"Hey! Tell me about the person behind you. Maybe I'll let you go," Aeridar said, his expression ferocious as he stood atop a pile of ruined houses, grabbing Benson by the collar and lifting him up.
"Cough, cough~"
"L-liar… you bas-bastard!"
"Let me go? Cough~ When… when did a pirate's word become trustworthy?" Benson coughed out several mouthfuls of blood, raising his head weakly to glare at Aeridar with fierce eyes.
"Hehehehe~ Such integrity. It's truly interesting that a prince like you would pledge allegiance," Aeridar chuckled oddly.
Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow. Before Benson could speak, Aeridar answered for him: "You want to say, 'I don't even like them, I just don't want to see you look smug,' don't you?"
"Cough, cough... Huff, huff. What a truly cheat-like ability..." Benson breathed weakly, drops of fresh blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, staining the bricks beneath his feet red.
"Hmph." Pressing his temple to relieve a headache, Aeridar chuckled darkly. "Since you don't like them either, why not tell me the mastermind and let us fight each other?"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't dare act." Benson smiled faintly. "A Celestial Dragon. Do you dare?"
To his disappointment, Aeridar's face did not change upon hearing that the mastermind was a Celestial Dragon. Instead, he scoffed and asked, "Oh~ And who is it? Saint? Or Saintess?"
"Hehehe. You truly have some nerve." Benson let out a low laugh.
He had not expected the other party to show no distress or even a frown when faced with the trouble of a Celestial Dragon.
Naturally, Aeridar wasn't about to tell him: So what if they're a Celestial Dragon? I've already killed one. And I'm still eating and drinking well, living a good life.
Benson stared into Aeridar's eyes. After a moment, he slowly said, "In that case, what does it matter if I tell you. The head of the Aldrich family, Saint Gustav, and the most low-key king of the Underworld, the Roamer, Crimson Malha! Those two are the masterminds."
"Saint Gustav! The Celestial Dragon rumored to have asked Garp to train him, only to be refused? His name certainly precedes him," Aeridar said, slightly surprised. "And the Roamer, Crimson Malha! That fellow involved in slave-hunting, arms, mercenaries, and contraband in multiple fields, yet who does well in all of them. There have long been rumors of his deep ties to the World Government and the World Nobles. It seems the rumors were true; no wonder he can establish branches all over the world."
Aeridar held a very large influence in the Underworld, and many kings of the Underworld sought to curry favor with him, but not all of them. The Roamer, Crimson Malha, was one of the exceptions.
"As sharp as ever. Then let me tell you one more piece of news: the Vigor-Vigor Fruit has already been eaten by Saint Gustav. Though I don't like him, I have to admit, his strength is truly impressive!" Benson tilted his head back, a carefree smile on his face.
"Do it! Kill me!"
He had believed he could achieve a career no less impressive than Aeridar's, yet for all these years, he had been chased like a dog by the other party's subordinates, fleeing everywhere. In the end, he found that the gap in both strength and influence was far, far too wide!
Snap!
Aeridar grabbed Benson's neck, his fingers tightening, and snapped his neck instantly.
Thud!
The body fell limply onto the ruins.
Thus, the Fifth Prince of the Dasco Royal Family, Benson, died on Sabaody Archipelago, finally resolving a thorn in Aeridar's side.
"Ugh~"
Seeing Benson's corpse, Aeridar felt a sense of relief. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a sudden sharp pain shot through his brain, forcing him to one knee. Dense beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
"The after-effects of predicting the future…"
It took a good while before Aeridar recovered.
"Captain!"
Just then, Backan ran over from the distance. He was startled to see Aeridar kneeling.
"Did you take care of him?" Aeridar wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up, slightly unsteady.
"Killed him." Backan glanced at Benson's corpse, stepping forward to support Aeridar. "Captain, are you alright?"
"Cheating always comes with a price…" Ignoring Backan's question, Aeridar shook off his support and muttered, "But compared to gaining this 'Designated Future Sight' ability, this price is too worthwhile."
"Designated Future Sight?"
Backan looked confused. What kind of ability was that?
By the time the two returned to the original battlefield, dusk was falling. Rayleigh and Borsalino had ceased fighting because the genuine Bartholomew Kuma had appeared.
At that moment, only Luffy was left, crying sadly among the entire Straw Hat crew; the others had all vanished.
"Are you ready to explain yourself? This is a serious problem!" Borsalino looked up, staring intently at Kuma.
Rayleigh and Sentomaru stood in silence nearby.
Kuma ignored Borsalino's question and walked directly behind Luffy. "We will never meet again."
Luffy looked up, turning around, his face streaming with tears as he glared fiercely at Kuma.
"Farewell."
Kuma raised his hand, revealing the paw pad on his palm, and brought it down.
Pop!
With a soft sound, Luffy disappeared, leaving only a whirlwind behind.
Watching the scene from a distance, Aeridar remained silently.
Kuma was saving them.
Furthermore, Aeridar knew that Vegapunk's modifications to Kuma's own body were in the late stages. The next step would be the brain modification, after which Kuma would lose his self-awareness and become a complete weapon for the World Government and the Marines.
With the Straw Hat Pirates saved and transported away by Kuma, Rayleigh had no reason to fight. As for Borsalino and Sentomaru, they did not insist on capturing the present Rayleigh.
Borsalino knew that with the preparations underway to counter the Whitebeard Pirates, having to contend with another legend was something neither Sengoku nor the Gorosei wanted.
Perhaps if it had been Sakazuki, he might have insisted on confronting Rayleigh, but Sengoku would surely have stopped him. As it was, the battle-wise Borsalino had no desire to fight a life-or-death battle with Rayleigh on Sabaody Archipelago. The earlier confrontation was nothing more than a mutually understood sparring match—a test of swordsmanship!
That's right, a test of swordsmanship!
Rayleigh departed.
Borsalino and Sentomaru also led the Marines away, taking the captured pirates with them.
As for Backan and Aeridar, they returned to their manor headquarters to rest.
On this day, the pirate crew led by Captain Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirates, suffered a devastating defeat!
Of course, it wasn't just the Straw Hat Pirates who suffered a crushing defeat that day. Most of the other Supernovas' pirate crews also sustained heavy damage, with several captains, including Hawkins, Drake, and Urouge, severely wounded.
Furthermore, at least a dozen other pirate crews were utterly defeated by the Marines, and nearly ten more suffered varying degrees of loss. According to Marine statistics, the total number of pirates and criminals apprehended on this single day reached five hundred.