Fear Comes from the Fear of Losing

"Seastone? How is that possible? I haven't lost any strength at all..." Adkin said without thinking, then suddenly stiffened. "I can't use my ability, but why do I still have my strength?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Marines and the other ability users among the royal families also cried out, "This is bad! I can't use my ability either!"

"Hehehe! That's the peculiar effect of Seastone powder. Unlike intact Seastone, it doesn't make ability users lose their strength while stripping away their abilities." Felix's smug voice came from beneath his mask, a specially made respirator designed to prevent him from inhaling the Seastone dust.

"Still, what use is the strength they retain to ability users who rely on their powers? This characteristic instead makes it all the more covert and effective."

"Come to think of it, I'm rather surprised. Seastone is harder than diamond, yet the Kingdom of Alabasta actually possesses the technique to grind it into powder..."

"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Our kingdom has no such technique. These are merely treasures passed down through the royal family." The King of Alabasta looked at Felix with bone-deep hatred and sneered.

Felix did not care. "Whatever. All I need is the Seastone powder you've hoarded away. With this treasure, even if I encounter monsters I can't defeat after entering the New World, I'll have a trump card to turn defeat into victory."

Longinus thought to himself, The memories of that otherworldly soul mentioned that Wano Country possesses the world's finest Seastone-processing techniques. They can fashion Seastone into delicate objects like nails, while the Kōzuki Clan can even inscribe Poneglyphs upon indestructible Stone Tablets.

Considering the Nefertari Clan's identity as one of the ancient Twenty Kings, as well as the Stone Tablet in the royal mausoleum that records a Poneglyph, could this Seastone powder have been a treasure gifted to the Nefertari Clan by the Kōzuki Clan back then?

The atmosphere in the grand hall grew heavy for a moment before Felix spoke again. "Originally, I had no intention of tearing things apart with you Marines. Unfortunately, you Marines have gone too far. Not only did you ruin my slave trade, you even slaughtered every last one of my men, turning the prestige of Felix, Arbitrator of the Dark Night, into a joke throughout these seas. Tell me, how should I deal with these arrogant Marines?"

"Hang them! Hang them!" the pirates behind Felix clamored.

"Actually, I have an idea. Didn't they ruin my slave trade? Then let them have a taste of becoming slaves themselves. Let these lofty royals and Marines become lowly slaves. Is there anything in this world more exciting than that?"

The Marines and the royal families of the three kingdoms all changed expression slightly. Becoming slaves was a fate even crueler than death to them.

King Azka also screamed loudly, "Captain Felix, you absolutely cannot let them leave alive! If they reveal what happened tonight, then I'll be finished!"

"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Felix asked coldly.

"N-No, that's not what I meant..."

"Hahahaha! You never expected retribution to come so quickly, did you? I told you before, these vile pirates—" The King of Alabasta laughed wildly, but when Felix cast him a glance, his body exploded like a bomb, tearing into pieces as blood and gore sprayed everywhere.

"Ah! Someone's dead!"

Although the situation in the hall had been at a stalemate, no one had died so far, creating an illusion of false peace. But the horrifying death of the King of Alabasta opened the floodgates of fear in everyone's hearts, plunging the grand hall into instant chaos. The stench of blood also began to spread through the hall.

"Father... Father..." Cobra murmured vacantly. Then, with his eyes splitting wide, he glared at Felix. "You damned pirate! I'll kill you!"

The Alabasta nobles hurriedly restrained Cobra. "Your Highness, don't act rashly! The enemy is a Great Pirate beyond our ability to fight. If you charge in recklessly... who will save Alabasta?"

Felix glanced at Cobra disdainfully and said without concern, "The barking of a defeated dog!"

"Is this your ability? Fear?" Longinus stood up and asked.

Felix froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "You're the Marine who ruined my slave trade? You actually have the courage to stand before me. You've got some nerve..."

"Are you changing the subject?" Longinus asked with a gentle smile at the corner of his lips.

Felix's gaze sharpened. "I don't know what you're talking about. As the Arbitrator of the Dark Night, I can infinitely amplify my ability at night. Every word I speak and every look I cast can become the judgment of law. Do you want to taste death right now?"

"There isn't any fear in my heart right now. Are you sure you want to try? Shattering the invincible image you have in your subordinates' hearts would be one thing, but if you destroy the seeds of fear you deliberately planted in everyone's hearts, then all the effort you put into your actions after entering this place will have been wasted."

Felix took a deep breath and said no more.

Longinus continued, "From the very beginning, you've been crafting an image of yourself as powerful and mysterious. Or rather, you've been doing so ever since you first went to sea, even going so far as to hide in darkness all day long. The slave auction you mentioned earlier, and killing someone with a glance, were also meant to amplify—"

"Enough! Shut up!"

Felix shouted as he pushed his ability to its limit. Yet Longinus showed no reaction at all, remaining as calm as a clear wind brushing past a mountain ridge.

"How is this possible? As long as someone is human, they will have fear—fear of power, fear of failure, fear of death! Why don't you have even the slightest trace of fear?" Felix cried out in disbelief. The King of Alabasta had merely feared losing his power, and Felix had drawn out that fear until his body exploded and he died. Yet Felix could not sense even the slightest fear from this Marine. Was this man really human?

As soon as those words fell, the grand hall erupted in an uproar.

"So it really is an ability related to fear. Major Longinus truly deserves his title as the Marine Hero. He can remain so utterly calm even in this situation!"

"You've got to be kidding! If having fear means death, then this ability is too impossible to counter! I can't be as fearless as Major Longinus. Does that mean I'll die soon?"

"Idiot. An ability this monstrous must have terrifying limitations or costs. Felix doesn't have time to bother with a nobody like you."

"Without any fear at all... is this what a true Marine is like?"

Is this a Devil Fruit ability somewhat similar to Big Mom's? Longinus silently speculated as he advanced toward Felix step by step. "Fear comes from being afraid of losing something. But I have never believed that I would fail. As long as I always stand on the side of the victor... I will never lose."