The Rules of the North Blue

The shrill, wretched screams of the Celestial Dragon echoed throughout the entire World Government official vessel at this moment.

Inside the cabin, the woman covered in whip marks and raw, bloody flesh lay prone in a pool of blood, staring blankly at the screaming "god," her mind a complete void.

This Marine... had actually wounded a Celestial Dragon.

No!

He was trying to kill a Celestial Dragon!!

Was he insane!?

Or did he simply not value his own life!?

Any act of offense against a Celestial Dragon, regardless of who committed it, would be met with the frantic retaliation of the World Government, potentially even drawing out a Marine Admiral.

This was a forbidden zone on this sea that no one dared to cross.

"You're too noisy."

Darren frowned, waving his hand with a hint of impatience.

Following his gesture, two steel bars erupted from the cabin floor, whistling through the air like blades to instantly pierce Saint Childers' feet, pinning him to the wall.

Drip, drip, drip—blood surged incessantly from his impaled hands and feet, pooling on the floor and forming a shocking puddle within seconds.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!"

"You're dead!! Darren!!"

The unbearable agony made Saint Childers shriek again, nearly causing him to pass out from the pain.

He was a Celestial Dragon who had stood at the pinnacle since birth, a "god" of this world, a descendant of the Creators.

Raised in the lap of luxury, he had never suffered such grave injuries; he hadn't even so much as stumbled or bruised himself before.

"I thought that a god standing on high... would have golden blood. I didn't expect it to be no different from an ordinary person's. It seems the Celestial Dragons aren't gods after all."

Darren said with a smile.

Saint Childers' eyes were bloodshot as he glared fixedly at him.

That damn smile again!

Hypocritical, mocking—a smile that seemed to show no regard for him, even as a god.

It was precisely this smile that had made Saint Childers despise Darren from the start.

What he hated most was that he could not see the familiar look of fear in Darren's eyes.

The fear that lowly, base commoners were supposed to show when looking at the nobility of the world was absent, and this ignited an endless fury in his heart.

"By doing this, are you not afraid of the World Government's retaliation? Do you think you can escape?"

Saint Childers gasped for air, letting out a low growl like a wounded beast.

"Retaliation?"

Darren laughed.

"Who would know that I did this? If nothing else..."

He gestured toward the mountain of gold and silver treasures piled up in the cabin.

"At the very least, in the eyes of everyone on Batia Island, I, the scum of the North Blue Marines, am merely trying to curry favor with the great Saint Childers by gifting him a massive fortune."

"Who would ever believe that a Marine would dare lay a hand on a Celestial Dragon?"

Upon hearing Darren's words, Saint Childers' pupils constricted.

He fought through the dizziness caused by massive blood loss, gritting his teeth as he spoke:

"Darren, I don't understand... why you would strike at me..."

He suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Is it because of that little girl?"

From Darren's silence, Saint Childers received his answer.

"Just because of a commoner!?"

His face was filled with disbelief.

"She's just a lowly commoner!! Why would you go to such lengths!?"

Darren watched the twisted expression of the Celestial Dragon before him in silence; the blood on the floor had already reached the soles of his military boots.

"She is not just a commoner."

He said suddenly.

"She is a commoner under my jurisdiction."

Saint Childers roared:

"Why do you care so much about the life or death of a commoner!?"

"Besides, don't think I don't know; do you really think you're such a good person?"

"In the entire North Blue, who doesn't know that you've been extorting wealth from lowly commoners by propping up mafia forces!?"

"When it comes down to it, you're no more noble than I am!!"

Darren suddenly began to laugh.

He beckoned with his finger.

The steel coiling around Saint Childers' right arm suddenly tightened and constricted with force.

Snap!

A blood-stained severed arm flew into the air.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!"

Saint Childers convulsed in agony, and a puddle of yellow urine began to seep from beneath his luxurious silk robes.

"You're right, I'm not a good person, which is exactly why I came."

Darren said indifferently:

"If I were a good person, I probably wouldn't have dared to show up."

"Of course... in truth, I didn't want to come either, and I certainly didn't want to deal with disgusting Celestial Dragons like you. I just wanted to live my life in peace and build up the North Blue Fleet."

"But I took that father and daughter's money."

"You... you took money?"

Saint Childers gasped frantically, his eyeballs nearly bulging from their sockets due to the onslaught of pain: "How much did she pay you? I am a Celestial Dragon, I have endless wealth..."

"As long as you let me go, I can give you as much money as you want!! No, not just money, I can give you anything you desire!"

"Women—not just humans, I can get you women of any race you want..."

"Power? I can have you promoted to Marine Vice Admiral immediately!"

"I can give you whatever you want..."

Darren suddenly sighed.

"Can you really give me whatever I want?"

The Celestial Dragon wheezed weakly, a glimmer of joy flashing in his eyes as he nodded with a smile:

"That's right, you only need to ask, just say it! Anything at all."

Truly the typical style of a Celestial Dragon.

"There is indeed one thing I quite desire."

Darren looked at Saint Childers, tilted his head, and a sinister grin gradually curled the corners of his mouth.

"I want to kill you."

Saint Childers froze, but the next second, he burst into frantic laughter.

"Kill me... and you'll die too!"

"Darren, you didn't expect this, did you!?"

"All World Government official ships are equipped with hidden surveillance Den Den Mushi!!"

"At this very moment, the World Government has already seen everything happening here!!"

"You're finished!! Hahahahahaha!!"

He stared at Darren with crazed eyes, attempting to find a trace of panic or fear in the latter's gaze.

But he failed.

A smile.

The Marine Captain's face still maintained that detestable smile.

A sense of extreme unease flooded Saint Childers' mind, making his heart hammer against his ribs.

"Saint Childers, compared to other Celestial Dragons, you are considered one of the smarter ones."

Darren spoke with keen interest, "I can give you one chance."

As he spoke, without any visible movement, all the steel binding Saint Childers loosened.

The Celestial Dragon slid down from the wall like a pile of mud, gasping for air.

Darren pulled out a Military Den Den Mushi and tossed it over to him.

"Give it a try, if you can manage to get a signal."

Facing the Marine Captain's mocking gaze, Saint Childers felt a tremor in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, refusing to believe it, and attempted to dial the Den Den Mushi.

One second, Two seconds, Three seconds...

The Military Den Den Mushi remained in a deep slumber.

No response.

The color drained from Saint Childers' face in an instant, leaving it deathly pale.

The communication signal had been jammed.

"Impossible..."

He muttered, his eyes vacant.

In that brief moment, it felt as if his soul had been ripped from his body, leaving his expression dazed and sluggish.

"The Den Den Mushi's signal... completely jammed. How is this possible..."

With the signal jammed, it meant that whatever happened on this government ship would remain unknown to the rest of the world!

Saint Childers began to tremble all over, deep despair finally welling up in his eyes.

Darren watched him quietly, phantom electric arcs flickering between his fingers.

He was no idiot who would act recklessly out of a momentary rush of blood to the head.

From the moment Saint Childers refused to give him face and insisted on taking the little girl away, he had decided to kill this ugly swine.

That was why, while "capturing" the little girl, he had slipped his own Vivre Card into her hand.

In doing so, he had tracked Saint Childers' route.

And by taking over the security detail, he had successfully obtained intelligence on the CP members assigned to this escort mission.

With that, only one final problem remained to killing Saint Childers.

Surveillance!

Government ships of the World Government were typically equipped with surveillance Den Den Mushi to ensure the safety of the Celestial Dragons.

But to his abilities, that meant nothing.

Under his current level of development with the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, he could create a magnetic field with a radius of about one hundred meters centered on himself.

Within this magnetic field, the signals of any Den Den Mushi would be completely jammed.

The range was enough to cover the entire government ship!

This was an inspiration he had drawn from Doflamingo's Birdcage.

And this... was the greatest source of confidence that allowed Darren to strike against a Celestial Dragon!

"No!! Why!? Since you knew I was stalling for time, why didn't you just kill me!?"

Saint Childers suddenly looked up and stared at Darren, roaring in a frenzy.

He didn't understand.

Even though this guy possessed the immense strength to kill him easily and had seen through his intentions, why didn't he just strike and finish him off?

Darren narrowed his eyes, a mocking smile curling his lips:

"Because killing you cleanly... would be letting you off too easily."

As he spoke, the look of despair on the faces of that father and daughter back on Batia Island flashed through his mind.

"At the very least, before you die, I want you to taste... the flavor of despair."

As his voice fell, Darren slowly drew his pistol.

In the Celestial Dragon's desperate, dimming eyes, The muzzle of the gun

Gently pressed against his forehead.

"--No!!"

Saint Childers' eyes were finally filled with an unprecedented terror, and he shrieked in panic:

"I am a Celestial Dragon! If you kill me..."

Bang!

The gunshot rang out.

Darren pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation.

The bullet pierced through his forehead and exited the back of his skull, blasting a large hole through his head.

A large spray of fluids, red and white mixed together, splattered against the cabin wall in a fan-shaped pattern.

Saint Childers' body twitched once, the light in his pupils rapidly fading away.

"Damn it... took the money... just... because of a... lowly commoner..."

He slowly collapsed to the ground.

His expression froze right there—bewilderment, confusion, shock, fear... a tapestry of emotions woven together into an absurd and vivid portrait of life.

He was dead.

Darren stood before the corpse of the Celestial Dragon, looking down at him from above, his tone calm as he spoke:

"If you take the money, you have to do the work."

"That is the rule in the North Blue."

I ask for all your support, I am endlessly grateful.