Heaven-Sent Demon God!

"Luffy!"

Ace, who was fighting three bandits, heard the startled cry.

He turned to look.

Just in time to see the pockmarked man pull out his blade, preparing to strike a second time.

Ace's eyes turned red.

He ignored the attack behind him.

And took a club to the back.

A burning pain flared across his back.

But he used the force of the blow to spin around sharply.

Turning the water pipe in his hand into a javelin.

"Get away from him!"

The water pipe shot through the air with a shriek.

It struck the pockmarked man squarely in the back.

With a crack.

It sounded like bone breaking.

The pockmarked man screamed and collapsed to the floor.

Luffy was saved.

But Ace had lost his weapon.

And because he had been distracted.

The two bandits behind him caught an opening.

"Perfect!"

"The brat doesn't have a weapon anymore!"

A bald bandit lunged forward with a vicious grin.

And wrapped his arms around Ace's waist.

Another bandit raised his baseball bat.

And brought it down on Ace's shoulder.

Bang!

The dull impact made everyone's teeth ache.

Ace let out a muffled grunt.

Half his body went numb.

But he did not make another sound.

Instead, he opened his mouth and bit down viciously on the bald man's arm.

"Ah!!!"

The bald man screamed in agony.

It felt as though his flesh was about to be torn off.

"Ace!"

Sabo tried to rush over to help.

But Higuma moved.

Higuma, who had been sitting in the back watching the show, finally rose to his feet.

He moved incredibly fast.

Nothing like a drunk man who had been drinking.

In just a few strides, he reached Sabo.

The long sword in his hand never even left its sheath.

He merely used the hilt.

And drove it hard into Sabo's stomach.

"Too slow."

Higuma spoke coldly.

Sabo's vision went black.

It felt as though his intestines had twisted into a knot.

The excruciating pain instantly drained all strength from him.

The water pipe in his hand clattered to the floor.

Clutching his stomach, he fell painfully to his knees.

And vomited a mouthful of sour liquid.

This was the crushing strength of an adult.

It was also the gulf between an eight-million-berry wanted criminal and two children.

"You wild brats from who knows where."

"You learned a few cheap tricks and thought you could play hero?"

Higuma kicked Sabo over.

Then turned around.

And looked at Ace, who was still struggling desperately.

By now, Ace had been pinned to the ground by four or five bandits.

But he was still fighting back.

Like a furious young lion.

Kicking and biting.

Making the bandits handling him a miserable mess.

"Enough."

Higuma was getting impatient.

He walked over to Luffy.

Luffy was still sitting on the floor in a daze.

The string of sudden changes had happened too quickly.

So quickly that his mind could not process them at all.

Higuma bent down.

And grabbed Luffy by the collar.

Lifting him up like a chick.

"Let me go!"

"You ugly freak!"

Luffy was still shouting.

His hands flailed wildly.

Trying to hit Higuma in the face.

Higuma sneered.

He raised his foot.

And stomped hard on Luffy's face.

Luffy's rubber face warped beneath his foot.

And Luffy's voice was stomped back down his throat.

"Everybody, stop."

Higuma's voice was not loud.

But it carried a cold, murderous intent.

He drew his long sword.

The icy blade pressed against Luffy's tender neck.

"Move one more time."

"And I'll slit this brat's throat."

"Let's see whether his blood spills faster, or his neck shrinks faster."

At that moment.

The entire tavern fell silent.

Ace, who had been struggling, froze.

He stared fixedly at the blade.

That was a weapon that could truly kill.

He could disregard his own safety.

But he could not gamble with Luffy's life.

"Let... let him go..."

Ace's voice was hoarse.

It was a roar of rage pushed to its limit, yet utterly powerless.

At that moment.

Ace felt what despair was for the first time.

What weakness was.

Before absolute strength and vile cruelty.

The little skill he possessed.

Was nothing more than a joke.

Taking advantage of the moment, the bandits pinning Ace down kicked him hard in the back several times.

"Move, then?"

"Weren't you so fierce just now?"

"Why aren't you biting anyone now, you little mutt?!"

Ace was trampled into the floor, which was covered in dust and spilled liquor.

Humiliation swallowed him like a tide.

Sabo lay facedown on the floor.

His fingers dug deeply into the gaps between the floorboards.

His nails cracked and bled.

But he did not even have the strength to raise his head.

They had been completely wiped out.

A crushing, utter defeat.

Higuma looked at the three trophies beneath him.

And smiled smugly.

A thrill called victory appeared on his numb face.

Butchering the weak.

Especially weaklings with a little backbone.

Was the greatest pleasure for scum like him.

"Looks like the hero game is over."

Higuma tapped Luffy's face with his blade.

"I hadn't planned on wasting my time with vermin like you."

"But you ruined my mood."

"And hurt so many of my brothers."

Higuma swept his gaze over the wrecked tavern.

"This debt."

"Will be paid with your lives."

Higuma's expression turned savage.

He had no intention of letting the three witnesses go.

He could kill them here.

Then toss them into the mountains.

Who would know he had done it?

Even if that Marine hero Garp came back.

He would find no evidence.

"Who should I start with?"

Higuma traced the tip of his blade along Luffy's throat.

Fear finally appeared in Luffy's eyes.

It was the instinctive fear of death.

But he pressed his lips tightly together.

He did not beg.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

On the ceiling beam.

Kahn sighed.

The show was over.

The ending was exactly as he had expected.

Even worse, in fact.

Because of his intervention in this life, Ace and Sabo had become stronger than they were in the original story.

But it was precisely because of that false strength.

That they had become even more blindly confident.

Directly leading to this hopeless charge.

That was the price of growing up.

Kahn stood up.

He dusted off his pants.

It was time to clean up this mess.

He did not necessarily have to save anyone.

But if Luffy really got killed.

Then the future Pirate King would be gone.

And he would have a lot less fun.

Most importantly.

He could sense it.

That red-haired man.

The true protagonist.

Had not appeared right away.

Maybe it was because of the butterfly effect.

Or maybe the inertia of the plot had been broken.

Outside the village at that moment.

There was no hurried figure rushing over.

"Looks like..."

"This batch of experience points..."

"I can only reluctantly accept it myself."

Kahn did not choose to enter through the front door.

That would have been too cliché.

And it did not fit his current image as a "god."

He raised a hand.

His finger lightly tapped the roof beam.

There was no need to use force.

He only needed to release a little Bio-Force Field.

"Crack."

The thick beam let out a sharp crack.

As if it had been hollowed out by termites for centuries.

It snapped instantly.

The roof tiles came sliding down with a clatter.

Inside the inn.

Higuma, who was about to bring down his blade, suddenly felt his scalp go numb.

An indescribable pressure descended from above his head.

As if a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Were hanging directly over the crown of his head.

He instinctively looked up.

What he saw was not the ceiling.

But a massive hole.

And from within that hole.

A figure slowly descended.

Moonlight spilled through the opening.

Falling perfectly behind the figure.

Shrouding his entire body in shadow.

His face could not be seen.

Only his eyes were visible.

Two scarlet points of light.

Burning in the darkness.

Like ghostly flames from hell.

There were no flashy movements.

Kahn simply dropped straight down.

"Boom!"

The floor instantly shattered.

A violent shockwave spread outward from Kahn in every direction.

The bandits pinning Ace down.

Did not even understand what had happened.

Before the blast of air sent them flying.

As if they had been struck by a speeding train.

They slammed viciously into the walls.

They could not even be peeled off.

As the dust settled.

Kahn stood at the center of the crater.

Both hands in his pockets.

The eyes that had glowed red moments ago had returned to black.

Calm and placid.

He looked down at Higuma by his feet.

As though he were looking at a disgusting cockroach.

The hand holding Higuma's knife trembled.

That impact just now.

Had made him feel as if all his organs had shifted out of place.

But what frightened him more was the aura emanating from the boy who had suddenly appeared.

That was not an aura a human should possess.

"Good evening."

"Mr. Eight Million."

Kahn's voice was soft.

Yet in the deathly silent inn.

It rang as clearly as thunder.

Ace struggled to raise his head.

When he saw that familiar back.

For some reason.

The tough boy who had refused to give in moments ago.

Suddenly felt his nose sting.

Something called a sense of security.

Instantly filled his chest.

"K... Kahn..."

Ace called out.

His voice carried a sob.

Kahn did not turn around.

He merely said flatly.

"Shut up."

"I'll deal with you two when we get back."

That scolding.

Sounded to Ace and Sabo.

Like the most beautiful sound in the world.

Higuma swallowed.

He recognized him.

This was the big eater from the tavern during the day who had eaten ten plates of meat in a minute.

"What do you want?"

Higuma shouted fiercely, though he was weak inside.

His grip on the knife tightened.

But he did not dare move.

Because his instincts told him.

The moment he dared move the blade.

Even if he only moved a finger.

The next second.

He would definitely be the one to die.

Kahn tilted his head.

He looked at the knife pressed against Luffy's neck.

"Let go of that idiot."

"I won't say it twice."

Higuma's face twitched.

His pride.

And his dignity as the Bandit King.

Would not allow him to bow to an eight-year-old brat.

Besides.

He had a hostage in his hands.

That was his greatest trump card.