Saint Charlimako's corpulent form rested comfortably on the back of his slave, his gaze sweeping around as he savored the sight of the masses kneeling before him.
The red carpet stretching across the entire street left him quite satisfied, yet the deathly silence surrounding him made him feel somewhat bored.
His chubby cheeks twitched as his gaze locked onto a trembling figure at the edge of the crowd.
It was an old fisherman in rags, whose hearing seemed to be failing him; completely oblivious to the deathly silence that had descended, he was half a beat slow to kneel.
Without a moment's hesitation, a Guard behind him lunged forward and, without a word, delivered a heavy kick squarely into the old fisherman's back.
"Thump!"
The old man's frail body pitched forward, his forehead striking the cold stone pavement with a heavy thud. He let out a pained groan, struggling in vain to rise.
"Grandpa!"
A youthful, high-pitched voice shattered the silence of the street as a boy of about ten years old suddenly darted from the kneeling crowd, stumbling toward the fallen old man.
Disturbed by the piercing cries, Saint Charlimako curled his thick lips in dissatisfaction.
"Noisy little bug."
He curled his lip in disgust, lazily raising his hand to wave dismissively at the Guard beside him.
"Get rid of it!"
The Guard immediately understood, turning to draw the pistol from his waist and aiming the dark muzzle at the child who was crying as he ran toward his grandfather.
Bang!
The moment the gunshot rang out, Smoker's body reacted before his brain could even process it!
The smoke surrounding him surged, and he was on the verge of transforming into a white torrent to rush toward the child!
An arm, strong as an iron pincer, blocked his path even faster. Onigumo's cold face was inches away, and a low roar poured into Smoker's ears.
"Smoker! Do you want to get every Marine in Loguetown killed!"
These words hit Smoker like a bucket of ice water, dousing his boiling rage. He thought of the soldiers under his command who trusted him, their young faces flashing through his mind.
Smoker froze in place, his elemental form solidifying once more. He clenched his fists at his sides, snapping the two cigars he was holding in his mouth; shredded tobacco leaves tumbled to the ground.
He could disregard his own life, but he could not implicate the subordinates who trusted and followed him.
He could only watch helplessly as the bullet flew toward the innocent child.
Perhaps it was fate's final shred of mercy, but the running boy tripped over the stone pavement, his body tumbling forward uncontrollably.
Swish!
The bullet grazed his shoulder, drawing a spray of blood.
The boy hit the ground, but ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder, he scrambled to his grandfather's side, sobbing even louder.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Saint Charlimako was not angry at all; instead, he clapped his hands excitedly, a look of morbid interest appearing on his ugly face.
"Oh~ he dodged it? Interesting! Truly interesting!"
He pointed a chubby finger at the grandfather and grandson shivering on the ground.
"Seize them! Capture these two pieces of scum for me! Take them to that execution platform!"
Saint Charlimako seemed to think this was a brilliant idea, waving his arms in excitement.
"I shall recreate an interesting execution on that platform! Wahahaha!"
He smacked his lips again, appearing unsatisfied.
"Oh, that's right—having only prisoners is so boring!"
He turned to look at Onigumo and commanded imperiously:
"Hey! Go catch a pirate for me; an execution without a pirate is so boring!!"
"Yes, Saint Charlimako."
Onigumo bowed respectfully to accept the order, then turned and strode into a quiet alley.
Watching his retreating back, an ominous premonition surged in Smoker's heart. His body instantly dissolved into a wisp of white smoke, and he followed silently.
The smoke re-condensed into Smoker's form in a secluded alley. As he watched Onigumo's actions, his eyes turned bloodshot, almost spitting fire.
Onigumo wasn't searching for any pirates. He simply reached out and grabbed a random civilian who was cowering in a corner, trying to avoid the chaos, by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him up.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"