"Tch..." ×2
Inside the gloomy castle, countless zombies hid in the distance, peeking at the people seated within.
At that moment, neither Mihawk nor Moria looked pleased.
The former had to look after the sleeping child in his arms, while the latter hated Austin's shamelessness.
"Black Emperor Austin, what exactly do you want!!!"
"Shh..."
Austin crossed his legs and made a silencing gesture, signaling toward the still-sleeping Perona.
Moria's expression stiffened, but he continued glaring at Austin as he waited for him to continue.
"I know, Moria. Someone like you won't be willing to live under another's thumb, while I want to bring all the Shichibukai under my command."
"Of course, killing you and replacing you with another Shichibukai would be easy, but I think that would be far too boring~"
Austin loosely clenched his hand.
"Compared to a physical victory, I prefer a victory of the mind. Otherwise, I would have long since slaughtered everyone on the seas who refused to submit to me."
Austin was not bloodthirsty. Especially now, there were already very few people on the seas who dared provoke him, so he acted far less often than before.
"If you're determined not to submit, that's fine too. As long as you show me some respect in the future, I can guarantee the safety of your... subordinates.
As long as they don't provoke me."
Moria had been about to lose his temper upon hearing the first half, but after hearing Austin's latter words, his furious shout caught in his throat.
His face darkened, crisscrossed with grim black lines.
"No one besides you can hurt them!!!"
The subordinates he referred to only included little Perona, because Hogback, Absalom, and the others had not yet joined Moria's crew.
"Is that so?"
Austin revealed a faintly mocking smile, as though