Demora covered his face, trembling as he struggled to get up.
Smack!
His whole body slammed back onto the ground again.
Sakazuki crouched down, slapping Demora's face with crisp, echoing smacks:
"What are you hesitating for?"
Demora lay on the ground and shouted loudly:
"Marines!"
Sakazuki stood up and kicked him:
"Get up."
Demora scrambled to his feet in a panic.
Sakazuki looked at the gradually dissipating blood mist:
"You've been stationed at Sabaody for twenty years, haven't you?"
Demora's face was covered in blood, but he didn't dare to wipe it. He bowed his head respectfully and said:
"Twenty-four years."
Sakazuki chuckled lightly:
"Twenty-four years..."
"So what? Had enough? Planning to retire?"
Demora's pupils shrank sharply under his lowered head, his whole body turning cold. He trembled, not daring to say a word.
Sakazuki spoke in a low, cold tone:
"Bold enough to do it, but no courage to admit it?"
"All the protection fees collected every week, the pirate raids, the human trafficking—weren't those all your doing?"
"Do I need to spell it out in even more detail?"
"Hmm?"
"Splitting the money in the middle of the night every week? Calling your men idiots afterward? Greasing palms up and down the chain?"
"Twenty-plus years of skimming. Had your fill?"
Thud—
Demora collapsed weakly to the ground, his mind blank, completely at a loss for words...
So everything he had ever done was already under higher authority's control...
Sakazuki said coldly:
"Get up."
Demora scrambled up in a panic:
"Your subordinate deserves a thousand deaths!"
Sakazuki stared at him impassively as cold sweat streamed down Demora's forehead.
Until Demora nearly collapsed again, Sakazuki gave a light snort:
"If you were meant to die, you'd have died twenty years ago."
"You wouldn't have lived till now."
"I kept you because you're competent."
"Because you could maintain the balance at Sabaody Archipelago."
"Keeping the pirates confined to the unlawful zones from Areas 1 through 29."
"But tell me—what is this now?"
Crack—
All the ribs in Demora's chest shattered as he half-knelt on the ground, coughing blood uncontrollably:
"Cough... cough..."
Sakazuki withdrew his fist:
"The unlawful zones have already spread to over Area 50's giant mangroves."
"They're neighbors with the Marine base now."
"What's this? Had your fill?"
"Decided to wash your hands of it?"
"Planning to live out a peaceful retirement on your ill-gotten money?"
"You think..."
"That's possible?"
Sakazuki's voice carried killing intent, echoing lowly in Demora's ears.
Ignoring his injuries, Demora kept kneeling and banging his head on the ground.
Blood seeped across the floor before him.
Sakazuki frowned slightly:
"Speak."
Demora knelt trembling as he stammered:
"Cough... cough... Your subordinate... had no choice either."
He cautiously raised his head to glance at Sakazuki, but seeing Sakazuki's cold, expressionless stare, his whole body shuddered, and he quickly said:
"These past few years, for some reason, the number of pirates has skyrocketed."
"This is the only gateway to the New World, so more and more people came..."
"Prices of everything soared, businesses made fortunes, and over time... some government officials set their sights here too."
"They used their official positions to run all kinds of businesses."
"And those pirates were loaded with money... more people came, more shops opened."
"Gradually, the unlawful zones couldn't hold it all anymore..."
"So they spread outward..."
"Those pirates were all cash cows, and with pressure from above, I... I had no choice..."
"If I cut off their profits, I'd be a corpse on the streets by morning."
Sakazuki stared at Demora, then suddenly chuckled lightly, crouching down to look him in the eye:
"A corpse on the streets?"
Smack!
Demora was sent flying, crashing through a building and nearly blacking out.
Sakazuki strode over and stomped on the struggling Demora:
"Are you joking with me?"
"A Vice Admiral of the Marines, killed on someone's whim?"
"Who do they think they are?"
He bent down and grabbed Demora by the collar:
"I'll grant your wish."
"Point them out to me, one by one."
"Forget their cash cows—if Sabaody itself is bathed in blood today, let's see what they can do about it."
He tossed Demora toward the distant Marines:
"Carry him. Lead the way."
...
Area 42, Giant Mangrove, Tourist Zone.
The sudden incident forced the still-expanding amusement park to temporarily shut down and close its gates.
The park owner reassured the crowd, swearing he had powerful backing, telling everyone to stay calm.
And since Sakazuki and Bullet had started clearing from Area 30 toward Area 1, the terrified people, seeing nothing happen after waiting for a while...
Gradually relaxed and resumed playing.
Whoosh—
A sharp sound tore through the air, startling everyone as they searched for the source.
Suddenly, someone pointed at the sky in horror:
"Look!"
"What is that!!"
A massive magma fist descended from the heavens, crashing down toward them...
Boom!!!!
The management hall in the distance was obliterated instantly.
Reduced to ruins and flames...
Then came the sound of marching outside.
Squads of Marines carrying guns rushed in, surrounding the entire park.
Sakazuki strode in, waving his hand.
Several soldiers carrying Demora on a stretcher hurried forward.
Sakazuki's cold voice sounded:
"Come on. Point them out to me, one by one."
"Don't spare even an animal."
Moments later, relentless gunfire rang out.
Some resisted, some tried to call for help, some dropped dead on the spot...
In just moments, all the amusement park management staff were gunned down, their wealth swept away.
The soldiers returned to report. Sakazuki looked at the gathered visitors:
"Civilians to the left, pirates to the right."
At the same time, a trace of his Conqueror's Haki spread out, crushing their nerves.
Their minds went blank, obeying orders instinctively... though some sneaky pirates slipped over to the left side.
Five minutes later, everyone was sorted.
Sakazuki withdrew his Haki, then flicked his finger.
Several figures in the civilian side dropped dead with bullets through their heads, screams erupting.
Sakazuki ignored it, looking toward the pirate side:
"Great Eruption—"
Boom!
Nothing remained but a vast sea of magma...
"Next."
...
Area 47, Giant Mangrove, Specialty Goods District.
Countless Marines surrounded the area. The shop owner in a black suit wiped sweat nervously:
"Admiral Sakazuki, good day."
"I am—"
Boom!
...
Area 54, Giant Mangrove...
Boom!
...
Area 56, Giant Mangrove...
Boom!
...
...
...
With each punch Sakazuki threw, no one knew how many buildings had been obliterated...
"Any more?"
Demora, his mind blank, shook his head. No... completely gone...
He dared not conceal anything. He wouldn't dare.
Now, nearly all of Sabaody's commerce lay in ruins.
Sakazuki had destroyed seventy to eighty percent of it. The ground scorched by magma still emitted strange smells...
Sakazuki nodded slightly:
"Go back and heal. If you want to live, prove your worth."
"If I ever see unlawful zones next to the Marine base again, you won't live either."
"Not you, nor those mistresses and sons you have across three islands."
Demora replied with a cold sweat, as Sakazuki continued:
"Go back and gather all the data on those government officials."
"Use any means necessary. The more, the better—family, children, illegitimate kids, everything."
"Give it to me."
"If you die, their whole families die with you."
Demora took a deep breath:
"Yes!"
His tone was unshakably firm.
He had no choice... better others die than him.
As evening approached...
The world-shocking 'Sabaody Bloodbath' came to an end.
Sakazuki's brutality and iron-blooded methods once again stunned the world, countless photos flying across the seas with the news birds.
Later statistics showed—just clearing the bodies alone took over two months...
...
Area 30, Giant Mangrove.
Sakazuki placed his hand on the magma barrier, withdrawing his power.
The magma walls encircling the island shrank visibly...
Bullet stood nearby, gazing at the endless corpses behind them:
"Seems like we overdid it a bit, Admiral Sakazuki."
"Involving so many officials... will this really work?"
Sakazuki said coldly:
"They'll swallow their teeth before they dare spit them out."
"Threatening a Marine Vice Admiral, killing him on the street?"
"A cosmic joke..."
Besides, it was time for a purge anyway... this one alone could fund research for years...
Just then.
A golden light pierced the slowly receding magma walls, condensing beside Sakazuki.
Borsalino appeared, exhaling in relief:
"Oh~"
"Finally opened~"
"I was wondering how to get in~"
-----------
The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total