew larger and larger, forcing his ribs beyond their limit until they let out brittle cracks.

Blood seeped from the corners of Rat's mouth. The pain was so intense that he could no longer scream.

Hearing that, Lowett placed the raven securely on his shoulder and silently shook his head.

"Honestly, I have no interest in you. If you had come one day later, you wouldn't have seen me at all."

Before Rat could begin to hope, Lowett looked at him coldly.

"But unfortunately..."

Unfortunately, what?

Lowett did not finish speaking.

Boom!!

As his words fell, the rat's chest exploded completely. More than a dozen ravens burst out in a frantic swarm, flew into the sky, and joined the flock above.

Even in death, the rat's eyes remained full of confusion.

"What a pity. You interrupted my experiment..."

Lowett revealed the truth, then turned to look at the Black Knight. At the position of his shoulder blades, the faces of two fish-man skulls bulged beneath his flesh and skin.

No mage could tolerate being disturbed while conducting an experiment.

Thus, all hundred-plus members of Marine Branch 16 who had come to attack were wiped out!