"Cough, cough... Am I going to die just like this? What a shame. I haven't achieved my dream yet. Forget about a fantastical battleship—I haven't even managed to build an ordinary ship. When I think about it, what have I been doing for the past twenty years...?"
In the ruins of the main building, in a corner sheltered by several pillars, Grey lay on the ground. After coughing up a couple of mouthfuls of blood, he continued rambling.
"Is this guy all right?"
Rod watched Grey go on muttering and felt a headache coming on. For a moment, he actually hesitated.
Did he really want to make this guy a crewmate? His skills had been vouched for by Nerl, and they were indeed impressive.
But that incessant chatter... He wanted to gag the man!
"He's fine. He's only broken four bones."
After checking Grey's injuries, Nerl nodded to Rod.
The enemy's bombardment had come too suddenly. They hadn't expected the other side to be so reckless as to open fire without caring that the rest of their family members were still inside the building.
"Boss Kyle..."
The few surviving gangsters looked pale. They hadn't imagined their boss would disregard their lives and blast the entire building to pieces.
What did that make them, then—the men who'd risked their lives for the family?
Their weapons slipped from their hands and clattered to the ground. The gangsters had no will to fight left.
They'd kept fighting with all their might despite being intimidated by Rod and his crew's strength, but their own boss's ruthless actions had doused their fervor completely.
These men had lost the will to fight.
Rod glanced at the few survivors and thought to himself.
He wasn't some deranged murderer. He couldn't bring himself to raise his sword against people who'd completely lost their will to fight.
He kicked aside the rubble and wood in front of him, then looked toward the courtyard in the middle of the estate. The battle there was already over.
"She's a demon..."
The gangsters stared at Fulk Kyle's battered remains scattered across the ground, then at the purple-haired woman standing nearby. Their faces were pale, and they could barely stay on their feet.
Just moments ago, Boss Kyle—the man who'd led them in building the powerful Felke Family—had been killed by the woman before them in what was practically a slaughter. He hadn't been able to fight back at all.
"Honestly, I've made a mess of everything again. This is why I don't like fighting in this form."
Nia glanced around in distaste, a trace of disgust in her eyes.
She was a Zoan Devil Fruit user, with the Cat-Cat Fruit, Black Cat Model.
For some reason, aside from the physical enhancement her Devil Fruit gave her, she always seemed to lose control of herself whenever she transformed using its power.
In her hybrid form, her fighting ability soared, but in exchange, she would do things she'd never normally do.
She wouldn't just toy with her enemies—she would also use cruel methods to kill them.
That was why she usually avoided using her Devil Fruit powers.
"You can all leave. I have no interest in the weak."
After surveying the situation, Rod spoke. The gangsters around him immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Their boss had been taken out. They had no desire to keep fighting.
Besides...
Neither the Catwoman who'd slaughtered their boss nor the red-haired man who'd emerged unscathed from a barrage of cannon fire was someone they could take on.
"Wait!"
Just as the gangsters were about to leave, Nia suddenly called out to them.
"Settle up my payment first, you idiots!"
The men's hearts, which had just begun to settle, lurched again. They turned to look at Jason, one of the few survivors.
"Please wait a moment. I'll bring you the agreed-upon payment, every last coin."
Jason's expression was complicated. He hurried toward the depths of the estate with a few others. If he'd had the choice, he would've handed over their share of the payment back on the coast.
Bang!
"Aah!"
After a gunshot and several screams, more than a dozen figures emerged from the shadows behind the estate. They looked like a group of teenagers, none of them very old, but every face wore a wild grin.
"A mere gang thinks it can meddle in that great man's business? Don't you know the Donquixote Family controls the Arms Business in the North Blue?"
The young man at the front had short blond hair and a vicious smile. He carried a man who was barely conscious—Jason, who'd left earlier.
After casually surveying the scene, the newcomer tossed Jason aside.
"You're nothing but a bunch of nobodies. I, Bellamy, will take care of you for that great man!"
"Hey, Bellamy! You can't hog all the glory for yourself!"
The newcomers paid no attention to the people left in the courtyard. Instead, they seemed eager to prove themselves, charging at everyone in sight with all kinds of weapons. They looked like young boys, but they showed no mercy in their attacks.
"So you're the boss of this Felke Family, huh? Looks like you've just been through a fight. But I'll show you that a real battle between pirates is nothing like a scrap with a third-rate gang."
After looking around, Bellamy fixed his gaze on Rod. Of everyone present, the red-haired man looked the most imposing.
Bellamy grinned cockily. As he spoke, his legs suddenly changed. A series of lines appeared, and his legs turned into springs. The sound of the springs compressing rang out.
A Devil Fruit user?
Nia was slightly taken aback by the transformation of his legs.
In the next instant, the springs compressed to their limit released their stored energy. The tremendous force sent Bellamy shooting forward. With a cruel grin, he raised his fist and swung it hard at Rod.
So fast!
Nia was slightly startled by his speed. Even she would need to use her Devil Fruit powers to keep up with that explosive burst.
Smack!
Rod's eyes narrowed as Bellamy attacked. He leaned slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch, then grabbed Bellamy by the face and stopped his charge.
Before Bellamy could react, Rod twisted at the waist and slammed his head hard into the ground.
BOOM!!
A terrifying force erupted, smashing a huge crater into the ground. Bellamy lay sprawled on his back, completely unconscious.
"Big Brother Bellamy!"
Bellamy's companions stared in shock as he was knocked out in a single exchange.
Bellamy had eaten the Spring-Spring Fruit and become Springman. He could turn any part of his body into a spring. Once compressed, the springs unleashed an impact stronger than a cannonball.
That red-haired kid had defeated Big Brother Bellamy in an instant. Who on earth was he?
This guy really was strong!
Nia looked at Rod, who'd ended the fight in an instant, and a glint of admiration flashed in her eyes.
"Now, can any of you explain what's going on?"
The battle had ended in an instant. Rod looked at the newcomers and spoke calmly.
In the original timeline, they should've met Luffy on Jaya Island and gotten into a scuffle. They'd also appeared in the later Dressrosa Arc, if he remembered correctly. Weren't they peripheral members of the Donquixote Family?
But they weren't wearing the Donquixote Family's insignia. Had they already become Doflamingo's lackeys?
Before you continue