The facts were simple.
It came down to the characteristic abilities of the Glory Sanctuary—and the existing Angels of Glory classified under it.
They had learned a new technique, and in a short period of time, they had managed to intercept and alter radio waves.
It was nothing too exaggerated. They had merely severed the connection between Bakkin and Cipher Pol, then rerouted the call to Ren's side.
And so—
They ended up with this bizarre scene of "I called the police, and his phone rang."
"…"
Bakkin froze. Cold sweat rolled down her wrinkled forehead. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she roared, "He's coming for us! Kill him, Weevil!"
Although her attitude had taken a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, Weevil still obeyed his mother's command and charged forward.
He did not possess much intelligence, but battle instinct had been carved deep into his bones.
Weevil wrapped advanced Armament Haki around his naginata and charged like a war chariot, swinging the blade down as if to cut his enemy in two.
His tremendous strength left a trail of deep craters across the ground.
Ren merely watched the scene. Holding his sword in one hand, he tossed out a die with the other.
In the next instant—
His crimson eyes reflected the tyrannical slash that came sweeping toward him. Amid the hurricane of dust and flying debris, a ball of light was cut straight through!
But it was not split in half.
Weevil stared in astonishment as his naginata passed through, the blade missing as though it had struck a reflection in water.
Immediately afterward—
The ball of light reformed into Ren's figure, and a ferocious demonic shadow rose behind him, baring its fangs and claws.
His crimson eyes burst with an utterly bloodthirsty glow, devouring the mind like an abyss.
A Conqueror's Haki impact!
Weevil's mind blanked for an instant.
What followed was the thrust of a demonic blade.
The blade, similarly wrapped in high-density Haki, pierced through the part of his body that had no Haki protection.
A soft whisper, like the proclamation of the Grim Reaper, rang in Weevil's ears.
"Thousand Edge—Break!"
A full thousand broken shards poured into Weevil's body. One thousand blade fragments shredded his fragile organs, his vital points, even his heart.
Roar—!
A savage roar blasted the smoke and dust apart. His naginata swept out in chaotic flashes, slicing the earth into countless broken chunks.
Everything within several hundred meters, including the church, was torn apart by the blade-light, reduced to a meaningless wasteland.
Yet Ren had long since moved away. In a flicker of lightning, he seized Bakkin by the throat as she tried to flee.
"Didn't you want money? Why aren't you talking now?"
Ren's gaze was indifferent. Violent lightning surged from his hand, restraining the struggling Bakkin.
"Wee… vil…"
A strained voice squeezed from her throat, causing the dying beast of rage to burst out of the smoke and dust.
"Let go of my mommy!"
The furious Weevil seemed almost uninjured. Gripping his naginata tightly, he prepared to charge again.
Ren still only watched him without moving.
He watched the naginata fall. Watched the blade-light stir up a hurricane.
Then he closed his eyes.
It was as if he feared his own approaching death.
Or perhaps he did not want himself to realize he was being attacked.
It was a very strange method.
But it succeeded once.
Bullet—Flash!
Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge swept out at an unimaginable speed. The instant the blade touched the pitch-black naginata, it extended, and the gaps between its fragments happened to perfectly catch the incoming blade.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the elongated blade severed Weevil's head.
His head flew into the air, and the movements of his headless body instantly froze.
That wounded beast of rage had reached its end. Although the eyes on the severed head still burned with fury, life had already departed.
Ren opened his eyes and felt the soreness transmitted through his arm.
A draw speed beyond imagination came with an overload of muscle strain.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario—being sent flying—had not happened. Instead, he had successfully exploited the bug and unleashed Bullet—Flash.
"Weevil!"
Bakkin let out a shrill scream, only for the tightening hand around her throat to kill the sound before it could fully escape.
Ren cast down a cold warning glance, forcing this old woman, who was grieving the loss of a useful tool, to shut her mouth.
In the ensuing silence, what he thought about was the battle just now.
"The people of the One Piece world are powerful. They can fight for days and nights, and after a great battle, they can recover quickly just by eating something.
"If they use Haki, they can survive even attacks that split mountains and crack the earth. Cannons and firearms are nothing to them.
"But they are also fragile. Without Haki, even a flintlock bullet can pierce their defense.
"Especially… an idiot like you, who doesn't understand tactics."
It was a very direct assessment, aimed at the already-dead Weevil.
Victory had been inevitable.
Even though Weevil himself was by no means weak.
Even though Ren was not currently in Meteor Burst mode.
The terrifying base strength brought by three A-rank attributes could still create an extremely favorable result once tactics succeeded.
In fact, things like this had always been happening.
It was just that Ren in the past lacked raw power, so in most cases, he could not secure victory with a single blow.
But now, things were different.
During his battle with Kaido, Ren's Armament Haki had entered the advanced stage.
As for Qi, because of Meteor Burst: Phase Two, it had also taken a major step forward.
This kind of fantasy-style cultivation method had no specific reference standard.
But he felt that he should be approaching Redtooth's realm.
Moreover, the Haki created by fusing advanced Armament Haki with advanced Qi was even stronger than normal advanced Armament Haki.
His three A-rank attributes had also brought powerful physical qualities.
That was the cornerstone of all combat. Naturally, after being improved, it could not possibly be useless.
Most importantly—
Weevil had no brain to speak of. The tactics he adopted were the same as always—or rather, they were the tactics strong people liked to use.
That was: partial Armament Haki coverage.
The biggest reason this method had become mainstream was that the amount of Haki one possessed had an upper limit.
And since everyone was a stamina monster, and because Observation Haki existed, it was difficult for opponents of the same level to kill each other in one strike.
As a result, during battle, people liked to use partial Armament Haki coverage to conserve Haki.
This gave Ren, who possessed a Translucent Body, an opportunity.
Use phase-shifting to evade the attack.
Launch a Conqueror's Haki impact.
Then deliver a fatal blow.
This formula had been verified on Weevil.
Although that monster had still managed to move for a while even after Thousand Edge—Break shredded his internal organs and heart…
In the end, he had merely provided Ren with an opportunity to test a bug exploit.
Bakkin, still in his hand, continued to wail and sob, tears and snot streaming down her face in an utterly miserable state.
In response, Ren only said one sentence.
"Do you want to live? If you do, behave."
The previously grief-stricken Bakkin instantly returned to normal and put on a flattering smile.
She did not care about Weevil's death at all…
No, it should be said that after losing this money-making tool, she was indeed heartbroken.
But compared to dying, what did heartbreak count for?
"You are pirates, and I am a Warlord of the Sea, so everyone accepts their own fate.
"If you couldn't beat me and died, that's your own fault. If you don't have the strength, don't become a pirate and gamble with your life.
"However, Weevil's head has value. You, old woman, do not.
"On account of your background, help me do one thing, and you can live."
"Forget one thing! I'll do ten things, a hundred things, as long as you don't kill me!
"But could you give me a little compensation? I don't have many years left to live, and my son was even…"
Bakkin's eyes filled with tears as she prepared to play the sympathy card.
However, Ren did not fall for that at all. After putting an explosive collar around Bakkin's neck, he directly tossed her to the approaching Angels of Glory.
Bakkin definitely had strength.
But once people grew old, their strength declined severely.
Even Garp could not avoid that, let alone this old woman who had lost her spirit. The fact that she had grown so hideous was proof of that.
Whether she could defeat dozens of Angels of Glory while wearing an explosive collar was truly a question worth verifying.
Of course, the prerequisite was that Bakkin herself sought death.
The only reason Ren did not kill her was the cloning technology she might possess.
If Weevil was Whitebeard's clone, then was it possible to start from this "knowledge" and use it to strengthen the angels?
The angels that would appear later were different from the purely mechanical ones from before.
In a certain sense, they possessed the concept of a "physical body." Otherwise, there would have been no way for them to gain Haki aptitude.
Ren was looking forward to this very much.
At the same time, he would also make use of Caesar, who was likewise a scientist.
The battle on Beli Island ended extremely quickly.
Ren found a nearby Marine base and handed over Weevil's head.
Then he activated Combat Dispatch and returned to the sky ten thousand meters above.
It was worth mentioning that the energy consumed by this round-trip teleportation was roughly equivalent to one-tenth of the energy consumed by the main cannon of the Judgment.
Mm.
Extremely exaggerated.
However, considering the teleportation distance—from Skypiea in one leap all the way to Beli Island in the New World—
It seemed not entirely unacceptable.
"If it weren't for Nami, I really wouldn't be able to afford using this skill."
Ren grumbled, then gave Kuzan feedback.
At the same time, he received a piece of news: Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard had made direct contact. Their clash had split the clouds apart.
However, it seemed no Yonko-level battle had broken out. Red-Haired Shanks had left immediately afterward.
Ren's comment on this was direct.
"Has it already begun?"
He successfully aroused Kuzan's curiosity and nervousness, so Kuzan chose to press him, making Ren yield one matter.
Yes.
Answering a question also counted as something Ren did to help Kuzan.
However, after learning that Red-Haired Shanks had gone to persuade Whitebeard to call Ace back and not pursue Blackbeard…
Kuzan's attitude became indifferent.
Rather, he too was waiting for the Marineford War to begin.
The matter of the Fleet Admiral would occur after the Marineford War Ren had prophesied.
"You really are terrifying. If I were Fleet Admiral, I'd kill you at all costs."
That was what Kuzan had said at the time.
Ren's answer was very simple.
"That's why you'll never become Fleet Admiral."
It was an extremely blatant mockery, so much so that Kuzan hung up the call.
However, Ren's Den Den Mushi rang again.
Unexpectedly, it was a call from Tesoro.
He had gathered another portion of funds and was asking Ren how he should hand them over.
Ren thought for a moment, gave an answer, then called Kuma.
"Is it beginning?"
Kuma's gentle voice sounded, seemingly carrying a faint trace of impatience.
"Come on over. While you're at it, make a trip to the Gran Tesoro and bring something back for me. The coordinates are…"
After Ren finished reporting the coordinates, he naturally revealed a warm smile.
This world would indeed let good people be held at gunpoint.
But that did not mean he would keep watching that situation happen.
After all, one of the favorite options of so-called transmigrators was to make up for regrets.
But before that, there were still some necessary preliminary steps to handle.
(End of Chapter)