"I saw several people in white suits and masks standing in front of me. Who could they be if not members of CP0?
And the man leading them, with a white dove perched on his shoulder—that was Rob Lucci, wasn't it?"
Elior naturally recognized Rob Lucci, but he didn't take him seriously in the slightest.
For someone that weak, there was no reason to bother.
"Pirate, the one behind me is a noble Celestial Dragon!"
As the CP0 leader, Rob Lucci was the first to speak. What unsettled him was that Elior still had no intention of stopping.
Does this guy really intend to lay hands on a Celestial Dragon again?
"A mere mortal dares to defy our noble Celestial Dragons? Kill him! And capture the masked woman at his side!"
The extremely obese female Celestial Dragon roared in fury. The moment her eyes landed on Gion—her perfect figure standing beside Elior—even with the mask hiding her face, there was no way a woman with a body that flawless could be anything but beautiful.
Jealousy and rage welled up within the short, squat Celestial Dragon, barely 1.7 meters tall but weighing over 300 kilograms.
As a "descendant of the gods", no woman was supposed to be more beautiful than her, and certainly no one should have a better figure.
Consumed with envy, the female Celestial Dragon set her mind on capturing Gion and utterly destroying her.
Elior, however, remained calm.
At that instant, two razor-sharp ice spears erupted from the ground in front of the female Celestial Dragon, striking straight at her thighs.
No one even noticed until her scream cut through the air. Her legs were severed on the spot—completely cut off!
Blood sprayed in every direction, her lower body collapsing in a mangled heap as she wailed in agony.
Her shrill cries—like a pig being slaughtered—shocked the thousands gathered, and panic swept through the crowd.
Terror. Shaking limbs.
A Celestial Dragon had been struck down—something ingrained into every pirate's mind as unthinkable.
The Admirals would come! They would crush every pirate!
Many pirates fled in a rush, though curiosity made them hesitate. This wasn't over. Elior had already killed Celestial Dragons in the past—cutting this one's legs was just the beginning!
Even with a Vice Admiral present on a warship nearby, the navy stood frozen, not daring to intervene.
Because this was Elior!
The most fearsome existence in the New World!
Anyone foolish enough to get close would be throwing their life away.
All eyes turned toward Elior, hearts racing, breaths quickening. They couldn't believe he had actually struck down a Celestial Dragon—so casually, as if she were just another pirate.
The act alone was terrifying.
The female Celestial Dragon, her legs gone, lay in a pool of blood, shrieking between fear, fury, and desperate cries for her guards to save her.
Rob Lucci and the other CP0 agents moved instantly, attacking Elior with everything they had.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, Elior's fist slammed into Lucci's gut. The blow came so fast that even though Lucci was already in his leopard hybrid form, he couldn't defend himself.
The sheer force felt as though his body was being ripped apart.
He was launched backward, coughing up mouthfuls of blood in midair.
"Kill him!"
"Anyone who dares offend the Celestial Dragons must die!"
The other Celestial Dragons roared in panic, unable to believe that this mortal dared to defy them.
What they didn't know was that the three Celestial Dragons who had already been killed before were also Elior's doing.
Now the three who remained alive cowered behind slaves and guards, shrieking with both rage and terror.
The marine, shouted at to seize Elior, stayed rooted to the spot. They understood his power far better than the Celestial Dragons ever could.
Meanwhile, Elior was cutting down CP0 and the guards one after another.
Tezoro, now his loyal subordinate, joined the slaughter, handling the Celestial Dragon's guards.
The CP0 agents fell quickly.
Rob Lucci, even after putting up his best fight, barely lasted two minutes before Elior executed him with a bullet through the skull.
Had Elior truly unleashed his full strength, Lucci would have died instantly. But in the end, the result was the same: death.
The sight left many trembling in dread.
The Celestial Dragons' protectors were gone. The marine, cowed by Elior's gaze, didn't even dare set foot ashore.
The Vice Admiral present wasn't even one from Marine Headquarters, but just a branch officer—far weaker than their central counterparts.
Word soon reached Marineford: in Gran Tesoro, the Celestial Dragons had been attacked by Elior!
At Marine Headquarters, Akainu nearly overturned his desk in rage.
Even across the sea, Elior could almost hear the furious roar of the Fleet Admiral.
But Elior was unmoved—he was deliberately provoking Akainu.
He hadn't just attacked the Celestial Dragons; he had openly declared war on them.
"When we get there, all we'll be able to do is collect their corpses, won't we?" Kizaru sighed.
"There's no doubt," Tsuru replied grimly.
Everyone knew of Elior's cruelty.
It would take the marine two full days to reach Gran Tesoro—and by then, the Celestial Dragons would already be long dead.
Back on site, three male Celestial Dragons knelt trembling before Elior.
Just moments ago they had been full of arrogance, but now they couldn't even speak.
Their hoods had been blasted off, and each of their right legs was nailed to the ground by spikes of ice. The searing pain left them shivering and numb.
In agony, they finally lowered their heads, begging Elior for mercy.
It was useless.
As for the foul-mouthed female Celestial Dragon, Elior smashed her teeth out with a single swing, leaving her mouth a bloody mess. She writhed in boundless pain, wishing for unconsciousness—but unfortunately for her, she remained wide awake.
It was a fate worse than death.
The witnesses looked on in horror, cold sweat running down their backs.
They swallowed hard, knees buckling beneath them.
"Come here," Elior beckoned to Gion, who immediately understood and hurried to his side.
An ice blade formed in Elior's hand. With a single slash, he severed the head of the oldest Celestial Dragon.
Before the head could hit the ground, Elior leapt up, kicking it like a football and sending it flying straight onto the largest warship nearby.
The ship erupted into chaos, sailors collapsing on deck as the atmosphere of fear reached its peak.