In Absolute Tatters

"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

Hearing those words that sounded like the whisper of the Grim Death, that pirate who had the good fortune of being chosen by Kizaru to be the first to enjoy the light-speed kick combo instantly froze in place. Having become so terrified that he lost control of his body, he could only close his eyes right there and wait for judgment to arrive.

Yet, Kizaru's light-speed kick ultimately failed to go through.

Because in an instant, a matchless, tyrannical pressure centered around Su Yu suddenly flooded the entire space of the bar!

What kind of pressure was that? It felt like contempt and suppression originating from the very top of the food chain-that one was merely a frail human, while before him stood an ancient, blood-thirsty, peerless ferocious beast. He seemed as though he had been abruptly woken up with a bad temper, baring his bloody maw and roaring right at you, and you felt as though you could already smell the stench of blood inside the beast's mouth.

That was absolute pressure originating from the tier of life itself!

In an instant, the air in the bar seemed to have frozen solid. The weaker pirates had already passed out, while the stronger ones, though they had not fainted, had dropped to both knees and flattened themselves against the ground. They trembled like a sifter, their hearts contracting rapidly while the sweat on their bodies had already congealed into paste.

Their minds went completely blank, leaving only pure terror in their hearts. If they were fortunate enough to survive today, they would never have the courage to come to this bar again for the rest of their lives.

As for Kizaru, whom Su Yu had targeted directly, despite his immense strength as one of the top combat forces in the One Piece World, he was now down on one knee as well, using his hands to brace against the floor to keep from collapsing entirely. Sweat poured off his body like rain, and blood had already seeped out from the corners of his mouth. He was in an absolute mess, looking utterly disheveled. It was completely impossible to tell that this was the Marine Headquarters' highest fighting strength.

The one in the best condition was Rayleigh, yet even he was currently so stiff all over that he did not dare to move a muscle. He stared at Su Yu with a face full of shock, while deep down in his eyes lurked a trace of terror. That was not the fear of death, but the fear that life itself autonomously generates toward an entity of a higher order than its own. To put it bluntly, it was a pure instinct.

In truth, Su Yu had only released that pressure for a single split second; otherwise, Kizaru and the others would have suffered an even more miserable fate. But even that single split second had been more than Kizaru and his companions could bear. Even without the pressure, they still maintained their current postures, not daring to move in the slightest.

Seeing that he had already overawed Kizaru, Su Yu spoke up right away, "Your Excellency Kizaru, thank you for your kind intentions, but fighting is not allowed inside this bar of mine. You had better hurry back and report in, or Fleet Admiral Sengoku will be getting impatient."

Su Yu's calm voice shattered the seemingly frozen space, and also allowed the terrified and tense crowd to breathe a sigh of relief. The bar, which had felt so gloomy, instantly seemed to step right into spring, while those pirates sprawled on the floor acted as if they had suddenly received a pardon, scrambling and stumbling as they fled the bar in a panicked crawl, as though something terrifying were chasing after them from behind. Still, they remembered to haul away their already unconscious brother, showing at least a shred of loyalty...

Kizaru staggered to his feet at that moment. That single move of Su Yu's just then had already inflicted minor injuries on him; had he not possessed a Logia fruit, that strike earlier would likely have left him heavily wounded.

He straightened his body up and cast a glance at Su Yu, his gaze carrying lingering terror and deep fear. Without speaking any further and unable to even manage a farewell, he strode away in a hurry, taking Abel with him-whose eyes were likewise filled with panic. His retreating figure was bedraggled, utterly devoid of the polish and composure he had possessed upon arrival.

For a moment, only Su Yu and Rayleigh were left inside the bar.

Rayleigh gazed earnestly at Su Yu, a shred of lingering dread still remaining in his eyes.

"It seems this old man's eyes are still failing me after all, and I misjudged you!"

Rayleigh truly had not expected this. From first laying eyes on Su Yu and thinking him a youth of considerable strength, to later suspecting he might break even with him in a fight, and then figuring he might not be able to beat the fellow at all-everything that had happened today had taught him what it meant to be a person of unfathomable depth, what it meant to be a frog at the bottom of a well, and what it meant to experience powerlessness and despair.

Rayleigh had never imagined that someone could rely purely on their presence alone to suppress him to the point where he was completely unable to move-or rather, did not dare to move-and directly lost all ability to resist.

Yet today, he had witnessed it. Even now, he dared not believe it, because all of this felt just like a dream, far too surreal.

He considered himself a powerhouse of a caliber that could rank among the best in the entire world, but who would have thought...

As for why Rayleigh believed that what Su Yu had released was mere presence rather than Conqueror's Haki, it was simply that he was far too familiar with Conqueror's Haki, and this was completely not the same thing.

Rayleigh felt no sense of frustration. Had he been in his youth, perhaps he would have felt some, or perhaps he might have spiraled downward from it, but now he had passed the age of striving to be the strongest. For him, having enough strength to protect himself was quite enough.

He was simply deeply shocked, left with the feeling as though the world he had known before was fake, and today was the first time he had truly laid eyes on the real world.

Su Yu caught the sentimentality and disbelief in Rayleigh's voice, and shrugged at Rayleigh in a reassuring manner.

"Actually, I'm just a bar owner who helps people fulfill their wishes. That's all."

Rayleigh offered a bitter smile. "What do you mean, 'that's all'? The presence the kid let out today was enough to scare people to death. There really is always someone better! And the kid is still so young-what a terrifying youngster!"

Su Yu smiled. "Old man, do you remember what I said to you right before you left the first time we met?"

Rayleigh froze for a moment and tried to think, but failed to recall it. After all, he was getting on in years, and matters from a week ago were already somewhat hazy in his memory.

Seeing that Rayleigh had forgotten, Su Yu did not mind and repeated it once more: "I actually said one sentence that day: I am no longer young."

Rayleigh paused, then seemed to understand something. "You mean to say, you... your age is already quite advanced?"

Su Yu nodded, confirming Rayleigh's guess.

Rayleigh: "So that's how it is. Is this also your Devil Fruit ability?"

He was right! How could anyone possess such rule-breaking strength at such a tender age? If he were a person of advanced age, then everything would make sense... As if!

It was still far too rule-breaking! Such strength completely exceeded his worldview, alright!

Rayleigh could not help letting out another bitter smile. "Even if you aren't a youngster, this strength of yours is still a bit too over-the-top. I'm afraid Whitebeard, who is called the World's Strongest Man, would be just so-so in front of you!"

"Old man, you still haven't understood what I said. My age might just exceed your imagination, you know~" Su Yu smiled mysteriously.

Rayleigh froze once again. Age exceeds my imagination? What was that supposed to mean?

He could not help asking outright, "Then, Boss, just how old are you..."

Su Yu said with a wistful air, "Ah, I am already nearly ten thousand years old this year."

Rayleigh nodded subconsciously. Oh, so he's already nearly ten thousand years old... Wait, ten thousand years?!