Public Execution!

Within just a few days, the pirates of the West Blue began to sense that something was amiss.

First, several familiar pirate crews suddenly lost contact; when they dialed Den Den Mushi, they only heard a busy signal, and their Vivre Card inexplicably went missing.

At first, no one paid attention—pirates are a nomadic group, and changing islands or routes is commonplace.

But as the list of those who lost contact grew longer and longer, from ragtag crews with bounties of tens of millions to established forces with bounties of over a hundred million, and even a major pirate crew that was somewhat famous in the New World and whose captain had a bounty of 1.12 billion, the entire Underworld of the West Blue finally panicked.

1.12 billion. This number isn't top-tier in the New World, but it's a behemoth that can roam freely across the Four Blues.

A captain who can sit in this position would at least be a high-ranking officer in Four Emperors crew, and would rank in the middle among the Shichibukai.

Yet this pirate crew, boasting over a thousand elite soldiers, several main warships, and whose captain was said to have mastered Observation Haki to the point of being able to detect bullet trajectories, vanished without a trace.

There were no distress signals, no signs of battle, and no drifting wreckage; it was as if someone had gently erased it from the nautical chart with an eraser.

Panic began to spread through the port taverns.

The pirates exchanged whispers, sharing the news they had heard. Some said it was the Uchiha eliminating disobedient outsiders; others said it was the secret weapon the Navy had laid before their retreat; still others claimed to have witnessed dozens of gray-white figures riding the waves and leaving a burning island in the dead of night, leaving behind only a neat row of heads on the dock.

No one knows what is true and what is false, but everyone has a vague feeling that this sea area abandoned by the navy is being reorganized by another force in a ruthless and almost harsh way.

Several days later, a small pirate crew, while passing by an island and preparing to dock for supplies, smelled a strong stench of corpses from afar.

The captain held up his binoculars and looked towards the dock, then froze on the ship's side.

Hundreds of corpses hung densely from the rocks along the island's coast, their necks suspended by rough hemp ropes, swaying gently in the sea breeze.

The most conspicuous head was hung alone on a wooden post at the entrance to the dock, its mouth stuffed with a blood-soaked bounty poster—a bounty of 400 million Beli. And this was just the tip of the Iceburg.

Meanwhile, at the port of Spirit Awakening Island, a member of the Uchiha clan on duty as a member of the Heavenly Star Guard posted an official notice with the Uchiha Gunbai on the bulletin board, his face expressionless.

The notice was written in neat, cold handwriting, and the wording was so concise that not a single word was superfluous—five days later, the Uchiha Clan would publicly execute the recently captured raiders in the central square of Spirit Awakening Island.

All pirate crews currently located in the West Blue are welcome to attend the ceremony.

On the day the notice was posted, berths at Spirit Awakening Island Port became scarce.

First, a few small pirate ships that were nearby tentatively approached the shore. The pirates on board hunched their shoulders and spoke in hushed tones.

Immediately afterwards, more and more fleets that had received the news rushed over from all routes in the West Blue —some with bounties of tens of millions, some with bounties of over a hundred million, and even a few medium-sized pirate crews that were already somewhat famous in the New World. When their captains lowered anchor, they didn't forget to pretend to be calm and chat with the dock management staff, but their eyes always unconsciously drifted toward the makeshift Execution Platform in the center of the island.

Everyone wanted to see for themselves how many people the Uchiha Clan would execute in a public execution, what the standards would be, and more importantly, what kind of rule the Uchiha wanted to convey to the West Blue through this execution.

On the central square of Spirit Awakening Island, a large Execution Platform made of stone and wood is rising from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Uchiha Clan brought in ninjas skilled in Earth Release to reinforce the foundation, and the giant stone bricks and supporting beams were in place overnight.

The pillars surrounding the high platform were covered with Sealing Jutsu, not to defend against external enemies, but to prevent any unexpected disturbances during the execution process.

By the day before the execution, all the berths at Spirit Awakening Island's port were full.

The temporary anchorage was also crowded with ships of all sizes, their sails colorful and their flags Eight Gates. Even the vendors on the pier were doing business several times better than usual.

The dock was bustling with people, including pirates carrying knives, civilian merchants who were quite frightened by the scene, and many residents who had come from nearby islands to see what was going on.

The members of the Heavenly Star Guard, dressed in uniform gray-white uniforms, moved expressionlessly through the crowd, their Sharingan occasionally sweeping over any commotion in a corner, quickly silencing that area.

That evening, a member of the Earthly Chief Guard responsible for compiling the list of fugitives quickly approached Uchiha Setsuna and whispered, "Elder Setsuna, a few escaped Broken Axe Pirates have also infiltrated. Should we arrest them?"

He Setsuna stroked the teacup in his hand, not even lifting his eyelids, and simply said, "Let them see. After they see it, they'll tell more people about what happened today."

Execution day.

Before dawn, the central square of Spirit Awakening Island was already packed with people.

The Heavenly Star Guard set up a cordon around the square, their gray-white uniforms standing out in the morning light.

No one dared to cross that line, not because of any powerful Sealing Jutsu techniques engraved on the ground, but because of the dozens of Nightingale Guard standing inside the cordon, each with Tachi at their waist, their Sharingan gleaming with a cold light in the dim light of the sky.

At exactly 7:00 AM, Uchiha Setsuna ascended the high platform under the protection of four Night Owl Guard.

He wasn't wearing armor, just a dark gray robe, the Gunbai emblem on the collar standing out prominently in the morning light.

He walked to the main seat that had been prepared in the center of the platform, lifted his robe and sat down, placing his hands on the armrests. His posture was not deliberately upright, but it made the entire square quiet down in an instant.

"Bring men." His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the square.

The underground cage behind the platform was opened.

When the first squad of Night Owl Guard escorted the first group of pirates out of the passage, the legs of several young pirates in the front row of the crowd went weak on the spot.

The tall man walking at the front, his hands bound by Seastone shackles, still had his bounty posted on the port bulletin board—Captain of the Broken Axe Pirates, "Broken Axe" Drox, with a bounty of 900 million Beli.

Following behind him were his combat captains, whose combined bounties exceeded 1.5 billion.

Further on were the raiders who had been dragged out from various parts of the West Blue by the Night Owl Guard over the past few days, totaling more than two hundred people, kneeling in a dark mass on half of the high platform.