"Where's Camie?!"
Luffy's completely undisguised shout made Kuma, who had been waiting there, turn his head slightly. Then, without a word, he turned back again.
Compared to Dragon's son—or even compared to the calamities standing before him—nothing mattered more than the task Ren had entrusted to him.
After experiencing such enormous highs and lows, and after seeing Bonney again and reuniting with her, Kuma discovered that he had become slightly colder than before.
And so he waited.
He waited for the scenes foretold by the prophet to unfold one by one: Luffy, the Straw Hat crew, the family of Celestial Dragons, and the conflict that would erupt.
When Luffy dodged the bullet and sent Charlos flying with a single punch, the entire auction house descended into chaos.
"How dare you strike my son!"
Saint Rosward furiously drew his gun and fired, though his aim was truly dreadful.
"The Celestial Dragon is angry!"
"Run! Get outside!"
The buyers inside the hall fled in panic, escaping the auction house that was about to become a battlefield as fast as they could.
The Supernovas watched in silence. The guards inside the venue had already begun fighting, surrounding and attacking the Straw Hat crew.
Saint Rosward's gunfire was ended by Sanji, who leapt up and finished it with a kick.
Everything unfolded like a predetermined fate.
The Celestial Dragons called for a Marine Admiral and warships.
Usopp fell from the sky and knocked Saint Rosward unconscious by landing on him rear-first.
The furious Saint Shalria tried to attack Camie, who was locked inside the cage.
Within Observation Haki's perception, that powerful presence was also approaching. There was also the sound of a giant's footsteps.
'The destined moment has arrived. This is the beginning of the turning point!'
Kuma made his move.
He opened his clasped palms. Within them was air compressed to the extreme by the elastic force of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
At his peak, it had been capable of flattening all surface structures on an island and utterly destroying everything.
But there was no need for that level of power here.
Clearing the field—would be enough!
"Ursus Shock!"
Boom—!
In the very next instant, a violent shock wave ravaged the hall. Wherever the hurricane-like force passed, tables, chairs, chandeliers, and flooring were forcibly plowed flat and crushed to pieces!
The impact came too suddenly and too quickly. Whether prepared or not, everyone inside the venue was swept into it.
"What… aaah!"
The venue guards clad in heavy armor screamed. Before they could even react, they were crushed into fragments.
The Supernovas' crew members followed in their footsteps. Fortunately, they were sturdy enough that they merely slammed into the walls and fainted.
Only the three Supernovas themselves managed to react.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
"Repel!"
"Shambles!"
Luffy inflated his belly and turned himself into a ball, while at the same time protecting Hatchan, the octopus who had been shot and fallen to the ground.
Kid summoned fragments of armor to form a shield wall, protecting his companions as well.
Law simply transferred himself and his crew far away.
Immediately afterward, the remaining force of the shock wave tore more than a dozen great holes through the walls of the auction house, and the terrifying, rapid air current blew away the Marines surrounding the outside.
The effect of that single blow had nearly wrecked the entire venue.
"Bastard! You wanna fight?!"
Cold sweat streamed down Kid's forehead as he cursed in rage. Killer silently drew his scythes.
"What the hell was that?!"
Law was extremely furious, mainly because the attack had come far too suddenly, and his companions had also been affected.
"Camie!"
Luffy's first reaction was to look toward the stage.
Camie was perfectly fine on the stage, as if she had not been affected in the slightest.
The destruction caused by the shock wave's plowing stopped in the front half of the high platform.
Before the shattered rubble, two figures had appeared.
"What an exaggerated way to welcome someone. Mister Giant, it looks like a big battle really did break out in the hall."
The old man, whose hair and beard were white yet whose bearing still carried a rather carefree charm, slowly withdrew his hand.
Behind him, a massive giant frowned as he stared at Kuma.
"Old man, I don't think he was one of the venue guards."
The old man shook his head and pointed toward the female Celestial Dragon embedded in the front of the stage.
"Idiot. He already knocked this Celestial Dragon unconscious. How could he possibly be a guard?"
"Then what do we do next?"
"The auction is already over. The money's been stolen, too. And there aren't any enemies left to stop me.
"Next, I'm going back to the casino to continue. What a pity. If I'd been bought, I could have robbed the buyer."
"What a wicked old man."
The two spoke as if no one else were present, as though this place was not a battlefield but merely a street.
Their casual attitude and the inexplicable situation left the three Supernovas somewhat unable to process what was happening.
"Ra… Rayleigh?"
A strained voice broke the atmosphere. Hatchan, who was lying on the ground and treating his wound, called out.
"Hm? Hachi?"
Rayleigh froze for a moment. He had not expected to see an old acquaintance here.
"Hey! Old man! Don't block me from saving Camie!"
Luffy shouted. He had no time to settle accounts with that huge guy. He still wanted to save Camie the mermaid.
His shout made Rayleigh come back to his senses. The current situation was not ordinary at all.
"I see. So that's how it is."
Rayleigh looked at the explosive collar around Camie's neck. Then, in a flash, he appeared beside her and reached out to pinch the collar.
"Wait! That collar needs a key—"
Sanji's strained voice had only just sounded when Rayleigh flicked his hand, and a violent explosion rang out.
When they looked again, the explosive collar around Camie's neck had already vanished.
Luffy, who had just shouted for him to stop, stood there dumbfounded. Law and Kid, who were watching the situation from the side, both had their eyelids twitch slightly.
They had not seen clearly what happened in that instant at all.
"I've already done this sort of thing many times. You over there with the straw hat, although I've wanted to meet you for a long time…
"Since you came here to save someone, take your companion and leave properly for now.
"Hachi, you hurry and deal with your wound, too. It'd be ridiculous if the person you rescued survived, only for you to die instead.
"A Marine Admiral and warships will be coming here soon. You'd better move quickly."
Rayleigh made way for Luffy.
After confirming that a certain starfish was treating Hatchan's injury, he turned his gaze toward the man dressed in black and white.
"However, it's hard to say whether this gentleman will let us leave."
Only then did Law and Kid, who had been observing from the side, react. That shock wave just now had been released by the man behind them.
"Regarding what happened just now, shouldn't you give us an explanation?"
Law's tone was cold, but he was already restraining himself. After all, his companions had not been affected too badly.
"Speak, black-and-white bastard. How do you want to die?"
Far more explosive than him was Kid. Aside from Killer, all of his crew members had now fallen unconscious.
"What are you guys arguing about?"
After confirming that Camie was all right, Luffy turned his head and saw the tense atmosphere.
But after noticing that Sanji and the others were also badly injured, he angrily glared at the culprit as well.
"Yeah! And you! You were the one who attacked just now, right? How dare you hurt my—"
"My name is Kuma."
Kuma interrupted Luffy, then shifted his body to the side.
"You may leave, Luffy. You and your crew.
"However, I need to remind you: Saint Rosward has already remembered that you were the ones who attacked him, and earlier, he also called for an Admiral and warships.
"The Marines outside were all dealt with in the impact just now. You can withdraw quickly.
"After this, an Admiral will probably come to pursue you personally. I advise you to run as fast as you can.
"As for injuring your companions, I apologize. I will treat them."
As he spoke, Kuma directly tossed out several paw-shaped bubbles and threw them onto the members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Their pain and fatigue were repelled out of their bodies. In the blink of an eye, their expressions improved considerably.
"Huh?"
Luffy was somewhat stunned. His brain could not comprehend the situation.
"Wait. You only mentioned the Straw Hats just now, didn't you?"
Law seemed to have noticed something. His eyes narrowed.
"I regret to inform you that no matter what happens next, before he arrives—no passage beyond this point is permitted."
Kuma coldly lowered his stance, assuming a posture like a horse stance, and extended both hands.
At this moment, the aura around him became incomparably oppressive.
Law, Kid, and Killer all felt their hearts clench violently, sensing pressure as heavy as a mountain.
This man… just who was he?
And who had sent him here to attack them?
What was the purpose?
They could not understand it!
On the other side, when Sabaody Archipelago began to descend into chaos, Ren was still inside the palace of Kuja.
Although he had said he would properly discipline Hancock a little, that did not mean he could just physically force things.
If he were truly that vulgar, Ren would not have waited until Skypiea before having an actual relationship with Nami.
He was very clear about Hancock's specific circumstances. He knew that opening a gap in her defenses was actually very simple…
With just a little bait, Hancock began walking down the path he had set for her.
Yes, it was a trap.
"What are you talking about?"
Hancock wore an expression that seemed to say, "How absurd."
"Revenge against the Celestial Dragons? Do you truly understand what the Celestial Dragons mean?
"Those bastards are all scum, but in this world, they are publicly recognized as the Descendants of the Creator!"
"So-called gods, creators, and even those Descendants of the Creator are all merely claims made by the World Government.
"There has never been anything real that could prove it. Otherwise, Ohara would not have been destroyed."
"Ohara? Those scholars who dug into history? What use is the history of the past?
"As things stand now, if anyone dares to lay hands on the Celestial Dragons, the Marines will be the first to kill that idiot."
Hancock said coldly, "Although I despise those scum and wish I could kill every last one of them, if I truly did such a thing, this nation would cease to exist!"
She had never been foolish. Even though she understood very well just how powerful her beauty was, powerful enough to make countless people fall madly for her and offer everything they had, she had still never dared to truly take revenge against the World Government.
On one hand, Mary Geoise was a nightmare to her. She did not want to go anywhere near that place for the rest of her life.
On the other hand, she understood that the World Government's power was far too enormous.
As the rulers, the Celestial Dragons had casually forced her to eat the Mero Mero no Mi merely for the sake of a game.
Who could guarantee that the Celestial Dragons did not have even more powerful Devil Fruits in their hands?
Her peerless beauty combined with the Mero Mero no Mi was a trump card of overwhelming power, but that did not mean she could become invincible because of it.
"Because you yourself can't do it, you naturally assume that others can't do it either. Quite a typical way of thinking."
Ren sat on the throne that originally belonged to Hancock and shrugged.
"Then, how about making a bet?
"You really want to understand exactly how I'm immune to petrification, don't you?
"These past few days, you've been trying to guide the conversation both openly and secretly. Even a true fool would have noticed by now."
(End of Chapter)