A Host of Pirates Cannot Swallow Their Grudge

Rum Tavern.

Located on Fifth Avenue in Demon Valley Town, it was only slightly less lively than it would be in the afternoon, even though it was still morning.

Many pirates were still drinking and eating, including some from the Blood Thorn Pirates.

Dressed in their usual black suits and dark sunglasses, Blood Thorn's Pradanite smoked a cigar while drinking red wine, showing no signs of being a ruthless pirate.

Before coming to Demon Valley Town, he had killed a Marine Colonel at sea, and after being pursued by Sakazuki, one of the Marines' three rising stars, he fled to Demon Valley Town after escaping once.

That guy was a mad dog, and incredibly powerful.

His previous escape was pure luck, and Pradanite had no desire to see that guy again.

Demon Valley Town had a unique geography, with pirates making up almost the entire population, so the Marines rarely came here.

It was the perfect choice for many pirates to escape pursuit.

Whoosh whoosh!!!

Without any warning, holes appeared in the tavern walls, and golden weapons shot inside, attacking all the pirates.

"Ah!"

"Damn it."

"Enemy attack."

Some pirates were killed mid-drink.

The entire hall instantly descended into chaos, with food and drinks spilling onto the floor, mixing with the smoke and blood to create a nauseating stench.

"Golden weapons, it's the Golden Emperor."

Many pirates hid behind cover, recognizing the golden weapons stuck in the corpses.

No one but the Golden Emperor would be so extravagant as to use gold as weapons, and with such power.

Curses and angry shouts filled the air. The attack only lasted for one wave, as if giving them time to react.

Pradanite's face darkened. His stout body moved with surprising agility as he stepped out of the tavern, puffing on his cigar with his short legs. All the surviving Blood Thorn Pirates followed him.

As expected.

As soon as he stepped out of the tavern, Pradanite saw the incredibly arrogant and ostentatious figure.

The Golden Throne seemed to radiate a golden glow under the sunlight, and golden weapons rained down from the sky all around. They could be seen on almost every street.

"So many golden weapons."

"It's the Golden Emperor."

"What is that show-off trying to do now?"

"Who angered that attention-seeker?"

"I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of him, damn the Golden Emperor."

"If I had the strength, I'd love to hack that guy to death."

Pirates on several streets looked up at the sky. The golden weapons were like naked women, all seductively beckoning them.

But they were powerless.

Right now, in all of Demon Valley Town, if you asked who the pirates most wanted to kill, the Golden Emperor would definitely be at the top of the list.

He attracted too much hatred.

"Golden Emperor, what do you want?"

In front of the Rum Tavern, Pradanite's fat face was grim.

"I heard you bet on Zebra Killer, that pauper, winning last time?"

Chaos sat on his floating throne, crossing his legs and nonchalantly trimming his fingernails with a small golden knife, showing no regard for Pradanite.

"And you killed more than ten of my subordinates because of that?"

Pradanite exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes growing colder.

"No, no, no, I came to annihilate all of you."

As soon as Chaos finished speaking, Pradanite sneered.

"You think you can provoke me just because you beat Swordsman Crus?"

"Let me tell you, it would only take me a minute to kill that guy."

Pradanite was confident. Although Swordsman Crus's bounty was higher than his, he considered Crus a stray dog.

If not for their fight last night, he might have been a little wary, but after Crus fled, that wariness vanished.

A bounty of 124 million, nothing more!

"Oh?"

Chaos tilted his chin, looking down at Pradanite with disdain in his eyes.

His expression alone conveyed terms like trash, contempt, scorn, mockery, and idiocy.

"Kill him for me! I want to smash his face in."

The powder keg instantly exploded, and Pradanite couldn't hold back any longer.

Chaos's expression had shattered his last line of defense. No provocation could match the destructive power of that look.

Bang!

Whoosh!

The entire Blood Thorn Pirates crew opened fire or charged forward the moment the fight began.

They had only one thought now: kill him.

"Heh!"

Having successfully ignited the fury of the entire Blood Thorn crew, Chaos's sneer intensified, pouring more fuel on the fire.

"A bunch of trash, too weak."

Golden weapons rained down from the sky. Bullets were blocked, sparks flying, before being shot out like arrows. Screams and the smell of blood began to fill the street.

"Damn it."

One pirate was pinned to the ground by a halberd. Even in death, his eyes were wide open, glaring hatefully at Chaos.

He would absolutely die with regrets.

Not for any other reason than he couldn't swallow his anger.

The Golden Emperor was too arrogant and irritating.

If he had the chance, he'd want to take that guy down with him.

Unbearable!

It wasn't just the Blood Thorn Pirates; even some pirates watching from afar were grinding their teeth.

There was no reason, they were just incredibly annoyed.

"Thorn Fist."

An afterimage flashed, and Pradanite finally made his move. Ten black thorns sprouted from his right hand and shot towards Chaos's face. It was hard to imagine such speed from such a plump body.

Chaos's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected it. Without even blinking, a golden three-bladed axe appeared, firmly blocking Pradanite's fist. Several golden weapons from above crashed down.

"Thorn Barrage."

Pradanite reacted quickly. Dense spikes suddenly erupted from his entire body, like a fat porcupine with no weak points.

Paramecia: Thorn Fruit. The user's entire body can sprout thorns, thorns that can pierce even rock.

This was the ability of Miss Doublefinger, a future Baroque Works agent, who had given Nami quite a bit of trouble back then.

Pradanite, as the current user of the Thorn Fruit, had clearly developed it far beyond the next user, Miss Doublefinger. These thorns were genuinely harder than steel.

Chaos vanished in an instant. Immediately, a gust of wind pressed down from the sky. Several golden weapons struck the spikes, unable to break through their defense.

Pradanite seized the opportunity to land on the ground, a mass of spikes rising from his back. From a distance, he looked like a fat Godzilla.

Quite similar.

"Defense too tough to bite into."

But from the sky, the Golden Throne made a metallic clanging sound. Sparks flew as it wrapped around Chaos, transforming into golden armor. Simultaneously, all the scattered golden weapons merged into one, ultimately becoming a ten-meter-long, one-meter-thick mace covered in golden spikes.

Though the sun overhead was warm, as Chaos lifted this mace, a chill spread throughout the entire street.

Many watching pirates gasped.

Pradanite's plump face twitched, his eyes changing.

His defense was strong. Enemies trying to injure him would usually be counter-spiked. His only weakness was being hit by heavy weapons.

"Whoosh!"

Chaos grinned, revealing white teeth. His figure flickered left and right incessantly. In just three breaths, he appeared before Pradanite and swung the giant mace with both hands in a full-power blow.

Pradanite's hair stood on end. He vanished from his spot instantly.

He didn't try to block it.

The ground was immediately torn apart. A large area of dirt and rocks was sent flying by the mace. The ear-splitting sound of it cutting through the air conveyed its brutal power.