Taking Down a Celestial Dragon Was Child's Play

"Saint Charlos, we'll reach the Goa Kingdom in another half hour. They've already prepared a welcoming ceremony."

A man in a black suit knelt halfway down on the deck and respectfully addressed Saint Charlos, the Celestial Dragon wearing a rare square glass helmet.

"Hmph, always coming to these backwater places in the lower world."

"If their preparations don't satisfy me, then I'm going to get angry."

Saint Charlos snorted coldly.

He was extremely dissatisfied with being assigned to the Goa Kingdom, but he had lost a bet back in Mary Geoise and taken on a job that had originally belonged to another Celestial Dragon.

Once he returned, he would kill off all the slaves he currently had and replace them with younger, more capable ones.

Upon hearing this, the official immediately went to have someone contact them and make sure there were no mistakes in the welcoming ceremony. Otherwise, his life might be in danger.

"Hm?"

"Someone's standing on the sea??"

The lookout guards stared at the sight through their telescopes and froze.

He had never seen anything like it before.

Following a Celestial Dragon had broadened his horizons, but even Fish-Men couldn't stand on the surface of the sea, could they?

"What is it?"

Saint Charlos heard the commotion and asked with a frown.

"My lord, someone is standing on the sea. It looks like they're targeting our ship."

Someone immediately came over to report.

"Oh?"

"Looks like someone who wants to die. Still, that guy must be pretty strong!"

"Bring me a cannon. If he isn't killed by it, take him back to Mary Geoise and make him my slave."

Saint Charlos immediately gave the order.

What had been a boring journey had suddenly become interesting, and that excited him.

Celestial Dragons often encountered attacks when they left the Holy Land. More people worshipped them, but there were also plenty who wanted them dead.

Otherwise, why would so many people be assigned to protect them? There had already been such incidents before. There was no shortage of lunatics on the sea who weren't afraid of the World Government's retaliation, especially pirates.

"Yes!"

The servant beside him answered.

He then carefully brought out a specially made handheld cannon intended for Saint Charlos.

The weapon's recoil had been reduced to a minimum, and it could fire specially made shells more than three kilometers away. Celestial Dragons were not entirely useless either; many possessed astonishing talent and had mastered quite a few skills themselves.

Saint Charlos picked up the loaded cannon and raised it. As the ship moved forward, he aimed its scope at the slender figure standing on the sea.

"Hm?"

"He's actually smiling!"

Through the scope, Saint Charlos saw that the audacious bastard was actually smiling, which only made him look down on him more.

Mortals could never understand the might of gods!

Saint Charlos then pulled the trigger without hesitation and fired the shell.

In the end, Saint Charlos saw the man bring his hands together, as though making some sort of hand sign.

The instant the shell was fired, a blaze suddenly erupted where that man stood. It transformed into a fire dragon and charged straight toward the luxurious warship carrying the Celestial Dragon.

The shell was swallowed by the fire dragon midair before it could hit anything.

However, Saint Charlos did not panic. Something at that level was nowhere near enough to frighten him.

Rankyaku!

A CP0 agent in a white suit leaped from the ship. He then swung his right leg fiercely, sending a vacuum slash flying toward the fire dragon.

The fire dragon was split cleanly in two. The severed halves flew past both sides of the warship and finally struck the sea, evaporating huge clouds of mist that conveniently covered the entire vessel.

"Sara, protect Saint Charlos. I'll deal with this guy."

Linus, who had just used Rankyaku, spoke.

Whenever a Celestial Dragon left the Holy Land, two CP0 agents would usually protect them, along with a large number of World Government CP agents.

This enemy was extremely strange. He could stand on the sea, and the thick water vapor around them had obscured their vision. Their response had to be conservative, because if anything happened to the Celestial Dragon, they would all die.

"Alright!"

Sara, a massive woman in a white suit, also appeared and took her position behind Saint Charlos.

"Take him alive. This slave looks rather interesting."

Saint Charlos ordered in an imperious tone.

What he enjoyed most was seeing these lowly creatures who wanted revenge reveal despairing expressions before him.

"Yes!"

After saying that, Linus immediately used Geppo to rise into the air.

Soon, he spotted Brando charging toward the warship. Without hesitation, he used Geppo to rush at him.

He had not eaten a Devil Fruit, so he did not fear seawater. Though he did not know how this man was standing on the sea, he only hoped Brando would not be killed in a single move. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain things to Saint Charlos.

But Linus quickly realized something was wrong. He was already rushing straight at his opponent, yet Brando remained standing there without making the slightest move, neither fleeing nor attacking.

"Did fear make him give up resisting?"

"No, someone who dared attack Saint Charlos could never surrender without a fight!"

Linus felt an overwhelming sense of dread. He abruptly accelerated, using Geppo and Soru together in an attempt to subdue the attacker immediately.

Sara was with Saint Charlos. It would take him at most five seconds to get back. No matter how useless Sara was, she should be able to hold on for five seconds, right?

"You fell for it."

Brando smiled at the CP0 agent charging toward him.

Just as Linus was about to touch him, he dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique. He turned into a cloud of smoke, sending the information back to the original body.

The hand Linus reached toward Brando ultimately grabbed only a puff of white smoke, and his body even came into contact with the seawater.

"This is bad!"

Linus panicked beyond measure.

He could not understand it. His Observation Haki had clearly locked onto the man. He had definitely been a real person, so what was going on?

This was obviously an attack aimed at Saint Charlos, and he, the main combat force, had been tricked away from the Celestial Dragon.

Without any hesitation, Linus immediately turned back. He used Geppo and Soru with every ounce of strength he had, terrified that if he were even a moment too late, his head would roll.

Sara sensed someone approaching with her Observation Haki.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

The voice belonged to Linus, and then the man himself appeared. It was Linus.

"Hm?"

"Where's that commoner?"

Saint Charlos frowned and demanded an answer.

Sara immediately sensed that something was wrong.

But she was still one step too late.

Morata!

Brando, who had used the Transformation Technique to become Linus, pulled out a kunai and stabbed toward Saint Charlos. In an instant, he pierced through the helmet, pressing the kunai against Saint Charlos's neck and cutting his skin.

"No!"

Linus had just returned when he saw someone identical to himself assassinating Saint Charlos. His eyes nearly split with rage.

If the Celestial Dragon died, how could he ever explain this?