Mary Geoise.
Central Avenue.
The piercing alarms had already echoed throughout the entire Holy Land.
Large numbers of guards rushed in from every direction, and the sudden attack had jolted all of Mary Geoise awake.
Yet no one noticed that, at the very center of the chaos, a figure appeared out of thin air.
Sabo landed at the end of the avenue, his black cloak whipped up by the night wind.
He raised his head.
Ahead stood a massive stone sculpture in the middle of Central Avenue.
The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
The enormous hoofprint nearly covered the entire stone wall.
For hundreds of years, it had hung high above.
Everyone entering Mary Geoise had to pass beneath it.
To the Celestial Dragons, it was the emblem of "gods."
But to those dragged into the Holy Land, it was a humiliation they could never wash away.
Because the same mark was branded onto slaves.
Once branded with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon, their names, dignity, and freedom were all taken away.
From then on, they were merely the "property" of some Celestial Dragon.
Sabo watched silently for a few seconds.
At last, the distant guards spotted him.
"Who goes there?!"
"Stop!"
"Seize that man!"
Dense footsteps closed in from both sides of the avenue, but Sabo did not turn around.
He merely looked at the lofty stone sculpture and spoke slowly.
"From today onward."
"This thing will no longer represent gods."
The guards froze for a moment.
The next second.
Sabo's five fingers suddenly curled, powerful Haki instantly coiling around his clawed hand.
"Dragon Claw Fist!"
Boom—!
One claw struck down, and terrifying force instantly tore into the sculpture's interior. The entire Central Avenue shook violently.
Crack!
The first fissure burst open from the center of the Hoof