The evil, frenzied aura from before had completely vanished, replaced by an aura of utmost righteousness and calm.
It was as if the person before them were a noble young master with a massively muscular build.
There was a strange sense of dissonance between his physique and his temperament.
Of course, calling him a "noble young master" might have been a bit exaggerated.
But compared to the pirates, most of whom had somewhat strange looks and temperaments, Zhu Mang—having just undergone a cleansing of the soul that had completely washed away his sense of incongruity and the violent nature brought by his Saiyan bloodline—was fully in "model youth" mode, carrying an aura that could truly be called serene.
Zhu Mang saw Granny Tsuru's deathly pale face and swaying body. In a flash, he appeared at her side and supported her.
"Granny Tsuru..." She was an elder worthy of respect.
In truth, he and she had only just met and could hardly be called familiar.
Their relationship had, at most, remained at the level of a transaction.
As for her saying she would introduce him to pretty younger sisters...
Zhu Mang had merely taken it as a joke.
He had never expected that when he was in trouble, she would drag her exhausted body here and disregard her own health to help him.
Devil Fruits might be good, but they consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
Even Whitebeard, with his absurd physical gifts, had been left riddled with injuries by his Fruit ability at this age.
Especially awakened Fruit abilities—those were not used lightly.
The expenditure was simply too great.
Some might even require the consumption of life force to unleash.
Granny Tsuru's current condition was clearly the result of overusing her awakened Devil Fruit ability.
Perhaps Zhu Mang's physical defense was simply too high.
Even though he had deliberately lowered some of his defenses and actively guided that energy into his body, she had still needed to expend even more power to achieve her original goal.
"Don't rush to thank me. I was only protecting myself," Granny Tsuru said with a strained smile. "The state you were in looked extremely dangerous."
"Ha... If I said that wasn't really me, would you believe me?" Zhu Mang explained awkwardly.
"We truly cannot become people driven by demonic thoughts," Granny Tsuru said.
"Demonic thoughts?"
"That's Sengoku's way of putting it. He said you looked like you'd fallen into madness just now. He's a Buddha-man who ate the Daibutsu Fruit."
"Haha... It really did look a little like I'd gone mad. But it won't happen again. I've completely digested all that stuff already." Zhu Mang flashed a bright, sunny smile.
The old woman and the young man crossed the chaotic battlefield as though no one else existed, and not a single person dared stop them.
They arrived beneath the Execution Platform.
This was already considered the rear of the battlefield.
The pirates had yet to reach this position.
And with Garp and Sengoku, two still-vigorous old powerhouses, stationed here, it counted as one of the rare safe zones at the moment.
Ignoring the fury practically bursting from Garp and Sengoku's eyes, Zhu Mang casually used his ki to dig out a flat boulder from nearby and helped Granny Tsuru sit down beside it.
"All right, just leave me here. What a polite and handsome young man. I absolutely have to introduce you to my younger sister—she really likes dealing with young men like you," Granny Tsuru said cheerfully.
"Granny Tsuru."
Granny Tsuru raised her head and saw a resolute face, along with a pair of eyes brimming with incomparable confidence.
"Are you satisfied with the current World Government? Do you think it's time to change the world?"
Granny Tsuru froze.
"What are you planning to do?"
"I think my way of thinking in the past was a little too lazy. There are things I've always found unbearable, things I should have followed my heart and dealt with long ago."
"You..." Granny Tsuru's eyes widened.
She seemed to have already guessed what Zhu Mang was referring to.
"Ah, the Summit War, the Summit War... How could it take place in nothing more than a stretch of sea and on a small island? Since it's called the 'Summit,' then let those Celestial Dragons sitting high above join in as well. Let's have a real, unprecedented battle in that so-called Holy Land hanging high in the heavens!" Zhu Mang made no effort to lower his voice. In an instant, it was broadcast through the Visual Den Den Mushi that had been streaming all along, spreading to every sea across the world.
"What?! You want to attack the Holy Land, Mary Geoise?!" Sengoku roared from the Execution Platform in shock and fury. "You madman, do you know how great an impact this will have on the world?"
"I don't," Zhu Mang said, spreading his hands. "The peace of the world is naturally something for you Marines to handle. What I want, and what I can do, is clear away the things I've always found disgusting from this world!"
Surely very few people liked the existence of the Celestial Dragons.
These self-proclaimed superior beings had, in truth, committed every kind of evil behind the scenes.
No.
Many of their actions could no longer even be called secret!
They regarded all humans and other races who were not Celestial Dragons as lowly vermin. On a whim, they would casually kill people for amusement, and they had once even held so-called Indigenous Slaughter Tournaments throughout the world.
They would randomly select a non-member nation of the World Government from somewhere in the world, seal it off, and rank participants according to points earned in a Murder Competition within it, awarding prizes to the winners.
And such a heinous competition had once been held every three years!
That continued until thirty-eight years ago, when God Valley, the site of one such tournament, was attacked by the Rocks Pirates. The lofty Celestial Dragons were assaulted by pirates, terrifying every one of them out of their wits.
Only after that did they begin to restrain themselves.
But it was not because they had turned over a new leaf.
It was only because they had been beaten into fear.
So, they adopted a safer method.
By supporting the slave markets of the Sabaody Archipelago, they instructed slave traders to capture people of every race across the world as their slaves or pets, forcibly fitting them with explosive collars and branding them with slave marks.
They made slaves work desperately beneath them to power the moving walkways.
They made slaves kneel on the ground and serve as mounts.
They kept fish-men and merfolk in fish tanks as ornamental fish.
All of it was revolting, even when he had only seen it through manga in his previous life.
Much less now, when Zhu Mang had come to such a "reality"!
Previously, although he had believed that he should already be invincible in the One Piece World, he had not fully adapted to that fact. He had continued to maintain the mentality of an Earthling, and both his words and actions carried a certain small-mindedness.
But now, he would become a true Saiyan Superman!
Anything that displeased him, he would make pleasing!
Anything that made him unhappy, he would destroy!
He would make the world take his shape!
Before you continue