The God wiped the Angel's tears with boundless patience.
He went on like this until the Angel's eyes spilled no more tears.
Bonney stopped crying.
"...I understand" Light softly said to her. His voice was completely stripped of its usual arrogance.
"I made a mistake, I am sorry."
Bonney sniffled quietly, keeping her head down, but the violent shaking in her shoulders slowly began to ease at the sound of his calm voice.
"I underestimated this prison. And I severely underestimated them," Light continued, his dark eyes shifting to look at the three battered pirates on the tables with a newfound, profound respect. "I let my own ambition blind me to the reality of what I sent you into. They saved you when I wasn't there."
Light stood back up. The sterile, cold aura he had brought into the room was gone. It was replaced by something far more dangerous. A quiet, burning, absolute resolve. He owed the Straw Hats a debt. A life debt. And Light Yagami was a man who balanced his ledgers perfectly.
"Hold on a minute!" Ivankov stepped forward, his colossal frame towering over Light. The Revolutionary commander glared at the intruder, his massive eyes narrowing suspiciously. "You know this girl? Who are you, boy? Are you a Marine? A bounty hunter?"
From the adjacent table, Sanji let out a weak, agonizing groan. The cook slowly turned his heavily bandaged head, his visible eye locking onto Light's black coat.
"He's... the Reaper," Sanji coughed, spitting a glob of dark, poisoned blood onto the checkerboard tiles. "He's the False Deity."
A shockwave of terrified murmurs ripped through the room. Even isolated at the bottom of the ocean, Ivankov had read the newspapers Inazuma routinely smuggled in. The rogue Marine who had publicly executed a Celestial Dragon in broad daylight.
Light didn't acknowledge the whispers. His dark eyes scanned the crowded room, his Level 3 Observation Haki expanding outward. He was a changed man regarding the Straw Hats, but his fundamental mission—the eradication of the world's filth—remained absolute.
The floating system panels began to pop into existence above the heads of the people in the room.
[ Green: 6,500 | Red: 1,200 ][ Green: 8,000 | Red: 3,000 ]
The vast majority were Revolutionaries or falsely accused civilians. Clean.
But hiding among them were a few wolves.
[ Name: "Throat-Slitter" Vane ] [ Red: 45,000 ]
[ Name: Gallows ] [ Red: 88,000 ]
[ Name: Rix the Butcher ] [ Red: 112,000 ]
Light's eyes narrowed. The newfound warmth in his heart did not extend to the irredeemable.
"You've built a beautiful sanctuary down here," Light said, his voice echoing coldly. "But there's some trash pulled along."
Light suddenly raised his left hand, and extended his index finger.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
Invisible, hyper-condensed pulses of Level 4 Internal Destruction Haki shot across the grand hall, bypassing the innocent and striking only the guilty.
"Throat-Slitter" Vane, Gallows, and Rix the Butcher all gasped simultaneously. Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the checkerboard floor, their hearts entirely pulverized without a single drop of blood being spilled.
[ Multiple Targets Eliminated. +24,500 KP. ]
Screams of sheer terror erupted from the crowd.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CANDIES?!" Ivankov roared, his massive face contorting with absolute, protective fury.
The Revolutionary Commander didn't hesitate. He leaped forward, leaning back as his massive eyes widened.
"HELL WINK!"
A colossal shockwave of pure, devastating air pressure erupted from Ivankov's face, aimed directly at Light's chest.
Light placed his hand on the hilt of his sheathed saber. With a motion so fast it didn't even register to the naked eye, he drew the blade a fraction of an inch and unleashed a flying slash of pure, pitch-black Armament Haki.
ZOOM. SLASH!
The dark crescent of spiritual energy cleaved the pressurized air entirely in half, parting the Hell Wink like a hot knife through butter. The residual force carved a deep trench into the floor, stopping an inch from Ivankov's boots.
Ivankov froze, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his brow.
"Do not test my patience, big-face" Light warned, his dark eyes locking onto Ivankov. "I am not here for you, or your revolutionary friends. Your souls are clean."
"The people I just killed were butchers who hid behind your skirts."
"Stay out of my way."
Light turned his back on the terrified crowd and walked toward the central table where Luffy lay.
He looked down at the boy who had saved his companion. The boy he had so severely underestimated.
He sighed. He owed this idiot.
Light mentally pulled up his system interface. He had over sixteen million points. It was time to pay his debts, and it was time to prepare for the real war.
.
.
.
A/N: There's something missing. Can anyone guess?