A deafening explosion rang out.
Camie and the old man were both engulfed in thick smoke.
"Camie!!!!" Pappag ran so fast that he tripped and fell onto the road.
"Camie!" Sanji cried out as well. He hadn't expected the collar to actually explode!
On the streets of the Sabaody Archipelago, he had personally witnessed a slave try to forcibly remove a collar, only to be killed outright by the explosion.
He didn't dare imagine what would happen to such a beautiful mermaid in an explosion that violent.
Luffy's Observation Haki had remained locked onto Camie and the old man, so he naturally sensed that their presences hadn't changed much.
He knew the old man had successfully saved Camie.
He spoke up. "Don't worry. Camie's fine. That old man already saved her."
"Really, Straw Hat?" Pappag wiped his tears, his eyes fixed on the scene.
As the thick smoke cleared, Camie and the old man came into view.
"Thank goodness, Camie! Thank goodness!" At the sight, Pappag scrambled toward Camie.
Then he leaped straight into her arms.
"What power did that old man use?" Saka was somewhat startled and puzzled. He had clearly sensed a strange aura emanating from the old man at the instant of the explosion.
Sanji and the others also stared at the old man in shock. They guessed that he must have used some unknown power.
Eustass Kid's pupils abruptly contracted, and he murmured, "Just what you'd expect from the Pirate King's first mate. He really is strong."
Then he looked at Straw Hat Luffy, who stood before him, his brow deeply furrowed.
Ever since he first laid eyes on Luffy, he had kept comparing himself to him.
He was an extremely proud man. Luffy had set out to sea as a pirate at almost the same