Nobles? Nobles Are Exactly Who We're Killing!

He heard the suppressed gasps and whispers of the civilians.

He felt his hands trembling, but the trembling wasn't something he wanted to do; it was Genjutsu causing his body to react instinctively in fear.

There's nothing he can do.

He can't even close his eyes.

When Tieyan walked behind him, the old nobleman saw the head of the young nobleman next to him roll to his knees.

He opened his mouth, but the Genjutsu released it at the last moment, and he could no longer utter a complete sentence.

Tieyan's knife did not stop.

The knife rose and fell. The square fell silent for a moment, then several barely suppressed screams rang out from the crowd.

Tieyan sheathed his sword, wiped the blood off the blade on the sole of his boot, and put it back in its sheath.

He turned his head and said to Qingchuan, "It's over."

Qingchuan nodded and looked at the nobles outside the square who had not been named.

Those people turned pale; some were trembling, and some had already quietly taken a few steps back.

Qingchuan looked at them, his voice not loud, but everyone in the square could hear him.

"Did you understand? The Uchiha Clan's orders are not for you to negotiate." He paused. "Those willing to have their titles revoked, stay where you are. Those who want to go with them, take a step forward."

No one moved.

The square remained quiet for a while.

Then Qingchuan withdrew his gaze and said to Tieyan, "Let's call it a day. The subsequent household registration and land surveying will be handled by the Heavenly Star Guard."

Tieyan nodded and led his men to begin cleaning the square.

Qingchuan turned and walked towards the city gate. After a few steps, he glanced at the civilians who were still standing there in a daze on the edge of the square.

He saw a middle-aged man holding a child standing in the crowd. The child's eyes were covered by the adult, and the adult's own face was extremely pale.

Qingchuan withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

Five days.

On the plaza of that port kingdom in the East Blue, the blood had not yet dried.

The Execution Platform was a makeshift structure made from the timber from a dismantled nobleman's mansion. The surface was covered with a coarse cloth soaked in blood, with dark red water droplets dripping from the edges.

As the common people walked past the square, they walked very quietly, not daring to look at the stage, but they couldn't help but glance at it.

In the very center of the platform stood a wooden stake, with a wooden board nailed to it. The board had writing on it, the words branded on, the charred strokes very deep.

"Everyone, look carefully." A Heavenly Star Guard stood by the platform, his voice not loud, but everyone in the square could hear him. "From today onwards, your kingdom has no nobles."

You and those whose heads were chopped off are all the same before the laws of the Uchiha Clan.

Whoever breaks the rules gets the knife. It doesn't matter who your ancestors were.

Someone in the crowd muttered something under their breath, and someone next to him tugged at him, making him shut up.

The same scene unfolded in the South Blue.

That kingdom in the South Blue was located by the sea, and the Execution Platform was set up directly on the dock.

The heads of nobles were hung on wooden beams at the entrance to the dock, lined up in a row, some high and some low, some still wearing hats, others with their hair disheveled.

People came and went at the dock, and fishermen carried their nets as they walked past underneath, no one looking up.

On the first day, some people walked around it, but on the second day, they walked straight through it.

A new flag was displayed on the flagpole at the dock. It had a black background and a vermilion Uchiha Clan Crest. The flag billowed in the sea breeze and fluttered in the wind.

The South Blue side is handled by another Nightingale Guard squad.

The team leader's surname Uchiha, his given name was Aono, he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and he was more efficient than Qingchuan.

After clearing the palace, he summoned the remaining nobles of the city to the square. Without further ado, he asked, "Those willing to have their titles revoked, stand on the left. Those unwilling, stand on the right."

There was no one standing on the right. Aono nodded and said, "Alright. From today onwards, you should farm or do business. Your former fiefdoms will become public property, and rent will be paid according to the new rules."

A nobleman mustered his courage and asked, "And what about our house...?"

"You can stay in the house," Aono said, "But you can no longer keep a private army. The guards are disbanded, and your weapons must be handed over. If you want to hire people to guard your property, register with the Heavenly Star Guard, get a badge, and follow the rules."

In the North Blue, it's the Whitebeard Pirates making their move.

When the Moby Dick, along with a dozen or so ships, came crashing down on the sea, the nobles of the kingdoms in the North Blue were still arguing.

Some suggested uniting to resist, others said they should assess the situation first, and still others simply packed their belongings and prepared to flee.

They argued for two days, and then Whitebeard's ship arrived.

The largest kingdom in the North Blue had its capital built on a cliff, with thick walls and numerous fortifications. The nobles had brought all their private soldiers to the walls, declaring they would "defend to the death."

Whitebeard didn't waste any words with them.

The Moby Dick's main guns turned around and fired a single shot that blasted down half of the city wall.

The second shot blasted the city gate open.

Before the third shot was even fired, everyone on the city wall had fled.

Whitebeard jumped off the ship, Murakumogiri on his shoulder, and walked into the city in wooden clogs.

Behind him followed Marco, Jozu, Vista, and a group of Whitebeard Pirates Division Commander and crew members.

Ace walked in the middle of the group, the flame on his shoulder burning quietly.

In the royal square, nobles were pushed to the front by private soldiers.

One nobleman, still trying to be defiant, stood in the middle of the square, pointing his finger at Whitebeard and yelling, "You pirates! We are nobles of the kingdom! If you dare lay a finger on us, the World Government will not let you get away with it—"

Whitebeard glanced down at him.

Just one glance.

The nobleman's words caught in his throat.

He saw the eyes of the people behind Whitebeard, the blue flames on Marco's shoulder, Jozu's Diamond- like arm, and Vista's two Famous Sword at his waist. He shut his mouth.

"The World Government is gone." Whitebeard's voice was deep and resonant. "The Uchiha Clan now rules this sea. Their rule is: those who resist, kill without mercy. Surrender is not accepted."

He paused.

"You resisted. You fired the cannons on the city walls, you sent the private soldiers. The Uchiha Clan members aren't here, but I'm doing this for them. What do you have to say?"

The square was silent for a while. Then a young nobleman's legs buckled and he knelt down, saying he was willing to submit.

Whitebeard glanced at him and nodded.

"Those willing to submit, stand on the left. Those unwilling, stand on the right." He added, "Those on the right will be killed without exception. Surrender is not accepted. The rules of the Uchiha Clan are absolute."