Report Your Favor on the Golden Terrace; I'll Take Up My Jade Dragon Sword and Die for You!

Jesse pulled his younger brother Jieming down before Luo Tian, and the two of them bowed repeatedly, their foreheads striking the deck with a dull thud.

"Thank you, sir, for saving our lives!"

Jesse's voice was hoarse and trembling.

Just moments ago, he had let out the most desperate cry of his life.

He hadn't expected anyone to answer.

In these seas ruled by the Celestial Dragons, who would risk angering the World Nobles for the lives of two slaves?

But he had still shouted, using the last of his strength.

The gods had truly answered his plea.

Now, kneeling before Luo Tian and looking up at the stern-faced man dressed all in black, Jesse's heart pounded wildly.

He had never seen anyone like him—someone who didn't even blink when killing, whose expression hadn't changed at all when he cut off a Celestial Dragon's head.

Luo Tian finally turned his gaze to the two brothers.

His eyes first fell on Jieming's lower leg, where a bloody bullet wound gaped.

Then his gaze moved up to the bloody mark on the boy's face, left by a heel grinding into his skin.

Then he looked at Jesse.

Beneath his ragged clothes, countless whip marks crisscrossed his body, some scabbed over, others still oozing blood.

"Boy, would you like to take your fate into your own hands?" Luo Tian suddenly asked.

The two brothers looked up at him in confusion.

Their fate? When had they ever had a fate of their own?

Their parents had been brutally killed, and they had been abducted by human traffickers and sold from one owner to another until they ended up in the hands of the Celestial Dragons.

Their fate had been reduced to whips, chains, and endless humiliation.

They had been penned up like livestock, tormented like toys, and disposed of like rubbish.

Space rippled, and two Devil Fruits appeared out of thin air in Luo Tian's hands.

The fruit on the left was dark gold all over, its pattern like the bristling fur of an enraged ape.

The fruit on the right was silver and black, its pattern resembling the fangs of a Saber-toothed Tiger.

"Zoan Devil Fruit, Ancient Zoan: Gorilla Fruit, King Kong Ape form."

"Zoan Devil Fruit, Ancient Zoan: Tiger-Tiger Fruit, Saber-toothed Tiger form."

Luo Tian calmly stated the names of the fruits.

The brothers' bodies shuddered.

They recognized these things—no, they had seen one before.

Three years ago, Shaman Gong had bought a Zoan Devil Fruit at an auction and forced a gladiator slave to eat it in front of all the slaves.

The man had turned into a half-human, half-lion monster. His strength had soared, and he had torn three opponents apart.

Then Shaman Gong had laughed and ordered the guards to shoot him dead.

"See? Even if commoners get power, they're still commoners!" Shaman Gong had declared.

Later, Jesse had learned from the guards' idle chatter that the fruit was worth a hundred million Beli. It was a Zoan Devil Fruit, the Zoan-Common-Lion Lion Fruit, with no form at all!

(Okay, I was joking with that last part. Of course I know there's no such thing as a "common form.")

"Eat them and work hard to grow stronger. I hope you'll be of use to me someday. From now on, call me 'Boss'!"

Luo Tian's voice brought them back to reality.

The brothers looked at each other and saw the same resolve in each other's eyes.

They nodded solemnly, reached out with both hands, and accepted the fruits with almost reverent care.

"We can never repay you for saving our lives, Boss. We'll follow you, even if it costs us our lives!"

With that, the two of them hesitated no longer and bit into the fruits.

An indescribably foul taste exploded in their mouths, but they forced themselves to swallow.

"I'll repay your favor from the Golden Terrace; I'll take up my jade dragon sword and die for you."

Those words expressed exactly what they felt at that moment.

The instant the fruit pulp went down—

Buzz!

A violent force exploded in their stomachs, surging through their limbs like a flood!

Jesse let out a muffled growl as his body swelled beyond his control.

His muscles bulged, his bones crackled like firecrackers, and short, dark-gold fur sprouted across his skin.

The phantom of an ancient King Kong Ape flickered into view behind him.

Jieming was changing as well.

His fingers lengthened into claws, and a tiger's tail burst through his clothes at the base of his spine.

The savage aura of a Saber-toothed Tiger spread through the air.

Even more astonishingly, all the injuries on their bodies—the bullet wounds, whip marks, broken bones, and bruises—

healed within a few short breaths.

Their newly formed skin was smooth and tough, and explosive strength filled their muscles.

Jieming stared at his hands in disbelief. When he gave them a gentle squeeze, the air cracked.

He tried throwing a punch, and the force of it caved in a metal barrel three meters away!

"This... is this what power feels like?"

The boy murmured, tears welling in his eyes.

They weren't tears of sorrow, but of joy—of regaining something after it had been taken from him for far too long.

Jesse felt the power surging through him, so ferocious it seemed capable of tearing mountains apart. His whole body trembled.

He looked at his younger brother and saw the same shock in his eyes. Then they both turned toward Luo Tian—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

They bowed three times, their foreheads striking the deck with increasing force.

On the final bow, the planks cracked in a spiderweb pattern beneath the strength they had just gained.

"Boss!"

There was no longer any fear or humility in their voices. They were filled with newfound strength and unwavering loyalty, even unto death.

Luo Tian looked at the two kneeling before him, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.

He needed more than just fighters. He needed forces capable of standing on their own in the future.

And the fire in the brothers' eyes showed him their potential.

"Jieming, Jesse."

He spoke calmly and pointed to Saint Donahue, who lay unconscious at the other end of the deck.

"Go wake that stupid pig with a few slaps. Watch your strength. Don't kill him."

"Yes, Boss!"

The two brothers rose and sprang into action, swift as leopards. In just a few strides, they crossed the twenty-meter deck. Jesse kicked Saint Roz's head out of Saint Donahue's arms.

The head rolled a few times, its unseeing eyes facing the sky.

Then Jesse raised his hand.

Smack!

The first slap. Saint Donahue's pudgy left cheek immediately swelled red, but he didn't wake.

Smack!

The second slap. His right cheek swelled to match, and teeth mixed with bloody spittle flew from his mouth.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Then came a flurry of slaps.

The brothers said nothing, simply taking turns and striking from both sides.

Every blow was strong enough to hurt, but not enough to kill.

Saint Donahue finally woke with a cry of pain.

His swollen eyelids managed to open a narrow slit. Through his blurry vision, he saw two faces he never would have expected to find standing there.

The two lowly slaves looked down at him with icy eyes, their hands raised and ready to strike again.

"You... you two..."

He spoke indistinctly, only to be cut off by another slap.

"Shut up, you pig."

Jesse's voice was ice-cold.

He remembered too much. This fat pig had branded his younger brother's back with a red-hot iron just because he "looked funny when he cried."

He had also forced Jesse to eat food mixed with shards of glass, then laughed as he watched Jesse's mouth fill with blood.

Every slap echoed with a memory.

Meanwhile, Luo Tian had walked over to Shaman Gong.

The woman had lost too much blood from her severed hands and feet, and her face was as pale as paper.

"Spatial Imprisonment."

An invisible field enveloped her wounds. The bleeding stopped instantly, and a thin spatial barrier sealed the severed ends.

He had already killed one Celestial Dragon. He would leave these two alive for Rocks to deal with.