Crocodile stopped his land reclamation work and slowly straightened his back.
The sandy ground beneath his feet seemed to come alive, emitting a grating, teeth-chattering "rustling" sound.
Wisps of yellow sand crawled up his calves, converging at his fingertips and transforming into a Sand Blade ready to strike.
An icy killing intent surged skyward, completely unconcealed!
On the high platform, the two CP0 Agents' pupils contracted slightly, instantly sensing the undisguised murderous aura from below. They positioned themselves left and right, shielding Saint Roswald.
"Oh? A dog dares to bare its fangs at its master?"
Not a trace of fear showed on Saint Roswald's bloated face; instead, it twisted into a sickening excitement.
"Interesting, so interesting! Capture him! This Saint will personally break his teeth!"
The air grew oppressive to the freezing point.
Kane's mind raced, weighing the pros and cons of every option.
Let Crocodile act? The G-5's legal money-making license would be instantly revoked, the 50 billion special funds would vanish, and Vegapunk's expensive projects would halt. A massive loss!
Suppress Crocodile? The free "Earthwork Brother" would be gone, and the construction costs for the new port area would skyrocket. Still a loss!
Just as Kane was about to use his Oscar-worthy acting skills to concoct an excuse about "pirates being untamable and potentially harming Your Excellency" to placate this pig—
A clear, somewhat flustered loli voice interrupted his calculations.
"Admiral! Admiral!"
A petite figure wearing a specially tailored small-sized Navy Uniform was seen stumbling across the sandy ground, clutching account books thicker than her own torso.
It was the ten-year-old Boa Hancock, whom Kane had been exploiting for half a month.
Intense training and top-tier nutrition had made her posture increasingly upright. Her already exquisitely beautiful face, adorned with sweat and a rosy flush, was beginning to reveal the breathtaking beauty of the future world's number one beauty.
Fully focused on the account books, she completely failed to notice the tense atmosphere around her. Tilting her little face upward, she waved a pencil at Kane on the high platform and complained loudly:
"These accounts don't match at all! In the stone procurement details Crocodile submitted, three fund flows are unaccounted for! This concubine has checked the market prices; he inflated the costs by at least ten percent!"
The little girl's sapphire-like eyes sparkled, filled with an urgent "praise me" expectation.
Crocodile, who was about to erupt violently, twitched the muscles at the corner of his eye, the Sand Blade gathered at his fingertips nearly dissipating on the spot.
On the high platform, Saint Roswald's attention was drawn by the voice. Impatiently, he pushed aside the CP0 Agents in front of him and looked down.
With just one glance.
His eyes, narrowed to slits by fat, instantly erupted with a terrifying gleam, like a starving wolf spotting a peerless delicacy.
He sharply sniffed back his nearly dripping snot, his obese body trembling violently from extreme excitement.
"Ex... exquisite! This is truly exquisite!"
"This Saint has wandered the Slave Market on Sabaody Archipelago for decades and has never seen such a perfect specimen!"
He muttered obsessively, then suddenly turned and grabbed Kane's shoulders.
"Admiral Kane! You actually have such a treasure hidden in this base! I don't want that sand-playing pirate anymore! I want her!"
Saint Roswald extended his fat finger, trembling as he pointed at Hancock below, saliva spraying until the inside of his bubble helmet became blurred.
"Go! Capture her for me immediately! Clean her up and send her to my ship! I'll make her my fifteenth wife!"
The perfect professional smile on Kane's face finally slipped.
He cursed inwardly with an extremely foul word.
Was fate's corrective force really this terrifying?
In the original story, Hancock was abducted at age twelve.
Now she was only ten, here at G-5, and still this pig had set his sights on her?
"What are you waiting for?!"
Seeing Kane unmoving, Saint Roswald roared in anger, "Do you dare disobey my orders?! CP0! Go capture that girl for me!"
The two CP0 Agents wearing white masks showed no hesitation.
In a flash, they leaped down from the ten-meter-high platform like ghosts, charging toward Hancock from left and right!
Only at this moment did Hancock snap out of her daze.
Looking at the ugly man wearing the bubble helmet on the high platform, listening to that nauseating mad laughter, all warmth instantly drained from her blood.
Gloriosa's words exploded in her mind—
'Women captured by Celestial Dragons are branded, chained, and kept in cages like livestock. Once they grow tired of them, they're thrown into the deep sea to feed the fish...'
'Hancock, you must remember, the most dangerous beings in this world aren't pirates, nor sea beasts—they're those Celestial Dragons with bubbles on their heads.'
"No... don't come near..."
The ledger in Hancock's hands fell onto the sandy ground, her legs weak, unable to muster any strength.
A chilling despair shot from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head. Trembling violently all over, she watched helplessly as those two hands clad in black leather gloves reached for her.
It's over...
At the outskirts of the port, tens of thousands of G-5 Marines gritted their teeth, their rifle stocks creaking under their grip.
They knew who Hancock was.
She was the student their boss personally trained and kept by his side—she was one of G-5's own!
But the other party... was a Celestial Dragon...
All eyes converged on the man standing silently at the center of the high platform.
"Swish!"
A CP0 Agent's hand, clad in a black leather glove and carrying a fierce gust of wind, was now less than ten centimeters from Hancock's shoulder.
Hancock closed her eyes in despair, two clear tears tracing down her cheeks.
Right at this critical moment.
"Boom—!"
A dull blast of air erupted on the sandy ground.
A violent shockwave, centered on a single point, spread outward in a ring, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust!
The CP0 Agent about to touch Hancock had the mask on his face instantly shattered into fragments!
Without even making a sound, his entire chest caved inward at a horrifying angle!
He was sent flying backward at ten times the speed he had arrived, as if struck head-on by a massive cannon, leaving behind a piercing white sonic boom cloud. Finally, with a thunderous crash, he smashed into the icy seawater hundreds of meters away, sending towering waves into the air—his fate unknown.
The sand and dust slowly settled.
Kane maintained a clean, sharp side-kick stance, then slowly retracted his right leg, standing motionless before the trembling Hancock, completely shielding her petite figure behind him.
He lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes, only an extremely suppressed voice echoing across the beach.
"Take her?"
Kane slowly raised his head.
In those pitch-black eyes that once held a gentle smile, only one emotion remained now.
It was the fury of an apex predator whose core interests had been violated.
"I spent over half a month, providing food and shelter, personally sparring with her every day, finally nurturing a top-tier accountant."
"And you think you can just take her away with a single fucking word?"
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