Cleaning Up Some Small Fry

The two flew to Dark Island, found a secluded spot to land, and then swaggered onto the streets.

Most of Dark Island's architecture had a gloomy style. The stone was either gray or black, and even the paving slabs were a dark bluish-black. Such a depressing environment made it all too easy to stir up the violence lurking within.

The streets were somewhat empty, without the vendors selling all kinds of goods found in other towns. Those walking Dark Island's streets either looked fierce or cold and indifferent, their faces dark and grim. Every one of them carried a trace of killing intent.

The moment Nangong Yan appeared on the street, the pirates, bounty hunters, and underworld figures immediately recognized him.

A bounty of 1.2 billion was an enormous fortune, enough to drive anyone mad with greed! All they had to do was cut off Nangong Yan's head, and they could trade it for a lifetime of wealth and luxury—indulging in every pleasure, eating whatever they wanted, playing however they pleased.

Some people could no longer suppress the greed in their hearts and unconsciously began edging closer to Nangong Yan... They were holding themselves back, wary of the terrifying strength reported in the news—the strength that had allowed him to fight Big Mom to a draw.

If Nangong Yan had not fought Big Mom and truly made his name across the seas through his strength, everyone would probably have already rushed him.

But the current situation was dangerous as well. All it would take was one spark for them to dare attack Nangong Yan. People's luckiest instincts were powerful; they always believed they were the fortunate one, never realizing that the moment they embraced such thoughts, one foot had already stepped into the abyss of death!

"Go find our people and confirm their location. I'll play with these lot for a while!" Nangong Yan grinned and said softly.

"Alright, Captain." Lafitte cast a faintly pitying glance at the people around them whose eyes had been blinded by greed, then left without hesitation.

No one reacted to Lafitte's departure because they did not recognize him, and the Marines had not issued a bounty for him.

"Since you want my head, why are you still hesitating? Come on!" A powerful killing intent burst from Nangong Yan's body, accumulated through a year and a half of nonstop slaughter against beasts.

Nangong Yan's words made the surrounding pirates, bounty hunters, and underworld figures hesitate.

These people were best at bullying the weak and fearing the strong. If Nangong Yan had simply left, it would have stirred up their courage. Yet now that he had stayed to confront them head-on, they became uncertain instead.

Clang... Eastern Emperor left its sheath. Without warning, Nangong Yan slashed out a silver-white blade aura that swept across the area. Several nearby people were caught completely off guard and immediately screamed. Their bodies split apart, blood sprayed, organs spilled out, and they collapsed in two pieces, wailing endlessly.

Nangong Yan's first move instantly ignited the powder keg. Those with guns raised their guns, those with blades drew their blades, and those who used their fists charged with their fists, all attacking Nangong Yan at once.

The pirates and others who could survive on Dark Island and in the New World all had some skill. Any one of them would have been far stronger than Axe-Hand Morgan if placed in the first half of the Grand Line.

Unfortunately, strength was useless here. In Nangong Yan's eyes, trash like Axe-Hand Morgan was no different from an ordinary person! Sword light flashed, cutting apart the bullets and cannonballs flying toward him. As the sword light crisscrossed, some of the poorer-quality weapons snapped in half!

Sword Secret Art, Between Life and Death!

This was one of the two new sword techniques Nangong Yan had comprehended during his year and a half on Divine Punishment Island!

Nangong Yan's figure flickered as he evaded all manner of attacks. At some point, Eastern Emperor had already returned to its sheath. Nangong Yan bent his back slightly, every muscle in his body taut as he assumed the stance for an iai slash. Terrifying sword intent gathered, and he struck!

Centered on Nangong Yan, a thin silver-white line spread outward like a halo. As it expanded, everything seemed frozen in place, motionless where it stood!

Suddenly, the sound of weapons shattering rang through the silent battlefield, followed by a series of wet pff, pff, pff sounds. The upper and lower bodies of dozens of pirates surrounding Nangong Yan separated at the waist.

Nangong Yan's iai slash had been too fast. Everyone merely felt a pain at their waists before losing all sensation. Only when their bodies split and fell to the ground did the agonizing pain reach their minds.

Dozens of pirates lay on the ground, screaming miserably. In a frantic mess, they tried to stuff their dust-covered intestines back inside, but the more they tried, the more it hurt.

Their upper bodies struggled desperately to move, trying to reconnect with their lower halves. The stench of blood filled the street, and the hellish sight made the pirates hiding in the shadows, hoping to pick up scraps, tremble with fear!

Nangong Yan calmly sheathed Eastern Emperor and said expressionlessly, "Your hands are all stained with blood. Ending up like this is no more than what you deserve! Since you chose to go to sea, you should have prepared yourselves for the most miserable outcome. But seeing how much you're suffering, I'll give you a quick death!"

After speaking, Nangong Yan raised his right hand. A miniature golden Golden Crow appeared in his palm. The little Golden Crow opened its beak, and golden points of light shot out like bullets, striking with perfect accuracy into the minds of those who were not yet fully dead, relieving them of their suffering!

Then Nangong Yan placed the Golden Crow on his palm and blew on it. The Golden Crow let out a tender yet incomparably clear cry and flew rapidly in circles around Nangong Yan.

As the Golden Crow flew, pale golden rings of fire rose from the ground. Before long, all the corpses were reduced to ashes, completely freed from pain.

Nangong Yan stood calmly amid the flames, stretched out his right hand, and hooked his fingers. A powerful suction force drew the scattered Solar True Flame back into his body.

When only the last wisp of flame remained on his body, Nangong Yan pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a satisfied puff. He muttered to himself, "I'm really too kind. So you wouldn't be left out in the wilderness for wild dogs to gnaw on, I even went through the trouble of cremating you and sending you back into nature's embrace!"

"You don't need to thank me. My nickname is **. Brothers over there, do you want me to help you return to nature's embrace too?"

Though he seemed to be speaking to himself, Nangong Yan's voice clearly reached the dozens of people watching the battle from the houses and streets. Their hearts turned cold, and they quietly withdrew in tacit agreement, all grumbling inwardly, Kind my ass. You cut them all in half and even made sure their corpses were gone! Return to nature's embrace? You go first! Your whole family can go first!

Seeing those people disperse, Nangong Yan no longer felt like making a move. His display of force against Dark Island's desperadoes had already achieved its purpose through their spreading the word.

Now it was time to establish his authority with Dark Island's masters. If they did not know what was good for them... Hehehe, to be honest, Nangong Yan wanted very much to fight experts. Only fierce battles against powerful opponents could improve his strength faster!

As one of the three kings of the New World's underworld, Nangong Yan was looking forward to seeing what kind of opponent he might encounter!

Smoking, Nangong Yan patted the dust off his clothes and headed off to find Lafitte. By now, he should have figured out the information on their enemies.