The roar in the square reached a fever pitch.
With just a few casual words, Roger had uprooted the greed buried deep in the hearts of people worldwide.
Torrential rain washed over the cobblestones, but it couldn't wash away the feverish scent of blood mixed with desire.
Tatsuki stood quietly by the pool of blood. In the corner of his vision, a deep blue light screen cascaded down like a waterfall, data refreshing frantically.
[Ding! Host has led and completed the declaration that marks the beginning of the "Great Pirate Era"!]
[Behavior Judgment: Through a fake execution that was actually a cooperation with the Pirate King's performance, you have successfully ignited the spark of global chaos!]
[Discipline Level: Extreme Violation! Causing immeasurable and destructive impact on the current world order!]
[System Evaluation: You are not only a disgrace to the Marines but also the greatest source of disaster on this sea.]
[Reward: 1,000,000 Violation Points!]
A full million.
The muscles on Tatsuki's face twitched slightly. Under the gaze of tens of thousands and the lens of a global live broadcast, suppressing a laugh was a real challenge.
He could only raise his hand to cover his almost uncontrollable expression, maintaining the solemnity and gravity of an Admiral perfectly.
A sharp "purururu" sound came from his pocket.
Tatsuki unhurriedly pulled out a den den mushi and pressed answer.
The old face on the snail had turned red, and even the tuft of beard on his chin was trembling with rage.
"Tatsuki!!!"
"Why did you let Roger say those words?! A global broadcast! The whole world heard it!"
Kong was truly driven mad with anger. He could imagine that from this moment on, countless people across the world would abandon their stable lives and rush toward the sea like crazy.
The pressure the Marines would face in the coming decades would increase more than tenfold out of thin air.
"I was careless, Fleet Admiral."
Tatsuki turned his back to Roger's still-warm corpse, his tone instantly switching, filled with deep regret and unforeseen remorse.
"Who would have thought that even after being pierced by my blade, his voice would still be so loud? It seems he was holding his last breath just to spite us all before he died."
His words were so "sincere" that the surrounding Marines felt the same way, each one filled with indignation and glaring at Roger's body.
"Dammit! The Pirate King is indeed despicable and shameless!"
"To drag the whole world down with him as he dies, what a complete bastard!"
This level of blame-shifting and charisma caused a two-second vacuum on the other end of the line.
Kong's heavy breathing came through the receiver, he was clearly trying his best to suppress his overwhelming rage.
"However, Fleet Admiral, perhaps you can look at the problem from another angle."
Tatsuki changed the subject, his tone revealing a calculated calmness.
"Since the sea is going to be in chaos, it means an era belonging to our Marines is coming."
"To pacify the four seas, to maintain the absolute rule of the World Government, and to protect the noble personal safety of the Celestial Dragons..."
"Shouldn't our Marine military budget be recalculated?"
"If it's not doubled or tripled, how can we suppress these outlaws who are about to sweep the globe? This is a mandatory expense. If you take Roger's head to the Gorosei for money, they won't find any reason to refuse."
On the other side of the den den mushi, Kong fell silent once again.
His head was buzzing.
Thinking about it carefully...
Damn, it actually made some sense?
"We'll talk about the budget back at Headquarters! Now, immediately, take control of the scene!" Kong raised his voice and gave a strict order.
"No more trouble is allowed!"
With a click, the call was abruptly cut off.
Tatsuki put the den den mushi back in his pocket, a faint, imperceptible curve appearing at the corner of his lips.
Without guessing, he knew the old man was probably already cursing while telling his adjutant to draft a lion's share of a budget request.
He turned around and looked down again.
The square in Loguetown had completely spiraled out of control.
"To the Grand Line!"
"The One Piece is mine!"
Bloodshot-eyed thugs, sword-wielding pirates, and even the fruit vendor who was standing nearby just a second ago—all of them, incited by this frenzy, rushed toward the harbor like a bursting flood.
The Marine defensive line on the perimeter was being torn to shreds.
Tatsuki gave a contemptuous snort. "Hmph."
'A bunch of small fry. Do you think you're worthy of participating in the script I directed?'
BOOM!
The torrential rain falling from the sky stopped. It wasn't that the weather had cleared, but that all the raindrops were forced to freeze in mid-air by a certain power at that moment.
Storm-Storm Fruit ability, full power intervention.
The thick thunderclouds over Loguetown began to spiral in a strange reverse direction centered on the Execution Platform. Muffled thunder rolled deep within the clouds as if doomsday had arrived.
Immediately after, a dark red aura rose from Tatsuki's body, like an invisible shockwave, pushing outward in a perfect hemispherical shape in all directions.
Conqueror's Haki!
The stone ground groaned under the unbearable weight, and spiderweb-like cracks spread all the way to the end of the street.
Thud.
Thud.
The frenzied crowd's eyes rolled back, and they fell into the mud in large numbers.
Foaming at the mouth, limbs twitching.
The square, which had been boiling with noise a second ago, fell into absolute silence in just three breaths.
Tens of thousands of people lay scattered on the ground, piled up like mountains of flesh.
The few who could still stand were all future trendsetters of this era.
Crocodile knelt on one knee, using his golden iron hook to grip the stone joints tightly, his chest heaving violently. Cold sweat dripped from his chin into the puddles on the ground. He stared at the high platform, his teeth gritting audibly.
On the edge of the crowd, Doflamingo's coat was covered in mud. His sunglasses had slipped to the middle of his nose, and his face, which always wore a defiant, strange smile, was now extremely tense. Before this tangible Haki, he couldn't even muster the thought of releasing his own Conqueror's Haki to resist.
In a dark alleyway, the red-haired youth wearing a straw hat gripped the wall with both hands, his eyes bloodshot. He forced himself to stay upright under the pressure, but his fingers had already dug ten bloody marks into the bricks.
These future giants felt, for the first time so directly, the power of those standing at the very top of the world's power and strength pyramid.
"Monster..."
Moria's body swayed as he squeezed out a word.
Tatsuki looked down from above, his gaze sweeping over these stubborn "good seedlings" like he was inspecting his own vegetable garden.
He reached out and picked up the nearby Den Den Mushi that hadn't been turned off, cleared his throat, and his steady voice, carrying undisguised mockery, spread throughout the square.
"Look at yourselves now. Just a slight release of pressure, and you're kneeling on the ground, unable to even lift your heads."
"With this weakling appearance, you want to go to the New World and find Roger's treasure?"
Crocodile's Adam's apple bobbed as he clenched his fists tightly.
A vein bulged angrily on Doflamingo's temple.
"The sea is not a playground for the weak to amuse themselves."
Tatsuki slowly raised a hand, his slender fingers pointing at the few stubborn figures below from a distance.
"Do you think that just because Roger shouted a few slogans, the door to the throne would open for you?"
"I won't kill you today because your current weak state doesn't even give me the interest to draw my sword."
Tatsuki grinned, revealing an arrogant smile that was extremely oppressive in the dark weather.
"But if anyone really thinks they're tough enough and dares to fly a pirate flag and enter those waters..."
"I, and those monsters at Marineford who are bored to death, will be waiting for you there."
"If one comes, I'll slaughter one."
"If two come, I'll bury a pair."
For the lower-class civilians blinded by desire, this speech was a complete intimidation, enough to cool them down and send them rolling back home.
But for those born rebellious and ambitious heroes...
This contempt was the final spark that ignited the powder keg.
The more they were suppressed, the hotter the madness in their bones burned.
The more they were looked down upon, the more they wanted to climb to the top and stomp the high-placed ones under their feet.
[Ding! Host detected delivering a highly inflammatory 'Justice Declaration'!]
[The ambitions of important destiny characters like Crocodile and Doflamingo have been greatly stimulated! The deviation of the future world line continues to increase!]
[Additional subversion degree settlement in progress... Obtained Violation Points: 50,000!]