Can't See What Heaven and Earth Are

Cindry would fall from the stage of the performance house and die.

The scene flashed before Conrad's eyes: the spotlight illuminating the corpse, sprawled across the audience seating with a pool of blood on its forehead. He did not know if this was a recollection of memory or a projection of his own mind.

But he knew this woman was a good person, someone who deserved to live.

He could never stand by and watch good people be bullied, just as he could never stand by and watch dog-breeds commit evil.

Thus, he activated Geppo, darting into the brilliant light and leaping across the audience seating. He knew he would likely be attacked, so he made sure to prepare his defense.

"Baby-5."

"Hmm?"

"Give me a shield!"

"Got it!"

The Bawang Spear shifted. No one knew Conrad's physique better than Baby-5; from his undershirts to his socks, she had measured and bought them all herself.

Therefore, the shield she transformed into could never leave even an inch of Conrad's skin exposed.

Conrad did not even see the enemies firing their guns; the spear shaft he had been holding against Baby-5's waist had already become the handle and guard of the shield.

Clang! Clang! Crisp sounds, accompanied by a slight vibration, traveled from the dark, vertical shield into his palm.

He landed horizontally on the stage, stood under the spotlight, grabbed the belt of Cindry's dance dress, and stepped into the backstage curtain.

Just as he turned toward the audience, he caught a glimpse of that pale, bizarre, red-lipped smiling face in the first-row box.

"Who are you?" Cindry asked, her face full of panic, as if waking from a long dream.

"Navy." Conrad was searching for an exit when he saw the backstage wall ignite with peach-colored flames, melted into a hole by Ain.

He passed through the gap, returned to the line of Navy soldiers, and handed Cindry over to the rear guard for protection.

Conrad's gaze lingered on Laffitte; he remembered the man's first appearance vividly.

He had infiltrated a meeting between the Shichibukai and high-ranking Navy officials alone to negotiate on behalf of Blackbeard, one of the future Four Emperors.

To this day, his abilities remained unknown.

"You... you... sigh..." Shuzo, the giant who had just regained consciousness, ran over while swinging the two wrist joints of his Longarm Tribe anatomy, raising his heavy blade.

"I have already reported the situation to Vice Admiral Aokiji, but he is on his way to support the first squad and cannot make it here in time. The first squad sweeping the casino on Twin Snake Island has also encountered a powerful enemy."

Conrad looked up at the stars again. No wonder it was an ominous sign; he had been thinking that with Aokiji on the rear warship, he could provide support at any time, so how dangerous could it really be?

Ain suddenly asked, "What did you say your fortune-telling result was? Something about a song... was it not very good?"

Conrad suddenly smiled with confidence and slammed his shield against the ground. "Good! Extremely good!"

As he spoke, he furrowed his brows, widened his eyes, lifted his chin, and pointed his finger across the entire hall from left to right, shouting with a resonant, heroic voice:

"Navy law enforcement! Those who obstruct me! Shall be executed on the spot!!"

Although the opera house was missing a wall, the sound echoed off the remaining three, repeating over and over until every spectator in the hall heard him clearly.

They all showed a moment of struggle, their eyes shifting away from the stage, looking toward the Navy squad led by Conrad with confusion and terror.

They looked toward Tony, the young master of the Marlon Family, and the wall of flesh formed by the mafia bodyguards in front of the King.

"Who are you? Do you know who I am!" King Lucas shouted, revealing half his face through a gap in the human wall. He was the one who had given the order to fire.

The Revolutionary Army had been causing quite a stir lately, and he had heard they specialized in slaughtering wealthy kings. He had been worried, so he adopted a "kill first, ask questions later" protection protocol for any emergency.

"Are you deaf, you dog-breed! I am the Navy!" Conrad hoisted his shield and stepped out from the crowd.

"Get your ass over here and accept protection! A king hiding behind gangsters! Do you want to die?!"

"You! You... what is your name!" King Lucas was almost driven mad with rage. Even at the Reverie, he was a big shot with status and a voice that carried weight.

"I do not change my name when I travel, nor do I hide it when I sit! I am Conrad!" A surge of arrogant blood pumped through Conrad's heart. He felt so superior that he could no longer see the world for what it was, and he held up a single finger:

"I am counting to three! If you don't come over, I'm opening fire on the gangsters! If you get hit, that's your bad luck! Three..."

"Don't shoot! I'm coming, I'm coming!" King Lucas's pupils shook violently. His cigar burned his mustache, and he scrambled to pat it out in a panic.

He looked at Tony beside him, cleared his throat, and said with a forced smile, "The young man doesn't know any better; I'll go over and teach him a lesson. Sheriff Laffitte, escort me over."

Laffitte smiled without a word, raised his cane, shook it gently, and tapped it against his ring with a ding.

The King's smile froze instantly. His eyes filled with a rage that seemed to burn as he turned to Conrad and shouted, "Which branch are you from! Call your superiors! I want to see your Colonel!"

His vision was blocked, so Conrad couldn't see clearly, but his keen intuition told him that the shift in emotion and tone was wrong.

He snatched a musket from Bling Bling beside him, pulled the trigger without hesitation, then reloaded and fired three shots in quick succession, blowing the heads off two of the mafia bodyguards.

"I am from Headquarters! My superior is Vice Admiral Aokiji! A future Navy Admiral! A super-strong man who participated in the West Blue Buster Call and kills without blinking!"

Blood flowed from their foreheads as the two bulky, fat bodyguards collapsed, worthless in death.

But the third bald man in black reacted swiftly, raising his steel-cable right arm to block the bullets.

As the bodies hit the ground, the audience finally snapped out of it, and the noblewomen began to scream, covering their faces.

"Shut your mouths! Everyone, get on your knees with your hands behind your heads!" Conrad snatched a gun from a marine on his right and fired a shot into the air, his face so dark that only the whites of his eyes and teeth were visible.

Bling Bling followed suit, snatching a rifle from the person beside him and firing into the air. "Marine law enforcement! Anyone who obstructs me! Will be executed on the spot!"

The others, seeing his actions, were so shocked their jaws nearly hit the floor. They scrambled to snatch guns from those around them, forming a line and firing wildly into the sky.

"Law enforcement! Obstruct... executed!"

The ladies covered their mouths and wept, falling silent as they huddled behind the men, trembling in fear.

"Aokiji... the West Blue Buster Call... the one who wiped out Ohara nine years ago?"

But the gentlemen kept their heads buried in silence, assuming a textbook-perfect crouching position with their hands over their heads, looking like cotton carders being lashed by a whip.

Though he wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of Aokiji's reputation, hearing such a fearsome name finally pushed Tony Marlon to his limit.

He still didn't understand what was happening; he had only come to watch an opera and wanted to abduct a woman to have his way with her a dozen times or so.

Was there really a need to make such a massive fuss?

Besides, he hadn't even made his move yet!

Could that bitch Cindry have been prepared for him in advance?

"Conrad... Colonel?" Tony called out. He guessed the leader had to be at least of field officer rank, and he figured calling him a Colonel was a safe bet.

"May I ask what your mission is here?"

Bang!

Another bullet struck a bodyguard in the chest, while the bodyguard's return fire was blocked by Conrad's Black Tortoise Shield.

"To see our Aokiji Buster Force and not only fail to crouch with your hands on your heads, but actually dare to return fire at our troops!"

"All Buster Force members, listen up! Open fire! Anyone still standing, leave none alive! Kill first, ask questions later!"

Bling Bling saluted in response, "Understood!"

"Un-der-stood!" Kujaku realized for the first time that Uncle Kuzan's title could be shouted with such resonance.

As the eldest son of the Marlon family, one of the five great families of the West Blue mafia, Tony had never seen such arrogant Marines in all his life.

His face, which had little color to begin with, turned as green as the beard of the king standing beside him.