Killing Intent

The guards around them immediately sprang into action and attacked Lu Ge and Rayleigh at the same time.

Seeing this, the surrounding civilians instantly panicked and scattered like frightened birds and beasts.

Lu Ge gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and swung. Sword qi slashed out like a whirlwind, cutting down all the charging guards and leaving them sprawled in pools of blood.

The three Celestial Dragons were so terrified that their faces turned pale. They hurriedly hid behind the burly slave and shouted, "Barton, get out there and kill them!"

The slave named Barton stared at Lu Ge and Rayleigh, dangerous light flashing in his eyes. The temperature around his body suddenly rose, and in an instant, the surrounding area grew scorching hot.

Rayleigh's expression shifted slightly at the sight. "Be careful. This guy is a Devil Fruit user. Judging by what he's shown, it might be the Heat-Heat Fruit."

"The Heat-Heat Fruit?" Lu Ge looked somewhat curious. As far as he knew, the Heat-Heat Fruit had appeared in two people's hands. One was Don Accino. His Heat-Heat Fruit allowed him to heat his own body and change his temperature at will, ranging from one degree to ten thousand degrees. He could stand in lava without suffering any harm, melt objects, and even drink lava like a beverage.

The other was Charlotte Oven, whose Heat-Heat Fruit allowed him to create intense heat and transfer it to anything he touched, instantly heating it. He could also heat his own body and burn anyone who came into contact with him. He could even transmit heat to a large portion of the sea, causing it to boil.

Both of their abilities came from the Heat-Heat Fruit, but they were used somewhat differently. They clearly did not belong to the same fruit. Lu Ge also had no idea which version of the Heat-Heat Fruit this Barton possessed.

Still, it should be Don Accino's Heat-Heat Fruit. Charlotte Oven was Charlotte Linlin's fourth son, so he should still be alive and well right now.

Only after Barton died would his ability be inherited by Don Accino. After all, Barton was merely a slave, a plaything who could die at any moment. The Celestial Dragons must have given him the ability simply because they found it amusing.

Barton's entire body instantly grew scorching hot, blazing mist rising from him. He looked at Lu Ge and grinned, baring his teeth. "Kid, I ate the Heat-Heat Fruit and became a scorching-hot man. My body can reach ten thousand degrees Celsius. Your sword will probably melt before it even gets close to me."

"..." Lu Ge stared at Barton with a speechless expression. There really are idiots in this world who explain their abilities to their opponents!

He no longer had the patience for nonsense. The katana in his hand was instantly coated in Armament Haki, turning into an exceptionally sharp black blade. With a tap of his foot, he appeared in front of Barton in an instant, and the black blade had already pierced through his chest.

"You— you—!!" Barton's eyes widened as he stared at Lu Ge in terror. He had never imagined that he would be stabbed through the chest without even having time to react. The gap between his strength and this man's was actually so vast?

"Tch. I thought you'd be stronger. Turns out you're just a nobody." Seeing that Barton could not even react to a single strike, Lu Ge curled his lip, then sheathed his sword.

Barton collapsed into the pool of blood with a scream.

Seeing their strongest subordinate killed just like that, the three Celestial Dragons were scared pale. Yet they still failed to understand the situation and arrogantly shouted in fury, "You—you lowly commoner! How dare you kill Saint's guard! Do you know who Saint is? You actually dared to attack us Celestial Dragons! You're finished! You're finished! Not only you, but your family and everyone around you will pay with their lives for your reckless actions!"

Lu Ge found this somewhat amusing, but he did not hurry to deal with him. Instead, he walked over to Barton and stabbed his heart with one strike, ending him completely.

He then crouched down. A fluorescent glow appeared in his hand, only to vanish again moments later.

Rayleigh watched Lu Ge's bewildering actions, his heart filled with solemnity. "What was that light just now? It gave me an instinctive sense of fear... What exactly did he do?"

Out of curiosity, Rayleigh still could not help asking, "What are you doing?"

Lu Ge did not answer. He sensed the new power surging through his body, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He had obtained the Heat-Heat Fruit.

At the same time, he could not help clenching his fist. He felt that his strength had grown even greater.

Now he could confirm that he was not only able to devour Devil Fruits without limit, but that every fruit he devoured caused his strength to increase significantly.

"Devil Fruits really are wonderful things!" Lu Ge was incomparably excited. If I devour eight or ten more Devil Fruits, who in this world could possibly be my opponent?

Seeing that Lu Ge had not attacked him, the middle-aged Celestial Dragon immediately felt emboldened. "Hmph, hmph, hmph~~ Have you realized that you're afraid? You lowly commoner, even if you kneel and beg for mercy now, Saint still won't forgive you!"

Lu Ge looked at the Celestial Dragon as though he were an idiot. "So this is what they call the World Nobles? Are all you World Nobles as stupid and brainless as you?"

The middle-aged Celestial Dragon flew into a rage. "You bastard! Damn lowly commoner! How dare you look down on Saint! You insignificant maggot, do you know what happens when you disrespect Saint? You..."

"So noisy." Lu Ge swung his sword impatiently. The middle-aged Celestial Dragon's voice abruptly cut off, and his perfectly intact head rolled to the ground. His headless body spurted blood and toppled stiffly right in front of the two children, terrifying them into shrieking. The girl tilted her head and fainted on the spot.

The boy had already been scared into wetting himself.

Lu Ge merely grinned at the sight. "Looks like you Celestial Dragons can be afraid too. See? Celestial Dragons aren't any different from ordinary people."

Rayleigh was also stunned. "Kid, you really dared to kill him!"

The female slave stared blankly at the Celestial Dragon's headless corpse, her face filled with shock and horror. She seemed never to have imagined that anyone in this world would actually dare to kill a Celestial Dragon.

Lu Ge looked at Rayleigh and said calmly, "You didn't naively think that they would let us go even if we spared them, did you?"

Rayleigh said, "That's true, but this time, we're probably in serious trouble."

As he spoke, he looked around. Countless Marines had already gathered around them. The two of them were surrounded by tens of thousands of Marines.

Even Marine Admiral Sengoku and the Marine hero Garp had been dispatched, accompanied by future admirals Aokiji, Akainu, and the others. The force they had brought was truly immense.