That night, at the castle.
Rocks summoned Luo Tian.
"Luo Tian, I have a mission for you."
"It's crucial to our plans going forward."
"What mission?" Luo Tian asked.
"About..."
Rocks paused, the corner of his mouth curling into an almost-mad smile:
"The Celestial Dragons."
The three words rang out like a thunderclap.
Luo Tian's thoughts stirred. A flash of surprise crossed his face, then he quickly regained his composure.
As expected...
Rocks was finally going after those "World Nobles," wasn't he?
He really was a complete madman.
The only ones who would dare attack the Celestial Dragons were probably Luffy and Rocks.
"According to the intelligence I've gathered, the theft of the Heavenly Tribute earlier enraged those idiots who claim to be descendants of the gods."
"But the Five Elders ordered that the Celestial Dragons weren't to hold the Marines accountable."
"So the Celestial Dragons took their anger out on the Affiliated Nations that paid tribute."
"They believe that the Marines failed to protect the Heavenly Tribute because those countries didn't pay enough, or because the quality was poor, giving the Rocks Pirates an opportunity."
"So, soon they'll send representatives to the New World to personally 'reprimand' and 'punish' those countries involved."
As Rocks spoke, he took a sheet of parchment from inside his coat and spread it across the table.
It was a map of the New World, with three red dots marked on it.
"The Kingdom of Situna, the Kingdom of Kars, and the Mistral Kingdom—these three countries are the main contributors to this batch of Heavenly Tribute."
"The Celestial Dragons' representatives will visit these three countries in turn to 'hold them accountable' and 'punish' them."
"Your targets are those representatives."
"I need you to—"
Rocks spoke each word slowly, his voice as cold as ice:
"Capture a few Celestial Dragons alive and bring them back."
Silence fell over the room.
Capture... Celestial Dragons alive.
This was beyond "madness."
It was a declaration of war against the entire World Government and the world order that had stood for eight hundred years!
A savage, ambitious smile spread across Rocks's face.
There was madness and resolve in it, along with an overbearing desire to trample the entire world underfoot.
His ruthless methods and far-reaching schemes were probably beyond even the Four Emperors, who would one day rule the New World.
That was one of the reasons Rocks had become the greatest pirate overlord of his era.
He never played by the rules.
He dared to do what others wouldn't.
"No problem." Luo Tian agreed without hesitation.
His voice was calm, as though Rocks had asked him to "catch a few pigs" instead of "capture Celestial Dragons alive."
A flash of approval crossed Rocks's eyes.
He liked that about Luo Tian: no pointless talk, no questions—just get the job done.
"The specific intelligence is here."
Rocks pushed another sheet of parchment toward Luo Tian:
"The representatives' itinerary, their guards, their expected arrival times... It's all there."
"Once the mission is complete, bring the Celestial Dragons straight back to Beehive Island."
"I'm going to use them... to carry out a grand plan!"
Luo Tian didn't ask anything else.
He knew Rocks's plan went far beyond simply capturing Celestial Dragons alive.
But he could more or less guess that Rocks intended to publicly execute them. Perhaps even that wouldn't be enough.
"Understood. I'll leave tomorrow." Luo Tian put away the parchment.
Rocks nodded and turned to leave.
Luo Tian was left alone in the room.
He looked down at the parchment in his hand, a cold glint in his eyes.
Celestial Dragons...
World Nobles...
Descendants of the gods...
"Heh."
Luo Tian let out a soft laugh, his voice full of contempt:
"Let's see how long you 'gods'..."
"Can last in my hands."
The third "madman" to directly attack the Celestial Dragons was about to emerge.
In a sense, Luffy and Rocks had acted with some "restraint" or "for a reason."
Luffy had done it to save his friends, while Rocks wanted to overthrow the world.
But Luo Tian's mission—
Would show perfectly what it meant to be "the Celestial Dragons' harshest 'father'." In the future, the world would even give him the name "God Slayer."
Of course, that was all for later.
One day later.
The New World, the Kingdom of Situna.
This was a medium-sized kingdom on the edge of the New World, renowned for its spices and silk.
Its territory wasn't large, but it was quite wealthy. It paid vast sums in Heavenly Tribute to the World Government year after year in exchange for "protection."
The sky was clear and cloudless.
The port of the royal capital, Fragrant Pavilion City, was as busy as ever.
No one noticed a figure high above, streaking across the sky at terrifying speeds beyond the sound barrier, like a shooting star plunging toward the royal palace.
It was Luo Tian.
The royal palace stood on a hill in the center of the city, built entirely of white marble that gleamed in the sunlight.
A faint red glint flickered in Luo Tian's eyes.
His advanced Observation Haki, combined with his unique Spatial Perception, instantly spread out like quicksilver, silently covering the entire island.
"Found them... three?"
Luo Tian murmured, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile:
"Let's deal with the one in the palace first."
In his perception, he could clearly make out three figures wearing transparent bubble helmets. One was inside the palace, while the other two were aboard a large ship in the harbor.
Who else would wear such ridiculous helmets all day but the Celestial Dragons, as if breathing ordinary air might sully their "noble" bodies?
Luo Tian blurred and shot toward the royal palace.
Outside the Crystal Palace's tightly shut, gilded gates.
"Stop! Who goes there?!"
The elite soldiers guarding the gates spotted Luo Tian at once and shouted for him to halt.
They were all elite royal guards, dressed in golden armor and carrying spears.
Even more conspicuous were the four expressionless men in black suits standing on either side of the gates.
Cipher Pol Agents.
"This is a restricted area. Anyone who trespasses will be killed—!"
The four Cipher Pol Agents reacted swiftly, scattering to surround Luo Tian.
The commotion immediately attracted more patrolling soldiers, who rushed toward them from every direction.
Before long, more than fifty elite soldiers had surrounded Luo Tian.
But when the four Cipher Pol Agents recognized his face—
A bone-chilling dread shot from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads!
As elite operatives directly under the World Government, they knew the intelligence on the New World and the four seas inside out, especially that of the pirates with astronomical bounties and outrageous strength.
And that face before them...
They knew it all too well!
The monster plastered across the front page of the World Economic News Paper, with a bounty of 2.5 billion Beli—the Rocks Pirates' Supernova officer, Luo Tian!
"You... you're—!"
One of the Cipher Pol Agents stammered, trying to say something.
But it was too late.
A flash of crimson light flickered in Luo Tian's eyes.
Voom—!!!
The four Cipher Pol Agents couldn't even finish speaking. It felt as if a heavy hammer had struck their brains. Their vision went black, foam spilled from their mouths, and they collapsed one after another, completely unconscious.
And it wasn't just them—
Everyone throughout the royal palace collapsed under that invisible mental shock!
Luo Tian walked up to the gilded gates and kicked them, smashing them to pieces, then strode inside.
Two white figures blocked his way ahead.
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