A Noble Father Begs for Mercy in Public, Sabo's Choice

"I'm going to save them."

Sabo raised his head, his gaze gradually turning resolute.

"I'll save as many as I can."

Luffy also waved his fist and shouted.

"I'm going too! I'll punch all those fire-starting bastards into the sky!"

Kahn looked at the three hot-blooded brats and smiled in satisfaction.

This was the attitude he wanted to see.

If they shrank back at the first sign of trouble, they weren't worthy of being his brothers.

"Good."

"Now that's more like men."

Kahn snapped his fingers.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door.

Garino, with a bounty of 155 million Beli, and Salome, with a bounty of 142 million Beli, pushed open the door and walked in.

These two notorious pirates were now as meek as a pair of quails.

"Lord Kahn, all Eclipse auxiliary personnel are in position."

Garino dropped to one knee and reported loudly.

"Fifty armed merchant ships are standing by beyond the coastline."

"At your command, we can seal off the entire sea surrounding the Goa Kingdom."

Salome spoke up as well.

"Our planted agents in High Town have also sent word."

"The king's guards have begun pouring fire oil along the edge of Trash Mountain."

The Ace brothers watched the two monsters who had strutted about so arrogantly yesterday now reporting like household servants, and their minds could barely process it.

Eclipse? Auxiliary personnel? Armed merchant ships?

What the hell were all these things?

Kahn ignored the brothers' shock.

He walked to the doorway and looked at the rising Sun.

Sunlight fell over him as blazing energy surged wildly into every cell of his body.

"Today, I'll teach you your second lesson."

Kahn did not turn around.

"In this world, kindness and anger are the cheapest things there are."

"Only absolute strength and power great enough to crush everything—"

"Can give you the right to make the rules."

Kahn strode down the mountain.

"Keep up."

"I'll show you what it truly means to turn the world upside down."

The massive gates of the Goa Kingdom stood wide open.

The iron gates that normally allowed passage only to nobles and licensed merchants had been torn from their foundations and thrown into the moat.

Ace walked in front.

Luffy followed behind, looking around in every direction.

Sabo walked the slowest.

He looked at the familiar buildings lining both sides of the street, his breathing growing strained.

This was High Town.

The cage he had once escaped from.

Whenever the three of them had snuck in here before, they had needed to hide from patrolling guards like rats.

But not today.

The broad white stone street was filled with men in black suits or pirate coats.

They held muskets in their hands and wore long blades at their waists.

When they saw Kahn approaching—

Every one of them lowered his head in perfect unison.

No one spoke.

Only the dull sound of boots snapping together echoed through the street.

It was the absolute obedience of men who had undergone strict training.

Garino walked half a step behind Kahn's right side.

The pirate with a bounty of 155 million Beli now looked like a dutiful butler.

Salome led the way ahead.

He idly played with the bloodstained dagger in his hand.

They soon reached High Town's central square.

The sight there brought the three brothers to a complete halt.

Ace's mouth fell open.

Luffy rubbed his eyes.

Sabo clenched his fists tightly.

The square was full of kneeling people.

The noble lords who usually wore extravagant formal attire, tall hats, and looked down their noses at everyone else—

Were now like a herd of pigs awaiting slaughter.

They were packed tightly together.

Their luxurious silk clothes were covered in dust.

Some sobbed quietly.

Some trembled.

The king of the Goa Kingdom knelt at the very front.

His jewel-encrusted crown had fallen into a muddy puddle nearby.

No one dared pick it up.

Kahn walked to the center of the square.

Garino brought over a broad, high-backed mahogany chair.

Kahn sat down.

He crossed one leg over the other and looked at the nobles shaking like leaves.

"These are the people you hate most."

Kahn pointed at the nobles on the ground, then turned to Ace and his brothers.

"Aren't you the self-proclaimed High Town Vigilantes?"

"Don't you enjoy robbing the rich to help the poor?"

"Well, they're all here now."

Ace tightened his grip on his pipe.

He had once thought that knocking out a few guards and stealing money from a baron's safe was the greatest punishment he could inflict on these people.

Only now did he realize just how horribly wrong he had been.

True punishment meant stripping away the dignity they valued most.

Making them kneel on the ground like the lowest slaves.

Sabo's eyes searched through the crowd.

He quickly spotted a familiar figure.

Outlook III.

The Goa Kingdom's finance minister.

And his biological father.

Outlook III knelt amid the crowd.

His hair, normally groomed to perfection, was now as messy as a bird's nest.

Beside him knelt a blond little boy.

It was Stelly.

The adopted heir of the Outlook Family.

And Sabo's younger brother in name.

Tears and snot smeared Stelly's face.

He clutched tightly at Outlook III's clothes.

Outlook III sensed someone watching him.

He raised his head.

His eyes met Sabo's.

The finance minister froze.

He could not believe his eyes.

That rebellious son who had run away from home and mingled in Trash Mountain—

Was now standing beside that terrifying demon.

And judging from where he stood, his status did not seem low at all.

Outlook III's mind raced.

Having spent years in official circles, he was best at adapting to the situation.

This was absolutely his chance to live.

"Sabo!"

Outlook III suddenly shouted.

He scrambled forward two steps.

Two muskets were immediately pressed against his head.

"Move back."

The Eclipse guards' voices held no emotion.

Outlook III was too terrified to move, but he continued shouting.

"Sabo! It's me!"

"I'm your father!"

"Hurry and plead with this lord for me!"

"We're nobles! Our Outlook Family still has plenty of money!"

Stelly reacted as well.

He might have been jealous of Sabo, but staying alive came first now.

"Big brother! Save me!"

Stelly cried out.

"I don't want to die! I still want to be a noble! I still want to inherit the family estate!"

Everyone in the square turned their eyes toward Sabo.

The nobles who had once looked down on him now had nothing but pleading in their eyes.

The king of Goa raised his head as well.

"Outlook, your son knows this lord?"

The king looked as if he had seized a lifeline.

"Make him speak! As long as the royal family survives, I'll make you a duke!"

Sabo stood where he was.

He looked at the man who had fathered and raised him.

At the father who would even use his own son as a bargaining chip to curry favor with the powerful.

Nausea churned up from his stomach.

"Big brother."

Sabo turned his head toward Kahn, who sat in the chair.

"If I plead for them, will you spare them?"