Conqueror's Haki Unleashed

"Too noisy!"

Dawn swept a cold gaze over the crowd rushing toward him. A terrifying pressure, like the wrath of a sovereign, erupted from him like a tsunami and instantly swept across the entire battlefield.

The people preparing to charge were struck as if by invisible sledgehammers. Their movements froze instantly; their eyes rolled back, foam spilled from their mouths, and they collapsed in swathes like cut wheat, completely losing consciousness.

Conqueror's Haki. Its first outward release had knocked out everyone on this small island.

After doing all this, Dawn could no longer hold himself up. He dropped to one knee and panted heavily. But he did not rest. Forcing his severely injured body onward, he began harvesting the lives of the World Government personnel like a grim reaper.

At the same time, he absorbed the valuable items on Joseph, as well as supplies and information from the training island that he considered useful, into the extradimensional storage space created by his ability.

Before long, apart from the nearly unconscious Stussy and the three people aboard the airship, not a single living person remained.

Dawn walked up to Stussy, who retained a final shred of clarity but could no longer move her body.

"Come with me. I can help you rescue Vegapunk."

Stussy's delicate body trembled violently. Her beautiful eyes widened at once, filled with disbelief.

H-He knew about that!?

A huge question instantly flooded her mind.

However, before she could ask, the mental shock from Conqueror's Haki and the exhaustion in her body finally reached their limit. Her last shred of clarity vanished, darkness fell over her vision, and she completely lost consciousness.

Dawn said nothing more. He slung the unconscious Stussy over his shoulder. Deep black energy surged out once again, wrapping around his body and lifting him slowly into the air before he finally landed on the deck of the hovering three-masted sailing ship.

Carrying Stussy, he entered the cabin. His gaze swept over Kaku, Kalifa, and Lucci, who were bound in iron chains with complicated expressions.

"I thought you'd take the chance to figure out a way to escape."

Dawn's voice carried a trace of exhaustion, yet it still held overwhelming pressure.

The three of them cursed inwardly at the same time. You didn't undo these damned chains, and you didn't remove the dark barrier covering the island. Where are we supposed to run? How? But none of them dared say it aloud.

Dawn's gaze passed over them one by one before finally settling on Lucci. He asked bluntly:

"Now, tell me your choice. Become my subordinates, or... die here."

After a brief silence, Kaku spoke first. There was a hint of helplessness in his tone, but also the resignation of acceptance.

"Either way, it's all the same to me. Following someone as strong as you doesn't seem so bad. I'm in."

Kalifa bit her lip. She glanced at the vicious wounds on Dawn's body and his still-terrifying presence, then at the unconscious Stussy beside him. In the end, she lowered her head as well.

"I... I'm in too."

Though she was young, agent training had forced her to mature early. She knew full well what refusing would lead to.

Dawn's gaze finally fixed on Lucci.

Lucci snorted coldly and turned his head away.

"Hmph. If you ever become weaker than me, I'll kill you without hesitation and take your place!"

Dawn grinned, full of confidence.

"That day will never come."

Having received their answers, Dawn said nothing more. Carrying the unconscious Stussy, he turned and left the cabin, heading for the captain's quarters.

He needed to treat his injuries as soon as possible, and... digest the gains from this battle. The long road to overthrowing the World Government seemed, at last, to reveal a faint glimmer of dawn tonight.

Under the moonlight, the three-masted sailing ship turned around and silently sailed into the vast night, leaving the training island covered in ruins and corpses far behind.

Several days later.

At the summit of the Red Line, Mary Geoise.

Inside a spacious office, the lights blazed brightly, and the air was filled with the scent of expensive incense. Through the drawn curtains, one could vaguely see carefully trimmed vegetation and sculptures spouting spring water outside.

Guernica, one of the senior members of CP0, the World Nobles' highest secret intelligence agency, sat behind a broad desk, sorting through mountains of documents.

His face was covered by his signature white mask, concealing all expression. Yet for some reason, he had felt uneasy all day, as though a shadow hung over his heart. Something bad seemed about to happen, but he could not grasp the source of that premonition.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A steady knock broke the silence in the room.

Without looking up, Guernica merely said flatly, "Enter."

The door opened silently. A low-ranking member of the Cipher Pol system, dressed in a crisp black suit, hurried inside. He approached the desk, bowed respectfully, and spoke with a barely noticeable tremor in his voice.

"Sir, Lord Joseph's Vivre Card... has burned away."

Guernica's writing hand abruptly stopped. The tip of his quill bled a small blot of ink across the expensive document.

Behind the mask, his pupils contracted uncontrollably. The death of a CP0 member was no trivial matter! Even though Joseph occupied only the lowest ranks within the formidable CP0, his identity itself represented the World Government's dignity. He was one of the Celestial Dragons' strongest shields.

The death of such a person meant that the mission had undergone an unforeseen change, perhaps even involving greater trouble.

Guernica rubbed his inexplicably throbbing brow and waved his hand. His tone revealed neither joy nor anger.

"Leave. I'll personally report this matter to the lords."

The CP member looked as though he had received a pardon. He hurriedly bowed again, quickly withdrew, and gently closed the door behind him.

The room fell silent once more, but Guernica's heart could no longer remain calm. He set down his pen, pondered for a moment, and took out the Den Den Mushi used for important communications.

Before reporting upward, he had to learn as much as possible about what had happened to Joseph. According to the itinerary, Joseph should have been on his return journey. He had previously been sent to the training base on Yoshiwara Island somewhere in the Grand Line to carry out a secret mission: selecting candidates to infiltrate the Underworld as undercover agents.

"Pururururu... Pururururu..."

The Den Den Mushi mimicked a dialing sound, ringing dozens of times without anyone answering. The person in charge of the training base on the other end seemed to have completely vanished.

To be continued