Too Weak

"It's a pity he's only worth sixty million. If it were a bit higher, that'd be better."

Uchiha Yoru shook his head with some regret. He'd wanted to test the strength of an average elite Uchiha.

But a sixty-million-berry bounty seemed to fall a bit short.

Oh well, he'd make do for now.

"Inabi, you try this guy's strength."

Yoru turned his head slightly and called out to the crowd behind him.

"Yes, clan head!"

From the crowd, a man with short black hair and a dot on his forehead spoke up.

Then he stepped past the others and stopped three meters from the Bone Crusher Pirates.

He stared coldly at the man who had spoken.

Bard felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but quickly turned angry and embarrassed. "What are you looking at? Don't you understand human speech? Hand over the money! Or else—"

His words cut off abruptly.

Because Inabi clearly had no mood for idle talk. He slowly raised his right hand.

He formed a single hand seal: "Ram."

The motion was slow, slow enough for Bard to see every detail.

Inabi brought his right hand to his chest, index and middle fingers together, the other three curled in.

Then his left hand rose as well, forming an odd gesture at his chest.

"What kind of gesture is that..." Miharu frowned on the rooftop, peering through his sniper scope.

It wasn't the usual motion a Devil Fruit user made when activating their power.

It looked more like some kind of... ritual?

Bard's pirate crew burst into laughter.

"Boss, what's he signaling at you?"

"Does he think he can kill you with a glare?"

Bard laughed too, about to open his mouth for a taunt.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique."

Inabi's voice was calm, as calm as if he were reading off a menu.

Then the world turned red.

Boom—!!!

It wasn't a fireball.

It was a dragon.

A massive dragon made entirely of flame roared out from Inabi's mouth!

The dragon's body was a full ten meters long, scales distinct, claws sharp, and even its whiskers fluttered in the fire!

A scorching wave of heat instantly swept across the entire dock!

The smile froze on Bard's face.

Before he could make any move, the flame dragon slammed into him.

"Aaaaaah—!!!"

A scream so shrill it didn't sound human.

Flames swallowed Bard, swallowed the three pirates standing directly behind him.

The dragon didn't stop. It surged forward, smashing through a stack of wooden crates by the dock, carving a charred trench into the stone ground, and finally crashing into the sea, blasting a towering pillar of water into the air!

Steam billowed. The stench of scorched flesh stung the nose.

The flames faded.

Bard was still standing!!!

No—his charred body was still frozen in a standing pose.

His skin was carbonized all over, wisps of smoke rising, only his eyes still holding the terror of his final moments.

The three men behind him were gone, leaving only three piles of ash shaped like human forms.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Only the sound of seawater slapping against the dock, and the distant pop of bubbles bursting.

Inabi lowered his hand and lightly brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve.

"Too much talking," he said.

Then he stepped forward, walking past Bard's charred corpse.

Silently, he returned to the rear of Uchiha Yoru's group, blending in like an inconspicuous underling.

Months of grueling Haki training had caused Inabi's physical energy to surge wildly, even feeding back into his Chakra cultivation.

A technique he could barely manage before—the Great Dragon Fire Technique.

Now, he only needed to form the "Tiger" seal to unleash it.

Unbelievable!

The scorched corpse wobbled, then finally fell with a thud, breaking into pieces.

"Who said fire release can't kill people?"

Yoru shook his head. A sixty-million bounty was too low—it couldn't even measure Inabi's current strength.

A Supernova would be about right!

Too bad it wasn't yet the time when Supernovas were popping up everywhere.

Forget it. Let's head onto the island and see what strong fighters are hiding.

Yoru glanced at the onlookers around him—nothing worth noting—and strode toward the island's center without looking back.

The Uchiha followed expressionlessly, passing by the corpse and ashes without even a second glance.

"B-Boss..." one surviving pirate sat slumped on the ground, his crotch soaked.

Another pirate's rocket launcher clattered to the ground.

Everyone on the dock.

Sailors, merchants, travelers, even the Bounty Hunters lurking in the shadows—all froze, forgetting to breathe.

On the rooftop, Miharu's hands trembled.

Through his sniper scope, he had seen the whole thing clearly.

That wasn't the Flame-Flame Fruit.

Ace's ability was to create and control flames, but that just now—

That man's flames had erupted from his mouth; his body hadn't turned into fire.

Yet his attack power seemed no weaker than Ace's.

At least, he'd never seen Ace take down a pirate with a sixty-million bounty in one move.

More importantly, the one who acted seemed like just an ordinary follower in the group?

Miharu swallowed hard.

Looking at where that man stood in the formation, he clearly wasn't the number one or number two.

He quickly glanced at Yoru, Shisui, and Itachi at the front.

These three, who looked far too young—were they stronger than that man just now?

What kind of group was this?!!

On the dock, Uchiha Yoru had already reached the street entrance.

Without looking back, he led the clan into the shadows cast by the Red Trees.

Only a full minute after they left did the dock regain its voice.

"J-Just now..."

"Bard... sixty-million Bard..."

"One hit..."

The crowd erupted.

A few bold ones crept over to Bard's corpse, staring at the charcoal-like remains, faces pale.

"Logia? Paramecia?"

"Is he that Supernova, Fire Fist Ace?"

"But that was a fire dragon, not a fire fist?"

"Idiot, strong fighters don't stick to moves. Go tell the boss—Fire Fist Ace has landed on the island!"

In the distance, a merchant ship's captain lowered his telescope and muttered to his subordinate:

"Report to Lord Doflamingo immediately. Some terrifying people have arrived at Sabaody."

In another shadow, a masked CP Agent quietly withdrew.

Meanwhile, Miharu slid down from the rooftop and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

"Hey, Deuce? I found someone even more troublesome than Ace..."

The uneasy calm of Sabaody Archipelago grew even more chaotic today.

Uchiha Yoru strolled through the island's streets, surrounded by shimmering bubbles and bustling shops.

The passersby instinctively made way for him.

News at the dock spread faster than expected.

"Alright, everyone, disperse. Go explore the island and see what it has to offer."

Noticing the crowd still pointing and whispering around his group, Yoru thought for a moment, then gave the order to his clansmen behind him to disband.

He didn't have any particular place in mind to go, and wandering around with so many people didn't seem right.

He couldn't very well deny his clansmen the freedom to move about on their own.

He wasn't a dictator, after all.