Orion didn't stop walking because of the noble man's appearance.
With just a slight raise of his hand, the man collapsed with a gunshot.
The moment the gunshot rang out, the crowd on both sides of the street fell into dead silence.
Only after Orion and his group disappeared at the end of the street did the frozen silence gradually thaw.
Two bystanders closest to the noble man glanced at the figure lying in a pool of blood, then looked up toward the direction where Orion had vanished.
One of them, face pale with terror, muttered fearfully.
"The son of a royal minister, killed just like that? Have the marines grown this powerful now? That's terrifying!"
The other bystander, however, showed no fear despite witnessing the noble's death up close.
His eyes burned with fanaticism and admiration.
"That's the Fleet Admiral, after all! If I could, I'd want to be just like him!"
"But even the Fleet Admiral can't just kill a noble from an allied kingdom, can he?"
"What do you know?" The fanatical man glared at his companion, frustrated by his ignorance.
"Haven't you suffered enough under these royals and nobles? Have you already forgotten what happened at your wedding?"
"What about it?"
"Wasn't your wife taken by that noble?!"
"What's the problem? That's just how things are in this country. Every commoner's bride must be offered to the royals and nobles. If they're satisfied, it means the bride is exceptional—shouldn't you feel reassured marrying her?"
Hearing this, the fanatical man's lips twitched.
He patted his companion's shoulder.
"No wonder you'll be a lowborn all your life. We're not the same. Goodbye—no, let's not meet again!"
******
In the grand hall of Orenfence Palace, Doflamingo lounged lazily on the throne, half-asleep as two palace maids attended to him.
Inside the hall, every royal, noble, and minister of Orenfence—including King Ocreus III—was being manipulated by the String-String Fruit's powers.
Like marionettes, they repeatedly kowtowed toward Doflamingo in eerie, almost comical unison.
At the forefront was King Ocreus III himself.
Once a figure of absolute authority, he now lay prostrate on the ground, controlled by threads.
His head, pulled by another string, moved mechanically in sync with his ministers—Colon, Luke, and the others—lifting and bowing, lifting and bowing.
Though the rhythm was slow, none could remember how many times they'd bowed.
Their foreheads were swollen and bruised; some had even passed out from the relentless motion.
"Doflamingo… how much longer must we keep bowing?!" King Ocreus III finally snapped, gasping as he lifted his head.
"Can't you at least let us—"
Before he could finish speaking, his head was forced down again by the threads controlling him.
With a dull "thud," King Ocreus III saw stars before his eyes, momentarily disoriented.
Yet, even so, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly continued.
"Doflamingo, even if you've come under the orders of the Fleet Admiral, you can't act so recklessly. After all, I am still the King of the Orenfence Kingdom! Even if we've offended the orphaned child of the Fleet Admiral's comrade, our crime doesn't warrant death! No, to be precise, you have no right to punish a king!"
No sooner had he spoken than Ocreus III was forced to kowtow three times in rapid succession.
Amid the dull "thud thud thud," sounds, several more ministers behind him fainted.
Just then, a series of orderly footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the hall.
Moments later, Morgans, leading the Fleet Admiral's personal guard and Dunn, commanding the soldiers of Branch 135, marched straight into the palace hall.
"What the hell is going on here?"
The moment Morgans stepped into the hall, his eyes widened at the sight of the figures kneeling in unison, their heads repeatedly knocking against the floor.
He turned to Doflamingo, who sat leisurely on the throne, and asked.
"How did you get them to keep this rhythm? Teach me!"
"It's my Devil Fruit ability—can't teach that!" Doflamingo waved his hand dismissively.
Though his strength far surpassed Morgans' and his current status was much higher, he still didn't dare act arrogantly in front of Morgans.
After all, he was the Fleet Admiral's personal guard!
"Marine-sama, spare us!"
As soon as Doflamingo finished speaking, Colon—controlled by the threads—suddenly tilted his head and wailed in despair.
"I'm innocent! The one who wrongfully caused Aqua's Mother death was Luke! It has nothing to do with us, sir—!"
Before he could finish, Colon's kowtowing suddenly sped up, his head slamming into the floor repeatedly with loud "thuds."
Morgans, somewhat embarrassed by Colon's fervent kowtowing, blinked and turned to Doflamingo.
"Is he really innocent?"
Doflamingo casually picked up a file documenting the crimes committed by every royal, noble, and minister present—spanning generations—and tossed it to Morgans.
Grinning, he said, "Fleet Admiral Orion once said what I did to civilians in Dressrosa was brutal, and I agreed. But after seeing what these so-called royals and nobles have done, I realize I'm practically a saint."
As Morgans flipped through the file, he glanced at Colon.
"Don't stop. Keep kowtowing—feels pretty good, huh? Don't stop until I finish reading this."
"Huh?" Colon stiffened, then cried pitifully.
"Sir, I—I'm not doing this willingly! It's… it's Doflamingo controlling our bodies!"
"What did you say?" Morgans' voice suddenly sharpened.
Startled by the intensity of Morgans' reaction, hope flared in Colon's eyes.
"I said Doflamingo is controlling our bodies! Waaah, sir, save us!"
"No, no, no," Morgans waved his hand. "The part before that."
"Eh?" Colon blinked, then tentatively repeated, "I'm not doing this willingly?"
"You're not doing this willingly?" Morgans' brow furrowed instantly, his voice darkening.
"From now on, you'd better do it willingly! Anyone who fails to kowtow with rhythm before I finish reading this file will be executed—no exceptions!"
"What kind of nonsense is this? Can't even kowtow without help? Do you know who he is? He's now the Vice Commander of God's Knights."
Before the words even finished, Morgans immediately turned his head toward Doflamingo.
"Doffy, make them kowtow on their own!"
"???"
Colon was covered in question marks, looking bewilderedly at Doflamingo before shifting his gaze to Morgans.
"KOWTOW NOW!"
Before Colon could react, Morgans roared, jolting the muscle memory of all the royals, nobles, and ministers present.
A series of thud thud thud sounds followed as heads hit the floor.
"Yes, that's the rhythm—keep it up!" Morgans nodded in satisfaction.
Just then—
A booming voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall.
"The Fleet Admiral has arrived!"
Hearing this, Morgans immediately straightened up and saluted, not even bothering to flip through the documents in his hands.
Doflamingo, seated on the throne, didn't dare delay either.
He rose at once and descended to stand beside Morgans.
At the same time.
Orion, holding Aqua's hand, entered calmly, flanked by Gion and a contingent of naval officers.
Without pausing, Orion strode straight toward the throne, Aqua in tow, as Gion and the others split into two neat rows on either side.
Even without uttering a word, his every movement exuded an oppressive aura that left many of the royals and nobles trembling uncontrollably.
"Luna?"
Suddenly, as Luna followed Orion toward the throne and stood respectfully at its side, one of the kneeling noble ministers widened his eyes in excitement.
"Miss Luna? Is that really you?"
"Thank goodness! Please, beg the Fleet Admiral for mercy on our behalf!"
"We... we're innocent!"
-----------------------------
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