Justice

Chief Judge's face darkened as he stared at Xi Yan, clearly not expecting the guy to have sneaked into his room.

More importantly, the Gold and Silver Jewelry he'd hidden had been discovered—how had he pulled that off?

Maybe sensing the Chief Judge's confusion, Xi Yan explained, "I was coming for you anyway. I just happened to find your room."

For a Ninja, searching a room for hidden items wasn't exactly hard.

Once he spotted the treasure, Xi Yan didn't hesitate to stash it all away with a Sealing Scroll.

There was no point in being polite with an enemy!

"Bastard, that's all stolen goods we took from pirates!" Right Head snarled. "How dare you touch them?!"

"Stolen goods you hid in your own room?"

"As a righteous Chief Judge, what's wrong with confiscating pirate loot?"

That money had been plundered by pirates—the Chief Judge didn't see any issue with it. Skimming a bit off the top was an unspoken rule around here.

"Hmm, reasonable." Xi Yan nodded. "Then there's nothing wrong with me confiscating your stolen goods either."

"After all, we're enemies~"

At that, the Chief Judge's face turned even darker.

Yeah, if you wanted to split hairs, the guy hadn't done anything wrong—since he was a wicked pirate!

"No, this guy's probably bluffing us," Left Head said. "Haven't you noticed he's not carrying anything?"

If he'd really taken that treasure, he'd need at least a big bag to haul it. This kid only had a small weapon on him—Something's wrong.

"Say what you want." Xi Yan shook his head, then turned serious. "Alright, I'll give you a chance. Tell me where Nico Robin and Franky are, and I might consider letting you off."

"We'll give you a chance too. Kneel down and admit your mistake, and we'll make it quick for you!" Right Head shot back.

"Then you'd better hit the floor first!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Xi Yan appeared right in front of the Chief Judge and slammed a heavy punch into his gut.

The Chief Judge's pupils shrank, and he instinctively tried to counter, but Xi Yan was clearly faster.

"Take this punch!"

"Bam!"

The sheer force made the Chief Judge's Eyeballs bulge out as he flew backward.

"Swoosh~"

"Boom!!"

He crashed into the distance, smashing part of the staircase to pieces.

"Pfft..."

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the Chief Judge's face went pale.

He never imagined this scrawny-looking kid could be so strong—the burst of power was terrifying, nearly knocking him unconscious.

"Hey, you alright?" Left Head asked.

"I'm fine..." the Chief Judge stammered.

"Wicked pirate, I—"

Right Head didn't get to finish before Xi Yan cut him off. "Save the useless chatter."

Perched on the stair railing nearby, Xi Yan stared at the Chief Judge with a pair of Sharinggan. "Tell me, where are Nico Robin and Franky?"

The moment Left Head and Right Head saw Xi Yan's eyes, their own went blank, frozen like puppets.

"You think I'd tell you—"

"Nico Robin's in the building behind you. You—"

Chief Judge: !!!

The Chief Judge stared in disbelief at his own comrades. Sure, they skimmed a little cash, but they never wavered on the big stuff.

What did these two mean by this—selling him out to save their own skins?!

"Bastards!!"

Without letting the guy finish, he lunged out from his clothes, snatched the Great Saber from Right Head's hand, and swung it at Left Head.

"Slash!"

One chop, and Left Head was gravely wounded, slumping over unconscious.

Before Right Head could speak, the Chief Judge struck again.

"Slash!"

Watching the Chief Judge take them out one by one, Xi Yan's eyelids twitched. Wasn't that a bit too ruthless?

Chopping his own heads off just to keep the info from leaking?

He glanced at the two bodies on the floor, then back at the Chief Judge, his expression turning odd.

So this guy wasn't a three-headed freak—it was three people hiding under one outfit. What was the point of that?

After pulling off that stunt, the Chief Judge gasped for breath, leaning on his longsword as he spoke.

"E-Even though I don't know how you did it... you... don't even think about getting any information out of me."

"Why bother?"

"I admit, I've got some bad habits, and I let those two skim a little petty cash." The Chief Judge said. "But... kid, don't underestimate the justice I've upheld for decades!!"

Enraged, the Chief Judge suddenly lunged, raising his longsword and swinging it straight down at Xi Yan's head.

The Chief Judge held nothing back with this strike. He knew full well his body couldn't handle a second swing—so this one had to decide life or death.

"Clang~"

"Bam!"

"Wha...?!"

Watching the Great Saber shatter from Xi Yan's punch, confusion flickered in the Chief Judge's eyes.

The enemy had moved to the side in an instant, struck his longsword, and shattered it... Was this the strength of the pirates invading Judicial Island this time?

No wonder the Marines reporting earlier said they couldn't take down this wave of pirates quickly.

If they were all this strong, only CP9 could step in to defeat them. Sending ordinary soldiers would just be feeding them to the wolves!

The Chief Judge knew all too well what a Strong Person meant to ordinary people.

"Thump thump thump!"

Shards of the blade flew out, embedding themselves in the Chief Judge's body, making his already faltering frame go limp.

Blood trickled down the stairs, eventually pooling onto the carpet below, making the already vivid Red Carpet even more striking.

His body began to shift, sliding bit by bit along the trail of blood.

"Maybe the justice you've carried for decades is heavy, but... I've got my own reasons for doing this." Xi Yan said, looking at the Chief Judge. "Get some rest."

With that, Xi Yan turned and left, ignoring the Chief Judge whose eyes were slowly losing their light.

The guy had said earlier—it was the rear building of this Judgement Hall.

Since he'd already gotten that crucial intel, there was no point wasting more time here.

But as the Chief Judge heard Xi Yan's words, his eyes flickered back to life, like a final burst of clarity.

He struggled to turn his head, straining to look in Xi Yan's direction.

"Kid!"

Xi Yan stopped but didn't look back. "What, still insisting?"

"Hehe, you won't succeed." The Chief Judge sneered. "You really think beating me is enough to save Nico Robin?"

"Do you think this Judicial Island has stood for eight hundred years for nothing?!"

"Don't worry, someone will come to deal with you soon enough. When that happens, your doom awaits!!"

"You mean CP9." Xi Yan said. "Relax, those guys won't end up any better than you."

With that, Xi Yan vanished from the spot.

The Chief Judge didn't hear Xi Yan's words—by the time he finished his last sentence, his consciousness was already fading.

At that point, he couldn't hear anything from the outside world.

In the few seconds that followed, the Chief Judge reviewed his life—a life of sweeping grandeur!

"Teacher... my justice has never faded..."