Self-Centered Justice

The departure of Katakuri and the others left behind a field of corpses.

There were about thirty marines following behind Strawberry, all wounded, looking at Ye Chen with awe and gratitude, while some of them had unreadable emotions flickering in their eyes.

"Ye Chen, thank goodness you arrived in time, otherwise we might be done for here today."

Limping, Strawberry was still shaken, thinking that if Ye Chen hadn't arrived, he would have been finished.

Upon hearing the sound, Ye Chen stared expressionlessly at Strawberry, a cold glint in his eyes, as if he were making a decision.

But Strawberry, oblivious to everything, wiped the sweat from his brow, his face pale, and said, "Where have you been these past two years? We haven't heard a thing. Many people thought..."

"Puff"

Scalding hot blood sprayed all over Strawberry's Strawberry, leaving Big Mouth, pupils dilating, completely stunned. "I thought... I thought..."

"Ah"

Screams erupted as a one-sided massacre unfolded, limbs were severed, and blood flowed everywhere.

"Vice Admiral General, why, why?"

Of the thirty-odd surviving marines, most of them vanished in the blink of an eye. The few remaining marines kept Backslide, staring at Ye Chen, who was expressionless and watching them without any emotion, with a look of terror on their faces.

"No, no!"

Some of the naval personnel collapsed, completely unaware of why Ye Chen had attacked them. They simply threw down their weapons and fled into the distance.

With a "thud," the corpse was severed from its body, and crimson blood and internal organs flowed all over the ground. A slash landed with a deafening explosion, raising endless dust.

In just a few seconds, all thirty-odd marines were dead, leaving only Strawberry standing in the blood-soaked ground, trembling and staring at Ye Chen in disbelief.

Turning around, Ye Chen looked coldly at Strawberry and approached him step by step.

"Ye Chen, what do you want to do?"

Backing away relentlessly, Strawberry exclaimed in horror, "Are you insane?"

A faint killing intent emanated from Ye Chen, enveloping Strawberry's entire being and making him feel icy cold.

This guy wants to kill him, Strawberry is sure, this madman has murderous intent towards him.

Bending down, Ye Chen picked up a pistol and aimed it at Strawberry, who was sitting on the ground, without a ripple in his eyes.

However, Ye Chen hesitated to fire, instead appearing thoughtful.

Strawberry was so frightened that he dared not move, constantly swallowing hard.

Suddenly, Ye Chen turned around and, through his Observation Haki, saw many ordinary people staring wide-eyed at everything in the coastal jungle.

His expression grew increasingly cold as Ye Chen made his decision.

Dropping his pistol, Ye Chen slapped Strawberry in the chest, causing the latter to groan and completely lose his ability to move.

At the same time, Ye Chen disappeared, and then screams echoed continuously from the jungle.

"Boom boom boom"

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, causing the entire island to tremble. A Shockwave radiated from the center, forming a storm. However, the explosions did not stop; they continued in succession, exploding four or five times in a row.

The entire island was engulfed in smoke and flames, and visibly split apart, slowly sinking into the seabed.

In the firelight, Ye Chen flew out, grabbed Strawberry, stepped onto a wooden plank, and disappeared into the horizon.

Strawberry lay on the plank, staring blankly at the collapsing island, his expression expressionless, his mind a complete blank.

The sun blazed overhead, but for some reason, Strawberry felt a chill run through his body. He looked up at Ye Chen and roared, "Are you insane? You slaughtered the entire island! You madman!"

Looking down coldly at Strawberry, Ye Chen grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

"Asshole"

Strawberry's face was flushed red from suffocation, but he still glared at Ye Chen with resentment.

"They saw something they shouldn't have seen. Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, I will eliminate that possibility. But you..."

Looking coldly at Strawberry, Ye Chen said, word by word, "You're still somewhat useful. We also need one more person alive. With that previous palm strike, I've planted a bomb inside you. With just a thought, you'll be pulverized."

With a calm gaze, Ye Chen tossed Strawberry onto the wooden plank like a dead dog.

"I don't want anyone to know about Conqueror's Haki. From now on, you'll work for me!"

Unable to defy him, an arrogant will rose from Ye Chen, causing Strawberry to tremble with fear.

"Because of this, you destroyed the entire island, and tens of thousands of lives."

"Is there a problem?" Strawberry saw nothing but cold-blooded indifference in Ye Chen's eyes, utterly devoid of emotion.

"You devil! You don't deserve to be a Marine! You have no justice!" Strawberry gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, and roared.

"Navy? I've never considered myself a member of the Navy. Justice? That's laughable. Only the strong have the right to uphold justice, because justice is determined by the strong."

As if he had heard something amusing, Ye Chen looked at Strawberry with a cold smile.

In this world, there is no such thing as indiscriminate killing of innocents, nor even a basic sense of right and wrong. Destroying an entire island puts no psychological pressure on Ye Chen, because his heart was completely changed by this world in the first few months.

Ye Chen doesn't want the Marines to know about his Conqueror's Haki yet, because with his current strength, he can't do whatever he wants. Most importantly, his killing of Marines earlier has already exposed him, so he brought it on himself.

Since he had already gone this far, Ye Chen decided to go all the way. Since those people had seen something they shouldn't have, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he wouldn't let it happen. Therefore, the destruction of this island was inevitable.

Heartless? Inhuman? For such a trivial reason, Ye Chen slaughtered the entire island. He was twisted to the extreme; he was no longer human.

However, no one considered what the consequences would be if Ye Chen's Conqueror's Haki were exposed, and he had killed so many Marines.

He can no longer serve in the Navy; in fact, he might be purged by the Navy. He still has many things to do, so he can't afford to lose his identity as a Navy officer.

Most importantly, Ye Chen's mind was already twisted, and Awakening Conqueror's Haki, which destined him to be anything but normal.

Some people, Katakuri and his pirates, know that Ye Chen possesses Conqueror's Haki; this possibility is actually quite high.

First, Katakuri and his crew are pirates, and BIG Pirates at that. Over the years, how many kingdoms have the BIG Pirates destroyed for their sweets?

Countless people have died at the hands of the BIG Pirates simply because of sweets—who would believe that?

Furthermore, Katakuri, as a user of Conqueror's Haki, possesses self-esteem and pride that are second to none, and he would even disdain such things.

Therefore, Ye Chen wasn't worried about Katakuri at all; what he was worried about was Strawberry. So, Ye Chen killed those marines, and when those suicidal residents saw this, they didn't hesitate at all, and Ye Chen destroyed the entire island.

Besides, it would be difficult to explain if everyone died, so Ye Chen left Strawberry behind.

There may be other methods, but this one is the simplest and most effective.

Furthermore, the bomb Ye Chen planted in Strawberry's body was just a bluff. Perhaps he could do it in the future, but right now, Ye Chen doesn't have that ability.

Because of the external power of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, Ye Chen has never found a way to make it explode. The only thing that can explode is his own body. Perhaps he will be able to affect external objects after Awakening it.

"I have no interest in talking to you about justice, because in my heart, I am justice. You only have one choice now."

With eyes as still as stagnant water, Ye Chen calmly looked at Strawberry.

Strawberry stared angrily, but as he stared, his gaze became less firm.

Ultimately, under the threat of his life, Strawberry bowed his head.

"You know in your heart what is right and what is wrong. I believe an Admiral candidate is more convincing than a Rear Admiral like you; the bomb inside you won't make you feel any discomfort. You should know my capabilities."

Ye Chen glanced one last time at the resigned Strawberry, then looked away.

As for Strawberry, he had no choice, because when faced with a choice between justice and life, few people can choose justice; everyone is afraid of death!

Cough cough, I heard someone doubt that this book isn't a dark fantasy? Are you insulting my morbid psychology? Well, when I get really twisted, I can poke a hole in a telephone pole, are you scared yet?! How dare you question me!

Disclaimer: If you can't accept this book's morbid or dark themes, or its tendency to compare values and reality, you'd better give up. I'm afraid you'll get hooked. I'm penniless; even if I turned my underwear inside out, I wouldn't have any money!

If I stop updating, it means I'm already in the emergency room of a mental hospital. If possible, I'd like to become fellow patients with you all. I love you all!