Demonic Slashes

The restaurant was thick with the smell of blood.

But the suffocating pressure dissipated with Don Krieg's death.

Victor slowly withdrew the icy killing intent radiating from his body.

He turned, his eyes now black again, and smiled at Sanji, who was still smoking.

"How does it feel, Mr. Chef? This is the man you risked your life to protect just now."

Victor pointed at the headless corpse on the floor.

"Faced with me, who wanted to kill him, he was too scared to move. He even begged for mercy like a dog.

"But when faced with you, the one who wanted to save him and give him food, he did not hesitate to ambush and rob you.

"As they say—he bullies the weak and fears the strong, repaying kindness with hatred. That is a pirate's nature. That is the taste of reality."

Sanji was silent for a moment. He did not show any expression Victor had hoped to see.

"Phew..."

He took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled a pale blue-white ring of smoke. His gaze remained calm, utterly unmoved by the danger he had just faced.

"As long as he ate the meal, it wasn't a joke.

"For a chef, nothing is more satisfying than watching a customer lick their plate clean."

At that, Sanji glanced at the corpse on the floor before looking back at Victor, his tone softening slightly.

"But I acknowledge what you did too. After all, if it is a beast that bites after being fed, then getting rid of it is only right. Thanks."

"Shishishi!"

Luffy, who had been watching from the side, suddenly tilted his head. A bright smile appeared on his face as he looked at them.

"What? Aren't you two getting along great? I thought you were really going to fight just now! I worried for nothing!"

"Huh?!"

Victor and Sanji exchanged a glance, then turned in perfect sync and roared at Luffy.

"Who's getting along with him?! Are you an idiot?!"

Luffy shrank back from the shouting, but he still scratched his head and said as though it were obvious.

"Look, you're so in sync. That means you get along great!"

By the second-floor railing.

Zeff stood with his arms crossed, his profound gaze fixed on the scene below.

He gave the black-haired boy a long look and muttered under his breath.

"That red-eyed brat... decisive in his actions, ruthless in killing. He has more of a pirate's resolve than real pirates do."

"And that Straw Hat brat..."

Zeff's gaze lingered on the three bickering below, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a barely noticeable smile.

Then his face darkened, and he let out a thunderous snort at the cooks downstairs, who were still standing there dumbfounded and helpless with fear.

"Hmph! Hey! What are you useless fools standing around for?!"

Zeff roared, making even the ceiling tremble. "Get over there and clean this up!

"The blood on the floor, and that pile of trash! Do you want my restaurant to stay open or not?! Are you trying to scare all the customers away?!"

"Yes, Chef!!"

The cooks snapped out of it at once. Though their hearts were still pounding, their boss's authority was clearly even more terrifying.

They immediately got busy, setting overturned tables and chairs upright, calming the frightened customers, and cleaning up the scraps scattered across the floor.

As for the corpse...

"Y-you go pick up that head!" Patty said with a pale face, poking Carne beside him with a fork.

"Bastard! Why me?!" Carne was so frightened that even his sunglasses had slipped crooked, and he desperately shoved Patty away.

"You do it! Don't you always brag that you're the bravest? Hurry up! Or the boss will get mad!"

"I... I'm not doing it..."

Just as the two were passing the buck, a weak voice rang out.

"Please... leave it to me..."

Gin's body trembled as he struggled to rise from the floor.

He looked at Don Krieg's separated head and body, his eyes filled with both grief and confusion.

As a subordinate, he should have avenged his captain.

But as a person, he could not blame Victor. He had witnessed Don Krieg's despicable betrayal of kindness, and he had also witnessed Sanji's mercy.

Besides, if Victor wanted to kill him, it would likely take no effort at all.

"This... is my final duty."

Gin turned toward Luffy and Sanji and, without hesitation, heavily slammed his forehead to the floor.

His forehead struck the floor with a dull thud.

"I'm sorry... and thank you."

Then, under the complicated gazes of everyone around him.

He numbly gathered Don Krieg's head, dragged that massive, broken body behind him, and staggered step by step toward the restaurant entrance.

The lingering glow of the setting sun fell across his back, making him look especially desolate.

Sanji leaned against the railing and watched Gin's lost, listless figure. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

"Phew..."

He let out another puff of smoke, his eyes turning somewhat melancholy.

"Ah... I hate this world..."

"Cough, cough..."

Victor had just looked away from Gin's retreating figure when a dense cloud of secondhand smoke hit him in the face, making him frown and cough twice.

He waved away the smoke and shot an unfriendly look at the curly-browed man beside him.

"Looks like you really want to smoke in the sea, you bastard curly brows. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Sanji's melancholy, artistic expression instantly shattered. Veins bulged on his forehead as he glared back.

"You bastard! Stop ruining the mood!"

Just then, the restaurant doors were pushed open again.

"Hey! Luffy! What happened here? That was a huge commotion!"

Usopp appeared in the doorway, carrying bags and bundles all over himself as he cautiously peeked inside.

When he saw the horrifying splattered bloodstains on the walls, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Waaah!! So much blood!! Did someone die?!" Usopp screamed, clutching his head.

Zoro, who followed behind him, was not alarmed. He scanned the wrecked restaurant, one hand resting on his sword hilt the entire time, before finally settling his gaze on Victor.

"We heard some commotion from over here, so we came to take a look. Looks like it's already over?"

"Ah, Zoro! Usopp! You're here!" Luffy waved in greeting.

Meanwhile.

On the sea outside the restaurant, aboard Don Krieg's enormous, battered pirate ship.

The scene there was like hell on earth.

Hundreds of pirate crewmen, starved until they were little more than skin and bones, lay sprawled all over the deck, without even the strength to move a finger.

"Ah... I'm so hungry..."

"Water... give me water..."

"Why hasn't Chief Krieg come back yet...? If he doesn't return soon, we'll really starve to death..."

One pirate slumped against the side of the ship, forcing himself to cling to his last shred of strength.

He gripped the railing with both hands and tried to lean over, searching for any sign of Don Krieg, hoping to spot food.

However.

The moment he raised his head and looked across the distant sea, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his emaciated hands began to shake uncontrollably.

As the mist gradually dispersed over the sea, a small coffin-like boat slowly sailed toward them.

Sitting in that little boat was a man carrying an enormous black sword on his back, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

The demon who had once, on the Grand Line, destroyed their fleet of fifty ships all by himself!

"Uh... ugh..."

The pirate let out a despairing cry and used the last of his strength to scream at his companions on the deck.

"Run!!! That... that demon!! He's coming after us!!!"

But it was too late.

The man slowly drew the black sword from his back.

With a casual swing.

Swoosh—!!!

Two suffocating green slashes tore across the sea like they were cutting tofu and shot straight toward the massive ship.

Nothing stood in their way.

Boom!!!

Accompanied by a deafening crack, the gigantic pirate ship with its three decks was cleanly sliced into three sections almost instantly!

Massive waves erupted, and countless weakened pirates, along with shattered planks, plunged into the freezing sea like dumplings dropped into a pot.

"The ship was cut apart!!"

"Ah!! Help!!"

"Why?! Why are you still hunting us all the way here?!"

That man, the world's greatest swordsman—Hawk-Eye Mihawk—had arrived.