Pirates: A Family Slaughtered, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

The Five Elders had just entered the battlefield. Their faces remained calm, but inside, their hearts pounded as if thunder had exploded.

In barely three months at sea, Rono had reached the level of an Admiral!

They had never heard of such monstrous talent in all their years!

Three months ago, when Rono first burst onto the scene, he had seized the Heavenly Tribute in the East Blue!

How strong had he been then?

His three forms of Haki had merely reached an advanced level.

He had known nothing of Ryuo or Conqueror's Coating.

That strength might have made him a Great Pirate in the East Blue, the weakest sea, where no one would dare cross him.

But in the New World, he would have been a nobody!

Saying you could find people like him by the handful might have been an exaggeration.

But finding a few would have been easy!

And how long had it been?

Just over three months!

In that time, the man had gone from a nobody in the New World to an Admiral-level powerhouse!

What did Admiral level mean?

It was practically the ceiling!

The Five Elders knew all too well how terrifyingly difficult it was to start from nothing and reach that level!

Even though this elder had trained since childhood, it had taken him nearly fifty years to become a genuine Admiral-level fighter!

Only at fifty had Lord Imu appointed him as one of the new Five Elders!

Only he knew the hardships he had endured along the way!

Yet Rono had undergone that transformation in just three months!

The elder was so furious he could have coughed up blood.

Had he wasted those fifty years of his life?

"That's enough. We're pulling out!" Rocks suddenly called to the members of the Rocks Pirates.

The Rocks Pirates appeared to have the upper hand, but their position was dangerous.

Kong, Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others were badly wounded and might be unable to fight for the moment.

But with their monstrous constitutions and recovery abilities, they would be ready to fight again after half an hour's rest.

And now all Five Elders had arrived!

The Rocks Pirates could still hold their own against five Admiral-level fighters!

But if Kong, Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others recovered and rejoined the battle, the Rocks Pirates would be in serious trouble!

They might be the ones wiped out.

They had killed three Celestial Dragons in this battle. They had not achieved their goal, but they had not come away empty-handed.

What was more, they had dealt a heavy blow to Marine morale. The Marines would think twice before facing the Rocks Pirates alone again!

So Rocks made the call to retreat.

There would be other chances to kill Celestial Dragons. There was no need to risk the entire crew's destruction.

Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, Silver Axe, Ochoku, John, and the other Division Commanders of the Rocks Pirates agreed.

Continuing the fight would put the Rocks Pirates at too great a disadvantage.

They prepared to withdraw from the Golden City.

"You've slaughtered this many Marines, and you think you can just leave, Rocks Pirates?" Kong demanded bitterly.

He understood it too. If the battle continued, the Marines and the World Government would gain a decisive advantage.

The Rocks Pirates would be the ones in danger!

This was their best chance to finish the Rocks Pirates!

Give him another dozen minutes, and he would recover enough to fight.

Then they could join forces with the Five Elders and wipe out the Rocks Pirates right here.

"Kong, let them leave," said the sword-bearing elder.

"He's right. Let them go," the other four elders agreed.

They wanted to settle the score, but so many Celestial Dragons were still here!

These Celestial Dragons were important figures in their respective families.

If the fighting resumed and caught them in the crossfire, the Five Elders would have a hard time answering to Lord Imu when they returned to the Holy Land.

"But... letting them go unpunished will damage the Marines' image as defenders of justice!" Kong protested.

He knew the Five Elders were reluctant to fight with the Celestial Dragons present!

But pirates had beaten the Marines. Once word spread, the disgrace would damage the Marines' authority!

If they failed to settle the score here, how could the Marines still claim to stand for justice before the world?

"Exactly, Five Elders! This is our best chance to destroy the Rocks Pirates!"

"If we miss it, we might not get another!"

Kong was not alone!

Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, and the other Marine officers were just as unwilling to let it go!

This was a rare chance to deal with the Rocks Pirates. Another would be hard to find!

"You idiot Marines! Keep fighting, and you'll get us killed!"

"That's right! You useless Marines! Three Celestial Dragons have already died under your protection!"

"Damn it! If you weren't a Marine Admiral, I'd shoot you myself!"

The sixteen Celestial Dragons had spoken up!

They hurled abuse at Kong, Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr—the very people who had nearly died protecting them!

To them, the Marines were nothing but useless fools!

If the Five Elders had not arrived, they might all have died here!

"What... did you just say?" Kong flared up, his eyes burning as he looked at the sixteen worthless Celestial Dragons!

If the Marines had not come to rescue them, they would never have suffered these losses!

And now, for their sake, the Marines had to let the Rocks Pirates go!

Kong could barely swallow his anger.

And Kong was not the only one. Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others felt the same!

They had nearly died trying to save these worthless Celestial Dragons, only to be showered with abuse.

How could any of them take that?

Garp even rolled up his sleeves and started forward.

Badly wounded or not, he could still handle a few worthless Celestial Dragons.

"Stop right there! Kong! Garp! What do you think you're doing? Are you rebelling?" the Five Elders shouted when they saw the Marines glaring at the Celestial Dragons.

A mere Marine Admiral and Admiral Candidate dared to glare at Celestial Dragons!

Even a Fleet Admiral—or the commander-in-chief of all three branches of the military—was nothing but a dog before the noble Celestial Dragons!

And a dog dared bite its master?

"Hahaha! Keep fighting among yourselves. We're leaving!" Rocks laughed, waving his crew toward the exit from the Golden City.

"Wait, everyone!"

Rono, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

Every gaze on the battlefield snapped to him!

"So what if the Five Elders are here? Those Celestial Dragons must die!"

"Everyone in the Rocks Pirates, buy me ten more minutes. I'll kill every last one of those Celestial Dragons!" Rono declared, his voice firm!

Blood Boiling: Then Let's Fight! The Most Evil Criminal Must Die

"Buy me ten more minutes. I'll kill every last one of those Celestial Dragons!" Rono said, his face set with resolve.

It was not empty arrogance. Rono could feel that he had grown stronger again!

Perhaps, if he pushed himself, he really could do it!

Not one of the sixteen Celestial Dragons before him could be allowed to live!

The members of the Rocks Pirates froze!

Had the sight of the Celestial Dragons made Rono lose his head?

The Five Elders had arrived, and the Marine leadership had been given time to catch its breath.

Once they recovered, the Rocks Pirates could find themselves trapped with no way out!

He was gambling with their lives!

"You've got some nerve, Most Evil Criminal!"

Nearby, Kong was still recovering, his eyes blazing with fury!

Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!

Rono had no respect for the Marines or the World Government!

They had been ready to let his crew leave, and now he was pushing his luck!

Rono, the Most Evil Criminal, had taken arrogance to the extreme!

Kong wanted nothing more than to rush over and tear Rono apart!

But he did not have the strength.

"Damn it... he's gone too far!"

Kong was not alone. Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, Tsuru, and the others stared at Rono in disbelief and anger.

How little did he think of the Marines?!

How could he declare that he would kill every Celestial Dragon at a time like this?

Would he still be acting so brazenly if they were not injured?

They all felt deeply insulted!