From that day onward, all of Dressrosa plunged into chaos and fear.
Soldiers assigned to search for the mysterious killer began dying without warning—
no pattern, no clues, no mercy.
Sometimes it was at dawn.
Sometimes at dusk.
Sometimes in the dead of night.
Every single day for a month, soldiers were found dead across the city.
And they all shared the same horrifying feature—
their flesh had been completely devoured, leaving behind only scraps of meat, bare bones, and shredded armor.
As the deaths piled up, an invisible dread settled over Dressrosa like a plague.
Bustling markets turned silent.
People locked themselves indoors, terrified they might be next—torn apart by the mysterious "man-eating monster" haunting their kingdom.
The Donquixote Family deployed all its top officers. Patrols scoured the streets day and night.
But no matter how many they sent, the killer remained a ghost—never seen, never caught.
The Lawless District
While the rest of the city drowned in fear, one area by the coast was thriving.
The Lawless Zone—a street run by pirates, killers, and wanted criminals too dangerous to show their faces in public.
Despite its size, this one strip of land was a gold mine. Gambling dens, brothels, underground auction houses—every vice imaginable was for sale here.
The Donquixote Family took a generous cut of every transaction, which was why both the Marines and the local police were forbidden from stepping foot inside.
It was their empire of sin.
Inside a smoky tavern, drunken laughter echoed.
"Ha! Those idiots in the city center must be losing their minds! Thought they were safe living near the palace—guess not! That man-eating freak's been tearing through all of Dressrosa, but not here. You know what that means? He's scared of us! This street's the safest place in the world!"
"Hah, damn right! Let the nobles hide behind their walls—every day another soldier gets eaten alive. Over there, you might lose your life any second! But here? We're living like kings!"
"Did you guys see the bounty? That 'monster'—he's human. Just a kid, apparently. But he's worth a hundred million Berries! Catch him alive, and we're rich!"
"Keep dreaming! If he shows up here, he'll get slaughtered in minutes. You think a brat like that would dare come to a place crawling with pirates worth two, even three hundred million?"
"Ha! You're right about that!"
The tavern roared with laughter. Even in the middle of the night, the Lawless Zone was alive with drinking, gambling, and shouting—an island of chaos thriving within a city of fear.
But none of them noticed the man sitting quietly in the corner.
The "monster" they were laughing about.
White Flame sat alone with a glass of rum, flipping through a newspaper full of bounty posters and headlines about the ongoing massacre.
He listened to their drunken boasts without looking up.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Enjoy your last night of freedom… because after tonight, you won't be laughing anymore."
For the past month, he had stayed away from this district—not out of fear, but patience.
He'd been observing, gathering information, and avoiding the patrols hunting him.
The soldiers were easy prey for Little Black. None of them had even come close to catching him—instead, they'd only fed his strength.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, he was hunting.
He wasn't here for revenge. He was here for resources—meat, power, and money.
As those pirates said, the Lawless Zone often drew in criminals with bounties over a hundred million.
He'd spent two days scouting and even bought intel from the bartender.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side—no big-name pirates had arrived lately. Only small fry worth ten or twenty million.
Still, that was enough.
"Those guys should be worth a decent meal," he murmured, draining his mug. "And a little more strength to go with it."
Pirates were perfect prey: violent, wealthy, and dangerous—each carrying unique skills or techniques.
After all, who would survive long in the New World without power?
"Hey! Guess what—I got us a little treat tonight," a burly man bragged from a nearby table. "Picked up a pretty little girl. Gonna fetch a fine price at the next auction, mark my words, heh heh…"
White Flame's eyes narrowed.
Human traffickers.
"Figures," he muttered. "In a pirate world like this, that's nothing unusual."
But his expression darkened.
"Still… scum like that will make a fine offering."
If they were slavers, then they'd have plenty of money—
and plenty of blood for Little Black to drink.
In Dressrosa, slave trading was legal under Doflamingo's rule.
Hell, the man even owned an auction house in the Sabaody Archipelago, where human lives were sold like livestock.
That meant no one would miss a few traffickers.
White Flame's lips curved upward.
"Little Black," he whispered, eyes glinting. "Time to throw a little party."
Hours later, just before dawn
The traffickers finally staggered out of the tavern, drunk and laughing.
"Come on, one more round!"
"Bah, I'm drunk enough already! Next time, my treat!"
They split up down the dark alleys, one by one.
White Flame tossed a few bills onto the table and followed the last one out.
High above, on a nearby rooftop, a bandaged figure crouched in the shadows.
"Master…" the raspy voice of Little Black drifted through the cold air.
[They're dead… all of them… delicious…]
White Flame slipped his hands into his coat pockets, a thin smile on his lips.
"Well done, Little Black."
The traffickers hadn't even reached their hideout before being hunted down and devoured.
Little Black had torn through their den, killing everyone inside—then eaten every corpse, leaving nothing behind.
All their strength, all their life force, all their fear—fed back into White Flame.
He could feel it. His power was growing again.
"Good work. Head back now," he said quietly, turning toward the dim street where the last trafficker staggered away.
"I'll handle this one myself."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 3 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 20 Power Stones.
Thank you for your support!